Local residents feared they would lose Squid's Market, their only grocery store, when longtime owner Mike Korczak put it up for sale last year.

But the store will remain open in this northwest Minnesota town of 719 residents near the Canadian border after a sale to grocers from nearby Badger, Minn.

"We're very grateful," Korczak said last week. "It would be horrible if we would have had to close it. So it was very important that we keep it open."

Korczak's parents bought the market in 1950, and he took it over from them in 1985.

The new owners are Corey and Kat Christianson, who own KC's Country Market in Badger, about 10 miles away. They'll take over starting Monday.

But Korczak isn't heading for a sunny beach. He'll stay at Squid's as a meat cutter for the new owners.

John Reinan

Murray County

Invasive mussels found at Lake Sarah

After a vigilant lake service provider reported finding zebra mussels on a dock removed for the season from Lake Sarah, employees with the Department of Natural Resources found the invasive mollusks at all of the half-dozen sites it surveyed around the lake.

Now, the hunt is on. The DNR said in a news release Thursday that it would use a dog trained to sniff out zebra mussels at a nearby marina.

"It helps a lot when lake property owners, lake service businesses and others notify us when they've spotted an invasive species," said DNR Invasive Species Unit Supervisor Heidi Wolf.

Minnesota law requires keeping docks and lifts out of the water for at least 21 days before putting them into another body of water.

Dan Browning

Duluth

Temporary path reopens along lake

City workers in Duluth have cleared debris from the Oct. 10 storm surge to reopen a temporary path next to the Lakewalk Trail in Canal Park between the canal and Endion Station.

The city estimates the storm and Lake Superior's waves caused at least $18.4 million in damage and is seeking state emergency aid to make repairs.

Crews will continue working on the sidewalk between the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center and Great Lakes Aquarium as weather allows.

A pedestrian trail behind the Ledges residential units remains closed until further notice, as does the Lakewalk Trail between Lake Place Park and Leif Erikson Park.

Dan Browning