Authorities in southern Minnesota said several people and pets were rescued Wednesday night after being trapped in their homes due to flash flooding.

Parts of Interstate 90 were closed overnight as floodwaters continued to cover the freeway — but Austin police said the interstate reopened around sunrise.

The National Weather Service said 4 to 7 inches of rain fell in Mower County in just a few hours Wednesday.

The Mower County Sheriff’s Office said it “received several calls reporting subjects trapped in their homes in both Adams and LeRoy needing assistance in safely getting out. All people and pets were assisted to safety unharmed.”

The city of LeRoy asked residents to limit water use, as the city’s sewer system struggled to handle the torrential rain.

The storms also swamped the city of Austin — with streets and basements flooded. Flood warnings were in effect Thursday for the Cedar River and local creeks.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation said I-90 was closed in both directions overnight due to water over the freeway near the 11th Drive exit on the east side of Austin. Austin police said it reopened Thursday morning.

Another stretch of the freeway was closed east of Austin, between the Brownsdale and Dexter exits. MnDOT’s 511 map showed that also reopened early Thursday.

The Mower County Sheriff’s Office said damage assessments will take place across the county on Thursday and Friday.

Austin and surrounding areas also saw flash flooding last Thursday morning, July 2 — which forced the temporary closure of I-90 east of the city.

That flooding on July 2 also caused damage at some state parks in southeast Minnesota. The Department of Natural Resources said Beaver Creek Valley State Park near Caledonia remains closed in the wake of the flooding, as crews are still working to clear debris and assess road and bridge damage. The park is expected to reopen next week.

Just when you thought every possible variation of pickle cuisine had been invented, along comes the latest list of new foods to watch for at this year’s Minnesota State Fair.

Among the new offerings for 2026: Pickle Pie at LuLu’s Public House — described as “pie crust filled with a blend of chopped pickles, pickle juice and cream cheese. Topped with homemade savory whipped frosting made with ranch and Cholula Hot Sauce. Garnished with a gherkin and a sprinkle of dill.”

And that’s not all. Urban Glow Mocktails will be offering “Dill with it, Cookie!” — a bakery concoction created by Holman’s Table that combines white chocolate chips, finely chopped dill pickles and fresh dill, finished with a sprinkle of sugar and Maldon sea salt.

Both of those offerings are vegetarian.

They’re among 36 official new fair foods this year, and nine new vendors who’ll be making their debut at the annual Great Minnesota Get-Together.

In addition to the two new foods listed above, the new official fair food offerings are:

• 

• Cracklin' Corn Ribs at The Blue Barn: Corn cob quarters dipped in tempura batter, then fried. Brushed with seasoned butter and topped with bacon ranch, green onion and candied jalapeños. Served on a bed of pork rinds.
  

  

• Longanisa Cheese Curd Lumpia at Lumpia City: Homemade Filipino longanisa — pronounced “lohng-guh-NEE-sah” — pork sausage combined with garlic and Wisconsin cheese curds, stuffed and rolled in a lumpia wrapper and deep-fried. Served with a side of sweet chili sauce.

  

• French Chouxnut Sundae at Bridgeman’s Ice Cream: Pronounced “SHOO-nut” — Bridgeman's salted caramel espresso ice cream piled atop a choux pastry donut filled with milk chocolate mousse and topped with dark chocolate fondant icing and chocolate curls. Finished with caramel drizzle, whipped cream and a cherry. (Vegetarian)

  

• Korean BBQ Bao Buns at Rooted & Wild by Snack House: Vegan Chunk plant-based shredded “meat” tossed in hot Korean barbecue sauce. Topped with pineapple slaw and served on folded, steamed bao buns. (Vegan)

  

• Surf ‘N’ Turf Burger at Cafe Caribe: Lobster tossed in garlic-herb butter stacked on a 1/3-pound seasoned grilled beef patty topped with pepper jack cheese. Drizzled with homemade chipotle mayo, served on a toasted brioche bun with a lemon wedge.

  

• Butter Brew Mustache Pretzel at Blue Moon Dine-In Theater: Handmade soft pretzel dough rolled in the shape of a mustache and baked. Coated in melted butter and tossed in a butter brew sugar mixture flavored with caramel, vanilla and butterscotch. Served with a side of vanilla soft-serve dip. (Vegetarian)

  

• Bao Belly at RC's BBQ: Smoked barbecue pork belly drizzled with RC's hot sauce and yum yum sauce. Topped with pickled vegetables and cilantro and served on folded, steamed bao buns.

  

• Blue Moon Crunch at Minnesnowii Shave Ice: Fluffy shave ice infused with blue moon flavor, dusted with Fruity Pebbles cereal and drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. Inspired by the flavors of blue moon ice cream. (Gluten-free and Vegan upon request)

  

• Walking Chopped Italian Grinder at Mancini’s al Fresco: Chopped Italian grinder sandwich-style blend of sliced salami, pepperoncinis, green olives, artichokes, roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella pearls, tossed in Italian dressing. Layered over a bag of Dutch Crunch Parmesan & Garlic Kettle Chips and drizzled with Calabrian chili aioli.

  

• Shakshuka Lamb Meatballs at French Meadow Bakery & Cafe: Seasoned lamb and pork meatballs stuffed with whipped garlic herb goat cheese and flash-fried. Served atop shakshuka – pronounced “shahk-SHOO-kah,” a blend of tomatoes, chili peppers, onions and spices – garnished with parsley and served with a side of chimichurri-spiced sourdough crostini. (Gluten-free upon request)

  

• Dubai Whoopie Pie at Dino’s Gyros: Dubai chocolate-inspired whoopie pie made with pistachio cream sandwiched between two dark chocolate cakes. Rolled in Dino's Dubai crunch topping of shredded filo, crushed pistachios, honey and brown sugar. (Vegetarian)

  

• Chorizo Manchego Croquettes at Paella Depot: Spanish-style potato croquettes filled with manchego cheese and Spanish chorizo. Lightly breaded, fried and garnished with chives. Drizzled with homemade lemon garlic aioli. (Gluten-free)

  

• Honey Brisket Battered Potatoes at Australian Battered Potatoes: Deep-fried Australian Battered Potatoes topped with beef brisket, smothered in nacho cheese and drizzled with hot honey.

  

• Hmong Corndog at Union Hmong Kitchen: Pork Hmong sausage flavored with ginger, garlic, fish sauce, chili and lemongrass made in collaboration with Kramarczuk’s. Skewered, dipped in a cornmeal batter and fried. Served with a side of citrus Kua Txob sauce — pronounced “goo-ah-CHOH.”

  

• Tacos de Mole at El Burrito Mercado: Flour tortillas filled with shredded chicken, cheese and house-made mole sauce. Deep-fried, drizzled with more mole sauce and garnished with queso fresco.

  

• Jamaican Jerk Chicken Loaded Fries at Midtown Global Market's Irie Jamaican Express: Battered french fries topped with Jamaican jerk chicken, melted cheese and green onions. Drizzled with ranch and jerk sauce. (Aug. 27 to Sept. 1 only)

  

• When Pigs Fly at Sausage Sister & Me: Flight of pork sausages wrapped in puff pastry and served on-a-stick. Varieties include: Chorizo Sausage with chimichurri; Texas Two-Step Sausage with sweet pepper coleslaw; Oktoberfest Sausage with melted cheddar and chili crunch; and Porketta Italian Sausage with pickle aioli.

  

• The Fried and the Furious: Cubano Drift at The Herbivorous Butcher: Deep-fried Cubano-style sandwich made with a crunchy tortilla filled with vegan Cuban pork, vegan Swiss cheese, dill pickle relish, vegan garlic mayo and mustard. Served with a side of jalapeño citrus sauce. (Vegan)

  

• Strawberry Ube Sundae Tart at Sara's Tipsy Pies: Swirled strawberry and ube marshmallow cream mixed with chocolate chips, chilled and scooped into a fudge-filled gluten-friendly shortbread crust. Topped with whipped cream, strawberry sauce and edible glitter sprinkles. (Gluten-friendly)

  

• Peri-Peri Bowl at Afro Deli & Grill: Fried peri-peri hot chicken, seasoned with African Bird's Eye chili peppers, garlic, lemon and herbs. Combined with mini beef sambusas and fried sweet plantains, all topped with peri-peri sauce and choice of: basbaas (pronounced “BAHS-bahs,” spicy Somali green chili pepper sauce) or spicy red chili sauce.

  

• Sligo Slider Bites On-A-Stick at O’Gara’s at the Fair: Handmade dumplings stuffed with a cheeseburger blend made of beef, cheddar, pickle and onion. Skewered on-a-stick and deep-fried. Served with homemade Thousand Island dressing.

