Chance for northern lights over Minnesota Thursday

July 12, 2023

MARSHALL — Minnesotans could have a chance to see the northern lights in the sky this week, if conditions are right. While reports from around the state say it’s not certain if the aurora borealis will be visible Thursday, there’s still a possibility. “I would say chances are quite good of seeing an auroral display in our northern sky right here (southern Minnesota),” said Ken Murphy, professor of physics at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. Murphy said the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska has issued a geomagnetic storm watch for ...

DNR seeks Minnesota River fishing comments

June 23, 2023

HUTCHINSON — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invites anglers and other members of the public to comment through Friday, Aug. 11 about fishing and fisheries topics on the Minnesota River to inform an update to the fisheries management plan for the 320-mile river. The DNR will use comments and suggestions from the public as it updates the fisheries management plan that identifies specific management activities and goals for the Minnesota River over the next five years. The plan contains a variety of fisheries information, including summaries and evaluation of past ...

Rainn Wilson crisscrosses the globe in search of inner bliss for TV series

May 27, 2023

NEW YORK — Rainn Wilson wanted to find inner happiness. So he got on a plane. Many planes. The actor, who memorably played scheming, egotistical Dwight Schrute on “The Office” has crisscrossed the world to explore how people in different countries find their glee. The result is “Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss,” a new Peacock series that follows Wilson looking for some deep answers as he takes in a drag show in Thailand to getting in a boxing ring in Ghana. The show premieres Thursday, in time for Mental Health Awareness Month. “I wanted it to be a personal ...

Fighting food poisoning: Sweeping poultry changes proposed

October 15, 2022

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday proposed sweeping changes in the way chicken and turkey meat is processed that are intended to reduce illnesses from food contamination but could require meat companies to make extensive changes to their operations. Despite decades of efforts to try and reduce illnesses caused by salmonella in food, more than 1 million people are sickened every year and nearly a fourth of those cases come from turkey and chicken meat. As it stands, consumers bear much of the responsibility for avoiding illness from raw poultry by ...

Ohio offers $156M in incentives for Honda battery plant

October 14, 2022

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio plans to offer approximately $156.3 million in tax incentives and infrastructure improvements for a massive battery plant project that Honda says is key to turning the state into its North American electric vehicle hub. Officials say the battery plant, to be built jointly with LG Energy Solution of South Korea, will be located in rural Fayette County, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of the state capital of Columbus. Of $85 million set aside for infrastructure improvements, $75 million will be for water and utility improvements and the rest will be ...

Smashing success: NASA asteroid strike results in big nudge

October 13, 2022

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away succeeded in shifting its orbit, NASA said Tuesday in announcing the results of its save-the-world test. The space agency attempted the test two weeks ago to see if in the future a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth's way. "This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a briefing at the space agency's headquarters in Washington. The Dart spacecraft carved a crater into the ...