Greater Minnesota

Future of ethanol looks cloudy in Congress
The ethanol industry has had many friends in Congress over the years who have given it preferential treatment, but a key vote last week in the U.S. Senate suggests a tight federal budget is making those friends more scarce.
The project near the central Minnesota town of Cosmos is made up of two wind farms owned by separate local groups. They were formed by neighbors, friends and farmers who saw it as another way to use their land to generate income.
Photos: Barrel makers give new life to old craft
A dying craft is being preserved in a small northern Minnesota town. Black Swan barrels is one of only a few remaining wooden barrel makers in the country. Tucked away inside a nondescript industrial building in the tiny town of Osage, the shop floor of this family-run business is a busy, noisy place.
The sweeping extent of fraud in the mortgage and foreclosure crisis has the public clamoring for the government to punish those involved in the meltdown, most recently, two Twin Cities men who were found guilty of racketeering.
Wadena marks one-year anniversary of tornado
It has been exactly a year since a tornado blew through Wadena, Minnesota, injuring more than 30 people and causing widespread destruction in the community of about 4,000. That tornado hit as Wadena high school alumni gathered for an all-school reunion, which turned into a cleanup. This weekend, the community will gather again, this time to celebrate the year that's passed since the big storm.