A 20-month federal investigation into alleged discrimination against Muslim students in the St. Cloud schools ended with a settlement.

The wireless provider had announced a fee for customers paying service bills online via a debit or credit card. The FCC threatened to investigate and the company reneged the "convenience fee" due to customer feedback.

County commissioners are expected to finalize this week a plan for an expansion of the Hennepin County morgue through a merger with Dakota and Scott counties. If the merger proceeds, Hennepin County medical examiners will start providing services for Dakota and Scott counties Jan. 1 at its downtown Minneapolis morgue -- which will be remodeled to handle its expanded staff and caseload.

A Maple Grove woman faces felony charges including child endangerment for allegedly sharing heroin with her 12-year-old daughter regularly enough to get the girl hooked. According to investigators, Rebecca Hill says she kept providing the drugs to keep her daughter from going through withdrawal. Police say Hill provided a false name when she was arrested for shoplifting. She faces up to 25 years in prison.

Mother nature, the economic downturn, lack of volunteers and more competition are among the challenges county fairs are facing these days. The St. Cloud Times examined financial reports from the nonprofit agricultural societies that operate county fairs in Stearns, Benton and Sherburne counties. The newspaper found Benton and Stearns most recently reported minimal operating surpluses, while Sherburne has lost thousands of dollars.