Brunswick Corp. and Lund Boat Co. have agreed to pay $295,000 in back wages and interest to nearly 200 female job applicants who were rejected for entry-level positions at a Minnesota manufacturing plant. The settlement comes after a lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Department of Labor last year alleging hiring discrimination.

Lunds and Byerly's have recalled some chicken products due to potential for contamination with a dangerous strain of listeria, the Star Tribune reports. The recall is merely a precaution, the company said. No illnesses were reported.

Officials say the Byllesby Dam needs a $6 million upgrade or it could have deadly consequences in the future, according to KSTP. Dakota County could be fined if the safety changes aren't made. A completion deadline has not been set.

Nearly all of Minnesota's eight-person House delegation voted for the bill -- except for DFL Representative Keith Ellison and Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann -- who was absent because of her presidential campaign.

Michele Bachmann slammed President Obama's spending policies at a manufacturing plant in Waterloo, Iowa. But the plant, OMJC Signal, gets about 80 percent of its revenue from government road and transportation projects.