MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Humane Society of the United States and other animal welfare groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday to restore federal protections for gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region that were lifted last year.

WASHINGTON-Excluding the United States, the world holds an estimated 565 billion barrels (bbo) of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional oil; 5,606 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional natural gas; and 167 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas liquids (NGL), according to a new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released today.

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - The U.S. Department of the Interior has threatened to cancel a lease agreement that allows the city of Duluth to collect a cut of revenue from the Fond-du-Luth video gambling machines. A letter from Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk to Mayor Don Ness says the lease agreement is unlawful in light of recent court rulings and the National Indian Gaming Commission.

The Mississippi Headwaters Board recognized the work of Commissioner L.B. (Gus) Schroeder at its meeting Friday.

INTERNATIONAL FALLS (AP) - The public comment period on a new management plan for Voyageurs National Park has been extended for an extra 30 days at the request of local officials, resort owners and residents.

This editorial appeared in today's Los Angeles Times:

...states." Send comments to: Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, ms 634, ARLSQ, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.

Most of us learn to fish from a dad or uncle who threads a worm on a hook when we're preschoolers - teaching us patience in the midst of anticipation of that first tug on our lines.

ONAMIA - Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin testified Oct. 8 before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Resources.

I have never met Warren Williams, President of the Bremer Bank in Brainerd, but he has a special place in my heart.