  

• Brandy Old Fashioned Cookie Dough at Kora & Mila’s Cookie Dough: Edible cookie dough infused with nonalcoholic brandy flavor and combined with orange zest, cinnamon, dark chocolate chips and tart dried cherries. Served on-a-stick, hand dipped in brandy-flavored bittersweet chocolate, and rolled in Biscoff cookie crumbs. (Vegetarian)

  

• Apple Donut Ham Grinder at Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop: First Kiss apples from Pleasant Valley Orchard, sliced into rings, battered, deep-fried and tossed in cinnamon sugar. Stacked with sliced uncured ham from Hidden Stream Farm, dressed arugula and drizzled with Crybaby Craig's Hot Honey, made with honey from Bolton Bees. Served with herb-whipped ricotta spread on a toasted hoagie roll from Emma Krumbee's Bakery.

  

• Banana Butterscotch Barnraiser at Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop: Vanilla pound cake layered with roasted bananas, butterscotch sauce and caramelized croissant croutons made by Patisserie 46. Topped with whipped cream from Stony Creek Dairy and garnished with nut-free cereal mix made with Corn Chex, Biscoff cookie butter, chocolate chips, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. (Vegetarian)

  

• Bucket of Chicharrones at San Felipe Tacos: Freshly deep-fried chicharrones (pork rinds, pronounced “chee-chah-RROR-nehs”) sprinkled with chili pepper and lime seasoning. Served with a trio of dipping sauces: hot sauce, creamy chipotle sauce and chamoy.

  

• Sweet Peach Lemonade Sparkler at Quench’d: Fresh-squeezed lemonade layered with peach syrup and peach sweet cream cold foam. Topped with a sprinkle of popping candy and garnished with a peach slice. (Gluten-friendly, Vegetarian)

  

• Elote Tots at Tot Boss: Deep-fried tater tots tossed in Tajín and topped with an elote-style sauce made with roasted corn, diced peppers, cheddar cheese, crema and cream cheese. Finished with cotija cheese and more Tajín. (Vegetarian)

  

• Caramel Apple Iced Tea at Loon Lake Iced Tea: Black tea brewed with natural tart apple flavor and topped with caramel-infused cold foam. Garnished with a Caramel Apple Pops lollipop. (Gluten-friendly, Vegetarian)

  

• Strawberries & Blueberry Creme Parfait at Strawberries ’N Creme: Fresh whole strawberries layered with blueberry non-dairy whipped topping and garnished with gluten-free waffle chips. (Gluten-friendly, Vegan)

  

• Dockside Poppers at Summer Lakes Boat House (new vendor): Seasoned cream cheese, bacon, artichoke hearts and jalapeño peppers combined, breaded and lightly fried. Served with a side of homemade tomato chili jam.

  

• Mango Sticky Rice Refresher at Chan’s Eatery: Coconut milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk, mango flavoring and half and half poured over ice and topped with fresh and dried mango. Finished with a dried mango sugar rim. Inspired by the flavors of mango sticky rice. (Gluten-friendly, Vegetarian)

  

• Strawberry Crunch Mini Donuts at Solem’s Mini Donuts: Strawberry donuts dusted with vanilla sugar, drizzled with vanilla icing and topped with homemade strawberry streusel crunch. Served in a bucket rimmed with vanilla icing and more streusel crunch. (Vegetarian)

  

• Pumpkin Bar Funnel Cake at Taulelle’s Jurassic Corn Dogs: Real pumpkin, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla blended with original funnel cake batter, then deep-fried. Lightly brushed with melted butter and topped with homemade cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

  

• Two-Tone Bloody Mary Mocktail at Urban Glow Mocktails: Homemade tomatillo salsa layered with a zero-alcohol blend of tomatoes, herbs, spices and olive brine. Garnished with a skewer of pickle, cheese, tomato, olive and an Urban Glow Cheweenie sausage.

The new vendors at this year’s fair are:

• dodopop — pronounced “DOH-doh-pahp” — which will serve dirty sodas in six flavors: megalodon (Dr. Pepper — diet available, raspberry syrup and coconut cream); golden yeti (orange pop, vanilla syrup and vanilla cream); liger (lemonade, Starry and cherry syrup); big red dog (Pepsi — diet available, cherry, vanilla syrup and vanilla cream); sasquatch (root beer, vanilla syrup and vanilla cream); and babe’s lemonade (sparkling lemonade, blue raspberry syrup and raspberry popping pearls). Located on the northeast corner of Dan Patch Avenue and Cooper Street.

  

• Iemochi Japanese Confections — pronounced “ee-eh-MOH-chee” — which will serve Tanghulu (“tahng-hoo-loo”),fruit skewered and coated in a hard candy shell in four varieties: strawberry, green grape, mandarin orange and dual-mix with strawberries and grapes. Gluten-free. Located at the International Bazaar, south wall.

  

• Jive Turkey BBQ, which will serve Crack-n-Cheese Bowl (homemade macaroni and cheese, hickory-smoked turkey barbecue, deep-fried turkey cracklins and signature sauce); Soul Rolls (macaroni and cheese with collard greens deep-fried in an egg roll); Soul Punch (muscadine lemonade); and Stuffed Turkey Legs in two varieties: Cajun Shrimp and Alfredo (stuffed with Cajun shrimp and dirty rice, topped with alfredo sauce) and Thanksgiving Stuffed (stuffed with choice of three fillings: macaroni and cheese, stuffing, gravy, yams, collard greens or cranberry sauce). Plus, hickory-smoked turkey legs and turkey barbecue sandwiches. Located on the north side of Lee Avenue between Underwood and Cooper streets.

  

• Midtown Global Market’s El Taco Torro, which will serve Birria Crunch Bombs (deep-fried tortilla balls filled with birria beef, Oaxaca and mozzarella cheese rolled in a tortilla chip coating and drizzled with lime crema, served with a side of consommé dip); Fairground Fiesta Tacos (deep-fried flour tortilla cone filled with al pastor pork, pineapple pico, queso and finished with cilantro & onion); and Horchata and Mangonada drinks. Located in the Taste of the Midtown Global Market booth at the International Bazaar, east wall. (Sept. 2 through Sept. 7 only)

  

• Minnesota’s Original Apple Fries, which will serve Apple Fries (fresh-cut apples, fried, tossed in cinnamon sugar and served with a side of caramel); Apple Fries Deluxe (larger portion of Apple Fries served with a side of caramel and whipped cream); and apple cider. All gluten-friendly and vegetarian. Located on the north side of Dan Patch Avenue between Underwood and Cooper streets.

  

• Roon’s Savories, which will serve hand-rolled waffle cones flavored with parmesan, cheddar and herbs. Savory Cones are available with four choices of fillings: BBQ Pulled Pork Mac (slow-smoked pulled pork layered with macaroni and cheese), Chicken Tinga and Rice (chicken and smoky tomato-chipotle sauce layered with seasoned rice, gluten-free), Classic Chicken Salad (house-made chicken salad with fresh herbs, gluten-free) and Three Cheese Mac (three cheese macaroni and cheese, vegetarian). Located on the west side of Liggett Street between Carnes and Judson avenues.

  

• Saturday Dumpling Co., which will serve Chinese Sausage and Cheese Poppers (fried dumplings with savory & sweet Chinese sausage and provolone cheese); Ube Cheesecake Wontons (deep-fried filled wontons, drizzled with sweetened condensed milk and sprinkled with crushed Biscoff® cookies, vegetarian); and Salted Mango Yuzuade (pronounced YOO-zoo-aid — mango puree, yuzu juice, salt, simple syrup, vegan). Located in the Food Building, east wall.

  

• Solem’s French Fries, which will serve fresh-cut French fries in four sizes with a dedicated sauce bar offering a variety of self-serve spices and dipping sauces. Plus, fresh-squeezed, frozen lemonades, fountain sodas and bottled water. Fries are gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. Located on the east side of Underwood Street between Murphy and Lee avenues.

  

• Summer Lakes Boat House, which will serve a variety of food options: Dockside Poppers (included in new foods list above); Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Skewers; Crispy Chicken Sandwiches; Riblets ‘N’ Chips; Hand-cut Chips and Dips; and sliders in two varieties: slow-roasted ribeye and wild rice walleye. Plus, hard seltzer-based cocktails and mocktails made with Summer Lakes Beverage mixes in eight flavors (all gluten-free and vegan) and a full beer menu. Also, bottled cocktail mixes available for purchase. In a new building, with live entertainment daily. Located on the southwest corner of Randall Avenue and Underwood Street.

As they compete for the GOP nomination in an August primary, Minnesota's Republican governor candidates are promising to slash state spending. They’ve committed to hefty tax cuts, too.

With financial constraints and, for now, a closely divided Legislature, those budget-related ambitions could be easier said than done.

Not long after former healthcare executive Kendall Qualls locked down the Republican Party’s endorsement for governor, he pledged a massive tax cut if he wins the race.

