[ Minnesota ] A lot of people are trying to buy locally-produced food. Some look for locally-made clothing. But how about buying a house made of locally-produced timber? That’s just what the builders had in mind when they started this house: improving markets for small local businesses. Timber is an important part of the economy here, but a lot of logs leave the county on trucks, headed for mills in Grand Rapids or Duluth . Four years ago, Aitkin County hired Ross Wagner to find ways to keep more of those logs here, so more businesses could make more money on them. Wagner says a few people are starting to get interested in locally-grown products. And he thinks there will be more.

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