Bluefin Bay up for sale

The iconic Bluefin Bay resort on Lake Superior's North Shore is for sale. The property in Tofte, Minn., was listed for sale in January, although the asking price was not publicly disclosed. Overlooking Lake Superior, Bluefin Bay may be the best known of the Bluefin Bay Family of Resorts, but the listing also includes Surfside and Temperance Landing, also located off the lake along Hwy. 61, as well as several restaurants, a spa and housing for 92 workers. Bluefin Bay CEO Dennis Rysdahl has owned the resort since 1984 and is retiring, so this will be the first time in 35 years that the property will be listed.

Kelly Smith

United adds premium seats

United Airlines will woo passengers by retrofitting more than 100 planes to add more premium seats on key routes. The airline also plans to start using a new 50-seat jet with mostly premium seats on some key business-travel routes. The moves are part of an industry trend to give more space and better service to high-paying passengers who account for a disproportionate share of airline revenue. Henry Harteveldt, an airline analyst at Atmosphere Research, said United's announcement was a challenge to Delta Air Lines, the acknowledged front-runner among the nation's top three carriers for its on-time performance and strong profit margins. United will retrofit 21 of its Boeing 767-300ER jets starting in the next several weeks. It will reduce seats from 214 to 167 by shrinking the economy section while going from 30 to 46 business-class seats and adding 22 "premium plus" seats. The planes will fly first between Newark, N.J., and London. The airline also plans to add a few more first-class seats to its Airbus A319 and A320 planes.

Associated Press

Spring break in Santa Fe?

Santa Fe, N.M., is kicking off its fourth-annual Kids Free Spring Break, which runs from March 1 through April 21. With the citywide promotion, families with children receive free lodging, meals, classes and cultural experiences. For example, the Meow Wolf Adventure at La Fonda on the Plaza includes accommodations for two adults and up to two kids under age 17, breakfast (free for kids), four tickets to Meow Wolf-House of Eternal Return (free for kids; normally $19 each) and a family pass to the Harrell House Bug Museum. Rates start at $295 a night, including taxes. On Wednesdays from March 7 through April 4, buy two adult full-day lift tickets at Ski Santa Fe ($80 each) and one child age 12 or younger skis for free, a savings of $54. For all deals: santafe.org.

Washington Post

An old railcar at the Railyard, a popular gathering spot in Santa Fe, N.M.

The wait for a BWCA permit

The new online reservation system for securing permits in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that opened and quickly crashed in late January won't go live until Feb. 19 or later. U.S. Forest Service representatives announced the date after a meeting Monday between the agency, the reservation system contractor (Booz Allen Hamilton), outfitters and other business people. More meetings are scheduled. The permit system on the national website recreation.gov failed shortly after it went live Jan. 30, shutting out an untold number of users and creating questions for those who managed to snag permits. Outfitters had complained about changes to the system. Some warned supervisors at the Forest Service ahead of the changes that the crush of first-come, first-served online reservations would overwhelm the capacity of the site.

Bob Timmons