The Twin Cities lifestyle publication METRO announced Wednesday it will cease publication next month after six years in business. The magazine's publisher, Minneapolis-based Tiger Oak Media, said it is turning attention to other products that are having more financial success.

A pipeline carrying crude oil to Chicago area refineries has leaked about 1,200 barrels of oil, Enbridge Energy Partners said Saturday. The Associated Press reports the spill was contained to a field near Grand Marsh, Wis. and nobody was hurt. The U.S. Pipeline Safety Agency is investigating the spill.

The news site's editor Jon Collins tells MinnPost that parent company American Independent News Network is laying him off and closing the site, among others around the country, as it merges with another media company.

It's not just the last month that's been unusually warm. The last half of 2011 was the second warmest in the Twin Cities since records started.

Xcel Energy says its Monticello nuclear power plant automatically shut down at 11:07 a.m. Tuesday, but officials aren't sure why and a cause is being investigated, the Pioneer Press reports. All plant safety systems were functioning, officials with the Minneapolis-based utility said. The shutdown posed no danger to the public or workers, Xcel officials said. The plant is not expected to be down long.

The Minneapolis City Council Friday approved a resolution to close down the controversial adult section of the classified ads website Backpage.com. The Star Tribune says 20 child sex trafficking cases that Minneapolis police investigated so far this year involved juveniles advertised on the website.

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors says despite another increase in sales, the median home price in the Twin Cities dropped 9 percent to $155,000.