A chocolate lab named Gypsy beat out law enforcement dogs from five states in a K-9 competition at Camp Ripley. It involved searching and tracking, too, but her sheriff's deputy partner says Gypsy's specialty is sniffing out drugs from cars.

Duluth-based Cirrus plans to bring up to 60 jobs at its Grand Forks, N.D., plant as it partners with a company that makes a new type of small "sport" plane. The Grand Forks Herald report Cirrus is taking over manufacturing for a large portion of the Icon A5 -- a plane that can take off and land on water.

The Mankato Free Press reports the superstar is scheduled to play in Mankato on Sunday, April 22. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, March 5. And WDAY says he'll perform for the first time in Grand Forks on Saturday, March 24. Tickets for that show go on sale at 10 a.m. this Monday. Tickets sold out within minutes for his show in Duluth last year.

The department in North Dakota will be among only seven law enforcement offices nationwide to use unmanned aircraft this spring. The Fargo Forum reports the sheriff's department has partnered with UND to develop an unmanned aircraft systems program that will be unique to the upper Midwest. The drones can be used for standoff situations and crime scenes as well as search and rescue operations.

Minnesotans who planned on strolling across the border to Grand Forks, N.D., to become one of the walking dead in the city's Zombie Run will have to kick up their feet this year. The event, which was scheduled in conjunction with the Grand Forks Zombie Music Fest next month, has been scrapped over conflicts with another marathon.

The unmanned aircraft have changed the way the military approaches warfare. But - without any public discussion - they've also become a tool used by local police and sheriff's departments. Some critics say the blending of military and police functions raises red flags.