Rogue's Chicken was destroyed and other nearby food vendors were damaged as six area fire departments converged on the festival.

Second Harvest Heartland was skeptical last year when the Minnesota Pork Producers dropped off 2,000 pounds of meat and promised to double the donation this year. But the group was gratefully surprised when the hog farmers came back Tuesday with 5,000 pounds of pork. Second Harvest will distribute it among 1,000 food banks around the state.

Nearly eight years after a fire destroyed a family’s home in Prior Lake, the homeowner’s son has been convicted of intentionally setting the blaze, possibly in an attempt to obtain insurance money for the family. It was an unusual case in that it took so long to be resolved. Charges were filed in December 2009 – just one day before the case would have reached its statute of limitations.

Donations of nonperishable foods have leveled off as stores get more efficient about handling their inventories. To pick up the slack, Second Harvest Heartland is turning to vegetables and other fresh foods to supply the neediest Minnesotans.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration has awarded the Minnesota Department of Agriculture $600,000 grant to help the department quickly trace contaminated food to grocery stores and other distribution points.

Fire investigators say a blaze that destroyed 11 homes and damaged several dozen other structures in the northwest town of Karlstad this month was probably arson. The Department of Natural Resources is still investigating and offering a $6,000 reward.

A northern Minnesota man is being held at the Chisago County jail on suspicion of second degree arson, KARE 11 reports. North Branch police arrested the 21-year-old in connection with an arson fire that nearly destroyed the North Branch Veterinary Hospital earlier this month.

Fire destroyed Zup's grocery store in Babbitt and an adjoining drug store. The Duluth News Tribune reports three other businesses suffered water damage. The total damage is estimated at $1 million.