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Monson Trucking lasted through the Great Depression, but not this one. The business that started when horses’ hooves still trod the highways announced its end Wednesday via teleconference to 100 workers in Virginia and Red Wing, as well as Mauston, Wis. (Another 100 at the firm’s Duluth headquarters got the news in person.) The economy, paper-industry doldrums and bankruptcy of two big clients killed off Monson and those 200 jobs.

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning…

ST. PAUL: Ford plant still set to shut despite demand for its trucks. Sales of Rangers leaped 9 percent last month, compared to a 6-percent drop for Ford trucks and vans overall. [St. Paul Pioneer Press]

MINNETONKA: More arms of Opus fall into bankruptcy. Two divisions of locally based developer Opus Group filed for Chapter 7: Opus East and Opus West joined Opus South (already in bankruptcy court), leaving only Opus North and Opus Northwest. [St. Paul Pioneer Press]

STATEWIDE: Economy hard on homeowners, renters. No surprise, but the stats are still grim: A study shows mortgage defaults up, renters falling behind. [Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal]

MINNEAPOLIS: Students have no say in U of M tuition hikes. Revenue from tuition now outpaces what the University of Minnesota gets from the State of Minnesota. [Minnesota Daily]

ALBERT LEA: Let the municipal mosquito wars begin. The city of Albert Lea started spraying Wednesday night. [Albert Lea Tribune]

STATEWIDE: Nanny state says shut your mouth while swimming. Worry not only about the poop coming out of Duluth’s pipes but also your fellow bathers’, says the Minnesota Department of Health. [Associated Press]