'Chasing Ice' and climate change; mineral exploration on hold

Ice Fjord of Ilulissat, Greenland. The Greenland ice sheet has lost 1,500 billion tonnes of ice since 2000. The phenomenon is part of a new documentary by National Geographic photographer James Balog. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)by John Wanamaker, Minnesota Public Radio,
Hart Van Denburg, Minnesota Public Radio
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Today on the MPR News Update: Top state officials have declined to approve the sale of 31 leases to explore for minerals. Players in this past spring's Vikings stadium endgame say they're reluctant to reopen the deal struck in May. And we speak with the filmmaker behind a new documentary on climate change.

DNR SCOLDED: Top state officials have declined to approve the sale of 31 leases to explore for minerals, pending the results of a court case. During a meeting Thursday of the state's executive council, Gov. Mark Dayton also scolded state Department of Natural Resources officials for failing to respond to public concerns about proposals for copper-nickel mining in northeastern Minnesota.

'CHASING ICE': The Sundance award-winning "Chasing Ice," is making its Minneapolis premiere Friday. It provides vivid accounts of climate change on the world's glaciers and polar areas through photography, film and personal accounts. National Geographic photographer and filmmaker James Balog, who had been a skeptic about climate change until about 20 years ago, said presenting evidence of climate change may make a difference to people who are still skeptical. He and Minnesota's polar explorer Will Steger talked about the film on The Daily Circuit.

DHS GRANTS: The Minnesota Legislative Auditor's office will broadly review the state Department of Health's administration of grants, after health officials may have allowed thousands of dollars to be inappropriately used by one nonprofit over the last two years. The case concerns grants to a St. Paul nonprofit called the Sierra Young Family Institute, Inc.

HMO FINANCES: A state review finds Minnesota HMOs providing services to public programs such as Medicaid and MinnesotaCare have generally sound financial practices. But the report did raise concerns about the plans' charitable donations and other uses of public dollars.

VIKINGS STADIUM: The players in this past spring's stadium endgame say they are reluctant to reopen the deal struck in May to build the Vikings a new stadium, despite disappointing initial projections of the gambling revenue earmarked to help pay for the nearly $1 billion project. They say it was a carefully crafted deal, and that changes won't be easy to make, even in the face of financial doubts. "I'm still cautiously optimistic," Gov. Mark Dayton said.

COLD SPRING SHOOTING: Investigators are still searching for the .20 gauge shotgun they believed was used to kill Decker last Thursday night while responding to calls from the family of 34-year-old Ryan Larson. Larson's family told police they were concerned he was suicidal. Larson was arrested early Friday morning and held in Stearns County Jail as a suspect in Officer Decker's shooting. But Larson was released Tuesday because the Stearns County Attorney said there wasn't enough evidence to file charges.

SACRED LAND PROTECTIONS: Protection of sites held sacred by American Indians and Alaska Natives will be bolstered under a memorandum of understanding signed Thursday by four federal agencies and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The memo signed by the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy and Interior also calls for improving tribal access to sites that are on federal land.

UNDEMPLOYMENT DOWN, OBAMA UP: The U.S. economy added a solid 146,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008, according to the Labor Dept. Also, President Barack Obama has his highest approval ratings since the killing of Osama bin Laden, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll, and more Americans say the nation is heading in the right direction now than at any time since the start of his first term.

AMERICAN CHRYSTAL: Despite a lockout that's lasted 16 months, American Crystal Sugar officials say the company is on track for record sugar production. Company President David Berg said at the cooperative's annual meeting Thursday that the ongoing lockout of 1,300 workers cut into the profit from last year's sugar beet crop. But he said the company is moving on with replacement workers.

UNION DEPOT: There hasn't been train service to Union Depot in 41 years and they won't start running again until at least next year. But the station has been remade into more than just a railroad hub. Metro buses will start picking up and dropping off passengers there tomorrow, there's a place for bicycle commuters and the new Central Corridor light rail line will end there when it opens in 2014. John Diers, author of a forthcoming book on the history of Union Depot, spoke with The Daily Circuit during a walk-through of the building.

TIM SCANNELL: A county prosecutor who was wounded in a 2011 courthouse shooting in Grand Marais has been accused of an improper relationship with a teenage girl. Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell, 47, was ordered by a judge Tuesday to stay away from the 17-year-old girl, after her parents sought a harassment restraining order.

John Wanamaker is a newscaster for MPR News.

Hart is the morning online editor at MPR News.

