It’s the North Plains Connector! This has been sitting in “Drafts” for so long that I almost forgot about it. Good thing “need” comments are due soon for the Iron Range-St. Louis Co.-Arrowhead line next week!

Here we have another transmission line, a DC line running from Colstrip (yes, a coal plant) in Montana across over to a converter station and running AC up to Center (another coal plant, Milton Young) and southeast to St. Anthony (why?).

Here’s what’s there already (openinframap.org – the greatest thing since sliced bread!):

And a closer view of the eastern end, because Leland Olds doesn’t show and also the Square Butte 250MW DC line headed to Arrowhead substation doesn’t show:

The Square Butte 250MW DC line is being upgraded.

In that eastern end of that transmission line, here’s what’s nearby — 4,009.6 MW of COAL:

• Antelope Valley 954MW
• Coal Creek 1,215.6 MW
• Coyote 450 MW
• Leland Olds 656 MW
• Milton Young 734 MW (Center converter station)

Yes, that’s 4,009.6 MW of coal. Which of these coal plants have shut down?

And yes, there are wind projects now in the area,1,008.7 MW:

• Baldwin 102.4 MW
• Bison 496.8 MW
• Glen Ullin 106.7 MW
• Oliver 198.8
• Sunflower 104 MW

Plus there’s the Heskett gas plant, 176.4 MW (don’t know if that’s peaking, intermediate, or what).

How much transmission is needed if they’re really shutting down coal plants, 4,000MW of coal in that one area with transmission already crossing the border into Minnesota?

How many of the 4,009.6MWs of coal need to be shut down for transmission to accommodate 1,008.7 MW of coal? If the 4000 MW of coal are shut down, logically, there’s room for another 3,000 MW of wind. So why transmission?

Spend some time on openinframap.org and get acquainted with this “IT’S ALL CONNECTED” transmission system!

Here are specifics of the North Dakota termini, taken from the Application Appendix G at the North Dakota PSC Docket PUC-26-082 (which seems to be stuck in molasses, or crud oil, in February)

First, heading east, the DC line comes into this “Morton Converter Station” in the middle of nowhere:

At the converter station, it forks off into two transmission lines, the Blue Oliver transmission Line heading to

And the other of the 2 lines, the Orange “Morton Transmission Line” headed to a substation in Morton County:

Because it’s all connected, what’s the plan? I’m getting bleary-eyed trying to figure that out…

It’s campaign time, which means it’s time to start tracking contributions, disbursements, and getting ready to file those Campaign Finance Reports. For the City of Red Wing elections, they’re filed with our City Clerk.

Secretary of State Campaigning site

Here’s the link for the official “everything you ever wanted to know about Campaign Finance.”

Minnesota Elections Administration

Campaign Manual

Here’s the unofficial take with a few tips:

And note — in Red Wing, NO SIGNS!!

Remember to file those reports, and ACCURACY COUNTS!

A modest success — the FULL Public Utilities Commission will take up the Environmental Review Scoping Decision issued June 9, 2026, a Consent Order. The FULL Commission is taking it up on July 9!

An Objection must be filed within 10 days for full Commission review:

Staff Briefing Papers will come out some time before the meeting, we’ll see how quickly they’ll dismiss our concerns.

Here’s the Objection filed by North Route Group and NO765MN, under Minn. State. 216A.03, Subd. 8(b) and Minn. R. 7849.1400 with many substantive specifics:

Again, not a big deal, but I hope it will get them to discuss on the record and vote on adequacy of this Scoping Decision for the first 765 kV transmission line to go through Minnesota.

It’s almost old news by now, but I took a few much needed days off.

On June 18, 2026, I received the PUC’s “Notice of Planning Meeting,” scheduled for June 23, 2926, FIVE DAYS NOTICE. Who cares? I do, because the topic…

When I learned about this meeting… well, here’s how that went. Suffice it to say I was DISINVITED:

Last minute notice – PUC “Planning Meeting” June 18th, 2026

Now let’s think about this. Implementation of the new Chapter 216I? Isn’t that what rules are for?

