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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

State Fair Offers “Gasless Cars on a Stick”

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Friday, August 28, 2009   

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. - Visitors to the Minnesota State Fair will have an opportunity to sample more than "just-about-anything-imaginable-on-a-stick" this year; fairgoers also can check out the newest alternative-powered vehicles. Electric and hybrid models will be on display in the "Eco Experience" building, sponsored by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Matt Comstock, the agency's alternative vehicle coordinator, says the display is offers a first-hand look at the latest advances in practical ways to get around. He says there've been some exciting developments recently, and the market is ready for even more consumer choices.

"Technologies are available today that you can buy. We're not talking about a $110,000 car; we're talking about cars that are under $30,000. Fully electric, highway capable, airbags - all the conveniences that you would have in a normal car - and you can get them today. Not three years from now, but today."

State officials say nearly half the air pollution in Minnesota comes from vehicle exhaust, and emissions from electric-generated power are much cleaner than from traditional, internal combustion engines. The new electric and hybrid engines compare favorably to conventional engines in other ways, too, says Comstock.

"If you want to tow things, if you want to be able to drive 400 miles without filling up or without charging, away you go. If you want a vehicle that just gets you around - you live in the city and just want to get around town for running errands and doing a little shopping and going to and from work, and just doing that."

In addition, he says, the alternate-powered cars have financial advantages. There are tax breaks available for purchasing them, and power can be free if yours uses solar energy. One component that could use some work, however, is the battery, says Comstock. He'd like to see them built cheaper, and with more power and better range.

The 25,000-square-foot Eco Experience exhibit, at the corner of Randall and Cosgrove, is said to be the largest event of its kind in the nation. Learn more online at www.ecoexperience.org.




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