Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Senator Mitch McConnell returns to work for the first time in three months, the nation's largest factory feedlot for cattle planned in Nebraska, and Wisconsin power plant rules face scrutiny.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service daily newscast for September the 15th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

It was a long absence that sparked many concerns, but Senator Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate Monday for the first time in more than three months.

The New York Times notes the 84-year-old McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and former party leader, arrived in a wheelchair.

It's the first time he's been seen there since he last cast a vote on June 11th.

In a statement by his office, McConnell said, my recovery has been a long and often frustrating process.

The lingering effects of childhood polio haven't made it any easier.

McConnell is the longest serving Senate leader in history and announced in 2024 he would not try to return as leader after a series of falls.

Meantime, in southwest Nebraska, a cattle operation is testing the limits of industrial agriculture and the resources that support it.

A large company is building what will be the nation's largest single-site feedlot with a capacity for 2,000 cattle on nearly 700 acres of concrete near the town of Hagler.

The animals could use as much as 1.5 billion gallons of water a year while consuming about 20 pounds of grain per head each day.

Georgina Gustin, who covered the issue for Inside Climate News, says the state is unable to intervene.

It has no mechanism to say producing as much waste as a large American city with no wastewater treatment plant is a different issue and a bigger problem than producing the waste of 1,000 cows and having to manage it.

The Black Shirt Feeders operation will use up 210 million gallons of water a year, while the cattle will generate at least 4.4 billion pounds of manure.

Critics warn that much waste could send nitrates into drinking water, create air pollution, and release greenhouse gases.

The industry argues that concentrated feeding makes beef production faster, cheaper, and more efficient while sustaining feed producers and creating jobs.

I'm Mark Richardson.

And Wisconsin's data center boom is driving demand for more electricity, and clean energy advocates say the state's utility business models could steer that need toward expensive fossil fuel-based power sources.

The state's utility companies earn a guaranteed return on infrastructure they build, including power plants and transmission lines.

Laura Rieg with Evergreen Collaborative says that can create a financial incentive for them to invest in fossil fuels.

Projected demand for data centers gives utilities a justification for proposing large new fossil fuel infrastructure projects rather than investing in lower cost clean energy alternatives.

Invenergy is proposing two natural gas plants in Wisconsin totaling nearly two gigawatts, which ReEnergy's plans to acquire.

Utilities say the projects are needed to maintain reliability as electricity demand grows.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Today is National Voter Registration Day, and Ohioans have less than a month to make sure they're able to vote in the upcoming midterm election.

More now from our Nadia Rumlikon.

People who are planning on voting for the first time or in a long time can register by going to vote411.org, but they have to do so before October 5th, explains Elizabeth Warner with the League of Women Voters of Ohio.

She adds that even consistent voters should double check their information on record and make sure it's up to date, especially if they've moved or changed their name.

Warner says this election is an unusually active one.

We have a big Senate race.

We have a big governor's race.

We have, like everybody, every single U.S. congressional seat is up.

But we also have all these statewide executive offices that are up.

Ohioans will also elect two Ohio Supreme Court justices, along with important leaders at the county and municipal level.

The polls open for in-person voting on November 3rd from 6.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.

And the Trump administration on Monday continued its pursuit of gutting regulations for energy sources that produce greenhouse gas emissions.

Folks in Minnesota making the push for cleaner air warn of devastating consequences from rollbacks of power plant standards.

Federal officials announced a final repeal of most of the Biden administration's greenhouse gas requirements for coal and natural gas plants.

The EPA says it will lead to more than $300 billion in savings for the energy sector.

But Minnesota-based Jenna Yackel of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign sees it another way.

Trump is so clearly handing coal and gas companies a free pass to just keep polluting.

And the American people are going to pay for it.

She says vast research shows that sources like coal plants are more expensive to run than renewables.

And this action pays the way for higher energy bills.

I'm Mike Moen.

Finally, Hispanic Access Foundation is kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month with its 13th annual Latino Conservation Week.

Outdoor activities are taking place in Texas and across the country to celebrate the Latino connection to nature and introduce more people to activities like hiking and kayaking.

Luis Cruz with the foundation says some Latinos face language and transportation-related barriers at parks and recreation centers.

We hear from our communities that these spaces don't feel like it's for them.

Camping is not for me.

Fishing is not for me.

Enjoying water sports is not for me.

This is for someone.

And having a meaningful moment in nature that can lead to a lifetime of stewardship is what we hope to inspire.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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