Minnesota Closing 1st Wolf Season Thursday Evening

The Department of Natural Resources says hunters and trappers have now registered 181 wolves killed in the northwestern zone. That brings the statewide total to just five wolves short of the overall quota of 400.

The agency is still having problems with its automated system for tallying the number of wolves killed, which hunters and trappers are required to check before going out to see if their zone is still open. The system stopped working Tuesday.

DNR spokesman Scott Pengelly says the totals had to be updated manually on the DNR's website Wednesday afternoon. A phone hotline that erroneously says the season has already closed is still not working.