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Government shutdown looms after Trump-backed bill fails; Environmental groups sue CA Air Resources Board over biogas credits; NY elected officials work to electrify municipal buildings; Need a mental health boost? Talking hot dog is here.

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President-elect Trump repeats his threats to jail Jan. 6th committee members, while also putting a stop-gap spending plan in jeopardy. A court removes Fani Willis from Trump's Georgia election interference case. The FAA restricts drones in New Jersey, and a Federal Reserve rate cut shakes markets.

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Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

WI city, still hanging onto old factory site, plans for a greener future

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Tuesday, August 27, 2024   

In Rust Belt states such as Wisconsin, disadvantaged communities were left with blight - amid a shift away from industrialization.

A federal grant program could help cities replace old concrete with green spaces and other sustainable development.

The city of Janesville will host a trio of public listening sessions in September as it prepares to apply for a $20 million Environmental Protection Agency grant that focuses on environmental justice.

The city's Economic Development Director Jimsi Kuborn said as they try to reimagine the old General Motors and JATCO site, they want surrounding neighborhoods experiencing low incomes and other side effects to have a brighter future.

"We've got trees growing up in the middle of the asphalt and fences falling over," said Kuborn. "And so, go in and create a green opportunity, a green field for new development and new opportunity."

She said that could include new energy-efficient housing and the possibility of solar projects.

The GM site was demolished just prior to the pandemic, and this specific EPA grant doesn't deal with needed soil clean-up work.

But Kuborn touted the importance of pursuing environmentally friendly development, so that neighborhoods don't have to deal things, such as excessive stormwater runoff from these old sites.

Kuborn said cities like Janesville aren't alone in confronting this problem.

"There are multiple sites throughout the United States where we've seen things offshored," said Kuborn, "some things reshore, and communities are sitting on these blighted assets."

Janesville has encountered roadblocks, including working with a private company, in getting the GM site fully free of contamination and its remaining concrete removed.

Since the plant closed, the county in which the city resides has seen employment growth in other sectors, and a recent Brookings Institution report outlined how the area has been able to survive without solely relying on heavy manufacturing.




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