Some payouts of accrued sick time and vacation time to retiring state employees have reached six figures. A Senate subcommittee will take a closer look.

Thousands of employees are taking an option to retire early as the state tries to trim its workforce and balance the budget. But, as the Pioneer Press reports, many state employees take tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid sick time with them when they leave.

When 5-year-old Brandon Chartrand, of Farmington, went into his mother’s purse to find the $4 he needed to get into a local pool, he found the family's $1,400 cash mortgage payment and stuffed it all in his swim trunks. An alert pool cashier notified his parents that their son was trying to gain admission with huge wads of cash.

A legislative subcommittee is considering rejecting a labor agreement the Dayton administration has reached with state employee unions. But Thursday's hearing on the issue wound up putting subcommittee chairman Mike Parry - who's campaigning for Congress - on the defensive.

The yet-to-be-identified vegetable has Morris community guessing after resident Debra Rollens found- whatever it is - in her garden.

Blockbuster video stores in Woodbury, Cottage Grove and Hudson are expected close later this month, the Pioneer Press reports. The Blockbuster chain filed for bankruptcy in 2010 due to increasing competition from Redbox, Netflix and other home movie distribution platforms.