Sierra Club North Star Chapter

08/25/2026

Happy 110th birthday to the National Park Service! 🎉 For more than a century, the National Park Service has protected extraordinary places and helped people create memories that last a lifetime.

Now, while the parks we love are under immense threat from bulldozers, staffing and funding cuts, and the erasure of history, we're even more grateful for the park rangers, educators, scientists, and other workers who take care of these public lands for all of us.

This week, let's celebrate all they make possible and recommit to solidarity for our parks and the people who steward them: sc.org/SavePublicLands

08/24/2026

🚰 Overuse of nitrogen fertilizer is a huge source of both climate pollution and water pollution — nitrates that make drinking water unsafe for many, many Minnesotans. When states enforce laws that make the polluter pay for their pollution, they have a strong incentive to pollute less. Join us to take meaningful action to make polluters pay ➡️ peoplenotpolluters.com

08/19/2026

🌱 Tomorrow! Are you interested in getting involved to make a difference for our environment and connect with community? Join us online for our new volunteer and activist orientation. Volunteers are the heart of the Sierra Club and active at all levels of our grassroots organization.

Our volunteer activities include education at outreach events, grassroots campaign planning & advocacy, office & communication tasks, leading outdoor outings, and more. At the end of the orientation we will connect you with at least one upcoming opportunity that fits your personal interests.

🦋 Please RSVP at: sc.org/mn-events

New Volunteer & Activist Orientation [Virtual]
Thu, Aug 20, 2026; 6:00 PM - 6:45 PM (Central)

We are committed to creating inclusive, welcoming spaces where together we advocate for environmental equity.

08/18/2026

👏 Thank you Governor Walz for standing up for water, wilderness and Minnesotans. And thank you to the hundreds of thousands of Americans from across the country who have raised their voices for these waters. This kind of mining has never been done safely — we cannot risk our water.

08/14/2026

Minnesotans love water and are lucky to steward not only the Boundary Waters, Lake Superior, but also the Mississippi River headwaters. A new proposed nickel sulfide mine threatens the Mississippi and St.Croix rivers, along with Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Treaty Rights.

The DNR is now taking public comment on the proposed Talon mine.

At this time of unprecedented rollback of core environmental protections at the federal level, Minnesotans are counting on our DNR to step up and deliver their mission of conservation and sustainable resource management.

We have justified concerns that the DNR may not be ready to stand up for Minnesotans and against industry pressure. A former Talon/Rio Tinto employee is now on the mining staff of the DNR. The tar sands Line 3 pipeline was permitted and its construction caused long term damage to aquifers. A recent Star Tribune editorial, “As fires burn, another threat to the Boundary Waters looms”, by former DNR staff pointed out the issues of industry pressure, including the presumption of approval for projects – rather than considering that ‘no’ is an answer the DNR can and should make when the facts demand.

It is essential that the DNR conduct a rigorous scoping that answers all of the questions that are raised during the public comment period.

DNR staff and especially leadership – we are calling on you to step up to protect our water and ways of life. Follow the law and conduct a full and rigorous scoping. Minnesotans will be watching and looking for good governance, where our agencies are accountable to their missions and the people on Minnesota, not polluters.

08/14/2026

08/13/2026

This July, Sierra Club North Star Chapter and the youth of Sanneh Foundation’s, “KidzTyme,” Summer Program planted a pollinator garden at Conway Recreation Center, East Side of St Paul. We discussed why we need to protect pollinators and then got our hands in the dirt together! 🌱

08/13/2026

It’s not about the train,

08/06/2026

It’s not about the train, 🚊
It’s about the people. ✊🏽🌎
Build the Blue Line Extension!

“After all the work we’ve done, all the years of work… It would be crazy to have the Met Council drop the ball and not do its part to keep the project moving forward.” ~Sierra Club North Star Chapter Political Director Peter Wagenius

08/06/2026

Speaking Out Collective has been hosting storytelling sessions with Twin Cities young people about what’s wrong with the HERC garbage burner, and what’s right about alternatives like composting. As part of these workshops, the kids wrote postcards to Hennepin County commissioners. This is one of their letters. Learn about actions you can take to help close the trash burner at zeroburncoalition.org.