Rulemaking at PUC tomorrow – May 27th, 2026

Denied…

And the webcast of the meeting – count the number of times you hear “guidelines.” Guidelines are NOT rules, but they’re pretending that “guidelines” are sufficient.

JUNE 23, 2026 PLANNING MEETING

Here’s the chapter they’re talking about — you really MUST listen to the meeting, above, and check the new laws:

CHAPTER 216I. ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE PERMITTING

In this meeting, the “panelists” all admitted to working so hard with the PUC in the legislature to make that law happen. Supposedly they were to discuss how it’s been working under the new Chapter 216I, and what’s not working well, what could be better. Each one was a transmission promoter.

• So much for the “Power Plant Siting Act,” it’s GONE.
• So much for the rules, “CHAPTER 7850, SITE OR ROUTE PERMIT; POWER PLANT OR LINE” — all gone but three.

And now for a little history about transmission at the Public Utilities Commission and these project promoters. I’ve not forgotten how on September 8, 2001, Beth Soholt (then “Wind on the Wires” under umbrella of Izaak Walton League Midwest, then 2010 spun off, and now Clean Grid Alliance,) and Matt Schuerger (ME3/Fresh Energy, or maybe then Wind on the Wires, then PUC COMMISSIONER and now back at Fresh Energy as Treasurer, Board of Directors.) gathered us “usual suspects” at the Loring, Dinkytown, those of us who would likely intervene in a transmission project. They wanted to know “what would it take for you to accept this line?” My main question is what are YOU getting for your support and how much would we get. SNORT! Matt Schuerger got pretty huffy at that, but obviously this meeting was prelude to a sell-out. I’d be happy to swear on oath, file an Affidavit, about this meeting, and I’m not the only one!

This was not long before the SW Minnesota 345kV project from Split Rock-Lakefield Jct., EQB Docket 01-1958, really got rolling, and just that day or day before I’d picked up my copy of the SW Minnesota transmission study over at Prairie Island Nuclear Plant (then NSP sent it down there for pick up, MUCH appreciated). Very interesting reading, and yes, I’ve still got it.

This was the “it’s for wind” line that wasn’t. The powerflows showed that only 213-302 MVA were coming off of Buffalo Ridge into that line — less than 15% of capacity — demonstrating that it’s NOT for wind coming off of Buffalo Ridge.

Capacity of the line, Exhibit 35 in the record, from Application, Appendix 7:

There was so much “nudge-nudge” and “wink-wink” during that hearing, and obvious shifts in position… lo and behold, this appeared, below, in a different docket, the TRANSlink docket, but here it is — Midwest Center for Environmental Advocacy, ME3/Fresh Energy, Izaak Walton League – Midwest Office (has disappeared off the face of the earth after Pawlenty appointed Bill Grant as Deputy Commissioner Energy Resources, Dept. of Commerce and he went off to other things) and North American Water Office. Look at all the activities to promote transmission. You won’t see any of these folks intervening in opposition to transmission. There’s no obvious money changing hands, but all involved suddenly did very well on grants, just check the IRS 990s — funny how that works:

This part of the Settlement Agreement, p. 4, is rather amusing in light of all the exemption requests preceding any transmission application these days! Perhaps a reminder is in order, but nevermind, the TRANSlink docket didn’t go forward. Those signing on to the Settlement Agreement have not been objecting to all the Exemption Requests!

For some reason, after this SW MN 345kV docket, transmission applicants stopped including powerflows in applications, same time they stopped including calculated line losses, same time they grossly restricted the cost information, itemization of costs, in the application.

The next big transmission dockets were CapX 2020, followed by MISO MVP projects 3 and 4 in Minnesota, and then MISO Tranche 1 and now MISO Tranche 2.1. Bigger and bigger and bigger, now a 765kV to run border to border, SD to WI, with quite the frolic and detour up to “North Rochester” substation by Pine Island and back down.

