Minnesota
Helium confirmed at Northeast Minnesota drill site
BABBITT — A company looking for helium beneath Northeastern Minnesota’s forest floor said it found the lightweight gas this week, confirming an earlier 2011 finding.
In a news release Thursday, Feb. 29, British Columbia-based Pulsar Helium said its drilling rig encountered gases with a 12.4% helium concentration at depths of 1,750 and 2,200 feet. The concentration was measured with an on-site mass spectrometer. The collected gas samples will be sent to a laboratory for “full molecular composition, removal of atmospheric (air) contamination, and isotopic characterization,” the company said.
Gary Meader / Duluth Media Group
Pulsar Helium President and CEO Thomas Abraham-James called the initial findings “an outstanding result.”
“It is a big day for helium exploration, confirming the original discovery in the new jurisdiction of Minnesota. I look forward to keeping the market updated with further results as they are received,” Abraham-James said in the release.
The drill site, called the Topez Project, is located 9 miles down the graveled Dunka River Road — riddled with potholes and tire ruts amid an unusually warm winter — as well as Cleveland-Cliffs’ Peter Mitchell Mine and the unincorporated community of Isabella.
The
company began drilling earlier this month
and had planned to drill another 50 feet down to a depth of 2,250 feet, but abnormally warm temperatures and looming road weight restrictions have forced the company to stop early and dismantle the Wyoming drilling rig, which is usually used for oil and gas drilling.
Crews plan to install a well-testing device on the borehole to take additional samples and conduct more tests when road conditions allow.
Wyatt Buckner / 2024 file / Duluth Media Group
Helium was first found at the site in 2011
when a drill crew from Duluth Metals, a precursor to copper-nickel mining company Twin Metals, was searching for platinum-palladium minerals in the Bald Eagle Intrusion. A borehole instead hit a pocket of gas that tests showed contained 10.5% helium — the second-highest concentration found in North America — with the remainder carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
Anything above 0.3% is considered of economic interest.
Helium is often a byproduct of the oil and natural gas industry, but the Minnesota find could provide a hydrocarbon-free source of the element when there is otherwise a shortage of the gas. Pulsar has said it wants to install a production well on-site if conditions are right, but Minnesota would likely need new regulations overseeing it.
Helium is highly sought after for being very nonreactive and can be a lightweight gas or take a liquid form near absolute zero to cool equipment. It’s used in everything from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, semiconductor manufacturing and leak testing, to air tanks for medical patients and deep-sea divers, to the aerospace and defense industries.
Helium forms as radioactive elements uranium and thorium decay deep in the earth. It then moves up through fissures and gets trapped in pockets closer to the surface.
And thanks to the Midcontinent Rift, which formed 1.1 billion years ago as North America tried to pull itself apart, sending magma up and leaving behind deposits of copper, nickel and other metals in areas like Minnesota’s Duluth Complex and Tamarack Intrusion, there are plenty of fissures for that helium to take.
While this is the first helium discovery in Minnesota and the Duluth Complex, Pulsar officials believe the geology of the Bald Eagle Intrusion could contain more helium pockets.
Jimmy Lovrien covers mining, energy, climate, social issues and higher education for the Duluth News Tribune. He can be reached at jlovrien@duluthnews.com or 218-723-5332.
Earlier this week, Baseball America published Top 30 Prospects updates for all 30 MLB organizations. Now, we’re digging deeper into May changes with all-new write-ups on prospect additions, risers, fallers, injuries and graduations for each club.
Read on below for Twins prospect updates featuring in-depth new intel on top names to know, potential breakouts and lots more. You can find May write-ups for all 30 teams here.
Minnesota Twins Top 30 Prospect Additions
28. C.J. Culpepper, RHP
BA Grade: 40/Average
Track Record: Culpepper was a 13th-round pick out of Cal Baptist in 2022. He entered 2025 just outside the Twins’ Top 10 prospects, but a pinched nerve delayed the start of his season and continued to bother him throughout the year, limiting him to just 59.1 innings. He returned to Wichita to start 2026, and his velocity returned.
Scouting Report: Culpepper has a starter’s build and an effortful but deceptive delivery. His stuff backed up in 2025, with his fastball sitting 91-94 mph and topping out at 95. His velocity returned in 2026, and he’s been sitting 93-95 mph and topping out at 97. His control, which was once a weapon, regressed as well. His slider remains his best pitch with sweepy shape and above-average whiff and chase rates. He can struggle to land it in the zone, though, contributing to his higher walk rate. Culpepper also has a fringy cutter that he can throw for strikes and will also show a below-average changeup on occasion.
The Future: Culpepper impressed working in short stints as a starter to start 2026 and was promoted to Triple-A St. Paul, where he’s now working in relief. He has a chance to make his major league debut this year out of the bullpen.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 40 | Cutter: 45 | Control: 45.
