The climate movement took a step back nationally in 2025, with President Donald Trump reversing federal spending initiatives begun by the Biden administration. For many, these cuts were a devastating blow to their hopes for a clean energy future.  

But Minnesotans of color didn’t let those cuts upend their quest for a healthier planet and environmental justice. This year, Sahan Journal went across the state talking with people about the environmental issues that affect them, and the solutions they are pursuing.

This is the fifth year of Sahan Journal’s environmental beat. Our climate coverage strives to document the challenges posed by climate change and pollution, and highlight the efforts of those fighting for a better future. If there’s something happening in your town or community that you’d like to see covered, please reach out to let us know. 

Thanks for reading, and happy new year. 

This summer, Sahan photographer Aaron Nesheim and I journeyed north to Tamarack, where a proposed nickel mining project is making the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and environmentalists nervous. The area is rich in nickel, a metal that plays a key role in building the batteries powering many clean energy vehicles. But nickel mining has a poor environmental record worldwide and can cause catastrophic damage to waterways.

In the flowing wetlands near Lake Mille Lacs, it’s too much to risk, according to Kelly Applegate, Commissioner of Mille Lacs Band Department of Natural Resources.

A couple years ago, I met with Jamez Staples, a north Minneapolis native who built a successful career in the solar industry. He had bought a large property on Plymouth Avenue with a vision: build a place where young people can get the skills they need to get good, in-demand jobs in the green energy field.

He did indeed build it and today the Regional Apprenticeship Training Center offers classes on solar, weatherization, pipefitting and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). This summer, Neshiem and I were able to sit in on a HVAC class and meet a diverse group of students from around the metro learning how to join the clean energy workforce.

What should the Mississippi River look like? The nation’s most important waterway was transformed by industrialization, with concrete replacing the natural forests and wetlands that absorbed its floods for centuries.

Now climate change is making the Midwest warmer and wetter, and flooding in the Mississippi River Basin causes millions of dollars in damage each year. A pair of University of Minnesota professors from West Africa, Philip Adalikwu and Nfamara Dampha are conducting research aimed at shaping the river’s future. They argue that naturalizing areas along the river that have been covered with hard infrastructure could save money in the long run, and bring a host of environmental benefits.

When Ismahan Alasow found the house she rented on St. Paul’s East Side, it seemed like the perfect fit for her family. An affordable home with space for her six children, the house met their needs. But soon, she noticed her attempts to clean dust and grime off window sills were never enough, and her kids began to cough from allergies they’d never had.

Ismahan lived near Northern Iron and Machine, a foundry that has been in a legal battle with state regulators for two years. She told Sahan Journal she couldn’t wait to move away and feared the impact the foundry was having on their health. When her lease ended, she fled the neighborhood.

The legal fight between the state and Northern Iron continues, with regulators now trying to take away the facility’s permit. Sahan Journal will continue to talk with neighbors and report on this story.

The Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul has fewer trees than other neighborhoods of the city. The same history that made the area industrial made it diverse. Redlining put people of color in less desirable areas, and now those areas are more affordable to immigrants and the poor. In 2023, Frogtown Green, a local nonprofit, received a $300,000 federal grant to boost its efforts to plant more trees in the area. But the Trump administration cancelled the grant, along with millions in funding for projects in Minnesota.

Data reporter Cynthia Tu helped me comb through data from the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, an Elon Musk-led effort to strip what Trump called wasteful spending. We examined the impact the short-lived federal agency had on environmental justice efforts in Minnesota.