Finding a meteor fragment is a big deal, and it could pay off. CBS reports that some of the fragments could be worth thousands of dollars, and if there are a bunch of fragments they could sell for as much as $30 t0 $40 per gram. Read more
The latest boom in Livingston isn't due to a falling space rock, but by businesses benefiting from visitors searching for meteorites. Livingston is a quiet village of just a few hundred people on the Grant-Iowa County line. The meteorite rush is breathing a bit more life into the economy, but it's not without frustrations for some in the area. Read more
The National Weather Service said radar information suggests the meteor landed in southwest Wisconsin. The search is centred in the Grant County village of Livingston, which is about 50 miles west of Madison. There is a huge market for meteorite collectors and a lot of money involved, especially after a fall like what was seen earlier in the week, WISC-TV reported. Read more
Starting at daybreak, hunters fanned out across acres of open wheat and soybean fields and dairy farms. Since meteorite fragments have a magnetic pull, hunters wave magnets attached to the ends of rods over rocks, dirt and brush. The meteorite crash came at a particularly difficult time for local farmers, who are now beginning the growing season, said Paul Sipiera, an adjunct curator of meteorites for the Field Museum, who rushed up to Wisconsin to take part of the search. Read more
Initial bragging rights went to Terry Boudreaux, a 49-year-old collector from the Chicago area. After reports of a fireball in the sky surfaced Wednesday night, Mr. Boudreaux calculated the meteorites path and took his two sons out of school Thursday to drive four hours to Livingston, Wis. They were dejected after a day of searching in vain, Mr. Boudreaux said, when a dairy farmer approached them with a rock he had found in his driveway and asked if it was a meteorite. Read more