The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency approved water quality permits needed for the expansion of the U.S. Steel plant. The $300 million expansion is estimated to create 500 construction jobs followed by 120 permanent jobs.

Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville plans to add a150,000-square-foot specialty care medical office building, hospital expansion and a new parking ramp, the Business Journal reports. The project will cost about $60 million.

Cargill Inc. plans to increase the production capacity of its joint-venture Paseo Biofuels LLC biodiesel plant in Kansas City by 40 percent, Reuters reports. The Minnetonka-based agriculture giant expects the expansion to be complete by March 2013.

The Wayzata-based agribusiness employs 6,600 employees in Minnesota, and although the cuts are not focused in any one area, Cargill won't say how many Minnesota workers will be laid off.

Summit Brewing Co., Minnesota's largest craft brewer, plans to break ground Friday on a $6 million addition of its St. Paul brewery, the Business Journal reports. Construction was slated to start next June. “We’ve hit the wall on capacity. We had to cut 12 brews this year due to capacity issues, so the original expansion date of June 2013 has been moved to this month," CEO and founder Mark Stutrud said in a news release.

The new canola crushing plant is a welcome sight for northwest Minnesota -- which has seen a decline in population over the past couple of decades. The operation will employ 50 people with an estimated payroll of $3.5 million a year.

It’s a huge loss for environmental groups, who have cited studies saying heightened levels of mercury can cause nerve damage and developmental problems in humans. U.S. Steel officials say they hope to start construction next year.