Minnesota Grown Directory seeking new members

          ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is updating its popular, statewide, Minnesota Grown Directory filled with direct to consumer farms and farmers markets. Membership and Directory listing are open to Minnesota producers who grow or raise products. The 2014 edition promoted 978 farms and farmers markets. Minnesota Grown has more than 1,200 members including fruit and vegetable farms, livestock producers, farmers markets, CSA farms, orchards, garden centers, farm wineries, Christmas tree growers and more.

170,000 copies of the Minnesota Grown Directory are released annually in April and distributed statewide in tourist centers, libraries, chambers of commerce, farms, and retailers. Farms who advertise in the printed Directory are also included in the online edition, which was redesigned and had more than 290,000 unique visitors in 2014. The new, mobile friendly, website was improved to simplify searches for Minnesota products and farms.

“The demand for local foods has increased dramatically the last few years,” said Ag Marketing Specialist with the Minnesota Grown Program, Jessica Miles. “Our Directory is the most comprehensive and commonly used guide to local foods and plants available in Minnesota. It’s also becoming an excellent resource for family activity ideas and learning opportunities.”

While memberships are accepted year-round, farms must sign up or call Jessica Miles by February 6, 2015 to be included in the 2015 printed Directory.

“For $60 farmers can get an entire year’s worth of advertising both online and in print,” said Miles. “They’ll also have access to other great Minnesota Grown member-only benefits, such as use of the trademarked logo and FREE stickers, price cards and other promotional items. Just don’t delay and call right away because the deadline to be included in the printed Directory is February 6, 2015.”

Potential new members may sign up and pay online by clicking on the “Members & Retailers” tab at www.minnesotagrown.com, then clicking on “Become a Member” or contact Jessica Miles at 651-201-6170, jessica.miles@state.mn.us to request an application by mail or with questions.

Deer population goal-setting public meetings begin Feb. 2

Opportunities for the public to participate in deer population goal setting for large portions of northeastern, north-central and east-central Minnesota begin Monday, Feb. 2, in Monticello.

“Working with citizens to achieve conservation and management goals is integral to the mission of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources,” said Leslie McInenly, DNR big game program leader. “To make sure that goals are based on the broad range of public interest in deer, we use a public process to help determine how many deer to manage for in a given area.”

Each meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m. After a short presentation on deer populations and management, meeting participants may comment verbally, ask DNR staff questions and complete a written questionnaire.

Deer population goals will be set for 40 of Minnesota’s 128 deer permit areas in 2015. People can view a map of the goal-setting areas at www.mndnr.gov/deer. They should attend a meeting for the goal-setting block that contains the deer permit areas in which they are interested. Meetings are scheduled for:
Block 1 – Superior Uplands Arrowhead 

• Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015: Two Harbors High School Auditorium, 1640 Highway 2, Two Harbors.
• Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015: Cook County Community Center, 317 West 5th St., Grand Marais.
• Deer permit areas included: 117, 122, 126, 127, 180.

Block 2 – North Central Plains Moraines

• Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015: Sanford Center, Lakeview Rooms, 1111 Event Center Drive NE, Bemidji.
• Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015: Deer River High School Commons, 101 1st Ave. NE, Deer River.
• Deer permit areas included: 169, 172, 184, 197, 210, 298.
  
  Block 3 – Pine Moraines
• Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015: Century High School Cafetorium, 501 Helton Ave., Park Rapids.
• Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015: Franklin Auditorium, 1001 Kingwood St., Brainerd.
• Deer permit areas included: 241, 242, 246, 248, 251, 258, 259, 287.
  
  Block 4 – East Central Uplands
• Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015: Hinckley High School, 201 Main St., Hinckley.
• Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015: Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Peterson Center, 300 Spirit River Drive South, Cambridge.
• Deer permit areas included: 152, 155, 156, 157, 159, 183, 221, 222, 225, 247, 249.
  
  Block 5 – Sand-Plain Big Woods
• Monday, Feb. 2, 2015: Monticello Community Center, Mississippi Room, 505 Walnut St., Monticello.
• Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015: Spring Lake Township, Town Hall Community Center, 20381 Fairlawn Ave., Prior Lake.
• Deer permit areas included: 219, 223, 224, 227, 229, 235, 236, 285, 338, 339.

For those unable to attend a meeting for the area in which they are interested, details on how to submit written or online comments will be available soon at www.mndnr.gov/deer.

White-tailed deer are an important resource to the state of Minnesota. Nearly 500,000 individuals hunt deer and countless other people enjoy viewing deer in the state.

