Two Minnesota research facilities facing possible closure will stay open, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The facilities, located in Ely and Grand Rapids, conduct research ranging from climate change to the environment’s effect on people. The sites were among 57 facilities the Forest Service began evaluating for closure this March. On Sept. 3, officials announced that 23 of those sites would cease operations. The Minnesota locations were not among them. A research facility in St. Paul that was not included in the list will also remain open. …The U.S. Forest Service announced this March that Minnesota facilities could close as part of a “sweeping restructuring” of the agency. September’s announcement clarifies that research facilities with “little to no staffing” will shutter and any affected staffers would move to nearby sites. 

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