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Ben Maas

@masbenmaas.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.1K following 2.6K posts

Studying water quality for the state of Minnesota

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Reposted by Ben Maas
Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 23h
Following their 1934 victory, unions held massive annual victory picnics in Minneapolis parks to honor fallen workers. These events drew tens of thousands and kept the memory of corporate and police violence alive in the public consciousness. Civic leaders were determined to put a stop to that.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 23h
My @planetmoney.bsky.social 'Laws of the Office' poster arrived yesterday! Goodhart's law: "when a measure becomes a target, it stops being a good measure" Parkinson's law: "work expands to fill the time available" The Peter Principle: "talented people are promoted to their level of incompetence"
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Reposted by Ben Maas
David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 01/10/2026
Please reskeet
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Consolidation, milking it for all its worth
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MPR News @mprnews.org · 29/09/2026
About 75 to 80 percent of homes in New Richland have been affected by flooding. Residents are still trying to clean up their properties and figure out where to go from here.
mprnews.org
New Richland flood damage assessment begins this week before seeking Trump administration aid
As the small southern Minnesota town of New Richland continues to recover from severe flooding, teams of state and federal officials will start assessing the damage later this week by visiting every h...
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This year marks Star Trek's 60th anniversary! Dr Emma Nicholls wanted her staff presenting case to celebrate the geology of Star Trek, so we said 'Make it so!'. Live long and Prosper, fellow Trekkies
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Source: YouTube share.google/O8M11tgJEMb5...
share.google
Original "got milk?" commercial - Who shot Alexander Hamilton?
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"The Department of Water Resources approved the sale of 500,000 gallons of water per day from the city of Wahpeton to the Southeast Water Users District." Residents are concerned about "risking the depletion of the only water source for the city of Wahpeton and the surrounding farmsteads"
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Things must look bad in Iowa for him to "care"
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Futurama Saturdays @futuramasaturday.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
It's finally the weekend! 🎉
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Alex Perry @alextperry.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The best way to celebrate today’s 25th anniversary of #StarTrek Enterprise’s premiere on UPN in the US is not just to watch Broken Bow - it’s to listen to episode 1 of Warp Factor 5 where @trekranks.com and I fondly discuss the show’s launch and first 5 episodes! blog.trekcore.com/2026/06/warp...
blog.trekcore.com
WARP FACTOR FIVE Episode 1 — STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE Season 1 (‘Broken Bow’ to ‘Terra Nova’)
Join host Alex Perry as he sets a course through sixty years of STAR TREK in the inaugural episode of TrekCore’s newest podcast, WARP FACTOR FIVE — starting with the launch of ENTERPRISE!
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Dan Levy: Wildly Popular, Some Call Me Beloved
ALT: Dan Levy: Wildly Popular, Some Call Me Beloved
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Dam good content
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Thank goodness my neighbor is mowing their lawn for what feels like the sixth time this week
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
*tsk* Is this what 'leave a future looks like'? www.startribune.com/u-of-m-budge...
startribune.com
University of Minnesota to cut $225 million from budget across all campuses
It comes after the U approved a budget in June raising students’ tuition by 3.8%, the sixth consecutive year of increases for the U.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
static.klipy.com
I Miss You Paul Hollywood
ALT: I Miss You Paul Hollywood
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Wes Burdine @wesburdine.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Bummer that no one at the Star Tribune has access to the Internet and couldn’t find all the examples of Tafoya talking about how much she hates Minnesota!
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Never forget! Wasn't even a good photoshop job either...
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Anne Schechinger @anneschech.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
And @ewgofficial.bsky.social also created an interactive map of all 15,000+ Iowa factory farms for anyone to use. We have additionally been actively sharing the data with our Iowa partners who are doing research and working on the ground in the state. 2/2 ewg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant...
EWG's interactive map of factory farms in Iowa.
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Anne Schechinger @anneschech.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Very exciting to see our analysis of factory farms in Iowa, that we released in July, still getting media coverage months later. Our geospatial analysis found over 15,000 factory farms in Iowa, thousands more than the 11,000 that Iowa DNR has in their dataset. 1/2 www.ewg.org/research/dro...
ewg.org
Drowning in manure: How livestock farms threaten Iowa’s drinking water and public health
Iowa – the nation’s top hog producer – had more than 15,000 factory farms in 2025 producing over 107 million tons of manure, a first-of-its-kind EWG analysis finds.
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Angela Davis MPR @angeladavismpr.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
A new documentary airs on Minnesota PBS for the first time Tuesday night. It’s called, “We Are The River: How The Mississippi Shaped Minnesota.” On MPR News I talked with guests who shared what they think the river's history can teach us about its future. www.mprnews.org/episode/2026...
mprnews.org
The Mississippi River: A history of conflict, connection and change
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with her guests about what that history can teach us about caring for the Mississippi River today and in the future.
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Nick Benson @ottergoose.net · 23/09/2026
Here are the slides from my presentation at today's Documenting the Impact of DHS Activity in Minnesota conference at the U of M - Watching ICE Air at MSP: How many are they taking away? This work is done entirely by volunteers; help MN50501 cover our airport parking fees: mn50501.org/donate 🧵👇
Watching ICE Air at MSP
How many are they taking away?
Nick Benson, MN50501, September 22, 2026Background