“Under my administration, we’ll deliver a $9 billion fraud rebate,” Qualls said in a June campaign video, citing a former federal prosecutor’s figure about potential fraud over almost a decade. Criminal cases so far have not alleged that level of loss.

In explaining his plan, Qualls told MPR News that the tax cut would come in parts — rebates in each year of a two-year state budget. Qualls said he would pay for it by making vast spending cuts and seeking other cost savings.

“We're looking at a 12 percent budget decrease across the board, and you could manage that with little to no impact at all when you think about operating state budgets,” he said.

Minnesota’s current two-year budget is about $71 billion, with a potential deficit brewing because of a mismatch in revenue and spending.

Qualls isn’t alone in saying he’d cut state spending. Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth said she’d do it, too — and stresses she has already done it as part of negotiations in the narrowly split Legislature.

“When we set the budget going forward, we reduced state spending by $5 billion,” Demuth said at a recent campaign press conference at the Capitol. “We look forward to doing even more.”

Minnesota’s overall budget size did fall between the budget before she became speaker and the one after. Some of that resulted from the expiration of one-time spending made when DFL lawmakers had a sizable but mostly temporary surplus in the prior budget.

Demuth said there are other areas that could be pared back.

“The first way we will do that is ending fraud and cutting back and right-sizing the government,” Demuth said.

She contends that too many state employees have been added under Gov. Tim Walz’s administration.

“There's been an explosion of new FTEs and growth within government in a way that Minnesotans and their family budgets have not experienced, and we look forward to doing further reductions as appropriate,” she said.

Her campaign website says she’d deliver income tax cuts, exempt Social Security benefits from taxes and lower vehicle registration fees along the way.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said he’s working on a budget proposal that would streamline state spending. In an interview, he said he would size up programs one-by-one and turn to the private sector for more help funding them.

Lindell also said he’d bring in a state department of government efficiency. He’s modeling it after the DOGE project put in place when President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

"I want to make sure the people that are entitled to it, that need the funds, that need the help, get the help, but it's the right help, and it gets to the root of the problem, rather than just enabling,” Lindell said. “Or a program that just doesn't end, and you don't help the person, you know, the people that need the help.”

He isn’t committing to a firm number in cuts. The former cocaine addict who has since worked in addiction recovery programs said some state programs might need more funding, not less.

“I'm not just going to be a politician that says, ‘I'm going to cut spending, so you're going to save on your taxes,’” Lindell said. “This is all it is like a huge business. You can't hurt someone over here to gain over here.”

Democrats say voters deserve specific details about what the GOP-set cut goals would mean.

The Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a Democratic-aligned group that has traditionally been a big player in races for governor, used the Qualls comments about across-the-board cuts as an opening to connect the GOP candidates to healthcare scaleback approved under Trump.

“What programs is Qualls planning to cut, and how will this affect our families?” asked Marissa Luna, the alliance’s executive director.

The campaign for Amy Klobuchar, a current U.S. senator and the likely DFL nominee for governor, pointed to her plans to make government “more effective, innovative and accountable.” She put out a plan in May to taken on fraud and perform a top-to-bottom audit of state programs to end those that are duplicative or ineffective. But, the campaign said in a written statement, that she would put money toward raising achievement in schools and easing costs of healthcare and housing.

Officials who helped craft previous state budgets say it’s easier to make campaign promises about spending cuts than it is to make them stick.

“It's hard work, and that's why being governor and leading agencies is tough stuff,” said Jim Schowalter, who served in state budget roles under Govs. Tim Pawlenty, Mark Dayton and Tim Walz. “The first idea may make some sense, and it may sound good, but then you start to understand that there's complications or impacts, or there's real people losing out on a decision.”

Tom Hanson, a former commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget under Pawlenty, said budget cuts are challenging, especially when they’re not being made to fill a budget hole.

“It's pretty tough to find money to cut without directly impacting something that somebody gets,” Hanson said. “You're essentially showing that, well, instead of spending money on A, B and C, I'm going to spend it on D, E, and F. And you’ve got to make the case, and that isn't always easy.”

He said that boils down to making a successful pitch to state lawmakers — who would need to pass a budget — and to the public.

Hanson said there’s a new factor at play in budget debates this time around: fraud. And that might make it easier to pitch Minnesotans on potential cuts.

“Nobody likes to pay money into something that isn't being used properly,” Hanson said. “I think that's a dynamic that we have not seen in budgeting.”

MPR News correspondent Peter Cox contributed to this report.

As medical behemoth Mayo Clinic continues to lead the way in incorporating artificial intelligence into clinical settings, a new lawsuit alleges that staff at the world-renowned hospital system had been skirting AI compliance rules and masking concerning error rates.

The civil action comes from former Mayo Clinic research director and AI compliance lead Traci Tamiko Eto, who sued her employer this week in federal court, saying she was retaliated against and fired after she blew the whistle on how the hospital’s rush to incorporate AI into their operations put patient care and privacy at risk.

Artur Davis, Eto’s attorney and a partner with the national law firm HKM Employment Attorneys LLC, told MPR News that this is a significant case, especially since it concerns the intimate and confidential patient data hospitals like Mayo Clinic have in their possession.

“If [people] care about the notion that AI has to be handled in a responsible manner, with integrity, and there have to be rules and guidelines, this is a case that should matter to you,” Davis said.

Davis said Mayo Clinic has 21 days to respond to the legal filing.

Mayo Clinic told MPR News Wednesday it is committed to the responsible development and deployment of AI and that privacy, security, transparency and compliance are embedded in its processes.

“Our research and clinical innovation are conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and we remain steadfast in upholding the trust patients place in us and respecting their privacy,” said Andrea Kalmanovitz, Mayo’s communications director. “Mayo Clinic does not comment on pending or active litigation.”

Incorporating AI into patient care has been one of Mayo Clinic’s top priorities in recent years. The renowned medical provider has been developing and using AI to reach more patients and find new ways to better diagnose, treat, predict and prevent disease. In 2019, the health care system launched Mayo Clinic Platform, an initiative to drive health care innovation through the use of AI and other digital products, and just last month Mayo Clinic announced it is partnering with Microsoft to develop an advanced AI model dedicated to health care.

But the lawsuit claims Eto "uncover[ed] a disturbing set of flaws in Mayo’s AI compass" that prioritized speed over accuracy and put patient care and privacy at risk while manipulating data critical in the institution’s medical research.

What does the lawsuit allege?

According to the lawsuit, Eto joined Mayo Clinic in 2023 as Director of Research Operations — entrusted by the company to quarterback its AI compliance efforts and ensure the technology is being used in an ethical way that’s respectful of patient privacy and safety.

Eto first raised issues to her supervisors about the Mayo Clinic Platform in early 2024, concerned that certain de-identification processes of patient data had not been properly reviewed by Mayo’s internal review process.

Eto alleged in the lawsuit her supervisor did not challenge the substance of her concerns but “insisted that having the de-identification process revisited by [the review board] would jeopardize the pace on ongoing research projects, which in turn would compromise Mayo’s competitive advantage.”

Over the course of the next year, Eto flagged multiple instances in which her supervisors would bypass review processes, including those outlined by federal regulatory standards. For example, in July 2024, Eto alleges that her colleague authorized approval of a high-risk investigational medical device to perform cardiac surgery, even though the procedure had not undergone review by the Institutional Review Board.

A few months later, Eto voiced concerns about MAYA, Mayo’s digital assistant tool. The lawsuit alleges that the MAYA team mischaracterized its outcomes, deleted unfavorable results and used an “unsanctioned” software device that compromised both data security. Ten separate whistleblower reports raised similar concerns, including allegations that study investigators were trying to disguise a 67 percent error rate.

“There's a process, there's a set of rules, there is a set of guidelines, and there are a recognized set of exceptions,” Eto’s attorney Davis said. “What she saw was a willingness to use exceptions that didn't apply, a willingness to cut corners and a willingness to not follow the rules out of a desire to get ahead competitively.”

According to the lawsuit, Eto began to be excluded from executive level meetings in early 2025 after she filed a report outlining alleged violations with Mayo’s legal department. Eto claims an AI engineering director warned her that her supervisor had issued “marching orders … to get rid of [her] ASAP.”

Eto said she was told in March 2025 she was a “poor cultural fit” and could either resign as research director with her supervisor’s “blessing” or face the prospect of consequences in her personnel file “that would render her unemployable at Mayo and would impede her career outside the institution.”

Eto stayed on at Mayo anyway, and, according to the lawsuit, she was put on a formal performance plan with Mayo HR department. She claims she was demoted and told she could no longer manage her team of employees. She also said she was kicked off of some of the AI projects she’d been working on. Eto claims in the lawsuit she then experienced a serious depressive episode and applied for medical leave.

Roughly halfway through her leave, in September 2024, Eto was notified that her position had been eliminated.

Eto has asked for the case to be brought to trial and is requesting back pay, front pay, lost benefits, coverage of litigation fees and other forms of compensation.

