An analyst says the start-ups will have "a very, very difficult time" competing with established companies amid the global glut of solar panels. Last month Silicon Energy of Mountain Iron joined TenKsolar of Bloomington in making the panels.

The Bemidji Pioneer reports adult diapers, catheters, syringes and other hazardous waste have been turning up in road ditches in Beltrami County over the past few years. The county has to hire specialists to dispose of the garbage, and it's racking up quite the bill, prompting officials to release this statement: "Please stop this behavior and do the right thing -- take your poopy diapers to the dumpsite."

City workers around Minnesota are routinely planting new trees, which need extra water. And those young boulevard trees have really had a hard time this summer as dry conditions persisted in the state, MPR reports. Officials are pleading for help from homeowners.

The company says Minnesota's strict pollution rules are forcing it to look beyond the state for a possible site for a new iron ore plant. State officials tell the Duluth News Tribune they're upset Magnetation executives would consider such a thing after the state gave them $1 million in taxpayer money.

The iconic IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis is about to hit the market, the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal reports. Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. has put the 40-year-old 57-story tower for sale without an asking price.