OGEMA — Minnesota’s wild rice season officially closes Sept. 30, but for most ricers in Northern Minnesota, the harvest is already over. “For the Brainerd area at least, it seems like the sweet spot really almost always lands right around Labor Day weekend,” said Jennifer Boucher, Department of Natural Resources shallow lake program specialist in Brainerd. “... But this year was a little different because we had that extended cool spring ... It was behind this year about a week from that when it reached peak ripeness.”