The native insect that feasts on the short-lived conifers has exploded throughout much of the state’s northeastern region at ...

Instructor Mike Austad, of rural Pine River, has been carving spoons for about 10 years, along with a variety of other wood ...

“I took down one stand near the lake that was about 50 feet by 50 feet. It was pure balsam.” He is hardly alone in this Sisyphean struggle. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural ...