ADVOCACY: A clean energy group says the Ohio organization lobbying for large energy users in the state has played an outsized role in blocking clean energy standards there. (Midwest Energy News)

RENEWABLES:
• In Minnesota and across the U.S., consumers are seeing flat or declining costs relative to income even amid dramatic shifts in the energy system. (Midwest Energy News)
• An Ohio-based free-market think tank claims clean energy standards will cost the state thousands of jobs, though advocates say the opposite is true. (Columbus Business First)

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SOLAR:
• Works begins on a campus solar project at Michigan State University that the school anticipates will save $10 million over the next 25 years. See here for background on the project. (WLNS, Midwest Energy News archive)
• A Minnesota county considers building three community solar projects on separate parcels at 1 megawatt each. (Waseca County News)
• A 2.3-megawatt solar project in Wisconsin that includes benefits for pollinator species is near completion. (Eau Claire Leader-Telegram)

PIPELINES:
• How Dakota Access protests have inspired similar movements across the country to keep fossil fuels in the ground. (NPR)
• A North Dakota highway may reopen soon after being closed for months by Dakota Access pipeline protests. (Associated Press)
• South Dakota lawmakers continue discussing legislation aimed at keeping highways open during anticipated pipeline protests. (Watertown Public Opinion)
• An Iowa pipeline operator has had more spills than any other company in the state over the past 16 years: 27 incidents between 2000 and 2016. (Des Moines Register)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Iowa governor’s office is seeking public input on how to spend millions of dollars of Volkswagen settlement money on emission-reduction projects in the state. (WHO-TV)

EFFICIENCY: A Minneapolis architecture and engineering firm achieves LEED platinum status for its headquarters through a variety of energy-saving features. (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal)

OIL AND GAS: Scientists at the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago alter the kind of foam found in seat cushions to be used in collecting oil from water in spills. (Associated Press)

BIOFUELS:
• Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is dispelling rumors that the Trump administration is going to make major changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard. (WHO-TV)
• Congressional delegates from Iowa and Nebraska introduce legislation allowing retailers to market more types of ethanol blends with fewer regulations. (Biofuels Digest)

CLIMATE:
• “Like a rite of spring,” carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are poised to cruise past levels reached last year and “reach heights unseen in human history.” (Climate Central)
• A new study finds the U.S. agricultural sector, particularly in the Midwest, needs to ramp up its climate change response efforts in order to avoid lost productivity in the coming years. (Iowa Public Radio)

OIL-BY-RAIL: The North Dakota Public Service Commission is seeking extra state funding for its rail-safety inspection program. (Forum News Service)