Look what they want to do, the plan for Minnesota and the Midwest. It’s MISO’s Transmission EXPANSION Plan:

And some more history regarding those promoting transmission:

Wind up to ELPC Transmission Strategy Meeting

March 28th, 2010

And ya wonder where the “environmental” and “energy” opposition to transmission disappeared to? Just check the bank accounts, the IRS 990s!

Enough, the nausea is overwhelming…

Don’t really know why, but Little Missouri State Park is my kind of campground, much like Craters of the Moon in Idaho. W first came here during COVID, September 2020, when this area was 95-97% infected, no one wearing masks, but North Dakota campgrounds were open, so wearing a mask if out and about was no problem! It was our first long trip with the Starcraft 15rb, and LAST, because at 11 mpg, no way. It was perfect to stay in, great office on wheels, but, that 11 mpg was a deal breaker.

Yes, that trailer’s level. And it was a little harder in a tent, no scissor jacks to even things out!! The view from site 13, on the edge of the campground and the valley was perfect, so I grabbed 13 again this time.

Now 6 years later, we’re back in a tent. Not the HUGE inflatable camp-hosting tent, but the pretty big Wawona 6, one that’s been around with us, test run at Rice Lake State Park, first season camp-hosting in Frontenac, up north to Clubhouse Lake, out west to Craters of the Moon, Bessey campground in Nebraska Nat’l Forest, and the long delayed Superior Circle, just the south part. It works fine, but the vestibule has no floor and gets flooded too easily (really soaked at Pancake Bay Provincial Park, joys of a site right across from the water. Oh well… it fits in the Prius with everything else, even Maisy!!

It rained setting up, mild, but rain, and just as we started putting the poles in, before the rainfly was up. But not a lot, it was easy to towel dry, and as soon as we got the rainfly on and guy lines staked out, the rain stopped. Sun came out, very windy, so it dried quickly. But later in the day, serious rain, over an inch in less than an hour, and continued lighter rain, and very high winds lasting for 2 days, so strong it was pulling the tent out of shape and zips didn’t want to!

What joy not to be stuck at the desk, with time to just veg out. It was Maisy’s first road trip, and she seemed to love it, very attentive, preferred to have the window open a bit and sniff and sniff. Sniffer was working a bit too well during the rain and wind, having to cook inside the vestibule (it was SO windy, had to use the campground shelter Tuesday).

Maisy loves corncakes, as do I.

Alan doesn’t like driving like I do, so we broke up the trip out and stayed for a night at Buffalo River State Park, not one I’d noticed before (We’d had at least one transmission meeting in Glyndon, must have been CapX 2020, more than a decade ago, not remembering it!). The campground itself was a parking lot, green for sure, but no growth between sites and way too close together. On the outside of the loop, some had wooded area behind, others facing the road in with prairie grass inbetween.

The non-electric tent sites beyond the parking-lot campground were excellent. Well spaced, most had tent pads — only issue was no water spigot, except for one in the middle of the site across the loop road, and folks were camping there, so tacky to use, and it had an orange bucket, so is that a warning? Here’s site 39, and yes, a different set-up, trying out the smaller MUCH easier to set up and tear down for just an overnight stay, and it wasn’t bad! Perfect weather, sleeping pad held air, and Thermocell kept those bugs away. Set-up, snooze, tear down, and on the way, well, after finding breakfast, which wasn’t easy:

Here’s a review from Stinkleberry Farmer, got my attention in search for parks up that way, needed one for a quick stop, and that’s our site at 22:25, #39. I always search for campsite youtubes (a good distraction from PUC dockets!) and do a “drive through” to find a site. (One review was folks saying so far from the interstate, and so far to drive ~ 1 mile from park limits to campground! OK, 1st world problems! SNORT!). Highly recommend, and the trails seem good, Alan and Maisy checked out one down to a pond, and there are many, and flat, not like the extreme undulations of Frontenac or Whitewater! Alan thought it’d be a good stay for a couple days. Also found a great restaurant in Fargo, Benedict’s Morning Heros, the Gravlox Benedict was _____________(your superlative here)!!

Haven’t been out camping much post-leukemia, and so no campground reviews! OVERDUE!! So here’s another!