BACKUS — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and its partners will host a "Smart Salting for Roads" certification training for winter maintenance professionals and contractors.
The training is open to anyone who does winter road maintenance and will equip them with knowledge and tools to balance public safety with environmental protection, according to a news release.
The event is 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 8, at the Cass County Land Department in Backus. Lunch is provided, and registration is required by Oct. 1.
The training will cover application rates, weather considerations, environmental effects of de-icing, calibration, storage, new maintenance methods and anti-icing strategies.
"Participants will learn how to integrate science-based practices into winter road maintenance to improve efficiency while reducing the environmental impacts of salt use," the release stated.
After the course, participants can test to earn a five-year PCA Smart Salting for Road Certification.
The Crow Wing and Cass County soil and water conservation districts and the Pine River Watershed are partnering with the PCA for this event, with the free training funded by the state's Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
-
Plus: Minnesota partners want you to help track wildlife collisions; and DNR upgrades four fishing piers in Northern Minnesota. -
Contributed/CanvaResearchers are asking Minnesotans to count roadkill during Wildlife Casualty Count Week of Action, May 22-29, 2026, to help inform problem areas so that protections can be added. -
Plus: Dry, windy weather creates dangerous conditions across the state; and Wrenshall school district voters give the OK for consolidation with Carlton.
-
Malachy Koons/KAXEThe Minnesota music mainstays stopped by KAXE in March 2026 to play and talk about songs from their latest album. -
Contributed/Hennepin CountyThe guilty plea comes more than a year after the Grand Rapids Republican's arrest as part of an undercover law enforcement sting operation. -
Events this week include a Norwegian celebration in Bemidji and a unique exercise class in Grand Rapids. -
Lorie Shaull/KAXEAmy Thielen is a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and cohost of "Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen" on KAXE. She lives in the rural Minnesota town of Two Inlets, where she occasionally has issues requiring her to wash dishes in the bathtub. -
Co-hosts Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell are charmed by orioles, impressed by warblers, and flummoxed by black flies.Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe! -
Contributed/MnDOTAll of Northern Minnesota is under a red flag warning Thursday and Friday, May 14-15, 2026, due to low humidity and dry, windy conditions. -
Plus: Grand Rapids K9 attacks dog while off-duty; Man who escaped custody pleads guilty in St. Louis County; Cohasset joins group of cities flying old state flag; and a survey to examine long-term impacts of the June 2025 Bemidji derecho.