Deer managers look at deer density goals as a societal issue more so than a biological issue. Deer are capable of achieving high densities so are generally managed at a level of social tolerance rather than managed for the maximum number that habitat can support. This approach involves balancing desires of hunters, wildlife watchers and others who may support higher deer densities with those of farmers, foresters or others who experience conflicts with deer who may favor lower deer densities.

“The public participation process has been designed to include input from anyone who has an interest in deer management,” McInenly said. “Citizen advisory team members also will attend the public meetings for their goal-setting block so they can learn what others have to say.”

When public meetings for each goal-setting block are complete, each citizen advisory team will review relevant biological and social data as well as public input. Teams will recommend population goals for each deer permit area in their assigned areas. The public will have an opportunity to comment on the advisory teams’ recommendations before DNR makes its final decision about goals.

This is the third year DNR has worked with citizens to reassess and re-establish deer population goals in Minnesota. Goals for southwestern and a portion of northern Minnesota were set in 2012. Goals for southeastern Minnesota were set last year. Goals for the deer permit areas not part of the 2012-2015 processes will be set in 2016.

Winter load increases begin Jan. 12 for metro, south and southeast frost zones

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Winter load increases will begin Monday, Jan. 12, on unrestricted highways in the metro, south and southeast frost zones, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Winter load increases are already in effect for the north, north-central and central frost zones.

Vehicles will be allowed to operate up to 10 percent over the standard legal maximum loads on unrestricted highways during the winter load Increase period. However, trucks must comply with current registration weight laws and not exceed registered gross weight tolerances.

Drivers should check with local agencies prior to increasing any weights on city, county and township routes. The sign erected on the roadway governs the load limit in effect. A winter weightincrease permit is required to take advantage of the 10 percent weight increase on interstate highways only; a permit is not required for state trunk highways.

For questions about legal weight/size trucking, call: Minnesota Department of Public Safety - State Patrol - Commercial Vehicle Enforcement; 651-405-6196 (select option 3, option 3).

For questions about over legal weight/size ‘heavy haul’ trucking, call: Minnesota Department of Transportation, Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations - Oversize/Weight Permits, 651-296-6000 or email: ofcvopermits.dot@state.mn.us.

The start and end dates for winter load increases are based on how weather is affecting roadway strength. These dates are established by monitoring roadway strength as weather conditions change. Therefore, the ending date for winter load increases is variable and drivers must check for updates throughout the year. Vehicle operators are required to check with MnDOT for the exact start and end dates. All changes are made with a minimum three calendar-day notice.

For the most current information, go to MnDOT’s automated 24-hour message center at 800-723-6543 for the U.S. and Canada, or locally at 651-366-5400 for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. This information is also published on the MnDOT seasonal load limits website at www.mrr.dot.state.mn.us/research/seasonal_load_limits/sllindex.asp. 

Jury Duty Scam Courts New Victims

Burnsville, Minnesota – January 6, 2015 – Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota ® (BBB) is warning the public about a jury duty scam which, regrettably, never goes out of style. Though most adults are aware they may be called for jury duty, not everyone is familiar with the bureaucracy surrounding this process; the exact manner in which people are summoned for jury duty. People also know that jury duty is both a civic duty and mandatory. Scammers, meanwhile, look to profit off situations where uncertainty exists.

“The jury duty scam is just clever enough to pay dividends for fraudsters,” said Dana Badgerow, president and CEO of BBB of Minnesota and North Dakota. “Our hope is that by spreading the word about this scheme it will reduce the pool of people who might get hooked by it.”

How the jury duty scam works:

Scammers contact you, claiming you’ve missed jury duty. The calls or messages threaten people with arrest or jail time if they don’t pay the fine for “missing” jury duty. Scammers will then seek personal information such as bank account or credit card numbers – even Social Security numbers. BBB advises the public that if you get a call from someone who claims to be a court official and asks for sensitive personal information or demands a payment, it’s a scam.

In Minnesota, jury duty notices/summonses are sent through the mail. Though Minnesota law requires people to serve on jury duty, if qualified, nobody will call you – or email or text – demanding payment for missing jury duty.

BBB Tips to avoid the jury duty scam:

Don’t let scammers pressure you. If you get a call from alleged court officials asking for financial information, end the phone call and report the scam to BBB and your county’s jury office.

Be aware that scammers can mask their identity. Scammers have the ability to use software to disguise how they appear on your caller ID. So while calls might appear to be from your local courthouse, it could be a fraudster on the other end of the line.

Guard your personal information. Giving out sensitive personal or financial information over the phone is always a bad idea -  don’t do it.

Have questions about the process? If you did indeed miss jury duty, you will be sent a notification in the mail. However, if you have any doubt that a mailing is legitimate, contact your county courthouse.

For the latest consumer news, fraud alerts and free BBB Business Reviews, visit bbb.org.