29. Ben Ross, SS/3B
BA Grade: 40/Average
Track Record: Ross was a fifth-round pick out of Division II Notre Dame in Ohio. He reached Double-A in his first full season in 2023, but saw his bat stagnate there and has started the season there each of the last three seasons. He finally broke out at the plate in 2026, earning a promotion to Triple-A St. Paul. Ross is an extremely versatile defender and has played every position except pitcher and catcher in his minor league career.
Scouting Report: The righthanded-hitting Ross has an average, athletic frame with no remaining projection. He has a fluid swing and solid feel for contact. He makes good swing decisions and will take what the pitcher gives him. Ross’ exit velocities have improved dramatically in 2026, changing his offensive projection. His 90th-percentile exit velocity has increased more than 3 mph, and his hard-hit rate has improved drastically. Ross has the tools to play shortstop, but is also capable of playing all over the diamond. He has good range and soft hands and is a very instinctual defender. His arm is average, but he has a quick release. Ross is only an average runner, but has solid baserunning instincts.
The Future: Ross’ defense gives him a high floor as an up-and-down player, but his ability to stick on a major league roster long term will depend on how his bat develops. If it continues to improve, he has utility upside.
Scouting Grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 50 | Field: 60 | Arm: 50.
30. Alejandro Hidalgo, RHP
BA Grade: 45/High
Track Record: The Twins acquired Hidalgo from the Angels in November 2022 for Gio Urshela. He missed the entire 2024 season with a right shoulder impingement and struggled in 2025 between High-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita. He transitioned to the bullpen in 2026 and has seen his stuff take off.
Scouting Report: Hidalgo is a medium-framed righthander with a max-effort delivery. His velocity has improved drastically in 2026, jumping from sitting 93-95 mph and maxing out at 97 to sitting 96-98 mph and touching 99. The pitch has generated whiffs, but his control is a work in progress and has led to elevated walk and home run rates. Hidalgo complements it with a pair of bat-missing secondaries: a mid-80s changeup and high-80s slider.
The Future: Hidalgo’s improved stuff has him back on the prospect radar. He has major league reliever upside, but will need to show more consistency with his command and control to reach his potential.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 30.
Minnesota Twins Prospect Graduations
None.
Minnesota Twins Prospect Risers
Riley Quick, RHP: Quick has shown dominant stuff in his professional debut and jumped from outside the top 10 into a spot where he might push for the Top 100 at some point this year. His fastball is sitting 95-98 mph, and his cut-slider complements it well by generating weak contact. He goes to his slider and changeup when he needs to miss bats, and both have whiff rates over 50%.
Ryan Gallagher, RHP: Gallagher’s fastball velocity is up, which has elevated his north-south arsenal. His changeup is still missing bats at a high rate, and his slider has also been effective. His strike-throwing has backed up some in Triple-A, but if that improves after he adjusts to the new level, he has a chance to develop into a back-end starter.
Minnesota Twins Prospect Fallers
Marco Raya, RHP: Raya ranked 21st coming into the season, but has struggled in his first full season pitching exclusively in relief, even though he is repeating Triple-A. His stuff will still show flashes, but it lacks consistency, and he has given up a lot of hard contact early in the season.
Minnesota Twins Prospect Injuries
- Outfielder Walker Jenkins was placed on the 7-day injured list after he suffered a Grade 2 AC joint sprain in his left shoulder when he crashed into the outfield wall making a catch.
- Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez was placed on the 7-day injured list after spraining his left thumb while sliding into first base.
- Righthander Charlee Soto’s debut has been delayed by minor wrist soreness that popped up while he was rehabbing from elbow surgery at the end of the 2025 season.
- Righthander James Ellwanger is out indefinitely with a right elbow strain.
- Righthander Adrian Bohorquez is out indefinitely with a right forearm strain.
- Righthander Santiago Castellanos is still building up from a triceps issue that has delayed the start of his Florida Complex League season.
- Righthander Jose Olivares’ start to the season was delayed a few weeks as he rehabbed from bone spur surgery after the 2025 season.
- Righthander Matt Barr is still rehabbing from a stress fracture in his forearm.
Shigeyuki Furukawa is the only person to bring home a nomination for the James Beard Award in Minnesota this year.
You’ll find him in the North Loop of Minneapolis at Kado No Mise.
The name means “corner shop” in Japanese. It’s a small space, and if you’re lucky enough to sit at the counter, you have a front row seat to the pursuit of perfection.
On Tuesdays they do Kaiseki, a traditional tasting menu. Furukawa aims to share traditional Japanese food at the highest level possible. His food is where art meets function and even simple dishes are not easy.
He trained in Tokyo, Kyoto and New York, but never imagined he’d end up in Minneapolis. When he arrived he only knew one name: “Prince.”
Getting his products has gotten easier in the nine years since he’s opened up shop. It’s also gotten easier to share his food with a Minnesota audience. In the early days, some customers would complain about his food, but now Furukawa thinks they understand.
“They want to have real Japanese food,” he said.
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