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Climate Cast

Minnesota Public Radio

MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner with the latest research on our changing climate.

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  • 23 episodes
  • Avg 5 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • Dec 19, 2025 · 4 min

    How climate change is driving up the cost of home insurance

    It’s not your imagination — the cost of your home insurance is going up. Weather-related extreme events have sent homeowners’ insurance rates skyrocketing. Federal budget cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency will exacerbate these issues, particularly affecting state budgets and risk reduction efforts. In Minnesota, homeowners insurance rates increased the last decade due to hail damage, leading to non-renewals and some companies leaving the market. Jordan Haedtler, a climate financial policy strategist with Climate Cabinet, based in Duluth, talks with MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner about climate-change-fueled risks and steps the state Legislature is taking to address to address the issues.

  • Dec 12, 2025 · 4 min

    AI tool may improve flood forecasting for Mississippi and other rivers

    Climate change has amplified the hydrologic cycle in Minnesota. Our more erratic precipitation patterns are driving faster transitions from drought to floods. So, can AI-driven forecasts help predict floods on rivers like the Mississippi? “We need to make innovations in these sorts of models and in our flood forecasting in general,” said Zac McEachran, a research hydrologist from the University of Minnesota. McEachran talked with MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner about a new flood forecasting model that uses AI to improve local flood predictions. Click play on the audio player above to listen to this episode or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

  • Dec 5, 2025 · 4 min

    Climate change is reshaping Minnesota winters

    Weather data suggests Minnesota has warmed more than three degrees in the past 150 years, and the state’s winters have warmed more than five degrees since 1970. So how are Minnesotans seeing and feeling these climate changes? “Here in Minnesota, we are experiencing climate change predominantly in the winter,” said Kristoffer Tigue, a reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune. “We base a lot of our culture around our winters, and so to have our winters being the season that's changing the most, I think it tells a narrative of the direction we’re going as a state.” Tigue explained that the state is experiencing warmer winters, an increase in precipitation and melting. Tigue wrote about the many ways Minnesotans are seeing climate change — from warmer falls, to a lack of foliage color and wildfire smoke. Click play on the audio player above to listen to this episode or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Showing 21–23 of 23 episodes