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Crashed Ice, climate change, data privacy and butter. That about covers it

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman skates down the starting ramp on the Red Bull Crashed Ice course in St. Paul, Minn. Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. The Crashed Ice World Championship begins today and runs through Sunday. The course is more than 1,300 ft. with a vertical drop of 131 ft. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson)by Phil Picardi, Minnesota Public Radio,
Hart Van Denburg, Minnesota Public Radio
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The borderline-crazy skaters of Crashed Ice are back in town. Lawmakers are looking into plugging data privacy breaches. Police want tougher laws preventing the mentally ill from arming themselves. And we look at butter. Fresh, creamy butter.

CRASHED ICE: A curvy, elevated, icy track now winds its way down the bluff from the Cathedral in St. Paul, awaiting the start of the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championships, and 180 skaters jockeying for slots leading into the finals on Saturday. We have a nifty time-lapse video of the track being built here. And there are photos of St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman testing the track out there.

BRODKORB UPDATE: The Minnesota State Patrol says former state Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb was seriously injured in a one car crash in Mendota Heights last night.

PRIVACY BREACH: The attorney who represented a former police officer in a data privacy lawsuit is praising a bill that would impose stiff penalties for improperly accessing the personal information of Minnesota drivers.

MENTAL HEALTH AND GUN LIMITS: A group of sheriffs and prosecuting attorneys is calling for changes to the state's mental health and criminal justice systems in the hope that such steps would help reduce gun violence.

DRUGS AND MURDER: Murder prosecutions of people who provide controlled substances found to have caused another person's death hit a 10-year high last year.

THE WASHBURN INCIDENT: Hundreds gathered last night at Washburn High School in Minneapolis to talk about how to move forward from what many perceived to be a racial incident when four students wrapped string around the neck of a dark skinned doll and hung it in a stairwell.

TRANSIT TAX: Twin Cities area officials are reviewing Gov. Dayton's proposal for a new quarter-cent sales tax for the seven-county metro area. The money would go toward transit, under the governor's budget proposal. It would mean a new transit tax for two southern metro counties that have already opted out of another transit-dedicated sales tax.

LGA: It's hard to find losers under Gov. Mark Dayton's revamped formula for providing state aid to Minnesota cities. That stands to reason since the proposal he laid out Tuesday adds $80 million a year to Local Government Aid, a longstanding program that supplements the budgets of the vast majority of cities. But some gain a lot more than others in the long run.

Remember that crazy water main break in downtown Minneapolisa few weeks ago that turned the edge of the Warehouse District into an ice rink for a little while? The city of Minneapolis says the break cost $325,000 to repair.

WINDOW INTO THE WHITE HOUSE: We now have a pretty clear idea about what President Obama hopes to accomplish during his second term, including efforts to deal with climate change and marriage equality. Former White House aide Bill Burton is in Minnesota today and Cathy Wurzer talked with him during Morning Edition about Obama's second term.

NASA ON CLIMATE CHANGE: Speaking of climate change: For the few people who still need proof the planet is warming, NASA has issued a strongly worded release announcing 2012 was the ninth-warmest year on record on terra firma.

BUT IT'S COLD? In the Climate Cast we talked about how this is not your grandparents' winter anymore. Our children are experiencing very different Minnesota winters compared to 30 or 40 years ago. Winters have warmed about 2 to 4 degrees in that time.

BEAR LIMIT: The DNR has cut the number of bears controversial researcher Lynn Rogers can collar near his research station outside of Ely.

3M PROFITS: Post-it notes and other office products helped lift 3M's fourth-quarter profit, despite a slowdown in other parts of its business. The Maplewood-based company earned $991 million, or $1.41 per share, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier.

JOBLESS AID CLAIMS KEEP DROPPING: Also from the business beat: The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to the lowest level in five years, evidence that employers are cutting fewer jobs and may step up hiring.

KERRY TESTIFIES: In Washington, Sen. John Kerry, President Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of state, went before the Senate Foreign Relations committee Thursday, the same committee on which he has served during his entire 28 years in the Senate.

WOMEN IN COMBAT: Also in Washington, The Pentagon's decision to lift the ban on women serving in combat presents a daunting challenge to top military leaders who now will have to decide which, if any, jobs they believe should be open only to men.

GOT BUTTER? Last but not least, we bring you butter. Fresh, creamy butter. Splendid Table host Lynne Rossetto Kasper stopped by All Things Considered to talk about this key member of the Minnesota food group pyramid.

Phil Picardi is a newscaster for MPR News, and occasionally fills in as Morning Edition host when Cathy Wurzer is away.

Hart is the morning online editor at MPR News.

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