Twin Cities airfares up in Q1: The so-called "Southwest effect" may no longer be in effect. Airfares out of Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport were up slightly in the first quarter, compared with the same period a year ago. The average ticket price for a flight out of the Twin Cities inched up less than 1 percent to $379.23 in the first quarter. Average fares during the year-ago period totaled $377. Nationwide, airfares grew at a steeper 4.7 percent. The national average ticket price was $328. Read full story

MoneyGram loss narrows in Q2: MoneyGram International reported today that its loss narrowed in the second quarter, though the company's results still missed analysts' estimates. The St. Louis Park-based company's quarterly loss available to common shareholders fell to $25.8 million, or 31 cents per share. That's down from a loss of $33 million, or 40 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. Read full story

Northwest to pay $38M fine for price fixing: A price-fixing investigation into air-cargo costs by the U.S. Department of Justice will result in a $38 million fine for the former cargo unit of Northwest Airlines. The federal government charged Northwest with conspiring to fix rates for cargo shipments between the United States and Japan. Price fixing took place from July 2004 through approximately February of 2006; during that period, Northwest's cargo business generated about $80 million in revenue from servicing the route, according to a justice department press statement. Read full story

Delta ending service to Thunder Bay: Delta Air Lines will end service between Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada. Atlanta-based Delta cited the "poor performance" of the route in a news release. Flights between the destinations have been about half empty over the past year, the airline said. Read full story