Minnesota Now

Road trip to Moorhead: Birds, bugs and flowers thrive in tallgrass prairie

June 3, 2026·9 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

To get to a recent live show in Moorhead, the Minnesota Now team took scenic Highway 10 from St. Paul to learn more about the state from the road. We made a series of audio postcards from notable roadside attractions, including a piece of one of Minnesota's oldest and most recognizable landscapes: tallgrass prairie. The Nature Conservancy recently acquired nearly 2,000 acres of prairieland to protect in Clay County. Their goal is to conserve the plants and create habitat for prairie chickens and pollinators. The site is one of just a few slivers of prairie in a state that used to be covered in tallgrass. Nearby is another of those slivers: the Bluestem Prairie Scientific and Natural Area, which is also protected by the Nature Conservancy. Liz Beery, the group’s associate director of grasslands, joined MPR News host Nina Moini for a walk there.

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