The state of Illinois is about to see a 2,000 percent increase in solar energy projects by 2025. Dave Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board in Chicago, joins the show to tell us all about it.

It's 14,000 miles from Cape Town, South Africa, to Minnesota. But climate changes in sensitive areas can have a much wider impact. Matt Brown, the Nature Conservancy's regional managing director for Africa, gives us an update on his work across the Atlantic. Then, a Climate Story from Shannon Mortensen of Warren, Minn.

It's about 8,800 miles from Cape Town, South Africa, to Minnesota. But climate changes in sensitive areas can have a much wider impact.

The utility is investing $25 million in new charging technology to fuel the coming electric car boom.

Oceans take the brunt of earth's warming, but new research suggests they retain 60 percent more heat annually than past estimates. Washington Post reporter Chris Mooney explains.

As part of the American Cities Climate Challenge, Minneapolis and St. Paul will join more than a dozen others in receiving $2.5 million each over two years from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The foundation is led by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who now serves as a U.N. special envoy for climate action. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joins Paul Huttner to discuss the grant and his city's climate action.

This week on Climate Cast, Brad Udall schools us on the West's changing hydrology and water resources. He's a senior climate researcher and scientist at Colorado State University. Then, we hear a Climate Story from Tim Reese, manager at Gale Woods Farm.

To help the Twin Cities metro area plan for the future climate, the Metropolitan Council has released a tool with detailed maps showing how at-risk different spots are to flooding and extreme heat.

We talk to University of Virginia environmental sciences professor Deborah Lawrence about why forests are linked to the planet's fate. Plus, a Climate Story from Danny Friedman.

Jessica Hellmann with the University of Minnesota tells us how climate affects many issues this election season.