Northern Iron and Machine foundry in St. Paul was fined $41,500 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for air quality violations.

An investigation carried out by the MPCA found Northern Iron had removed, modified or replaced pollution control equipment throughout the facility without updating its permits, according to a Tuesday news release from the agency.

The foundry’s violations occurred over 15 years, the MPCA said, and over the course of five separate inspections the facility failed to disclose updates or changes made to the equipment.

Located in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood at 867 N. Forest St., Northern Iron produces metal castings and machined parts and has St. Paul roots dating back to 1906.

The inspections revealed that the foundry had removed and replaced emission units and control equipment and failed to recertify hoods after making changes that could lead to less efficient capturing of particulate matter, according to the MPCA.

The foundry was also operating some of its pollution control equipment out of the permitted ranges and had failed to disclose all of the facility’s activities in previous permit applications that would have required it to conduct ambient air modeling, which demonstrates compliance with ambient air quality standards.

In addition to paying the fine, Northern Iron was ordered to submit a plan for annual hood certifications, seek appropriate permits for equipment modifications, operate all air quality control equipment within its permits, submit major permit amendments and ambient air modeling protocol as well as track operating hours of furnace melting, metal casting and metal finishing.

Northern Iron could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

— Maraya King

Meat producers to face stricter organic rules

Livestock and poultry producers will need to comply with more specific standards if they want to label their products organic under final rules announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA’s new Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards are being implemented after years of discussions with organics groups, farming organizations and livestock and poultry producers.

The final rules cover areas including outdoor space requirements, living conditions for animals, maximum density regulations for poultry and how animals are cared for and transported for slaughter.

Under the rules, organic poultry must have year-round access to the outdoors. Organic livestock also must have year-round outdoor access and be able to move and stretch at all times. There are additional requirements for pigs regarding their ability to root and live in group housing.

Bitcoin nears 18-month high, almost $35,000

Bitcoin is having another moment. The world’s largest cryptocurrency soared to almost $35,000 this week, marking its highest point in nearly 18 months — and more than double the price seen at the start of 2023.

The cryptocurrency rocketed from just over $5,000 each during the start of the pandemic to nearly $68,000 in November 2021, according to FactSet, during an era of massive tech growth. Prices came back down to earth during an aggressive series of rate hikes from the Federal Reserve as it battled inflation, and then the collapse of one of the biggest companies in crypto, FTX.

When 2023 began, a single bitcoin could be had for less than $17,000 after losing more than 75% of its value. Investors, however, began returning in large numbers this year as inflation started to cool.

Ad revenue boosts Meta earnings

Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday posted sharply higher earnings for the third quarter, boosted by an increase in advertising revenue and lower expenses after it laid off thousands of workers.

The company based in Menlo Park, California, said that it earned $11.58 billion, or $4.39 per share, in the July-September quarter. That’s up from $4.4 billion, or $1.64 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 23% to $34.15 billion from $27.71 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $3.64 per share on revenue of $33.58 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.

Meta, which on Tuesday was sued by 41 states plus the the District of Columbia for harming young people’s mental health, said the number of active users on Facebook was 3.05 billion as of Sept. 30, an increase of 3% from a year earlier.

— From news services