Greater Minnesota

An ethanol company says it may sell a plant it owns in Fairmont, in southern Minnesota. It's the latest indication of the ethanol industry's financial troubles.
Appetites: Crave Brothers make a mean, green cheese
It's easy to think of local cheese as an old-fashioned, traditional food but the face of upper Midwestern cheese-making is changing to catch some new waves of flavor... and green energy.
Mayo's Saint Marys Hospital a priority for expansion
The Mayo Clinic is pledging to spend $3 billion over the next 20 years to expand in Rochester, and asks that the state of Minnesota contribute half a billion dollars to pay for infrastructure needs associated with that growth. Lawmakers have not decided whether the state should support the plan but a lot of people are talking about how Mayo might continue to expand its footprint in Rochester.
A head shop that sells synthetic drugs in downtown Duluth continues to give city officials and neighboring businesses a headache.