Authorities in Crystal are trying to catch thieves who have stolen more than 100 bronze vases valued between $200 and $500 each from graves at the Glen Haven Memorial Garden cemetery.

New London’s Chad Revier has once again set Minnesota’s record in pumpkin growing. At a weigh-in at Stillwater’s Harvest Fest Saturday -- his gourd came in at 1,630 pounds. That’s 51 pounds heavier than the state record-holder he grew in 2009.

It's that time of year when the pumpkin flavored foods go all nutty. Pumpkin latte obsessions notwithstanding, it's easy to see madness in pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin ravioli, even pumpkin gum. But pumpkin beer? Have we gone too far?

Copper thieves made off with 64 4-foot pipes at the popular outdoor St. Paul ice rink at Phalen Recreational Center, and the repair cost could run as much as $30,000, the Pioneer Press reports. Now the facility's opening day, typically around Thanksgiving, might be delayed.

In some parts of the country pumpkins really are in short supply ... but not here in Minnesota. The warm, dry fall made for a bountiful crop. So good, in fact, some local growers are exporting to their pumpkin-poor peers elsewhere.

While a dry summer has wreaked havoc on Minnesota's farmers, pumpkin farmers are still seeing a bumper crop this fall. Several farms in the state are reporting a high yield just in time for Halloween.