Minnesota
Minnesota moose population is holding steady
DULUTH — Minnesota’s moose population has remained stable for another year, though it remains about half the size as two decades ago.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said its annual aerial survey, conducted with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the 1854 Treaty Authority,
estimated
that approximately 4,470 moose remain in St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties, the animal’s typical range in the state.
That’s up about 400 from last year’s estimate.“Despite recent estimates suggesting relative stability in the population and reproductive success, Minnesota DNR researchers point out that Minnesota moose remain at risk,” the DNR said in a news release. “Climate change, parasites, habitat loss and predator impacts on calf survival all play a part in the long-term survival of the moose population.”
Jimmy Lovrien / Duluth Media Group
Northeastern Minnesota’s moose numbers crashed rapidly nearly two decades ago, from a modern high of 8,840 moose estimated in 2006 to just 2,700 by 2013. Their numbers have remained low but fairly stable since.
That rapid decline spurred an effort to reestablish moose habitat in the region. Now in its 15th year, there are promising signs that it is working.
Bringing moose habitat back
Moose thrive in young forests where they can reach and eat deciduous trees and brush while also having access to a few larger trees to shade under.
But most of Northeastern Minnesota is covered in mature forest that hasn’t been touched by processes that can produce such environments in a long time, namely, wildfires and logging.
“Across Minnesota over the past few decades, the forest is getting older, and so seeing this older forest and these lower moose numbers kind of get you thinking more critically about what needs to happen with habitat,” said Alyssa Roberts, forest wildlife specialist at the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society.
So, over the last 15 years, a collaborative of government agencies, Indigenous tribes and conservation groups has been allocated nearly $9 million from Minnesota’s Outdoor Heritage Fund through the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council to restore some 24,000 acres of moose habitat. Another 3,000 acres or so will be restored through an America the Beautiful grant over the next two years.
The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society has served as sponsor of the collaborative since 2021.
“Historically, routine medium- or variable-intensity fires would have maintained this deciduous browse available on the landscape,” said Scott Johnson, the group’s forest conservation coordinator for Minnesota. “But with that lacking, mechanical treatments need to come in.”
When fire suppression snuffed out the naturally occurring fires, commercial logging operations could still leave landscapes in ways that benefit moose.
But with the decline in the region’s wood products industry over the last 15 to 20 years, there are fewer places that need timber from Northeastern Minnesota.
Still, the collaborative can “piggyback” off wildfires and timber harvests that do occur, and begin to maintain those areas as moose habitat going forward, Johnson said.
“In a sustainable fashion for this to persist over a long period, ultimately, what we’re looking at is following up disturbances, or creating disturbances on purpose — prescribed fire, timber harvest, mechanical site preparation, brush sawing — to maintain and produce on these disturbed sites a mosaic of new conifers growing in, through planting or seeding, with a mix of accessible, high-quality browse,” Johnson said.
It seems to be working, said Chris Dunhum, associate director of resilience forestry at the Nature Conservancy, which is also part of the collaborative.
Moose are showing up and eating their way through the areas, as are juvenile moose, some of which were collared this winter and could offer researchers more insight into how the sites are used, he added.
In a long list of factors negatively affecting moose, Dunham said it is nice to have something that helps.
“If we think about climate change impacts, that’s really concerning and we can kind of feel sort of helpless at times … but then when we’re talking about moose habitat, we’ve seen that we can go out there and we can manipulate the habitat, and we know how to do that,” Dunham said. “And we’ve seen from the early monitoring that moose are actually using those sites.”
Climate change and parasites
Mike Schrage, the wildlife program manager for the Fond du Lac Band, said he’s of the camp that most of the moose decline is due to habitat loss now that there’s less logging and wildfires are suppressed.
But, he said, climate change represents “a long-term threat to our moose population” in a number of ways.
For one, moose are designed for cold climates and deep snow, making them ill-adapted for warmer climates and likely to face more heat stress, he said.
Contributed / Michigan Technological University
Additionally, climate change can boost parasites.
Thousands of winter ticks can latch onto a moose, causing it to scratch off its protective coat of hair in an attempt to rid itself of the ticks. “Certainly longer, warmer falls and earlier springs make for better conditions for winter tick survival and transmission to a moose host,” Schrage said. “So that’s not helpful.”
And then there’s brainworm, called P. tenuis, which is spread through white-tailed deer and snails, and, while harmless to deer, is usually fatal to moose. Moose in areas of higher deer densities are more likely to pick up the disease. It’s considered one of the major factors in Minnesota’s severe moose population decline over the past 20 years.
And milder winters can lead to more deer, Schrage said, boosting chances of brainworm transmission. Milder winters also mean more wolves, which, along with parasites, are known to kill moose calves needed to rebuild the population, Schrage said.
Research by the DNR, 1854 Treaty Authority, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the National Parks of Lake Superior kicked off this winter to further understand survival rates of juvenile moose and determine causes of mortality.
But among all the factors stressing moose, reestablishing habitat might be the most tangible solution so far.
“There are a lot of things that affected that precipitous decline in our moose population back in the early 2000s … habitat is the thing we knew that we could start affecting positively immediately,” Johnson said.
Minnesota
Minnesota cannabis store owners lament testing backlog: “It’s getting frustrating for everyone involved”
One of five cannabis testing sites in Minnesota is shutting down, citing exorbitant costs as the reason.
William Drexler is moving product he has around as he waits patiently for more. He says customers who come into Grey Area, on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, are looking for adult-use items, which he says are being held up by a backlog in testing.
“We haven’t had problems with drinks or edibles yet, but for the adult-use products that where we’ve seen the delays, like your pre-rolls, your flowers, we haven’t even gotten pens in yet,” Drexler said.