“When an individual decides that they are willing to file a lawsuit against a public goliath on matters that are hot button issues in our country, she is literally risking her career,” Davis said. “She is risking being attacked professionally. She is risking her reputation, and for her to do that tells you something about her level of confidence that she's right.”

Head to the Hilton in downtown Minneapolis this week and you’ll find hundreds of ravenous fans with their eyes glued to projector screens, cheering in unison at the wins and gasping at the losses.

But if you’re looking for the World Cup watch party, that’s across the street.

Inside, gamers came together for this year’s Summer Games Done Quick, an annual video game speedrunning showcase that consistently raises millions of dollars for Doctors Without Borders.

“Speedrunning is basically playing a game to however you define completion, as fast as possible,” said Ashley Farkas, owner and business director of Games Done Quick.

Part of SGDQ’s mission is to show the variety of speedrunning, which materializes any way from a flawless run through Bowser’s castle in “Super Mario Bros.” to changing how many frames per second a game outputs to glitch through a doorway.

Participants, or runners, have spent months perfecting their games of choice, discovering new exploits or strategies just to shave seconds off their times.

While that sounds like a solitary process, the runners of SGDQ want people to know the scene is anything but.

“Speedrunning has morphed into not just beating a game as quickly as possible, but working together with other people to collaborate in solving problems in breaking the game and beating the game as quickly as possible,” said runner Clayton Lundgren, who goes by adef online.

“Most of this community really exists online together, and the times that we're able to physically be together are at events like this, which only happen twice a year,” Farkas said. “When people are flying in from all over the place, they have an entire week to spend together, and you can just feel the energy in this event.”

SGDQ is one of several events put on by Games Done Quick. Its sister event, Awesome Games Done Quick, happens each January.

“There are people from literally all walks of life here, and GDQ champions diversity and inclusivity in a way that I don't see a lot of other gaming spaces,” Lundgren said. “Naturally, there are lots of people at this event who've probably never speedrun a game in their lives, who are just here to hang out with friends they've met in these spaces or just to feel safe and included in a cool, fun room.”

Lundgren’s run, set for Friday afternoon, is a testament to the range of games on display. He’ll be running “Balatro,” a 2024 title where the player combines poker hands with randomized bonuses to chase the highest score they can. While the game is seemingly endless for most players, he hopes to break it within an hour.

“Because of the specific limitations of [‘Balatro’s’] number storage format, only up to a certain number can be stored before it overflows. And this number is ridiculously high … you're not going to get to a number this high in your Excel spreadsheet,” Lundgren said. “But in ‘Balatro,’ you can score remarkably high if you play in a very particular way. … If you go beyond about 10 to the 308th power, the game breaks, and it starts displaying your score as basically infinity.”

Runners at SGDQ accomplish these feats while being watched by hundreds of spectators in the venue, plus tens of thousands more people watching the live stream at home on Twitch and YouTube.

Andy Hill, also known as Bluekandy, said it’s a tightrope walk to put on a show for the crowd without losing control of a run. He had his fifth run on stage Sunday when he landed a world record for 2025’s “Kirby Air Riders.”

“I had some experience with what to expect when I look back behind me and I'm up on the stage, what I'm listening to – because you hear your own voice and your headset,” Hill said. “You have to be in that mindset of like what to expect and not get distracted, be able to focus in on what matters based on the information that's coming into you.”

Hill’s particular run was made possible by meeting a donation incentive. Throughout the event, viewers can donate online not only to enter to win prizes, but to influence how runners approach their games (renaming a character, taking a different route) and to add bonus games to the schedule.

Donations come from fans, sponsors and, occasionally, developers whose games are being showcased in the moment. While runners are essentially “breaking” the games, it’s all out of love for the hobby.

Last year’s event raised $2.46 million. The highest-earning SGDQ was in 2022 in Bloomington, which raised $3.05 million in the first in-person event since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2013, SGDQ has raised tens of millions of dollars for Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The organization works in over 70 countries around the world to provide medical care regardless of race, religion, gender or ability to pay.

Greta Doucette, the organization’s senior marketing associate for peer-to-peer and streaming programs, said what started out as an email has turned into a rock-solid relationship between the organizations.

“[MSF] is driven by our principles of independence, impartiality and neutrality, and we do a lot of bearing witness of what we are seeing in the countries and the places that we are working,” Doucette said. “And the community of Games Done Quick, they are just so passionate and caring and want the best for humans — and that's exactly what Doctors Without Borders does, too.”

“One of the reasons why I decided to work with MSF is that the organization delivers,” said pediatrician Dr. Jean Junior.

Junior, who has worked under MSF since 2024 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, West Darfur and South Sudan, said funds raised by events like SGDQ allow doctors guarantee a standard of care for their patients.

“You can say, ‘Here's your diagnosis, here's our treatment plan, and we got the stuff — we have your blood, the fluids, the antibiotics, the nutritional supplements, all of this stuff.’ We're able to provide to the families, and families know this,” Junior said.

The Twin Cities have been part of Summer Games Done Quick’s identity for almost as long as MSF. While January’s Awesome Games Done Quick has bounced around the country, SGDQ has been firmly planted in Minnesota since 2015 – except for two remote years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everyone loves it here,” Farkas said. “The local restaurants and different centers and businesses always are excited when we come to town, because we have a community that really loves to go out and explore the city and go do things.”

Part of this year’s set even has stars with runners’ names painted onto the background, a shoutout to First Avenue in Minneapolis.

The event runs through Saturday night. While onsite attendance requires registration, the 24/7 live stream of the event is free to watch on Twitch and YouTube.

Six-time championship winning Hall of Famer Cheryl Reeve is new owner of a WNBA record.

She broke the record Wednesday with an 86-80 win over the Connecticut Sun. It marked Reeve's 380th win, which breaks the record for the all-time most regular-season wins for a WNBA coach.

“I am so glad this is over,” Reeve told reporters after the game.

It comes after the team’s first back-to-back defeat of the season Monday with a loss to Connecticut at home.

The record was formerly held by Mike Thibault, a Minnesota native who coached the Sun and the Washington Mystics. Now Thibault's son is an assistant coach for the Lynx.

Reeve said Monday that her and Thibault had “great battles” while she was an assistant coach for the Detroit Shock and he was at Connecticut. She called him a “tremendous coach.”

“I know he's happy for me,” Reeve said. “And somebody's going to pass me, and I'm going to be happy for them, too.”

This comes just weeks after Reeve's most recent accomplishment: being inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Her WNBA career has spanned 25 years starting when she made her league coaching debut with the Charlotte Sting in 2001.

Her first season as head coach of the Lynx was in 2010. Since then, she has won 4 championships with the team.

Now, she’s in her fourth year in the dual role of head coach and president of basketball operations at the Lynx. And she's been named WNBA Coach of the Year four times and WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year two times.

Accolades aside, veteran guard Kayla McBride said on Monday after their loss to Connecticut that the record didn't matter to Reeve when it came to getting out there on the court.

“Cheryl's not that type of coach. She doesn't want to talk about it. We don't talk about it,” McBride said. “She likes to win, and she's on us for all the other reasons, besides breaking records and things like that. And that's what makes her so great."

The Lynx have a 16-6 record. The Lynx face the New York Liberty at home Saturday.

"You never dream it's going to happen,” Reeve said. “I set out to just try to take it day by day, and you know, win games, and I just, what I feel is an overwhelming sense of feeling blessed for all the people that made me, me.”

An audit of Minnesota’s voter registration system mostly validated steps taken to update records and verify eligibility, although the report does recommend ways to better maintain those records and verify their accuracy in a timely fashion.

The Office of the Legislative Auditor reviewed records from 2024 in reaching its conclusions. The resulting audit found wide compliance with identity verification steps — noting those were done correctly by counties in 99 percent of cases when done through automated procedures but at lower rates when done manually.

Auditors also said counties could do a better job of updating voter records, including for formerly incarcerated people who have voting rights restored.

“It is important that the voter status in each SVRS voter registration record is accurate to help ensure a fair and secure election system,” auditors wrote. “An incorrect voter status can impede someone from exercising their legal right to vote or allow someone to vote unchallenged when they should be required to present additional information.”

Election administration is in the spotlight as the midterm approaches and Republicans, led by President Donald Trump, repeatedly raise doubts about voting integrity.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said he appreciated the guidance offered in ensuring state and county partners are following prescribed steps.

“Minnesota is proud of its accurate, fair, secure, accessible and trusted election system,” Simon, a three-term Democrat, wrote in a response appended to the audit. “And this report reflects the complex administration work done at both the state and local levels to ensure compliance with both state and federal laws.”

Cory Kampf, president of the Minnesota Association of County Officers, said he agrees that “improvements can and should be made.” But Kampf said the local administrators believe that some of the perceived lapses could have been cases where determination work was done outside of the Statewide Voter Registration System or is difficult to carry out close to an election with many priorities to balance.

