In this special report/editorial — and brief departure into natural resources policy — editor Javier Serna writes about the May 8 rally at Minnesota’s State Capitol. About 300 attended to protest Republican legislation that severely weakens protections to waters flowing into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a national treasure and the most visited federally designated wilderness area in the country.

This week in the House Natural Resources Committee, Republicans passed legislation seeking to allow mining leases despite a 20-year moratorium inside the watershed that was put into place in 2023. Any new mining leases would also need state approval and the governor’s signature, but the idea of allowing a foreign mining conglomerate to pollute our protected wilderness is treacherous.