Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On October 10, 2012, Otter Tail Power Company, a Minnesota corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Otter Tail Corporation, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., a division of MDU Resources Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, Northern Municipal Power Agency, a Minnesota political subdivision and municipal corporation, and NorthWestern Corporation, a Delaware corporation doing business as NorthWestern Energy (together the "Coyote Station Co-Owners"), co-owners in the Coyote Station baseload generation plant, entered into a Lignite Sales Agreement ("Agreement") with Coyote Creek Mining Company, L.L.C. ("CCMC"), a Nevada limited liability company and subsidiary of The North American Coal Corporation ("NACoal"), a Delaware corporation. Under the Agreement, CCMC will deliver to the Coyote Station Co-Owners, and the Coyote Station Co-Owners agree to purchase and accept exclusively from CCMC, the annual fuel requirements of the Coyote Station plant (expected to be approximately 2.5 million tons), all under terms and conditions set forth in the Agreement, for a period expected to begin on or about May 5, 2016 and terminating on December 31, 2040. The price per ton to be paid by the Coyote Station Co-Owners under the Agreement will reflect the cost of production, along with an agreed profit and capital charge. In addition, the Agreement provides for the Coyote Station Co-Owners to purchase the membership interests in CCMC in the event of certain early termination events and also at the end of the term of the Agreement. NACoal provides an unconditional payment and performance guaranty of CCMC's obligations in connection with the Agreement.