He says getting cannabis products in his store has been an issue since he got his license to sell them a few months ago.
“I’ve heard pretty much from every vendor that it’s testing that we are waiting on. That’s been the normal thing to hear, and week by week they may say, ‘it’s next week,’ and that can delay into the following week. So at this point I don’t think many of them are giving a date,” he said.
He anticipates getting those products will take even longer now that one of the testing sites is no longer testing.
In a statement, Legends Technical Services said, “under the current regulatory framework, we do not foresee an ability to continue to meet our client expectations in an economically viable manner. “
“We’ve already seen testing delays from the get go, so vendors aren’t really giving us time frames because they are probably hearing different time frames themselves,” Drexler said. “It’s getting frustrating for everyone involved.”
For now, Drexler contacts growers to see how long before his shelves are in full bloom.
“These companies here, it’s the same story kind of from them when we contact them. ‘Hey, we need more product. We’re hoping for new [product] soon, but it’s coming out of testing soon,’” he said.
WCCO has reached out to Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management for comment on the backlog.
Minnesota
Jack Leiter’s struggles at home give Minnesota Twins a pitching edge in American League clash
Every year, I feel like I end up locking on certain pitchers and teams and bet them more than others. It almost never is intentional; usually, I find a team or player I like, we win with them consistently, and I ride the horse until it is time to get off. That’s a bit of how I feel with both the Twins and Rangers who battle in this one.
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I have said that the Chicago White Sox are the biggest surprise in all of baseball, but the Minnesota Twins might be willing to make a strong argument about it. This was a year that the Twins were supposed to be garbage and be more likely to trade people away (like they did last year) than they would be looking to make a move for the club. I can’t say it is entirely due to Byron Buxton, one of the names floated in trade rumors last year and in the offseason, but he is having a great campaign and has the Twins just five games below .500.
Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 21, 2022. (David Berding/Getty Images)
One of the other guys that you can attribute the success of this year to is today’s starter, Joe Ryan. If the Twins do decide to take Ryan to the market, he will have many suitors and should bring back a big haul. Ryan has posted a 4-3 record with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has been slightly worse on the road than at home, but it hasn’t been a significant issue. He was great in May, posting a 1.73 ERA, but June has seen him make three starts and allow eight earned runs, including four homers. Rangers hitters have struggled significantly against him, hitting just .143 against him.
The Texas Rangers are still in the mix for the American League West division. Before you say, “Well, yeah, it’s only the middle of June.” I bring this up because they are just two games back of the Mariners, and the Rangers really haven’t played all that well this season. I think there is a lot of potential for this team to add a bat, and he could make a major difference. If they added Buxton, for example, the Rangers might be the favorite to win the division given how everyone else is playing.
Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter delivers a pitch to the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on May 31, 2026. (Jim Cowsert/Imagn Images)
I’m not trying to discuss hypothetical trades, though. The pitching staff might be enough to carry them to a Wild Card or division title anyway. Today’s starter, Jack Leiter, isn’t the best on the roster, but he’s been good. Leiter is 3-6 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. At home, he has been okay, going 2-2 with a 4.14 ERA. He has allowed four or more earned runs in seven of his 14 outings. Twins hitters are batting .417 against Leiter in just 12 at-bats, with Buxton going 2-for-2 with a double, a homer and three RBIs.
I think it probably makes sense to play Buxton to get 2+ bases here today. I get that he probably did all of this damage to Leiter in one game, but it is still worth seeing if he can get it done. He is having a good season, and Leiter isn’t a guy who is going to make you nervous very often about throwing zeroes.
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Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins jogs off the field after the fifth inning of the MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 15, 2025. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
I also think we probably should play the game overall. I think the Twins are the correct side in this game. There are a lot of times that I’d back the Rangers, as I think they have the better overall team, but in this one, the pitching mismatch is too strong. Give me the Ryan-led Twins, through five, on the moneyline.
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For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
City parks are all across Minnesota. But a town in Murray County has one that’s gone off its rails.
Currie, Minnesota, is truly small-town America. The population hovers at just over 200. But on the northern outskirts, you’ll happen upon a place with plenty of bells and whistles: End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.
“It’s like a little village from way back when. You have your church. You’ve got a school,” said visitor Larry Diedrich.
You’ve also got railroad relics, up and down the tracks.
“1901 was when the first line was put in here,” said Jake Halverson, site manager for End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.
Halverson said Currie was once a thriving railroad town. In fact, it was the end of the line for steam engines heading west. If you wanted to go east, Currie was your gateway to the rest of the world. The first stop was Bigham Lake.
“From Bigham Lake they could go to Minneapolis, from Minneapolis to Chicago, from Chicago to New York,” said Halverson.
But by mid-century the last train had left the station. No sooner did that happen than teenagers from the local 4H club began to clean up the abandoned turntable.
The platform was used to turn 400,000-pound steam engines around when they hit the end of the line. Thanks to the 4Hers, it still works today.
The club also bought the train depot for $1 from the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Company and moved it closer to the turntable.
“That is really the beginning of maybe bringing more attention to the history of the railroad here,” said Halverson.
It’s history that comes in all shapes and sizes, including a model railroad that’s a replica of a time that was.
“It was built to look like what Currie was 100 years ago,” said Halverson.
Much of what you see at the park and museum is original, including a 125-year-old water tower that was moved to the site from Walnut Grove.
The caboose nearby originally came from South Dakota. The locomotive once ran in Georgia.
The rail business may have left Currie, but the love for trains never did. It’s a chance to celebrate big history in a small town.
“Wherever there have been trains, there have been people who are fascinated by them,” said Halverson. “I think this is an opportunity for individuals to learn about not only this part of Minnesota but to know where this part of Minnesota fits in with the rest of the world.”
The End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum is open from Wednesday through Sunday from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
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