Science and Technology

Promised Land fights fracking

Matt Damon and John Krasinski pit big business against small-town environmentalists in this hard-sell film

Internet Cat Video Film Festival purrs into Minnesota

Cat-meme lovers unite for a meowing—or wowing—first-ever event

'God particle' search may have ended, with help from the U of M

With some help from the University of Minnesota, scientists have discovered a new particle that could aid in answering questions about what the universe is made of, what forces are at work within it, and what gives matter substance. Nuclear researchers announced earlier this week that they have ... More >>

Tim Pawlenty named to board of sand mining company

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty wasn't meant to lead a nation. But, since his August announcement to drop his 2012 presidential bid, he's made sure he's still governing something, somewhere. Pawlenty was named to Smart Sand Inc.'s Board of Directors on Wednesday, which marks his eighth appointmen ... More >>

Rochester Post-Bulletin says Star Tribune "got used" in publishing "ridiculous" eagle story

In a blog post published this morning, Rochester Post-Bulletin Managing Editor Jay Furst blasts the Star Tribune for publishing "a ridiculous story" about "a report" of an eagle killed by a wind turbine on the Minnesota-Iowa border.The story -- "Eagle may have died from wind turbine" -- was written ... More >>

TECHmunch food blogger conference comes to the Twin Cities Saturday

A national roving blogger conference has selected Minneapolis for its next meeting. The conference, called TECHmunch, Includes a panel of such local food writing celebrities like Rachel Hutton, Jason DeRusha, Zoe Francois, Andrew Zimmern, and more. With a meal from food trucks and a reception ( ... More >>

Phil Mackey, 1500 ESPN reporter, blasts "no accountability" bloggers on Twitter, gets blasted

​Phil Mackey must've woke up on the wrong side of the bed Tuesday morning. What else explains his Twitter bitterness later that evening?Mackey, who self-describes himself as "that punk-ish kid you hear on [1500 ESPN]," is a Twins reporter and columnist. He actually began his sports journalism care ... More >>

Michael Brodkorb social media rules ordered Republicans to delete controversial material

​After Republicans took control of the Minnesota Senate and made Michael Brodkorb communications director for the caucus, Brodkorb sent out a memo laying out the rules of social media. Addressed to "all staff," the memo begins by explaining that caucus members have a stake in the Minnesota Senat ... More >>

Ice Rod Chatroulette show set to entertain the Turf Club once again

​There are plenty of sappy, romantic things to do in the Twin Cities over the weekend before Valentine's Day, but more than likely there isn't anything as interesting and decidedly off-the-wall happening as Ice Rod's Chatroulette show Saturday night at the Turf Club. Michael Gaughan will once ... More >>

Copper thieves targeting north Minneapolis air conditioners

Minneapolis copper scavengers have found a new target: air conditioners. In the past two weeks, six air conditioners have been stolen or stripped in north Minneapolis, according to police. Since mid-November, 11 more were hit in south Minneapolis neighborhoods. Though the target is new -- at leas ... More >>

The best and worst things about Minnesota [GRAPHIC]

​It seems like there's another "city superlative list" every week (the latest making the odd claim that we're the "13th most lesbianish"), so we decided to try to put them all together into one comparative infographic.These studies are popular with readers, hence their proliferation. Many of the ... More >>

Minneapolis experiencing rash of smartphone thefts

Aren't these phones cool? Thieves think so too.​Attention, idiots who walk down dark Minneapolis streets at night while obliviously staring at your fancy phones -- thieves are out there, and if the opportunity presents itself they may leave you iPhone-less.A police alert issued this afternoon by t ... More >>

Minnesota Catholic Conference: Say no to human cloning

The Minessota Catholic Conference opposes the plot of this movie.​The Minnesota Catholic Conference is taking a stand against human cloning. At the moment, it's not clear who's on the other side of this issue, but they still seem pretty fired up about it.In a message to members, the MCC is telling ... More >>

Spotify is coming to the United States, but what is it?

​The Internet is abuzz with the news that Spotify is coming to the United States. But what does that mean for us, exactly? Their website lists an excited an announcement that the music service is coming to the U.S. (no date in mind), along with a few choice quotes from Mark Zuckerberg and Dem ... More >>

Vanilla Ice is back, this time as a house-flipping real estate expert

​Once upon a time, candy rapper Vanilla Ice was known to rock a house or two - or at least the recreation-center 13th birthday parties of herbs who didn't know any better. Today, Vanilla Ice would like to teach you, real-estate newbie, how to cold rock a couple houses, or maybe a fuck-load of hous ... More >>

Sen. Michael Jungbauer denies climate science, and faking his resume

Sen. Mike Jungbauer, climate expert.​State Sen. Michael Jungbauer says he's smarter than 98 percent of the men and women who have dedicated their lives to studying climatology, and dismisses their work on climate change and global warming as alarmist nonsense. What gives the Republican from E ... More >>

Daily Kos: Markos Moulitsas's website changed politics

Netroots Nation comes to Minneapolis

'Bon Iver, Bon Iver' leaked by iTunes: What happened?

​Late last week, Reddit broke the news of Bon Iver's sophomore album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, leaking (flooding) to the internet. A snafu somewhere along the many-linked chain of digital distribution ultimately caused Apple to make the entirety of the record available for purchase instead ... More >>

Will Steger baffled by Tim Pawlenty's global warming flip flop

Steger sees the politics behind Pawlenty's about face.​Arctic explorer Will Steger, who's seen more evidence of global warming up close and personal than most of us ever will outside the pages of National Geographic, was once really proud of the way Tim Pawlenty listened to science and evidenc ... More >>

Jenn Sterger calls Brett Favre incident "humiliating" [UPDATE: VIDEO]

Sterger is now suing her former manager, but not Brett Favre.​Jenn Sterger kept her silence about the Brett Favre sexting scandal for months, but she's talking now, and saying the firestorm of publicity over Favre's unwanted advances was humiliating and embarrassing. "I haven't made a dime off an ... More >>

Revelation 2012

What if the apocalypse already happened?

