Current Actions

Help Protect Pipestone

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

OneOk Magellan of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has proposed rebuilding its petroleum pipeline in Pipestone County near the Pipestone National Monument, a sacred site for Tribal Nations across the continent. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) rescinded its construction permit in January of 2025 – thanks to the public outcry from people like you – and ordered Magellan to collaborate with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council in choosing a culturally informed contractor for the required cultural survey.

Almost immediately, OneOK Magellan violated that order and chose its own contractor unilaterally. Tribal governments say the process has been plagued by inconsistency, departure from standard cultural surveying procedures, and failure to meet historical society guidelines. The current process appears designed to ignore known cultural sites within the project area.

We are asking Minnesotans to tell the PUC to reject Magellan’s proposal for this pipeline. Here’s why:

Pipestone is central to Indian religious freedom:

Pipestone quarry is a sacred place central to Indigenous spiritual life and cultural continuity. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples from Tribal Nations have traveled from across the Plains and beyond to this land to pray, walk in peace, and quarry red pipestone for sacred ceremonial use. As the US National Park Service states at the Pipestone National Monument: “Archaeological evidence shows that quarrying here has extended over 3,000 years, and this practice continues today under Tribal and federal protections that recognize the site’s spiritual importance.”

The red pipestone (catlinite) quarried here is used to carve the sacred peace pipe, a prayer instrument that carries prayers to the Creator and is integral to Indigenous ceremony and spiritual life. These pipes are used in healing, agreement-making, mourning, and to give thanks, and remain central to ceremony among many Indigenous peoples.

The threat to this sacred site is a threat to Indigenous religious and spiritual freedom.

Tribal Nations have not consented to this proposal:

OneOK Magellan not only hasn’t received the consent of Tribal Nations as required by this Resolution of the National Congress of American Indians – they haven’t even complied with the PUC’s specific order to work with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MAIC) to hire a culturally informed contractor for this particular project.

Allowing OneOK Magellan to build this pipeline without the informed consent of the Tribal Nations that use the quarry for their spiritual and cultural practices perpetuates the continued harm that extraction and greed have caused Indigenous people here and across North America.

This pipeline is not needed:

The Magellan Pipeline ran through and under Pipestone National Monument until the pipeline was shut down in 2022. Since that time, our state has continued to function without it, demonstrating clearly that this pipeline is not necessary. Now is not the time to invest in new fossil fuel infrastructure or to permit the expansion or rerouting of pipelines that carry inherent risks and perpetuate harm. All pipelines leak eventually, and the risk of a leak or catastrophic failure here threatens the waters, groundwater, and ecosystems of our state, and risks damaging this sacred site forever.

Pipestone was the site of a boarding school, which created historical and generational trauma:

This land was the site of the Pipestone Indian Training School, a federal boarding school that operated from 1894 until 1953 and was part of a broader system of forced assimilation that removed Indigenous children from their families and cultures. Historians and community advocates have documented that children died while attending this school, and there are longstanding concerns that unmarked burial sites may remain in the landscape.

The fact that this sacred area has been used by the government to inflict trauma on innocent children is heartbreaking, and the fact that there are children whom maybe resting there should be reason enough for the state to reject this permit and idea. The trauma inflicted on Indigenous people throughout history continues to this day, as projects like these are brought forward that do not respect the culture or traditions of Indigenous peoples.

For Indigenous communities, Pipestone is both a place of profound living spirituality and a place of remembrance and intergenerational trauma. Its continued use for prayer and ceremony, and the memory of children who did not survive the boarding school system, all underscore the urgent need to protect and honor this land for past, current, and future generations. Pipestone is sacred to Tribal Nations, as documented by the establishment of the Pipestone National Monument in 1937, a federal designation to protect this site and allow Tribal Nations to quarry the sacred stone for generations to come.

We are asking you to submit a comment to the PUC asking them to be on the right side of history and stand with the first people of this land. OneOK Magellan has failed to comply with the PUC’s own orders and the PUC needs to honor their responsibility to safeguard sacred land, public safety, and our collective futures.

Help Make Solar Accessible to Every Minnesotan Home

Sat, 09 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Sunlight travels 93 million miles to reach the earth. None of them through the Strait of Hormuz.

– Bill McKibben

Everyday the case for solar is made in new ways.

It is cheaper than fossil fuels.
It doesn’t pollute our air or climate.
It can’t be hoarded by political or corporate interests.

When people can harness the sun’s energy – to power a cell phone or a whole home – they have the seeds of energy control, independence and resilience.

Up to now, solar arrays have been largely available to either utilities or those who can afford rooftop systems. That leaves a lot of people out, including renters or those who don’t have a sunny roof.

