Your Minnesota weekend: All-Star edition
Weather
Unseasonably cool temperatures will arrive next week in the Midwest and as far south as Arkansas and Oklahoma.
It is not, however, the second coming of a polar vortex, something the National Weather Service says it regrets tweeting earlier this week.
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More:
• The latest Updraft
• Check your local forecast
MPR's Paul Huttner says the latest model runs show about half of the weekend may be sunny and warm, with clouds and a nagging thunder threat the other half.
Half of the weekend sounds like it will be a good chance to get some gardening done.
Especially because this year's wet weather has brought unique challenges for gardeners, from soggy soil to mildew and disease.
Garden expert Julie Weisenhorn joined the Daily Circuit to answer questions, offer suggestions and share some insights on how best to work that field.
Festivals & Events
Life in downtown Minneapolis will be getting a pair of disruptions this weekend: Basilica Block Party and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
The game isn't until Tuesday, July 15 but road closures start as early as Friday morning. Some roads will be closed for a few hours and others for a few days.
Baseball takes over Minneapolis the next five days with events throughout the city and plenty of merchandise, some of it authentic, some not. At the Minneapolis Convention Center, booths are filled with baseball stuff.
There are plenty of ways to join the fun outside the park, starting Thursday and running through Tuesday when Target Field hosts Major League Baseball's mid-summer classic.
Some stuff will cost you. Some won't.
More:
• 5 ways to enjoy Alll-Star fun outside the park
• All-Star Game: What Minneapolis workers, residents can expect
This week's exploration of the upper Midwest's many summer festivals brings us to Pelican Rapids, Minn., for Pelican Fest.
• More: Summer festival photo galleries
Pelican Rapids is especially proud of their mascot "Pelican Pete," the "World's Largest Pelican." Pete is a 15-foot statue that overlooks the Pelican River.
Jennifer Ballard from the Pelican Rapids Chamber of Commerce spoke to MPR News' Tom Crann about the interesting history of the festival -- and pelicans, of course.
Books & Movies
For this week's Roaming and Reading, the Daily Circuit traveled to Canberra, Australia with Ginger Gorman, an ABC radio presenter and producer.
On The Daily Circuit, one author discussed some of the facts behind the juvenile justice system and the stories she heard during her research.
Through hundreds of interviews with youth and their families, award-winning author and journalist Nell Bernstein explored the physical and psychological abuse in state-run juvenile detention facilities.
Her book is called "Burning Down the House: The end of Juvenile Prison."
The Daily Circuit also compiled a list that will entice your boys (10 years and up) to put down the XBox and pick up a book.
• More: 14 books for teenage boys
Food & Drink
Minneapolis restaurateur Kim Bartmann has been a provocative presence on the local culinary scene since February of 1991, when she opened Cafe Wyrd in Uptown. Cafe Wyrd is now Barbette, and that single spot has blossomed into an eclectic chain of local indie favorites.
This week, the Heavy Table's James Norton reviewed Bartmann's newest venture, a South Minneapolis restaurant called Tiny Diner.
• More: Food news and reviews
Bonus!
The first full Supermoon of the year is expected to occur Saturday morning, showing the moon much larger in the sky.
Full Supermoon is the name of a full moon happens while it is near or at its closest point to the Earth in its orbit --- or perigee.
The full Supermoon is expected Saturday at 6:27 a.m., according to David Falkner, president of the Minnesota Astronomical Society. But the moon becomes full 21 hours before perigee --- before it comes as close as possible to Earth and looks very large to us.
Falkner said you don't have to stand anywhere special to see a Supermoon. "The moon will just look big," he explained.
There are expected to be three total Supermoons this year.