Ken Kratz, sexting DA, won't face criminal charges

Kenneth Kratz: I am the prize!​In Wisconsin, it might be shocking and totally inappropriate for a district attorney to send racy text messages to a "young, hot nymph" while prosecuting her ex-boyfriend for nearly strangling her to death, but evidently it's not criminal. That's what former Cal ... More >>

Jenn Sterger sues manager Phil Reese for return of Brett Favre sexts

Sterger wants the sexts back.​For months we've been waiting for Jenn Sterger to file a lawsuit in the wake of the Brett Favre sexting scandal, and now she has. But in another strange turn to an already bizarre story, she's suing her manager, Phil Reese, and not the retired Vikings QB with itch ... More >>

Kyle Matteson: From More Cowbell to Ten Atoms

Photo by Margaret Andrews​If you've been following Twin Cities music over the past several years, the phrase "more cowbell" means more than Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell acting ridiculous. Blogger Kyle Matteson started More Cowbell with humble intentions: sharing the music he loved with his ... More >>

New nukes for Minnesota?

TVAMonty Burns is looking to expand his operation.​For a while there, Minnesota was vying to take the lead in pioneering the use of renewable energy. This week, the new Republican legislature will try to push is in a different direction: building more nuclear plants.Minnesota already has two nucle ... More >>

Metrodome collapse: Proof global climate change is a hoax! [VIDEO]

NASARush Limbaugh knows more about climate science than NASA.​The Earth is warming up. The glaciers are melting. There's no serious debate among climate experts that we're in a pickle. And then the Metrodome goes and collapses in a blizzard. What more proof do you need that global climate ch ... More >>

I AM MPLS!

NASARush Limbaugh knows more about climate science than NASA.​The Earth is warming up. The glaciers are melting. There's no serious debate among climate experts that we're in a pickle. And then the Metrodome goes and collapses in a blizzard. What more proof do you need that global climate ch ... More >>

Good riddance to LimeWire and its PC-borne VDs

​So a federal judge shut peer-to-peer service LimeWire down. So fucking what? Suck it up. Join eMusic. Spring for an iTunes gift card. Patronize your local mom 'n' pops while you still can, or cruise the shrinking Best Buy/Wal-Mart music sections.

Free Minneapolis WiFi complete [Map]

Sounds good on paper, anyway.​There are now 117 free WiFi hotspots around Minneapolis, the final phase of the "Wireless Minneapolis" program the city launched in 2006 with USI Wireless. Look for signs reading, "Free Minneapolis Wireless Hotspot: Courtesy: City of Minneapolis and USI Wireless." ... More >>

Michele Bachmann calls net neutrality an Obama censorship plot

​Black is white. Peace is war. Up is down. Michele Bachmann is now asserting that the issue of Internet network neutrality, known as "net neutrality," is an evil Obama administration plot to censor the Internet. But it's exactly the opposite: Network neutrality (also net neutrality, Inter ... More >>

Star Tribune infecting web readers with a computer virus

Read the Strib online at your own risk--it is delivering malware to some users.

Minnesota mine may host first dark matter detected on Earth

New clues about the formation and behavior of the universe may lay at the bottom of a mine in Soudan.

NYT: "Can Biotech Food Cure World Hunger?"

Are you for or against genetically-modified foods? Read this NYT article and see if you still feel the same way.

The Deets plays guinea pig for the Google PowerMeter

Want to flip open your smart phone and see how much energy your drafty old home is sucking off the power grid while you're slaving away at work? There's an app for that.

No social networking for Minn. sex offenders

If you are a sexual predator in Minnesota, good luck making any online friends. You'll have to save the "poking" for in-person interaction. Wait, scratch that.

May 4, 2009: Coalesce & Haley Bonar

Trip Lava, Coalesce & new videos from Haley Bonar and Koo Koo Kanga Roo.

Rep. Ellison endorses Entenza for governor

Ellison and Entenza attended law school together at the University of Minnesota and also served together in the Minnesota legislature.

Westlaw rises to legal publishing fame by selling free information

St. Paul company outprofits Gannett, McGraw Hill, New York Times

Senate votes to lift ban on nuclear power

State legislators took steps yesterday to lift a 15-year ban on the development of nuclear power plants in Minnesota. Now it's up to the House to decide.

The T. Boone Pickens alt-energy show rolls across America

Pickens Plan focuses on using more wind power and natural gas

Facebook overturns its new user information policy

After tens of thousands of messages of complaint, Facebook hastily returns to its previous Terms of Use, tail tucked nicely between the legs.

TV bunny ear users rejoice; DTV conversion likely delayed

Nice chimps finish first?

Alternative energy: Tipping at windmills

... More >>

Tar Sands: The worst fuel on the planet?

"So toxic are those waste ponds that last spr ... More >>

The Green Institute faces possible foreclosure after 15 years

It was ahead of its time, but now the nonprofit has a looming debt problem

Café Scientifique: Green Chemistry

It was ahead of its time, but now the nonprofit has a looming debt problem

Bachmann takes credit for cheap gas, Pagans are pissed off

It was ahead of its time, but now the nonprofit has a looming debt problem

Bad Scientist: U of M busted for false data in research project

It was ahead of its time, but now the nonprofit has a looming debt problem

Readers respond to RNC protest coverage

It was ahead of its time, but now the nonprofit has a looming debt problem