It’s the season of pumpkin patches, haunted mazes and Halloween hayrides on farms across Minnesota, a bucolic tradition for generations of families but one that is subject to very few safety regulations either in the state or across the country.

That became apparent following an accident at a hayride earlier this month that left a 13-year-old boy dead. According to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, Alexander “Xander” Steven Mick was run over by a wagon pulled by a tractor at the Harvest of Horror Haunted Hayride in St. Augusta. The incident occurred at about 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 12.

Regulations of these types of businesses vary greatly based on location and business model, with often minimal oversight, said Rusty Rumley, senior staff attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center. For example, a pick-your-own-pumpkin patch would have very few regulations, but a wedding barn venue where food is served would be subject to far more, he said.

“For a lot of things like the hayrides and stuff like that, it really doesn’t fall in anybody’s jurisdiction,” Rumley said.

With few rules, farm operators turned “agritourism” entrepreneurs often have to establish their own safety measures as they welcome hoards of families — many with small children — to their properties and allow them to interact with large farm equipment and animals.

Minnesota law grants agritourism businesses immunity from liability due to the inherent risks present in environments with farm animals and machinery. Exceptions to the law include negligence, willful or wanton disregard for safety, knowledge of dangerous conditions on the land and intentional injuries. The Stearns County Sheriff confirmed that it is investigating the Harvest of Horror, but has not provided additional details.

”It’s still an open investigation,” said Chief Deputy Dan Miller. There is no county licensing requirement for hayrides, Miller said.

While some agritourism operations will inspect their farm vehicles, there is no legal requirement to do so. Other types of rides, like at amusement parks, are subject to inspection by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

Another man exited the building and told police that he and Sutherland have been longtime friends. He told police that Sutherland moved into the building a week earlier and was planning to open a restaurant there. In the meantime, the friend said, Sutherland was living there in an apartment.

Sutherland texted him that day and said he and his girlfriend had been fighting. The friend said he was on the way to help calm things down.

The “visibly shaking and crying” girlfriend told police she and Sutherland have been a couple for the past two years, and they were arguing about him telling her that they were not going to a music festival.

She also said he was taking out on her the trouble he was having with neighbors acting racist toward him. That’s when she called her sister. She said he squeezed her neck briefly with both hands and said, “I want you dead.”

She said she ran to a neighbor’s home to use a phone, and Sutherland walked out of the building with a handgun and told her he would shoot her if she returned. As she approached him, the girlfriend continued, Sutherland pointed the gun at her and then hit her in the chest with the weapon. She said she put up her hands and said, “Don’t shoot me.”

She said the friend soon arrived and disarmed Sutherland, who screamed at her that he wanted her dead. She described the gun to police and said he has other firearms in the residence.

Gamers will soon have a space to escape to a virtual world for a bit at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, now that the Metropolitan Airports Commission has approved a lease for company Gameway Inc. to build a new lounge in the airport.

Gameway is a company that specializes in offering video gaming hubs in airports, and already has lounges open at airports in Los Angeles, Charlotte, Dallas and Houston.

The space is about 3,000 square feet, and would include cushioned seating for casual gaming, competitive e-sports gaming, virtual reality consoles, “privacy business pods,” and high-speed internet, according to the proposal laid out on Oct. 7.

The Airport Commission also considered awarding the space to another company, Gate Escape, but instead went with Gameway, Anne Saxton, the commission’s interim director of concessions and business development, said at the Oct. 7 meeting. The company is based out of Tigard, Ore.