Minnesota

Minnesota DNR sets burn restrictions in over 30 counties

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2024

Minnesota DNR sets burn restrictions in over 30 counties

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced on Friday that burn restrictions will go into place on Monday in over 30 counties due to unusually warm temperatures and dry conditions.

New burning restrictions will go into effect on Mar. 18 for over 30 counties in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

According to the DRN, the risk for wildfires increases when the snow melts before vegetations has a chance to green.

Dry winter fueling early and active wildfire season across Minnesota

The fire danger risks across the state of Minnesota on Mar. 15, 2024.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

The DNR says that 90% of the time people are the cause for wildfires in Minnesota.

Burn restrictions will go in effect on the Mar. 18 for the following counties: Aitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Carlton, Cass, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Hennepin, Hubbard, Isanti, Itasca, Kanabec, Mahnomen, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Norman, Otter Tail, Pine, Polk, Pope, Ramsey, Red Lake, Sherburne, the southern half of St. Louis County, Stearns, Stevens, Todd, Traverse, Wadena, Washington, Wilkins, and Wright county.

At this time, the DNR will not be issuing permits for open burning of brush or yard waste to these counties until the restrictions are lifted.

“This year, we’ve seen an early start to our wildfire season due to exceptionally warm winter temperatures and less than half the average snowfall across much of the state,” said Karen Harrison, a DNR wildfire prevention specialist. “Spring burning restrictions help reduce the number of wildfires, especially those caused by debris burning.”

In replace of burning, Harrison recommends alternative forms of yard waste disposal like composting, chipping, or taking brush to a collection site.

How to protect your home from the threat of wildfires

If a Minnesota resident causes a fire that escapes and causes a wildfire, they are liable for any damage caused as well as wildfire suppression cost.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the cost for wildfire suppression in 2022 totaled a staggering $3,549,000,000. Over the last ten years, an average of $2,358,603,800 has been spent on wildfire suppression, per the NIFC.

An end date for the burn restrictions has not been set yet. The DNR says it’s possible that restrictions will be adjusted as conditions change.

For more information, click here.

NOTE: The video attached to this article originally aired on Mar. 6, 2024.

Mackenzie Lofgren

Mackenzie Lofgren is a Web Producer and Digital Content Producer at WCCO. She writes web articles and produces short-form video content used on WCCO’s streaming platforms.

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Minnesota

Minnesota Duluth’s Max Plante wins men’s college hockey’s Hobey Baker Award

Published

10 hours ago

April 10, 2026

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Minnesota Duluth’s Max Plante wins men’s college hockey’s Hobey Baker Award

Minnesota Duluth sophomore forward Max Plante is the winner of the 2026 Hobey Baker Award as the top player in men’s college hockey.

He edged fellow finalists, T.J. Hughes, a senior forward from Michigan, and Eric Pohlkamp, a junior defenseman from the University of Denver.

Plante scored 25 goals and had 52 points in 40 games in his second season with the Bulldogs. The 2024 second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings finished third in NCAA Division I scoring behind Quinnipiac’s Ethan Wyttenbach (59) and Hughes (57).

He’s the first Minnesota Duluth player to win the award since Scott Perunovich in 2020 and the seventh overall.

Plante’s father, former NHL player Derek Plante, also played for Minnesota Duluth and was a Hobey Baker top 10 finalist in 1993.

Michigan State’s Trey Augustine was named the top goaltender in the Friday, April 10 ceremony. He went 24-9-1 for the Spartans with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.

Wyttenbach was named college hockey’s rookie of the year.

Recent Hobey Baker Award winners

2026: F Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth
2025: F Isaac Howard, Michigan State
2024: F Macklin Celebrini, Boston University
2023: F Adam Fantilli, Michigan
2022: G Dryden McKay, Minnesota State
2021: F Cole Caufield, Wisconsin
2020: D Scott Perunovich, Minnesota Duluth
2019: D Cale Makar, UMass
2018: F Adam Gaudette, Northeastern
2017: D Will Butcher, Denver
2016: F Jimmy Vesey, Harvard

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Minnesota

New strain of COVID detected in 25 states including Minnesota

Published

22 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

New strain of COVID detected in 25 states including Minnesota

(St. Paul, MN) — State health officials are keeping an eye on a highly mutated new COVID variant called B-A 3-dot-2, or “cicada.” Minnesota Department of Health Epidemiologist Keeley Morris says, “With that many mutations it’s likely going to be pretty good at evading any immunity that people have from being vaccinated or also from prior COVID-19 infections.” She says the good news is that B-A 3-dot-2 doesn’t seem to be causing more severe illness. The C-D-C says the “cicada” variant has been detected in at least 25 states. Morris says Minnesota has detected three cases of either B-A 3-dot-2 or some of its descendants, and we also had one site that had a positive wastewater detection.

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Minnesota

Community members show up to support Mercado Central, businesses hit hard by ICE surge

Published

1 day ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

Community members show up to support Mercado Central, businesses hit hard by ICE surge

Mercado Central on Lake Street in Minneapolis has been more than a marketplace; it’s a heartbeat, a place filled with food, culture and community. During Operation Metro Surge, that heartbeat slowed.

“We’re a co-op. We’re all business owners that just need support from our community,” Ajeleth Moreno with El Rincon Pupuseria said.

Many regular customers stopped coming and the change was impossible to ignore.

“Our regulars would not be here at all in the beginning months, but we did get really good support for the community,” Joscan Moreno said.

That community is showing up with purpose.

“I think it’s important to set an example and to show other community members that we are still here. We still need to be showing up and there’s so many beautiful examples of resilience out here today,” Rose Gomez said.

Through a wave of community support, online donations, to simply having people walk into their doors again.

“These places are few and far between, I don’t know if I know of any place exactly like this,” Simon Fitzkappes said. “And for our community to lose such a great spot, it’s really detrimental. We all hope that doesn’t happen.”

Because here, the business owners and diners alike say every visit and dollar matters.

“We’ve never got this many people here,” Ajeleth Moreno said. “We just hope it stays that way because we don’t want to be forgotten again.”

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