Features

Many of the 1.4 million Minnesotans who hold fishing licenses might not realize how much fishing takes place before the state's May 12, 2012, opener.

All spring, Minnesota's baitfish farmers have been busy raising and harvesting hundreds of thousands of minnows, a popular baitfish used to catch walleyes, northern pike and muskies. Keeping minnows healthy is crucial to the Minnesota's $4.8 billion sport fishing industry, due to their ability to spread diseases.

Research shows that most businesses and communities don't have websites, don't use social media to their advantage, and can't be found through online and mobile map searches--gaps that put local economies at a disadvantage.

University of Minnesota Extension has gotten a closer look at Internet use by Greater Minnesota businesses since joining the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) initiative.

A natural shoreline is a healthy shoreline, benefiting the water quality of lakes and streams, the surrounding wildlife, and the people who live on or near your lakeshore property.

"If your property hasn't been developed yet, you can plan ahead to leave it in its natural state," says Karen Terry, a water quality educator with University of Minnesota Extension. But what if your property is already developed?

The timing has never been better for the farm to school movement. One out of three children are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National health care costs continue to rise, fueled in part by more total cases of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Paging through plant catalogs in search of exciting new cultivars is a time-honored tradition during Minnesota's long winter. But Kathy Zuzek, a University of Minnesota Extension horticultural educator, advises: "Before investing, find out if the cultivars you desire have been shown to perform well in Minnesota gardens."

Cold, gray weather got you down? Get a jump on spring by attending a University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener Horticulture Day workshop near you.

When the course wraps up in mid-February, the University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener class of 2012 will be the 35th in the volunteer program's history. This year's cohort includes 178 people from 42 counties plus the Fond du Lac tribal nation.