“Additional avenues to register, along with other new election laws, have placed new workload demands on county election offices,” Kampf wrote.

The audit did not address others involved in voter registration, including other state agencies and election judges who are part of the election-day registration process. Nor did the audit cover voter outreach efforts or election security.

The report was presented to a legislative committee Wednesday, during which Democrats praised the report, saying it shows the integrity of the state’s voting systems.

“I'll just be honest, I've never been in an audit before of most of our things that say over 99 percent, both accuracy and accessibility,” said Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis.

But Republicans did not have such a rosy view, saying that any kind of lapses, even if it is a small percentage, could allow someone to cast a vote in a close election. They honed in on Election Day registrations.

“We should have a mechanism where we verify the identity prior to that ballot getting cast, so that we don't have to worry about trying to figure out we can't pull a ballot back, it's in the box,” said Sen. Cal Bahr, R-East Bethel.

Minnesota has nearly 3.8 million people registered to vote as of this January. That includes some 33,000 who are on a challenged status that requires them to answer questions before being permitted to vote.

The state and counties share responsibility to maintain the voter registration system, although counties deal more often with the records because they manage polling places and handle ballots on the day of elections.

The system is supposed to be updated when counties learn that a voter’s circumstances have changed — they move, they die, they are placed under a guardianship or they become ineligible due to incarceration for a felony conviction, for instance.

Auditors said the secretary of state’s office satisfied its requirements to pass along information from state agencies but counties didn’t always update their records as required by law. The report recommends that both election administration partners take steps to keep the records up to date.

The Legislature often follows the audits in crafting or revising laws. The Legislature next convenes in January.

An 81-year-old Brainerd man faces a criminal citation after authorities say he shot at a black bear without a justifiable reason.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources cited Dwight Joseph Brown by mail with taking big game outside the legal hunting season, a gross misdemeanor.

According to the citation, law enforcement authorities received a report on July 3 of someone shooting at a bear in a neighborhood near North Long Lake, about 10 miles north of Brainerd.

DNR conservation officer Jim Guida responded and found no evidence the bear had caused any property damage. The animal was on someone else’s property and “not a substantial threat,” according to his report.

“Shooter indicated that the bear looked at him,” Guida wrote.

The bear wasn’t found, and authorities don’t know whether it was injured. A handgun and ammunition were seized as evidence, the report stated.

Reached by phone on Wednesday, Brown said he was driving a garden tractor into his garage when he spotted the bear standing by the edge of his driveway. He said he shot at the animal to scare it, but didn’t hit it, and the bear ran into the woods.

Brown said he lives “in the country” and there was no chance of him hitting other houses, but a neighbor yelled at him and called authorities.

“I’m not happy with my neighbor,” he said.

Minnesota law allows people to kill nuisance bears only in limited circumstances, such as when they’re causing significant property damage or posing an immediate danger to people or animals. Damage to bird feeders or unsecured garbage cans is not a legitimate reason.

In this case, there was no evidence the bear had damaged property or was behaving aggressively, Guida said in an interview.

“There was no evidence that showed that this bear did anything wrong, other than walk by the woods where it was living,” he said.

It’s not uncommon for Minnesotans to see black bears near homes, especially in spring and early summer when the animals are searching for food. To avoid conflicts, the DNR recommends removing food sources by keeping garbage cans inside and putting away birdfeeders.

“Once bears have a wild food source available, they often shy away from that interaction (with) the public,” Guida said. “They'd rather eat naturally produced food sources.”

Bear attacks on people are very rare. According to the DNR, there have been no fatal bear attacks in Minnesota. Most encounters involve bears attracted to food around homes or campsites.

The DNR only kills bears after determining they pose a public safety threat, which the agency says happens fewer than six times per year on average.

Guida said officers receive reports every year of people shooting at bears outside of the legal hunting season, though he suspects many incidents go unreported.

“It's hard for me to understand why somebody would shoot something to have it run off into the woods and die,” he said.

Instead, Guida encourages people to treat black bears as they would white-tailed deer: admire them from a safe distance and let them move on.

“Take some pictures, retreat to your residence, shut the garage door,” he said. “Those kinds of things are good suggestions prior to going in and grabbing a firearm.”

Somali American and Muslim community members in Minnesota are raising concerns about safety and Islamophobia after President Donald Trump posted a video showing children at a St. Paul kindergarten graduation ceremony, including several young girls wearing hijabs.

The 14-second clip, originally taken from a livestream of a graduation ceremony at Gateway STEM Academy, a public charter school in St. Paul, appeared on Trump's Truth Social account without a caption. While the president did not add commentary, Somali Minnesotans and Muslim advocacy organizations say the repost amplified online narratives targeting Minnesota's Somali and Muslim communities and has left families concerned about the safety of children and schools.

Community leaders say the incident comes amid what they describe as a broader increase in anti-Muslim and anti-Somali rhetoric online and nationally.

“I mean, it’s incredibly sad, disappointing that the president would target pretty much kindergartners and claim that somehow them being in their dress is somehow questionable when this is a nation built on the essence of a strong foundation of freedom of religion," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-Minnesota.

Hussein said he believes the repost is part of a pattern of rhetoric directed at Somali Americans.

“It fits into line with what we have been seeing. This demonization and targeting of Somali Americans here in Minnesota and across the country,” Hussein said. “That has resulted in additional attacks, threats, intimidation, among other things, that has impacted this community.”

Hussein said his organization's immediate concern is the safety of students, staff and families connected to Gateway STEM Academy.

“We’ve been working to provide some support to the school,” he said. “Obviously, once a president makes a blatant targeting of a community and a school, the next thing is to worry about those actors who may act upon this behavior and potentially create threats to the school.”

MPR News contacted the school for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Hussein said CAIR-Minnesota has encouraged community members to report threats or incidents of discrimination to law enforcement and civil rights organizations.

“We’re encouraging people to report those,” Hussein said. "Safety is the number one priority.”

Malika Dahir, executive director of Reviving Sisterhood, a Minneapolis nonprofit focused on Muslim women's leadership and advocacy, said she was shocked when she saw the president's post.

“I immediately was horrified. It was a shock and horror,” Dahir said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the president would be putting images of children, kindergartners, on display like that, putting them in danger to Islamophobes.”

Dahir said what had been intended as a joyful community celebration quickly became a source of anxiety for families.

“We livestream so that family and friends in different cities and other states can join in these celebrations,” she said. “To turn a moment of joy and celebration into something that spreads hate and fear is just abhorrent.”

According to Dahir, parents have expressed concern after the school's name became widely shared online.

She added that the incident underscores the need for communities to take digital security seriously while continuing to reject hate.

Despite their concerns, both Hussein and Dahir said they hope the children at the center of the controversy know they are supported.

“I think they should recognize that this is their country,” Hussein said. “Some of them may aspire to be the president of the United States someday in the future. That’s who we are as Americans.”

On Wednesday, Somali community leaders, religious leaders and community advocates gathered at Minneapolis' Karmel Mall to condemn the post and what they described as a pattern of rhetoric targeting Somali Minnesotans.

Imam Abdisalam Adam, principal of East African Elementary School, said repeated attacks have left educators worrying about students' safety instead of focusing solely on teaching.

"We have to look at our back — are we safe?" Adam said, calling it unacceptable that young children celebrating a milestone became the target of online attacks.

The post comes months after President Trump called members of Minnesota’s Somali community “garbage.”

It also follows backlash surrounding the federal immigration surge and the president’s focus on fraud allegations involving some Somali Minnesotans. A few Somali-run daycare centers also reported receiving threats containing racist language after a right-wing activist visited a number of day care facilities and other businesses in an attempt to expose fraud in Minnesota.

Last month, Minnesota Republican congressman Tom Emmer drew criticism for remarks he made about cultural assimilation during a town hall meeting. "We celebrate everyone's culture. We're happy with that, as long as you are an American,” he said. “Celebrate your culture. I don't care, Italian, Polish, Somali, okay, but they don't assimilate, and if they don't assimilate, then they should go the hell back to where they came from. "

Gov. Tim Walz has also criticized the president on social media, writing that Trump is attacking kindergartners because of what they wear to school.

Reporter Peter Cox contributed to this story.

Michelle Delgado had long wanted to own a home. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity helped her find a path to buying one.

The organization showcased five affordable homes under construction Wednesday in St. Paul’s Greater East Side. Called “The Heights,” the project is Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s largest affordable housing project in Minnesota. The organization plans to build 147 homes on the 112-acre former Hillcrest Golf Course.

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is building the new homes in partnership with the Pope Leo Village Movement, a multi-state organization that has funded affordable housing projects across the U.S.

Delgado won’t live in The Heights, but she moved into a home in Minneapolis through Twin Cities Habitat in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was a speaker at the event and a volunteer.

“I did not have a hand in building my home, so to be able to do that for someone else is exactly how I like to be in terms of giving back,” she said. “I know what it's like to not have heat or hot water. I know what it's like to have to go to the food pantry a lot, and so being on the other side, anything I can do to give back and make someone's life a little better is wonderful.”

Delgado, who is of Puerto Rican descent, said it matters to know organizations like Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity are available to help her, her friends and other people of color. Without the organization’s help, she said her monthly mortgage would be double.

“Knowing that there was something woven into the fabric of the beginnings of this country to limit who can have a home is incredibly daunting,” she said. “On the flip side, working with an organization that is fighting that and providing the opportunity for affordable home ownership is something we should all strive as Americans.”

Around 15 volunteers from St. Catherine’s University volunteered for Habitat’s Women Build Program. University President Marcheta P. Evans was a speaker and volunteer at the event and said, “It was beyond a nice feeling” to give back to the community.

Evans was one of many to put up the first wall, but she said it wasn’t the first one she put up. She helped build her own home with her grandfather when she was a kid.

“I grew up in an environment that I was poor, but didn't really realize I was poor at the time,” Marcheta said. “We had mayonnaise and ketchup sandwiches because we didn't have bologna to put it in the middle of it. And now, being able to be a university president and to come and to give back from this, from my experience of where I came from, it makes me feel as if I'm at the right place at the right time doing the work that I should be doing.”

Twin Cities Habitat President Chris Coleman said two years ago The Heights was “just an empty field.”

“But now we actually have families moving in,” he said. “We have almost 20 families that call this neighborhood home, and we're continuing. We have 74 units under either completed or under construction as we speak.”

Coleman said the organization works to make sure homes are affordable to families by making sure “the mortgage is no more than 30 percent of household income.” He added that almost 20 people have moved into the neighborhood, with 74 units ready to go or under construction.

The development is expected to be completed next year, according to Coleman. You can find more information on the housing process through the organization’s website.

Getting through the city of St. Peter this summer requires a little extra time and a lot of patience.

Drivers are greeted with the familiar sight of bright orange barrels, barricades and signs pointing to detours during the ongoing State Highway 22 construction project from Mankato to St. Peter.

While some motorists might find the detours frustrating and inconvenient as they work their way around the town to get to their final destination, others weren’t really bothered by it. Calvin Boman, 25, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was navigating his way through the detours with his parents as they headed up to visit his sister in St. Paul for the Fourth of July weekend.

“I always tell myself when I see construction on the road that it’s giving people jobs and also making sure it’s better the next time I’m going over it,” Boman said. “So I never mind [seeing] a lot of construction.”

Calvin’s father, Mike Boman, 54, also of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said whenever they go through Minnesota, they don’t usually have an issue with poor road conditions or construction.

“Iowa doesn’t do too bad of a job either, so I don’t really notice,” Mike said. “There’s some other states that sometimes we kind of question. We go down to Missouri some, and that can be a little rougher.”

The roads in Minnesota are considered to be in pretty rough shape, too, according to this year’s Infrastructure Report Card by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The group gives the state’s roads a dismal D+ grade. But by another measure, the state’s roads aren’t too bad and appear to be getting better.

Nearly 1 in 11 miles of U.S. roads are considered to be in poor condition, according to a report by the online financial marketplace LendingTree, which cited data from the Federal Highway Administration. But Minnesota’s roadways are much better than the national average, with just 3.6 percent of the state’s roads rated in poor condition.

And the report noted that Minnesota led the entire country in reducing the share of its roads in poor condition. The percentage of roads in poor condition was 9.2 percent in 2019, but that plummeted to just 3.6 percent in 2024, an improvement of nearly 61 percent.

And there seem to be some signs of improvement, partly because of state and federal investments like Minnesota’s bonding bill, which lawmakers passed in 2023, and former president Joe Biden’s federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provided funding to expand, repair and improve infrastructure statewide.

State lawmakers passed another $1.2 billion bonding and infrastructure package this year, which was signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz last month. The legislature designated about $176 million statewide for transportation improvements, including $47 million allocated for local road improvements.

There are over 200 statewide projects announced in 2026 focused on improving transportation infrastructure, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).

“We have a robust 2026 road construction season ahead of us,” said MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger in a news release. “When complete, these projects will help people get around more easily, improve safety, create smoother pavement and improve connectivity for everyone who relies on our multimodal transportation system.”

But without consistent funding over the next several years, experts warn these improvements might only be temporary.

According to the ASCE report, the state’s infrastructure is rapidly aging, and the inflationary cost of repairing and improving roads and bridges is increasing sharply. Before the most recent bonding bill passed, the civil engineering group projected Minnesota will have a road construction funding shortfall of $20 billion over the next 20 years.

Forrest Hasty is the assistant district engineer for MnDOT District 7, which includes 13 counties in southwest Minnesota and is a mostly rural region. He said in recent years, the amount of funding the district received has dropped a bit as funds are split among all districts across Minnesota for projects, with his district receiving about 6.5 to 7 percent from the pot.

About 40 percent of District 7’s budget goes to pavement, 17 percent to bridges and 9 percent to roadside infrastructure, Hasty said. Recent projects include a $5 million grant for three roundabouts and a $37 million project on Highway 169 between Mankato and St. Peter.

The district’s 2026 budget is about $60 million. Hasty said it is important to collaborate with counties and cities while minding the impact of funding fluctuations and inflation on project costs as they work to improve the region’s roads and infrastructure.

“That’s the job. Reduce the poor roads — that’s what we do every day,” Hasty said. “And we try to use the dollars that were provided to do as many roads as we can and make them as safe and as smooth for the taxpayers of Minnesota.”

‘Our taxes are paying off’

Back in St. Peter, William Slater, 74, of Worthington, was working his way through the construction zone on his way to visit his eight grandchildren in the Twin Cities. He said he doesn’t mind if his trip takes more time because of the amount of construction work happening on the roads.

“Our taxes are paying off,” Slater said. “You got to fix the road up sometime. We can only do construction late spring, summer, early fall, so you got to sacrifice a little bit if you want good roads. We got good roads going to the cities, so we can’t complain.”

Former Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was spared from prison Wednesday for ushering a Mexican defendant through her jury room door as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sought to arrest him in a courthouse hallway.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman fined her $5,000, describing the case as a situation where an otherwise good person, upset by immigration policies in this country, made a bad decision in the moment.

Dugan, 67, was convicted of felony obstruction in December. Her lawyers argued during her trial that President Donald Trump’s administration sought to “crush” Dugan in an effort to ensure judicial compliance with the ICE strategy of targeting immigrants as they showed up for court hearings.

Dugan resigned the Milwaukee County circuit judgeship she had held for nine years in January amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers who labeled her an activist judge. In her resignation letter, she said her prosecution threatened "the independence of our judiciary." Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a fierce Trump loyalist running for Wisconsin governor, had urged authorities to “lock her up.”

In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin emphasized that the jury's verdict last December and Adelman's sentence reflect Dugan's abuse of her position to obstruct law enforcement officers.

“Law enforcement officers need to be able to carry out their lawful responsibilities in the manner that is safest for them, the public and the individual they are attempting to detain,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel. “Dugan’s reckless and illegal actions interfered with that goal and created unnecessary risks for all involved. For that there needed to be serious consequences.”

Dugan says she was just trying to do her job

Dugan addressed the court, saying she tried to do her best as a judge, and that her actions that day in April 2025 were not done maliciously but rather to maintain the “decorum and safety of the courtroom.”

"I have been cast as both a scofflaw and a hero. I am neither,” Dugan said, adding that she was trying to do her job. She said she has had to retire from public life because of threats against her and her family.

Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling acknowledged that Dugan has experienced collateral consequences but said “judges can't choose to disregard the law.”

The judge said Dugan lost her job, now has a felony conviction and experienced threats that forced her to move and stop attending community events. He also noted that Dugan’s actions didn’t stop the ICE agents from arresting the defendant outside the courthouse.

“This conviction affirms that no one is above the law,” Adelman said.

Prosecutors had pushed for a ‘serious sentence’

Prosecutors had argued in a sentencing memo that Dugan violated her oath as a judge and put both law enforcement and the public at risk.

“Judges are entrusted with tremendous discretion, but there is a line they cannot cross,” Frohling wrote. “The defendant crossed that line.”

Dugan’s attorneys argued she has been “punished enough,” and should not be sentenced to any jail time beyond the hours she spent in federal custody.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for 15 to 21 months behind bars, but the judge, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1997, wasn't bound by them. Prosecutors did not recommend a sentence, but Frohling wrote that "this was a serious offense, and it warrants a correspondingly serious sentence.”

Attorney Jason Luczak said after the sentencing that they would still appeal Dugan’s felony obstruction conviction. Jurors acquitted her at trial of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor.

