Kexue "John" Huang has pleaded guilty to stealing confidential information from Cargill and his previous employer, Dow AgroSciences, and sending that information to China. Cargill hired Huang as a biotech specialist in one of its Twin Cities research labs.

Cargill Inc. plans to increase the production capacity of its joint-venture Paseo Biofuels LLC biodiesel plant in Kansas City by 40 percent, Reuters reports. The Minnetonka-based agriculture giant expects the expansion to be complete by March 2013.

Jim Miner Sr., the CEO of Hermantown-based Miner's Inc., died on Sunday. He was 77 years old. His funeral will be held on Thursday at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in Duluth.

The U.S. Department of Labor claims women were less likely to be hired and Asian men were favored over other applicants at its meatpacking plant in Arkansas. Federal officials want to cancel Cargill's existing government contracts

Ruth Anderson of Marshall was locally renown for her love of Scrabble, which she played every week. She was listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest twin. She lived more than a century longer than her brother, who died at age 13 months in 1900.

James Humphrey had a fly-fishing cast that was breathtaking. His knowledge of Upper Midwestern trout streams was equally impressive. In some circles, the two editions of Humphrey's book "Trout Streams of Wisconsin and Minnesota" are known as the old and new testament.

The Iron Range man who invented Jeno's Pizza Rolls died at age 93. Jeno Paulucci's death comes four days after his wife, Lois, died. In addition to frozen pizza rolls, he built up several food businesses, including Chun King.

Bloomberg News is reporting Cargill Inc. plans to develop industrial palm-oil plantations and processing facilities in Ivory Coast within five years. The Minnetonka-based agribusiness giant may invest $380 million in the project. Cargill is one of the biggest cocoa exporters in the West African nation, the world’s top grower of the crop.