St. Luke’s has promoted Mat Solberg to clinic manager at St. Luke’s OB-GYN Associates and St. Luke’s Pediatric Associates.

Solberg, from Hermantown, earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He joined St. Luke’s in 2021 as the operations supervisor for St. Luke’s Regional Cancer Center.

St. Luke’s is now part of Aspirus Health. Aspirus is a non-profit, community-directed health system based in Wausau, Wisconsin serving northeastern Minnesota, northern and central Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The health system operates 18 hospitals and 130 outpatient locations with nearly 14,000 team members, including 1,300 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians.

-- St. Luke's press release

On Earth Day, Minnesota Power marks topping state energy savings goal for 14th year in a row

Minnesota Power is marking 14 consecutive years of exceeding the state of Minnesota’s energy savings goal as the company celebrates Earth Day and continues to help customers meet their sustainability goals and make progress toward a carbon-free future.

Minnesota Power achieved energy savings of 2.8% of gross annual retail energy sales in 2023, well above the goal of 1.5% set by the state in 2010, and also above the goal of 1.75% in the 2021 Energy Conservation and Optimization Act. Minnesota Power is the only Minnesota utility to have exceeded the goal each year since 2010.

The company’s Conservation Improvement Program works with business and residential customers to provide tools and programs to help them reduce their energy use. Those efforts paid off by saving 73,589,465 kilowatt-hours in 2023, enough energy to power about 9,000 homes for a year.

Minnesota Power, an ALLETE company, reported the savings in its annual Conservation Improvement Program report submitted April 1 to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

“Year after year, Minnesota Power connects customers with tools and resources to help them make informed choices about how they use energy,” said Frank Frederickson, vice president of Customer Experience and Engineering Services. “Helping homeowners, businesses and other customers meet their individual sustainability goals complements our leadership in moving to a carbon-free future in ways that are reliable and affordable. We provide more than 50% renewable energy today and are on a path to more than 70% renewable energy by 2030.”

Energy conservation is an important component of Minnesota Power’s EnergyForward strategy for delivering 100% carbon-free energy safely, reliably and affordably. The company offers a variety of services, programs, rebates and incentives to help customers make smart choices about their energy use. For example:

. Rebates on energy-efficient appliances, water heating, and windows.

. Rebates on energy-efficient electric heating and cooling solutions, including cold-climate air source heat pumps and smart thermostats.

. Energy analysis and design assistance for new and existing buildings.

. Tools and calculators in Minnesota Power’s MyAccount portal designed to help customers understand and manage their energy use.

Minnesota Power provides electric service within a 26,000-square-mile area in northeastern Minnesota, supporting comfort, security and quality of life for 150,000 customers, 14 municipalities and some of the largest industrial customers in the United States.

-- Press release