Minn. lawmakers want more money from school lands

St. Paul, Minn. (AP) — A legislative subcommittee is looking at how to make higher profits on millions of acres of land set aside at statehood to support Minnesota's schools.

The panel will get an update on new laws designed to boost revenue from the lands by $34 per student per year. The new laws take effect next year.

Minnesota makes money on the lands through mineral leases, taconite royalties, timber sales, campground fees and other uses.

The lands date back to statehood in 1858, when the federal government put two parcels of land for each township into a trust for public schools.