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PUC weighs solar vs. natural-gas proposals
CC/Flickr/Clean Energy Resource TeamsThe issue before the PUC is the relative cost of natural gas versus solar for electricity generation.The glut of natural gas, and the lower prices afforded therein,...
View ArticleFarm values still rising, but change is in the air
The value of farmland continues to rise, although some county assessors are seeing signs suggesting that the market may be ready to cool down, reports Tom Cheverny of the West Central Tribune in...
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GOP chooses ‘private sector guy’ to challenge Rep. Walz
Aaron MillerThe First District GOP has chosen Aaron Miller to face Rep. Tim Walz in the upcoming election, reports Tim Engstrom of the Austin Daily Herald. “Miller, a senior account hospital manager...
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Deputy shot near Perley; Duluth's top 10 snowiest winters
A Norman County deputy exchanged gunfire with a suspect during a traffic stop early Tuesday morning, leaving the deputy in the hospital with unspecified injuries, according to a report in the Fargo...
View ArticleSaying knife at school was 'honest mistake,' Wells family argues expulsion is...
Last week, Alyssa Drescher was planning to do a little tanning in preparation for prom. The 17-year-old United South Central student from Wells had some perfume and lotion in her purse, which likely...
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As its people prosper, the Minnesota town of Hector hollows out
I forgot my notebook.That’s the first thing I thought after I drove from my home in St. Cloud to Hector on a Monday evening to work on this story. The second thing was, “What do I do now?”The...
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Wicked waves bring out Lake Superior surfers
CC/Flickr/Randen PedersonBig waves have once again drawn surfers to Lake Superior.Along with wind and rain this week came big waves on Lake Superior that chopped at the remaining ice on the lake. That...
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Bemidji homeless number greater than expected
CC/Flickr/Craig Myran PhotographyThere were 666 people identified as homeless in Bemidji in 2012.A new report finds the number of homeless people in the Bemidji area to be greater than expected,...
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Mixed bag in state fishing opener; UM-Crookston graduates largest class
CC/Flickr/Bill KochAccording to reports, Otter Tail Lake was very busy on opening weekend.The day was perfect for the state fishing opener and a larger number of anglers than usual took advantage, the...
View ArticleEveryone’s agreed: Stopping heroin will take a unified effort
In the Duluth News Tribune’s continuing series on the increase of heroin use in Northern Minnesota, Tom Olsen and John Lundy write that only a comprehensive community response will work to fight the...
View ArticleFirefighters get control of gas line explosion near Warren
“I’d never heard nothin’ like it in my life. It was just hell on earth, I tell ya, when you see those flames.” Fred Nicholls, 73, lives about one mile away from where an underground gas line ruptured...
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Brainerd is joining the tiny-houses trend
CC/Flickr/Tammy StrobelTiny houses, coming soon to Brainerd.Vancouver, Portland and Seattle have gotten on the tiny house bandwagon, and now Brainerd is moving with them, according to a story by Jessie...
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Corn, bean planting just a little behind 5-year average
CC/Flickr/USDA NRCS South DakotaSixty-five percent of the soybean crop has emerged, up 27 points from a week ago.The final planting push is under way and slightly hampered by rainy conditions, the...
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Data overview: Minnesota women continue to face obstacles to prosperity
Deb Fitzpatrick, left, and Kim BortonCollege campuses are dangerous for women, sex trafficking of young girls continues, and many women in Minnesota’s work force are heads of single-parent households...
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Details on Sauk Rapids plane crash; state is close to marking rainiest June
There’s more information coming out about that plane that crashed into a house in Sauk Rapids over the weekend. David Unze of the St. Cloud Daily Times, reports that the pilot was St. Cloud commercial...
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Gypsy moths cause trouble in Lake and Cook counties
CC/Flickr/KatyaA gypsy moth infestation that has been creeping from Europe westward has appeared along the Lake Superior coast.A gypsy moth infestation that has been creeping from Europe westward has...
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Winona’s roads are rough and getting rougher
CC/Flickr/Sarah GermanWinona County is in need of road repairs.Winona County’s roads are bad and they’re not going to get better without a better way to pay for repairs. The problem is that the state...
View ArticleBrown County is hard up for cash to fix its roads
In New Ulm, the Brown County Commission is considering adopting a local sales tax so county roads will remain usable. Fritz Busch of the New Ulm Journal jotted down some notes: It has been more than a...
View ArticleWillmar brother of Flight 17 victim has message of forgiveness
Later in this column is a note that the television show “Fargo” has been renewed for another season. It will no doubt once again play on how East and West Coast-ers believe corn-fed Midwesterners...
View ArticleHigh-speed Bemidji chase ends in gunshot death
From the Bemidji Pioneer: Police on Friday tried to serve a warrant on a man who had been driving after his license was canceled. He outran police. On Monday afternoon, a State Patrol trooper spotted...
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