Green Iowa AmeriCorps: “The coolest thing I’ve done so far…”

Green Iowa AmeriCorps: “The coolest thing I’ve done so far…”

Briana Burke, Green Iowa AmeriCorps   When asked, “What’s the coolest thing you’ve done so far during your term?”, my mind is filled with images of changing light bulbs during energy assessments, kids excited about a game during an education event and sitting in a room full of people attending an energy breakfast. Actually, these moments may not sound very cool out loud, but these fond memories include rewarding work,

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Decorah’s Sustainability Committee Releases Draft Sustainability Plan

The Winneshiek Energy District recognizes and applauds the process the city is going through to craft a comprehensive sustainability plan. We have been contributing to the energy portion of this plan and believe that this tool will help propel the community of Decorah toward a more sustainable future.  Decorah IA (December 17, 2019) – The City of Decorah has posted a DRAFT of the City  Sustainability Plan 2020 for public

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LED Holiday Lights

LED Holiday Lights

This article is an excerpt from the Department of Energy’s page on LED lighting. We love how it takes into account the longevity of an LED strand and lays out the math of electrical use. LED Holiday Lights LEDs consume far less electricity than incandescent bulbs, and decorative LED light strings such as Christmas tree lights are no different. Not only do LED holiday lights consume less electricity, they also

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We are hiring!

Check out these two opportunities to work with local, clean energy! Communications position announcement Nov2019 West Union Position Annoucement Learn more on our Jobs page

Repost: What are municipal utilities and why are they suddenly popular?

Repost: What are municipal utilities and why are they suddenly popular?

Can changing who delivers your electricity to you solve a slew of problems? SCOTTY HENDRICKS (A Decorah native!) 26 November 2019 Repost from Bigthink.com   Cities and movements across the country are considering running their own electric utilities. These operations, known as municipal utilities, are already widespread and have a respectable track record. Representatives of the campaigns to implement municipal control see this as a path to a green, democratic

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Giving thanks for our partners

Tis the season to give thanks! Here at the Winneshiek Energy District, we have deep, deep gratitude for countless community partners who are also working toward a clean, local, energy future for Winneshiek County and beyond. NEIA Energy Districts I’ll never forget the time a professor shouted at my group “stop acting like a bunch of trees and start acting like a forest!” We all knew what that meant: ditch

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Members make it happen. Join us!

Members make it happen. Join us!

We are grateful to all of the member-donors who supported this year’s clean local energy work with a tax-deductible donation.  These individuals and businesses provide essential matching funds for the grants that support roughly half of our work. Membership dollars help WED pursue important projects that are unlikely to be covered by grant funding. With inclusiveness as one of our core values, locally raised membership dollars to allow for WED staff

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Decorah Bank and Trust: A key partner for Energy Efficiency

Decorah Bank and Trust: A key partner for Energy Efficiency

By: Briana Burke, Green Iowa AmeriCorps NE Iowa’s Energy-Efficiency Triad In 2017 an estimated 66.7% to 86% of energy production in the United States was wasted (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 2017). In a time when we are facing a climate crisis, we are not only the single largest per-capita producers of greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, but well over half of our emissions end up in the atmosphere

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We’re Famous! Repost from energynews.us

We’re Famous! Repost from energynews.us

https://energynews.us/2019/11/21/midwest/in-iowa-grassroots-energy-districts-aim-to-spur-local-clean-energy-conversations/ In Iowa, grassroots energy districts aim to spur local clean energy conversations Karen Uhlenhuth, Energy News Network The concept is modeled on soil and water conservation districts that spread across the country in the 1930s. A decade ago, Craig Mosher was one of a half-dozen people trying to rethink energy in their small hometown of Decorah in northeast Iowa. “The general concern was climate change, but the specific concern

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Join our team: Seeking Communications and Engagement Specialist

Do you care about local, clean energy for all? Are you a great communicator and community-builder? Join our team! The Winneshiek Energy District is looking for an experienced, part-time Communications and Community Engagement professional to join our team in Decorah, Iowa, beginning January 2020. Winneshiek Energy District (WED) is a northeast Iowa public benefit corporation located in Decorah, Iowa. You can read all about us on this nifty website – but

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