Brian Grimmett
Reporter, Kansas News ServiceBrian Grimmett comes to KMUW after taking a year break from journalism, but he’s excited to jump back in to the fray. Previously, Brian spent almost five years working at KUER 90.1 FM in Salt Lake City. He worked his way up, starting as an intern and sticking around long enough until they relented and gave him a full-time job. At KUER, Brian covered a wide range of topics, but mainly focused on covering the Utah state legislature.
Brian earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Brigham Young University.
When not reporting, he enjoys spending time with his family and building/flying remote control planes and drones.
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Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are making coal increasingly less attractive as a way to generate electricity. -
More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is changing how wild grasses grow in Kansas, and lowering their nutritional value to insects. That could upset the balance of life on the prairie.
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Lawmakers basically let utilities refinance the cost of their old power plants. And if they get the debt from those coal-fired facilities off the books, they can shut them down and switch faster to renewable energy sources.
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Proposed statewide rules come from groups that say neighbors need more power to push back on wind energy development, but the industry has grown steadily in recent years.
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Kansas has no state-sponsored energy plan, which leaves decisions on transforming from fossil fuels to renewable sources up to private businesses.
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The sub-zero cold snap that gripped the Midwest in early February led to a jaw-dropping rise in natural gas prices, the cost of which consumers will feel.
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Utilities struggled to keep pace with power demand set off by sub-freezing temperatures that gripped the Midwest.
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The western Kansas cities of Hays and Russell bought up a ranch so they could pump away water that belongs to the property. Farmers who live near that ranch see the practice as a threat to their irrigation.
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Kansas scores well for the number of charging stations it has in the eastern part of the state, but not so much when it comes to tax incentives and planning for a move away from the internal combustion engine.
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The earthquakes that have shaken south-central Kansas in recent years look to be natural, but a deeper dive is underway to see if they're related to oil and gas drilling in the region.