Self-employed
* Smart flight alert app for airplane nerds
* Got interested in aviation angle of ICE’s detention apparatus in early 2025
* Got serious about ICE in October 2025
* The most important work I’ll ever doWhat is ICE Air?

*ICE Air is a conglomerate of charter airlines that fly detainees between local prisons, detention centers, and out of the country
* “Shuffle” flights are domestic
* Detainees are shackled before/during/after
* Denver Air Connection / Key Lime, Global Crossing, Eastern Air Express
* Akin to FedEx or Amazon, hub/spoke
* ~65,000 currently in ICE detention,
~70% don’t have a criminal conviction ICE Air at MSP

* Shuffle flights, taking detainees to detention centers via Alexandria, LA and El Paso, TX

* 2-3 flights per day during Metro Surge; now 2-3 per week

* ICE vehicles carry detainees to/from the airport from Whipple

* Loaded at Signature Aviation, the private jet terminal

* Started counting in November
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Honesty, I am surprised that the future that the 'Running Man' (the 1987 version) predicted didn't come true... Set in the year 2017, the movie has a dystopian future that now seems believable.
static.klipy.com
ALT:
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This story has some bite to it.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Forever a geology building in our hearts...
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Silvia Secchi @profsecchi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Dr. Foley is absolutely correct. “Regenerative” grazing being presented as a solution is very problematic from a climate action perspective b/c it is really obstruction that promotes unjust and unsustainable practices. Wealthy people can afford to pay the “regenerative” premium, the planet cannot.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
As someone who lived in the county and worked at the university,Buena Vista University, the locals pronounced it as b-you-na vista. There was even a @raygunsite.com shirt about putting the "you" in buena vista... or something like that.
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Anne Schechinger @anneschech.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
My new analysis released today for @ewgofficial.bsky.social found that even though regenerative ag is a MAHA priority often touted by Trump admin officials, conservation funding for regenerative practices went down by over $400 million between 2024 and 2025. 1/3 www.ewg.org/research/bet...
ewg.org
Betraying MAHA, Senate GOP farm bill would erase progress on regenerative agriculture
Leaders in the Make America Healthy Again movement like to tout their support for regenerative agriculture as a way to cut farm pollution and pesticide use, among other benefits.&nb
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MPR News @mprnews.org · 17/09/2026
Pipestone National Monument preserves active and sacred quarries that Native people have used for thousands of years. But now a proposed federal rule change could make it easier for the government to disregard Native voices in discussions over projects near sites sacred to Native people.
mprnews.org
Federal rule change may pressure Minnesota’s historic Pipestone quarry, advocates warn
Preservation advocates are lining up against a proposed federal rule change that could affect how the nation cares for historic places, including the Pipestone quarry, a southwestern Minnesota site sa...
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"The last time the data shows ground beef costing less than $2 per pound was in March 2000." www.minnpost.com/fact-briefs/...
share.google
Does ground beef cost $2 per pound?
You'd have to time travel back to the early aughts to find such affordable cows.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Lucille Bluth: What Could a Banana Cost?
ALT: Lucille Bluth: What Could a Banana Cost?
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"A 2021 study highlighted the loss of native plant diversity in Minnesota lakes over the past century [using data from 1920s & 1930s], then resurveyed the same lakes. In more than half, they couldn’t locate at least one of the species that was common a century ago." www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
mprnews.org
Many Minnesotans don’t value aquatic plants. The state’s lakes are paying a price.
Native aquatic plants help keep lakes healthy, reduce erosion and are a safeguard against invasive species. Yet they get a bad rap as a nuisance, and property owners often remove them with chemicals o...
