An eagle project manager with the National Park Service told the Star Tribune officials counted 36 nests along the Mississippi River between Elk River and Hastings. That's up from 28 last year and 11 when aerial surveys began in 2006. The continued growth indicates the river is producing plenty of food for the majestic birds.

For the past decade, volunteers at the National Eagle Center have been treating the birds to "Beach Day." The trip to the Mississippi River has become a weekly summertime tradition in Wabasha.

After a two-month excursion through Wisconsin and northern Minnesota, a young eagle made famous by the internet is heading back south. The eagle was born and raised in front of an internet cam in Decorah, Iowa.

Associated Milk Producers Inc., based in New Ulm, plans to shut down its manufacturing facility in Dawson by the end of the year, the West Central Tribune reports. The soon-to-be idled plant has about 130 workers and primarily produces cheese sauces and puddings.

The Raptor Resource Project found an eagle that had recently left the nest dead at the base of a power pole. The utility company has already installed shields around poles near the next to help protect the birds. Millions of people have watched the online stream of the Decorah eagle cam. This is believed to be the first of the fourteen eagles born there to have died.

The birds are moving home in large numbers over the next few weeks, and “it’s definitely time for folks to keep their eyes out," says a DNR specialist. Wildlife experts say eagles are migrating a little earlier than usual, likely because of the mild winter.