Sen. Al Franken will attend the dedication in Woodbury Saturday. The city now has more than 50 Habitat homes, twice as many as any other suburb. St. Paul and Minneapolis each have more than 250 Habitat homes.

Some of Minnesota's prime pheasant habitat is on land owned by farmers. Those acres may soon be planted with crops again unless Congress decides to beef up ag subsidy programs.

The logo was designed by 17-year-old Jacob Bartels of Roseville and will adorn the hull of the $2 billion USS Minnesota.

The Minnesota State Fire Chief's Association is pushing a new mandate that would require sprinklers in all new homes built in the state. The Minnesota Home Builders Association opposes the mandate, suggesting it could add as much as $15,000 to the cost of new home construction.

The lawsuit aims to help the utility garner more credit for their efforts in atmospheric pollution reduction

The utility company spent more than $2.3 million on lobbying, followed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce which was also over $2 million.

The recommendation is 63 percent lower than Xcel Energy's original request. A spokeswoman told the Pioneer Press residential customers would see their monthly bill increase by about $2. If the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission agrees with the judge, customers would receive a refund of about $24.

U.S. Senator Al Franken says his proposal would cut energy consumption and create jobs in the building trades. He says similar programs are helping local governments save money with more energy-efficient buildings. Plus, Franken says, it would help Minnesota which he called "the Silicon Valley of windows."