Greater Minnesota

Officials are saying little about an accident that seriously burned a worker at the American Crystal Sugar Co. plant in East Grand Forks last week.
Small towns look to Legislature for help with aging school buildings
Two small Minnesota towns are struggling with the same problem: flooding that left the local school buildings in bad shape. In Rushford-Peterson and Moose Lake, the damages were repaired and students are back in school, but officials in both districts say the fixes are temporary.
Red Wing mayor lobbies for silica sand industry
Red Wing's Mayor Dennis Egan has taken a new job as executive director of the newly-created Minnesota Industrial Sand Council. The council is a group of companies with interests in mining silica sand and providing services to the industry. Officials in other southeastern Minnesota cities don't know much yet about the council, but some say best practices should be left to state officials and not an industry group.
Cold fusion a hot idea for Minnesota research into sustainable energy
A small company is gambling that a new line of scientific research could lead to development of a breakthrough alternative energy. Researchers with the Hunt Utilities Group are focused on a theoretical energy source once commonly known as cold fusion. They're asking new questions about the technology widely dismissed by the mainstream scientific community.
Hunt Utilities Group looks for new sources of sustainable energy
A small company is gambling that a new line of scientific research could lead to development of a breakthrough alternative energy. In Pine River, the campus of the Hunt Utilities Group sits on 70-acres dotted with an eclectic mix of experimental buildings designed to promote sustainable living. Researchers here are focused on a theoretical energy source once commonly known as "cold fusion."
2 Great Lakes hit lowest water level on record
Two of the Great Lakes have hit their lowest water levels ever recorded, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday, capping more than a decade of below-normal rain and snowfall and higher temperatures that boost evaporation.
Legislature to consider funding more free school lunches
Hunger relief groups want the state Legislature to expand free lunch at school so that students currently eligible for reduced-price lunch can eat free. This would cost the state around $4 million. Lawmakers and advocates pushing the proposal say it would ensure that low-income kids get the nutrition they need and aren't turned away at the lunch counter when they can't pay. But critics of the proposal say parents who could pay a little, should.
Moorhead fights against pollution regulations
Moorhead is fighting a new state pollution rule designed to protect water quality in Canada.
What does Rochester need to offer to become a global destination?
Rochester is in the middle of transition. The city's flagship employer, the Mayo Clinic, proposes to invest billions of dollars over the next two decades to attract more patients, as well as add tens of thousands of new jobs to southeastern Minnesota. But there's a missing piece to the plan before Rochester can become a global medical destination.
Dakotas-based Sanford Health is planning a $1.8 million clinic in the Minnesota city of Bagley this year.