2 Charged With Stealing 2,000 Trees

HIBBING (AP) - Two people are charged with stealing nearly 2,000 spruce trees from county-managed forestland in northeastern Minnesota.

Authorities say the two planned to sell the small trees and tree tops as miniature Christmas trees in southern Minnesota. Authorities say the trees were cut over several days on land west of Toivola and taken to private land nearby.

Twenty-two-year-old Steven Morterud and 23-year-old Tara Herrick are charged in state district court in Hibbing with theft of timber. A conviction carries a maximum $3,000 fine and a year in jail. The two were also charged with misdemeanor trespass.