What happened in the courthouse that day

On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.

Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge's office, saying their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient to arrest Flores-Ruiz. Her attorneys said during her trial that she was following protocols that called for court employees to report any immigration agents to their supervisors.

After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. A week later, FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse, leading her outside in handcuffs.

Tuesday marked six months since a federal immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in south Minneapolis — and the colorful memorial to Good lives on along the street where she was killed.

Good’s face smiles out on Portland Avenue from posters in many neighbors’ windows. In the place where she was shot as she sat behind the wheel of her car, a garden is growing along the curb. Orange cones form a pathway in the street along a row of art, stuffed animals and Pride flags.

Warren Opfer visited Tuesday from Washington state. He said he and his wife were shaken by Good’s killing, and frustrated that federal agents have not been charged. They made a plan to come see the memorial.

“There’s a lot of people that care about life, liberty and pursuit of happiness,” he said. Good “was not given a chance to fulfill her life.”

Memorial caretaker Fabiola Rodriguez says she still meets many visitors from other states and countries. She hopes preserving Good’s memory shows that the neighbors still care — and still want change.

“This is an example of teaching our kids that we don’t want the same thing in the future for them,” she said.

This spring, Rodriguez used some of her own money to start a garden at the memorial. She said she’s seen visitors find peace there.

“I had a lady that — she just came out, sat down, and started crying,” Rodriguez recounted. A minute later, “a very beautiful butterfly started flying in front of her. I saw her, how she smiled to the butterfly. I was like: See, my way of bringing flowers over here — I feel like it does help people to get them to smile, or to at least feel a little bit better.”

Rodriguez said she plans to maintain the memorial to Renee Good for the long term. She made sure to plant perennials — so the garden will grow back next year.

A data center owner is suing the city of Eagan after it adopted a one-year moratorium on new or expanded data centers in February.

The complaint was filed on behalf of Eagan Capital on June 15 and alleged the city lacks the authority to enact a temporary suspension. Eagan Capital is asking for $50,000 in damages.

Eagan was the first city in the state to put a hard pause on data centers. The city already has two data centers, but the moratorium is focused on development projects that would use more than 20 megawatts of electricity within 500 feet of homes.

Eagan Capital attorneys argue the city doesn’t have the authority to regulate electricity.

“The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has exclusive authority to regulate electricity demand in Minnesota,” the complaint read.

The Public Utilities Commission sets the rates and terms of service for eight major investor-owned, municipal or member-owned cooperative electric and natural gas utilities, which include Xcel Energy, Minnesota Power, Otter Tail Power and Dakota Electric Association, according to its website.

In a statement to MPR, the City of Eagan said it denied an Eagan Capital Interim Use Permit after staff identified temporary trailer-mounted chiller units had been installed and placed into operation without the required permits.

“In May, the City Council denied the Interim Use Permit because the proposed use was not lawful under the property's current zoning,” the city said. “The City is confident in its position and intends to vigorously defend its moratorium through the legal process.”

There are currently 78 data centers in Minnesota. Tech companies are eyeing Minnesota for data centers because of its relatively cool climate and available land, water and electricity.

Correction (July 8, 2026): A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Dakota Electric Association’s structure; it is a member-owned cooperative. The story has been updated.

Harry Singh, the founder of the popular Trinidadian restaurant Harry Singh’s Original Caribbean Restaurant, died at his Coon Rapids home July 3. He was 81.

The native of Trinidad and Tobago introduced Minneapolis to his take on Caribbean cuisine in the Eat Street corridor eatery on Nicollet Avenue for over four decades.

Singh’s friend James Byron said the two first met at the restaurant, shortly after Byron arrived from Trinidad and Tobago in 1989. They soon realized they were from the same area of the twin-island nation: the south.

"Everybody will tell you that when it comes to Trinidad cooking, this is the guy that they went to first before any of the other cooks came into being,” said Byron, founder of Twin Cities Carifest.

Customers came for the chef’s jerk chicken, roti and spicy hot sauce — and conversation.

“There wasn’t a subject that he wouldn’t like speaking about,” Byron said. “Everyday life, politics, things back home, how it's going, whether it's going good, going bad — you know what I mean?”

Singh’s sister, Marla Jadoonanan, said he was the “golden child” of the family in their parents’ eyes. Singh was the oldest, and Jadoonanan was the youngest of seven siblings, she said.

“What didn’t he want to talk about? He would talk about any and everything. He was just gifted in that,” she said. “You could just say one word and he will continue the conversation that way.”

Her brother worked as a social worker and “had that knowledge of how to speak to people,” Jadoonanan said.

She said their mother, Carmen, played a big role when it came to food and the art of cooking.

“He had a passion for cooking from the age of, you know, very young,” she said. “My mom taught him a lot of cooking.”

She says Singh pioneered Trinidadian cuisine in Minneapolis and inspired local chefs.

“He was definitely a trailblazer in the food community,” Jadoonanan said. “He encouraged people to follow their dream and made a pathway for all of us that came after him.”

Anissa Channa, co-founder of Channa Kitchen in Uptown, posted on Instagram about what Singh meant to her Trinidadian cuisine business.

“His restaurant was a neighborhood staple for decades, and most of Channa Kitchen’s customers only know about curry chicken, roti or doubles because of Harry Singh,” she wrote. “Looking for home-cooked food, his restaurant was also a source of comfort by Minneapolis’ transplants like myself.”

Byron called Singh “very open and straightforward.” He says the chef and entrepreneur will be missed.

Singh’s legacy will be long-lasting “and create a great void all in the same breath,” he said. He was “a gentleman that you could go and sit down and talk to and get advice [and] an insight to things.”

Singh is survived by his son, David, and five siblings.

LONDON — Bonnie Tyler, the gravelly voiced, Grammy-nominated Welsh pop star best known for singing the chart-topping power ballad "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in 1983 and seeing new generations succumb to its bombastic charms during solar and lunar eclipses, has died. She was 75.

Tyler died "unexpectedly" in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated for an illness, her family said Thursday in a statement on her website. She was hospitalized in May in Faro, where she had a home, for emergency intestinal surgery and was later placed in an induced coma.

"Bonnie's family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for, her family said.

Tyler earned three Grammy nods, represented Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 — where she came in 19th — and was awarded an MBE for her services to music by Queen Elizabeth II in 2023, all largely thanks to "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which has had more that 1 billion streams, boosted by real eclipses in 2017 and 2024.

The song spent four weeks at No. 1, the video has surpassed 1 billion views and when Stereogum reevaluated it in 2020, the music outlet declared it an "extinction-level event rendered in musical form."

"It's pop music as heart-pounding, chest-thumping, blood-gargling, heavens-falling passion explosion. It's sheer spectacle. It's fireworks and lasers and lightning and thunder. It soars and swoops and barrel-rolls," the site said.

The song has never really gone away, covered by the English singer Nicki French in 1995 and the band Westlife in 2006. Cate Blanchett sang it while hitting Billy Bob Thornton with her car in 2001's "Bandits," it appeared at a wedding scene in 2003's "Old School" and One Direction sang it in 2010 on a U.K. version of "The X Factor."

Early life

Tyler was born — as Gaynor Hopkins — a coal miner's daughter in public housing with an outside toilet in Skewen, Wales, about seven miles outside Swansea. She grew up with three sisters and two brothers.

She adored the Beatles and her first album was "A Hard Day's Night." The first song she bought was "Hippy Hippy Shake" by the Swinging Blue Jeans at 13 and watched "Top of the Pops" religiously, according to her memoir, "Straight From the Heart."

She would record "Top of the Pops" on a reel-to-reel two-track recorder and write down the lyrics of songs she loved. Her favorites were songs by Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding.

"I used to sing them into my hairbrush for hours and hours, and that's how it all started for me. I fell in love with singing just from doing that. Looking back, even then my voice had a husky tone to it, but I didn't think much of it. I thought everyone's voices were different from each other's," she wrote.

In 1976 she had to have surgery to remove nodules on her throat, leaving her with that trademark vocal sound. Changing her name to Sherene Davis, she was fronting a soul band when she was discovered by talent scout Roger Bell, who brought her to London for demo sessions. Then she waited for a label until RCA said it was interested.

Under her new RCA-sanctioned name Bonnie Tyler, her debut album "The World Starts Tonight" in 1977 contained her first chart hit, "Lost in France," and she was nominated for a breakthrough artists award at the Brits Awards. She then had a No. 3 hit in 1978 with "It's a Heartache," but soon drifted. She then signed with Sony and saw Meat Loaf perform "Bat Out of Hell" on the BBC. Impressed, she requested to work with Meat Loaf songwriter and producer Jim Steinman.

'Total Eclipse of the Heart'

Steinman introduced her to his song "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which would become the debut single for her fifth studio album, "Faster Than the Speed of Night." He borrowed one of the song's lyrics — "Turn around, bright eyes" — from his 1969 musical "The Dream Engine" written as a student at Massachusetts' Amherst College. He told her the song was from a prospective musical version of "Nosferatu."

