Farmland prices are softening in Minnesota – StarTribune
Mayor: Detroit on track for first balanced budget in 13 years – Reuters
Minnesota says cigarette smuggling is a growing problem – StarTribune
St. Louis wrestles with a dome versus an outdoor football stadium – Post-Dispatch
Midwestern wages are flat as the Midwestern landscape – Dick Longworth
Regulators worry low oil prices will lead to corner-cutting in Bakken – Fargo Forum
Colorado coal production slips to 20-year low – Denver Post
Neighborhood group OKs 30-story tower at Nye's location – StarTribune
Ohio governor warns state colleges to cut the fat, or he will – Columbus Dispatch
U.S. inventive energy shifted from medicine to computers in the 1990s – Atlantic
Syrian monuments men seek to protect antiquities as looters descend – WSJ
American politicians have it really easy with journalists – ABC News Australia
By the way, Australia has a child care cost problem too – Bloomberg