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Thanks to CURE and MCEA for kicking off our data center coverage. We have a lot more to write leading to a September magazine issue about ecofeminists revitalizing local economies and ecosystems. Contact us for underwriting or advertising details. And become a member to support these stories!

Taking Solace in the Ecofeminist Poetry of Mary Oliver

In the 1980s, ecofeminism emerged, combining feminist and environmentalist theory in the anti-capitalist assertion that the oppression of women and the oppression of the environment are strongly rooted together. Both resources have been subjected to masculine exploitation. For my capstone project at Brandeis University (where I graduated in May before returning to Minnesota), I analyzed Oliver's poetry with an ecofeminist approach.
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The Long Fight Against Toxins in One Neighborhood

After her 16-year-old son Trinidad died in 2013 of dilated cardiomyopathy — a condition associated with exposure to air pollution — Holmes became an activist. Many people in her Indigenous community were dying before the age of 55, and she began to question what had once seemed normal.
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Commentary: What is the Save Our Bacon Act in the Farm Bill?

The cutesy-named "Save Our Bacon Act" was introduced in Congress in July to support large corporations to strip states of the power to set their own standards for the food sold within their borders, and to nullify laws voters have already passed to protect people and animals.
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Law Professor Talks About Why People Power Must Take Back Control of the Economy

In a compelling keynote talk at the Minnesota Co-op Summit in Duluth, Fordham Law School professor Zephyr Teachout noted that allowing monopolies to control the economy "is an outrageous and crazy way to build a society." She said the anti-monopoly movement needs to join with the co-op movement — one of Minnesota’s nation-leading strengths. “If we take this moment, we can build something beautiful and new and resilient — a world of necessary people who aren't scared, who are free, planting cooperatives thick as trees all across America.”
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COMMENTARY: 8 Claims You’re Hearing About Hyperscale Data Center Proposals, and What We Know Right Now

As a science and law organization, it's our job to question the…
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East Phillips Neighbors, Karen Clark, and Ongoing Roof Depot Site Development

The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute was very happy Karen Clark was able to witness and celebrate a historic win for the community when Minnesota legislators granted funding to purchase half the Roof Depot in May 2026.
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Planting Seeds in Times of Darkness

Winona LaDuke shares four concepts for a sustainable future. "On a worldwide scale, Indigenous people represent about 5 percent of the world’s population but steward 75 percent of the world’s biodiversity. We are successful in protecting these lands because we are committed to the land, to life, and to moderating our own behavior so that life can continue. That’s how we can hang out in an ecosystem for a thousand years and it’s still healthy. Indigenous knowledge and values help preserve life."
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EVENT: League of Women Voters Host Discussion About BWCA

In April, the U.S. Senate passed House Join Resolution 140,…
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Co-op Real Estate: A Collective Solution

Frustrated with how traditional developers were mismanaging neighborhood properties and ignoring community needs, Leslie Watson and her neighbors decided that they needed to act.
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Minnesotans Testify About the Need for a Large-Scale (Data Center) Water Permit Process

"Two months after the DNR warned the city about the significant water demand of the data center, the city signed a contract that guarantees the developer up to 2.93 million gallons of water a day.”
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Consumer Boycotts Reflect Who Actually Controls the Economy

GEO Group, CoreCivic, and CSI Aviation — some of the country’s largest private prison and deportation contractors — gave Trump close to $5 million and received over $5 billion in revenue. Consumer boycotts are designed to showcase other values. Said one, who was arrested for a sit-in protest at Target: "Everyday people are doing their part. We are asking why large corporations will not.”
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Commentary: Why the Minnesota-Led Target Boycott — and the Backlash to ICE — Reasserts the Meaning of People Power

Minnesota is living through another moment of economic truth-telling. It is everyday people who are feeding families, escorting children to school, translating for neighbors, organizing safety networks, and showing up — often in subzero temperatures — to protect one another. Meanwhile, corporations that profit from this labor remain conspicuously silent.
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RESOURCES: Data Center Issues

The November forum video, potential data center sites around Minnesota, action steps, and various resources about data center issues.
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Unpacking the Water Issues

Minnesota Women’s Press hosted a November forum with five experts about hyperscale data centers planned in cities around the state. They shared their insights about Minnesota’s water quantity, the environmental review process, and concerns around lack of transparency in decision-making. This is a summary of the two-hour conversation.
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Protecting Our Wells and Groundwater in Elko New Market

Well owners are seeing the consequences: black and brown water, ruined filtration systems, and long delays in responses from city officials after a municipal pump test harmed private wells.
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NEWS: Minnesota Father Reunited With Family After Two Months in ICE Detenti...SERIES: Healing & Caregiving