Tax receipts for August beat projections by 3.5 percent. Minnesota Management and Budget reports revenue from sales taxes and individual income taxes was strong. It's a turnaround from July, when revenue was lagging.

Tourism officials in Duluth said despite the record breaking flooding that devastated parts of the city, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses in the city are open for business. Some officials in the city and surrounding areas are worried about how the damage will affect the region's $800 million tourism industry.

All those media images of ruined roads and flooded-out buildings are not good for tourism, a major industry in Duluth, business owners in the region say.

It appears an aggressive tourism campaign after the devastating June floods in northeastern Minnesota helped boost tourism in Duluth. The News Tribune reports tourism tax receipts show a 10 percent surge in local hotel and motel revenues in July compared with the same month last year. Figures for August and September are still being calculated.

Duluth is desperately hoping the Fourth of July holiday will offer a boost to its hobbled tourism industry, which took a $3 million hit after recent flooding. A new ad blitz is planned to lure visitors back. The region got more bad news with the announcement that popular Jay Cooke State Park likely will be closed for the season. Meanwhile, the United Way is leading an effort to raise money for homeowners who say it'll be a struggle to rebuild.

Even though production was down, Minnesota's corn crop was worth a best-ever $7 billion. The estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture tops the previous record the year before. The state's soybean crop was down 13 percent from 2010.