Despite heaps of praise from President Barack Obama for not laying off any of their 4,000 employees during the recession, Warroad, Minn.-based Marvin Windows and Doors endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at his running mate Paul Ryan's rally Sunday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport,

Governor Mark Dayton will join a crowd of Minnesotans for a Capitol rally on World Autism Day. The event will also offer parents of autistic children resources on therapy, insurance, housing, and employment. Federal officials now say one child in 88 has an autism-related illness.

The president praised the Warroad, Minn., business for sparing workers from layoffs during a tough economy. "That’s how America was built," he said during a speech in Kansas.

In his nomination acceptance speech Thursday night, President Barack Obama listed inspiring stories that give him hope, and he singled out Warroad, Minnesota's Marvin Windows and Doors for refusing to lay off workers even through difficult economic times.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty played the role of attack dog in his speech at the Republican National Convention. Pawlenty focused mostly on President Obama rather than Republican candidate Mitt Romney or vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. He sprinkled biting or sarcastic humor through the speech, although pundits thought his jokes mostly fell flat.

Valley News reports American Crystal executives and union negotiators made no progress after yet another meeting. In a statement, executives said the union is ignoring the fact "times have changed dramatically" and that contracts must reflect those changes. The union says it has put forward new proposals but the company refuses to bargain.