Plug-in solar panels make solar available to everyone. They’ve been used in Germany for a decade. Utah made them legal last year. Maine just made them legal last month. Why? Because for some people, they make a lot of sense. Plug-in solar offers:

An Investment You Can Bring With You: Plug in solar panels are portable so they can move with you - from apartment to apartment or home to home.
Grid Resilience: When paired with a battery, they offer back up in an outage.
Control over costs: Even small solar offsets can lead to tangible, significant savings on monthly electric bills.

Minnesota has legislation to make sure plug-in solar panels both legal and safe in our state.

Safety: The proposed legislation aligns with rigorous national safety standards, specifically the UL 3700 parameters for plug-in equipment, ensuring these devices are safe for home use.
Installation: Proper installation requires a qualified person who can make sure the panel plugs into the appropriate outlet.

The Minnesota Senate will soon take up the Omnibus Energy Bill (SF 4504 / HF 4374), which includes a provision to standardize and allow plug-in solar technology in Minnesota.

We need your help for it to pass.

Please send a message asking your State Senator and State Representative to support plug-in solar.

Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium Action Alert

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

21 Hyperscale Data Center projects have been proposed across Minnesota. If you’re concerned about their impact, now is the time to contact your legislators.

Minnesota needs to put a pause on hyperscale data center development until a regulatory framework is established to:

Protect our water, land, and the areas around the data centers
Ensure communities have access to important information about development projects
Prevent climate-change driving emissions and other pollution by requiring that data centers are powered by 100% new solar and wind from the start.

It's really important to let elected officials know you are concerned about the data center explosion across the country and Minnesota’s approach.

Some of our many concerns about these hyperscale data centers:

TAX BREAKS: Giving away hundreds of millions in tax breaks to billionaire tech companies and their CEO’s who are the richest people in the world.
- NEW Feb '26: Georgia estimates $2.5 billion in losses to data center tax breaks in a single year
- Cloudy with a Loss of Spending Control: How Data Centers are Endangering State Budgets
Insufficient regulation around water and land use
Inappropriate (and not legal) use of non-disclosure agreements which is keeping communities in the dark about what is happening
Energy to power data centers will increase the emissions that are driving climate change when we must be on a path of continually reducing those emissions to zero – eventually getting to carbon free energy doesn’t help if they emit more until then.

Solutions We Need:

If we build data centers in Minnesota, they should be good neighbors:

A ban on non-disclosure agreements
A repeal of tax breaks for the richest companies in the world
A commitment to 100% new clean energy from the start
A requirement for environmental review and individual water permits

Please send a message to your legislators and the governor today!

Support Four Bills to Protect Wild Rice!

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Please contact your legislator to ask for support to pass four bills to protect Manoomin/Psin (Wild Rice)!

As the 2026 Session Starts - Protect Manoomin/Psín!

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Please contact your legislator to highlight key threats facing our Manoomin/Psin and demand strong protections for Wild Rice!

Oppose the Federal Budget Reconciliation Bill - Our Climate and Health Can't Wait

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 04:00:00 GMT

In the middle of the night on Thursday, May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives started debating and then passed – with a margin of a single vote – the federal budget reconciliation bill. Now it is being discussed in the Senate.

No part of this “Big Brutal” bill represents our values.

It ends health care for millions.
It will leave millions more hungry.
It sacrifices our shot at tackling climate change by eliminating the tax incentives and rebates that help people afford their lives and transition to clean energy.
It knee-caps those clean energy industries employing hundreds of thousands of people across the country in well-paying jobs that let people be proud of the contribution they were making to our common good.

And while this massive bill is filled with terrible provisions that will harm people and the environment, those last points on clean energy are the ones MNIPL knows the most about.

It is not too late to stop this bill. Please help us take action.

Here's a sampling of how some of the proposed cuts would hit taxpayers looking to do clean energy and home efficiency upgrades:

Solar, Geothermal and Battery Systems: Residential Clean Energy Tax Credits which allow 30% of the cost to be rebated are eliminated at the end of 2025.
Heatpumps and Heatpump Water Heaters: the $2,000 rebate for these appliances through theHome Energy Efficiency Tax Credits are eliminated at the end of 2025.
Air sealling through insulation, windows and doors: these tax credits are eliminated at the end of 2025.
Electric Vehicles: Elimination of the federal EV Tax Credit at the end of 2025.

What can you do?

Help stop this bill!

Call your U.S. Senators today to oppose this bill using this Action Alert!
Sent your U.S. Senators a follow up email using this Action Alert.
Send this Action Alert to someone in another state that has Senators who may be considering voting yes on this bill and ask them to call their Senator. Defeating this bill will require bi-partisan opposition.
Learn More in our webinar Understanding The Impact of Federal Legislation on Resilience Hubs on the Ground on Tuesday, June 17, from 6:30 - 8 pm on zoom. We will focus on understanding the impact of these rollbacks of federal legislation on projects on the ground in MN.

