The start of July was anything but subtle. Temperatures soared across North America with heat indexes exceeding 100°F in our region. You know it’s bad when northern Alaska, which has an average July temperature in the mid-40s, issued a heat advisory for temps up to 85°F. Unfortunately, this isn’t an anomaly. It’s becoming the new normal as the occurrence of heatwaves in the US has doubled since th

The season of backyard get-togethers is coveted but fleeting in the Midwest. Picture it: the warm embrace of sun on your skin, the sweet relief of a passing breeze, the echoing of bird chirps, and the smells of freshly cut grass and a charcoal grill. Don’t let that vibrancy go to waste! Your yard has the potential to be more than just a patch of grass. With some functional and stylish upgrades, it

If your yard has ever puddled after a storm or sent water rushing toward the street, you’ve seen stormwater runoff in action. Instead of treating that water as a problem, rain gardens offer a simple, natural solution. A rain garden is a shallow, landscaped depression designed to collect rainwater from roofs, driveways, and other hard surfaces, allowing it to slowly soak into the ground instead of