For nearly 30 years, Dean Rebuffoni was the preeminent environmental journalist in Minnesota. From the dumping of taconite tailings into Lake Superior by Reserve Mining to the emergence of large, confined animal feeding operations, Rebuffoni covered the major battles and controversies over environmental issues for the Minneapolis Tribune and later for the Star Tribune.

Rebuffoni died Sept. 12 in Minneapolis at age 77. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 2½ years ago, and with an aggressive cancer in July, said his wife, Cathy. “He became one of my all-time favorite writers,” said Grant Merritt, commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) from 1971 to 1975. “He was talented, fair and objective,” Merritt said.