Take Advantage of Clean Energy Tax Credits While You Still Can!

If you’ve been thinking about clean energy or efficiency projects to protect your pocketbook and our climate, right now is the best time to put those projects in motion.
If your community institution has been thinking about clean energy or efficiency projects, now is the time to move those projects forward. Need help getting started? Contact us!

We can make a difference on this bill, but we don’t have much time. Your actions today are critical.

Dirty Data Centers AIn't Worth It: Don't Sell Us Out!

Sat, 10 May 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The Walz Administration is leading back-room negotiations to incentivize the construction of "hyper-scale" data centers in our state. This urgent, time-sensitive public petition to express the concerns we have, as Minnesotans, about these facilities! The first round of over 1400 signatures was delivered in-person to Governor Walz on Thursday, May 15th, 2025 but these negotiations are NOT over - keep signing & spread the word!

Oppose Data Center Tax and Environmental Review Exemptions

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

There is a concerted effort in Minnesota (and around the country) to incentivize the construction & operation of hyper-scale data centers - projects being pushed by Big Tech (Amazon, Meta, Google, Etc) to power Artificial Intelligence. In Minnesota, we are seeing this by proposed exemptions from tax and environmental review - we need to push back!

Governor and Lt Governor Support for Wild Rice Protections

Sat, 12 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Request support from Governor Walz & Lt. Governor Flanagan to support Wild Rice Protections!

No Transportation Budget Cuts and delays to Climate Impact of Highways

Sat, 12 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Rollback of Transit and Groundbreaking Transportation Policy
On April 11, the House Transportation Committee passed its omnibus budget (and policy!) bill, HF 2438. MNIPL has two significant concerns:

First, cuts to transit funding:

The budget contains cuts to:
? Greater Minnesota Transit: $12 million each biennium, 2026/27 and 2028/29;

? Metro Transit: $40 million in 2026/27, and $64 million cut in 2028/29

? Metro Mobility: no change in 2026/27, but a $27 million cut in 2028/29.

These cuts will dramatically impact the quality of transit across Minnesota, compromising its ability to give people of all ages options for living independently when they can’t or don’t wish to drive.

Second, the rollback of groundbreaking climate policy:

In 2023, the legislature passed a law that requires the Department of Transportation to adhere to both greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction targets as they are planning transportation projects.This important “Climate Impact of Highways” Law was groundbreaking for Minnesota and the law went into effect this past February.

But now the House Transportation bill contains a 3-year implementation delay of this important policy.

Please call your Minnesota Representative and tell them to vote NO on HF 2438.

Protect Our Climate Victories - No Rollbacks to Climate Policy

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Minnesota's proposed Senate Energy budget bill would benefit big tech data centers, but would roll back programs that help everyday Minnesotans save money while moving to clean energy. Please tell your Senator to stand for strong climate policy by voting No on SF 2393.

Please Include Wild Rice Act in the Environmental Omnibus!

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

SF 1247 has not been included in the Senate Environment, Climate & Legacy Committee's Omnibus, which is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday April 8. We need to demand Wild Rice be protected this legislative session!

Filling out the information on this call to action will automatically send this message to your elected representative in the Minnesota House and Senate.

Protect Wild Rice this Legislative Session!

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMT

We need to make sure our elected officials prioritize the protection of Wild Rice this legislative session!

Filling out the information on this call to action will automatically send this message to your elected representative in the Minnesota House and Senate.

Ask Your Representative to Vote No on HF9

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Thanks to the work of Minnesotans like you, in 2023, Minnesota passed a bill requiring that 100% of our electricity be carbon-free by 2040. This was a huge win!

Unfortunately, representatives have introduced a bill that would our ability to fully move toward the real renewable-powered future we know will make our lives better.

HF9 would:

Unnecessarily extend the timeline for compliance with Minnesota’s carbon-free law.
Unnecessarily lift the nuclear moratorium, in place in Minnesota since 1994, without first engaging in an informed and deep discussion about the expense, environmental risks and potential benefits of opening the doors to new nuclear power.
Stop municipalities from allowing defunct fossil-fueled electric plants from being demolished.
Make it a state policy to support carbon capture and sequestration, including the kind most often employed today that encourages the building of carbon dioxide pipelines to bring captured carbon to oil wells for “enhanced oil recovery.”
Allowing any size of hydroelectric power to count as renewable, despite a history of limitations that recognized the fact that hydro projects have historically been forced on Indigenous communities and resulted in severe environmental degradation.

Please send a message to your representative to remind them of our commitment to transitioning to a better future. We’ve pre-populated an email for you to send – just input your name, email address, and home address, and it’ll send an email directly to your representative.