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North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live is a daily, five-minute newscast that shines a spotlight on the stories and perspectives of Minnesota’s diverse communities, including Black, Latine, Asian American, East African individuals, people living with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ residents, laborers, veterans, and those from Greater Minnesota.
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.
ANCHOR: In today's broadcast, Target's decision to make a million-dollar donation is drawing even more criticism to the company. Communities in Greater Minnesota prepare for fire season. And, electric vehicle drivers get a power boost. I'm Gracie J.
Target donated one million dollars to President Trump's inauguration fund. That's according to a recently released federal report. Target, one of Minnesota's largest employers, routinely contributes to both Republican and Democratic election campaigns. But this is the first time the retailer has donated to an inauguration. The revelation comes amid boycotts after Target ended its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. Delta Airlines also became a first-time contributor, donating a million dollars as well. In comparison, Wal-Mart donated 150 thousand dollars.
Next, as wildfire season heats up in Minnesota, Firewise communities offer support and solutions to mitigating property damage. Maija Hecht has the story.
Gloria Erickson: When you think fire, what does that mean to you?
Maija Hecht: When Gloria Erickson moved to Ely in northern Minnesota, she didn't realize how much wildfire had shaped the region, or how it would go on to guide how she lives in the Northland.
Gloria Erickson: I had Balsam right up next to my cabin, and I thought that's the way it was supposed to be, until I started to learn the forest I was looking at was very flammable, and it was a result of heavy logging and the suppression of fire for over 100 years.
Maija Hecht: Laura is the Firewise coordinator for St Louis County. Firewise is a community led program funded by the Department of Natural Resources or DNR. The program helps people identify and suppress wildfire risks where they live.
Gloria Erickson: When I first started this work, and I made suggestions with landowners that they cut those Balsam they looked at me as if I was asking them to kill their first born. That fire risk is always going to be there, but we can take responsibility of what that looks like.
Maija Hecht: Sherry Rovig, a Firewise community member and firefighter living in St Louis County said--
Sherry Rovig: It's one of those things where once you start learning about it, there's lots to do. You would look around your property and see, well, do I have, you know, things piled up against my house that are burnable?
Maija Hecht: Together, Firewise communities clear fuels like dense foliage, firewood and dead trees from areas surrounding homes. They also install fire screens and create emergency access plans.
Laura Murphy: If you're not able to physically do that work, your neighbor can help you do it.
Maija Hecht: Laura Murphy is the DNR contact for Northeast communities interested in becoming fire wise.
Laura Murphy: Making sure your roof and gutters are clear of debris. If you do have an older roof and an ember gets stuck in, say, pine needles that you have on the top of your roof, that is probably the number one spot that fires will start.
Maija Hecht: Flying embers cause up to 90% of wildfires that destroy homes, according to Gloria Erickson, wind can carry embers for over a mile.
Gloria Erickson: That is why Firewise best practices, that home hardening, that defensible space, is key.
Maija Hecht: The Firewise system is just one recent example of wildfire management in northern Minnesota.
Gloria Erickson: The indigenous people of this country, before white settlers came here, they did burns to reduce bugs, for regeneration of blueberries. Fire can be good. I mean, it is good. Our forests up here need fire, low intensity fire to regenerate.
Maija Hecht: For the sake of infrastructure and forest health, Firewise coordinators like Gloria are learning from Indigenous wildfire practices and DNR models to help lower the risk of catastrophic wildfire. This is Miaja Hecht North Star Stories.
ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.
It will soon be easier for those driving electric vehicles to go longer distances in Minnesota. The Department of Transportation is adding 12 new electric vehicle charging stations along Interstate 90 and 94. MNDoT secured about 10 million dollars of federal and state funding for the project. About half of the money is coming from the since-cancelled National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. Each site will have at least four high-speed chargers, they'll be located within a mile of a freeway exit and operate 24 hours a day. The project will double the number of state-operated charging stations.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.