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Cannot wait for the Strib to have a preview of today's Vikings and Packers game in tomorrow's paper!
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I love the point in the season when the Gopher football team plays a real team. So much hope and optimism before the game, and then the game starts... It then becomes very clear that we are not a good team.
static.klipy.com
Corner Gas: Wanda Dollard's Difference
ALT: Corner Gas: Wanda Dollard's Difference
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A short story: I was standing in my MN DNR uniform in line at a local coffee shop in Grand Marais waiting for my coffee. The barista gets my coffee and sees my name and pointedly asks if I am THE Ben that is sampling wells in Cook County. I say "yes" nervous about which way this is going...
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Cook County, Minnesota field work views are pretty great
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Reposted by Ben Maas
Earl Grey Screams Club @earlgreymemes.club · 07/09/2026
#MoopsyMonday
curated meme by unknown artist; first panel is a photo of a jar of barbecue sauced labeled "We're Talkin' Serious Bone Suckin' Sauce"; second panel is Moopsy, wearing a bib with Doctor Migleemo on it, with barbecue sauce all over its face and the bib
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caroline cash @cashbrowns.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Nancy 9/7/26 … Happy Labor Day 🛠️
8 Hours for Work, 8 Hours for Rest, 8 Hours for What We Will. Based on a screenprint by Ricardo Levins Morales after the organizing work done by Robert Owen.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
"Nitrate pollution mostly stems from large-scale agriculture manure & fertilizer. About 90% of the nitrate in S Minnesota’s water comes from fertilizers spread on croplands, a state study found in 2013." The rule in question went into effect in 2019, 7 years ago. But yeah, we need more time.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
"Now, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture announced Monday its groundwater protection rule — at the center of activists’ complaints — adequately guards against nitrates." I guess that is why there is so little nitrate in the groundwater... 1/4 www.startribune.com/mn-agricultu...
startribune.com
Fight over nitrates heats up after Minnesota ag officials defend groundwater rule
Environmental advocates say they’re reviewing legal options as part of an ongoing lawsuit to force the state to take more precautions against nitrate pollution.
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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
#OnThisDay Sept 3 to 6, 1883, the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad is celebrated in the largest party ever held in Twin Cities' history, attended by presidents, foreign dignitaries, and over 100,000 locals. Numerous victory arches grace the streets in both Minneapolis and St Paul 1/12
Map of the northern tier of the US with the rail line in black. title: "NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD AND CONNECTIONS" Crowds watch and maidens throw flowers as the procession of dignitaries passes under Asiatic-styled arches in downtown St Paul. Bunting and ticker tape cover buildings. Engraving from Frank Leslie's Illustrated News of the World, 1883Tens of thousands line the streets in Minneapolis. Minnesota Historical Society.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
It's finally the weekend!
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Fair update
Chocolate malt from the dairy barn
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Minnesota State Fair achievement unlocked! I saw @claymasters.bsky.social at the @mprnews.org booth doing a live show with the weather gang!
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Rare action shot, talking about water.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
See me today at the Minnesota State Fair! I will be at the DNR building from 9:00 am until about 3:00 pm. (In reality, i will be at the building before, but it doesn't open until 9:00 am) I am taking the bus there, using the MVTA State Fair Shuttle.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Look for me at the Minnesota State Fair tomorrow (Wednesday)! I will be at the DNR building for water day, talking water pollution and groundwater models
A 5 gallon bucket used to collect water samples in western Minnesota. A metal table is holding plastic bottles.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
*Ope, just squeezing out one more 90°F day this summer*
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