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‘Green Gold’: Booming demand for holiday greenery sparks illicit trade in northern Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says unlicensed bandits are snipping off the tops of spruce trees, trying to cash in on a market that one legal harvester calls “green gold.” 
After years of delays, revived taconite mine offers new economic hope on Minnesota’s Iron Range
Mesabi Metallics — a controversial project that’s been in the works for more than two decades and could be the first new taconite mine in Minnesota in nearly 50 years — is once again bringing hopes of economic revival to the Iron Range.
Critical habitat proposed for the rusty patched bumble bee in Minnesota
A plan to protect the endangered rusty patched bumble bee would designate 1.6 million acres of critical habitat across six states, including Minnesota. Most of the proposed habitat is in urban areas.
Southeast corner of Minnesota remains chronic wasting disease hotspot 
Early chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing results from this year’s firearms deer hunt shows the always-fatal infection has not spread to other parts of the state but remains high in places which were already a concern.
Northern lights may be faintly visible across parts of the U.S. this Thanksgiving
Pale auroras may be seen Thursday and Friday across northern states including Montana, Minnesota and upper New York — as well as much of Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin and Michigan.
The National Dog Show explained: How a dog contest became a Thanksgiving tradition
Football isn't the only thing Americans like to watch on Thanksgiving. The National Dog Show continues its decades-long run, this time with a brand new breed. Here's what to know and how to watch.
Red Lake Nation and Minnesota DNR disagree on how to combat zebra mussels
Until 2018, Upper Lake and Lower Red Lake remained the only large walleye lake in the state still free from zebra mussels. That year the DNR announced it had found zebra mussel veliger — the tiny larvae — in Upper Red Lake. The small mollusks are known to filter out algae from lake water, a vital walleye food source.