"Jim liked to put down a basic rhythm track, do nine takes of the song, choose the best one and then put the kitchen sink on there, like Phil Spector used to," Tyler told The Guardian in 2023. "He gave me a cassette to listen to in my hotel and we both preferred take two."

Featuring E Street Band members Roy Bittan on piano and Max Weinberg on drums, "Total Eclipse" is a rumination on lost love: "Once upon a time there was light in my life/But now there's only love in the dark," she sings.

The video, a staple of early-days MTV, was shot in a frightening gothic former asylum in Surrey, where the guard dogs apparently wouldn't set foot in the rooms downstairs where they used to give people electric shock treatment. The visuals included slow-motion tossed doves, candles, dancing ninjas, dancing greasers, Tyler in frighteningly big shoulder pads, fencers, gymnasts, wind machines and shirtless boys wearing swim goggles being doused with water.

"Faster Than the Speed of Night" earned a Grammy nomination for best rock vocal performance — losing to Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield" — and Tyler got another nod for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in the best pop vocal performance category, losing to Irene Cara's "Flashdance — What a Feeling."

After the 'Eclipse'

Tyler never reached such dizzying heights again but stayed current with such movie soundtrack singles as "Holding Out For a Hero" — from 1984's "Footloose" — and "Here She Comes" from "Metropolis" also in 1984.

Her 2019 disc "Between the Earth and the Stars" featured duets with Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard and Status Quo's Francis Rossi, and she ended that year performing a Vatican Christmas concert before Pope Francis.

In 2013, she switched gears to make a country-flavored record in Nashville, "Rocks and Honey," which included the Vince Gill duet "What You Need From Me" and a little ballad called "Believe in Me," written by American songwriter Desmond Child and British songwriters Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide. "Believe in Me" was picked to represent the United Kingdom at that year's Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden.

"It was an absolutely wonderful atmosphere there," she told the San Francisco Examiner in 2023. "I was being interviewed every 15, 20 minutes, and when I walked out onstage behind the British flag, I thought the roof was going to come off! It was awesome, just awesome!"

In 2017, she joined Joe Jonas' band DNCE for a performance on the cruise ship Oasis of the Seas as part of a "Total Eclipse Cruise." When the moon passed in front of the sun, they played "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

Tyler was married to property developer and former Olympic judo competitor Robert Sullivan.

Copyright 2026, NPR

Valerie Castile lost her son 10 years ago Monday. Philando Castile was killed by a St. Anthony police officer in a traffic stop in Falcon Heights a few days before his 33rd birthday. A jury acquitted the officer, Jeronimo Yanez, of manslaughter the following year.

Since losing her son, Valerie has worked to honor his memory by speaking out about his killing and joining calls for accountability in policing. She has pushed for policy changes to make traffic stops safer for people of color, including guidelines in the state driver’s manual for licensed gun owners.

She has supported others who lost loved ones to gun violence and raised money to pay off school lunch debt as a tribute to her son, who was the cafeteria supervisor of a St. Paul elementary school.

Each year on July 6 and 7, Valerie’s family gather with community members for a candlelight vigil and barbecue to celebrate Philando’s life. The city of Falcon Heights recognizes the dates as Restoration Day and Unity Day, respectively.

Valerie has a room in her home dedicated to other tributes to Philando: paintings, photographs and proclamations cover the walls. MPR News host Nina Moini talked with her there about how her life has changed and how she remembers her son now.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell me about the artwork you have that’s dedicated to Philando

Every piece was done with a lot of care and raw emotions, because it was so fresh. There was a lot of music, artwork, spoken word. Some of them were just mailed to my house. That creativity side came out of people because they didn't know what to do. The only way they could express themselves was through their artistry, whatever that looked like. I really appreciated that.

In my old house, the artwork was just around in the living room, but when I felt sad, I would go and just sit, and the artwork would just enter my spirit. So God told me to reach out to one of these larger museums. You know, “you need to share this. If it's helping you, then you know this will be a way for you to help the community heal the way the art is making you heal here at home.”

So I called the Minneapolis Institute of Art and explained to them how important this artwork was, and how soothing and healing it was. The curators came over, and when they came in the door, they stood there for a minute, and then they started to cry, and they were like, “this is so powerful.” They did an exhibition for about five weeks.

What does this 10-year mark mean for you?

It’s another milestone, just being able to survive. I say that because in 2016 the easiest thing I could have done was do nothing and just go on with my life.

I have a mission. I have a purpose that was given to me by God. This is not what I chose for the rest of my life. I’m a party girl, you know, I like to go places, I like to do things, but I got stuck because of all the things that are wrong within our communities and within our justice systems.

We can’t have that. This is not how God wanted us to coexist. We’re supposed to be better than that, but look what we do to one another.

Tell us about a few of the things that you are the most proud of

I’m proud of being able to speak with public safety and talk about the importance of gun ownership, and how that should be addressed. There should be some information about what should you do and what should you expect if you get pulled over by the police and you have a weapon in the car. So I was really proud that we got that small piece in the driver’s manual.

I am super, super proud of being involved with getting the free breakfast and lunch program signed [into law.] My son was doing advocacy work, and he didn’t even realize it. When he paid for those children’s meals out of his own pocket, that’s advocacy but he didn’t look at it like that.

He was looking at it as, as just the right thing to do. It wasn’t charity; it was out of dignity, out of love, and out of just being a human being, a concerned person.

I’m old enough to know that these situations happen, and so quickly we forget about these men, women and children that have been murdered. My thought was like, “Oh Lord, you know they’re gonna forget my son, a statistic.” So I try to replicate those things that were important to him, and that was family, community and those children that he served.

How do you think about your son throughout the day?

I think about my son all the time. He left such a gaping hole in my heart, because Philando and my daughter is 10 years apart. So it was he and I for 10 years. He was my friend, he was my companion, he was my buddy, he was my son and he kept me grounded.

I just love him for that. And he was always so helpful. He just has this spirit that encircles and engulfs my heart.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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Torrential rain led to flash flooding in parts of southern Minnesota on Wednesday, forcing the closure of a stretch of Interstate 90 for the second time in less than a week.

The city of Austin was particularly hard-hit by this latest round of heavy rain. The National Weather Service said the city had received between 4 and 7 inches of rain as of about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, with more falling.

“Water is fully over the roads in many low areas,” the Austin Police Department reported just before 5 p.m. “Basically, all streets are flooded. There isn’t anything the city can do with the amount of rain in such a short time. Wait it out, stay home.”

Authorities also cautioned people to watch for open manholes, because the flooding may have removed the covers.

In an update just after 6 p.m., Austin police said I-90 was closed in both directions due to water over the freeway near the 11th Drive exit on the east side of the city.

At 7 p.m., the Minnesota Department of Transportation said I-90 also was closed east of Austin, between the Brownsdale and Dexter exits.

It was not immediately clear when the interstate would reopen. Check MnDOT’s 511 map for updates.

MnDOT also said high water was affecting State Highway 56 near Adams, and highways 56 and 63 just north of the Iowa state line.

Austin and surrounding areas also saw flash flooding last Thursday morning, which forced the temporary closure of I-90 east of the city.

That flooding on July 2 also caused damage at some state parks in southeast Minnesota. The Department of Natural Resources said Beaver Creek Valley State Park near Caledonia remains closed in the wake of the flooding, as crews are still working to clear debris and assess road and bridge damage. The park is expected to reopen next week.

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art.

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Experience immersive audio story walks on the North Shore

Art enthusiast Erin Walsh of Minneapolis is looking forward to heading to the North Shore this weekend to attend the launch of Diver Van Avery’s original immersive story walks. These two new, site-specific audio stories are designed as self-guided experiences for listeners on nature trails near Sugarloaf Cove in Schroeder, Minn. A launch celebration is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, from 1 to 4 p.m. After that, the stories will remain available year-round. You can check out a listening device from the Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center, or you can download the audio any time and listen on your phone.

Walsh says: “One of the walks really invites us into the history of that site. Another of the walks just invites us to just sit down and receive the offerings of the place. For myself, I do a lot of efficient listening to things: I walk my dog and I listen to podcasts and I fill my brain with information. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to put something in my ears that doesn't take me away from my body and away from the landscape around me, but actually invites me towards both of those things.”

A bluegrass band with a punk spirit

Rachel Felicia Calvert is a fiddle, vocalist, and music educator living in Minneapolis. She recommends that people explore the music of bluegrass band Pert Near Sandstone and their recent album “Side by Side.” They perform Thursday, July 9 at Milk and Honey Ciders in St. Joseph at 7 p.m. and Friday, July 10 in Jackson, Minn. as part of the 20th annual Rhythm of the River Festival.

Calvert says: “Sometimes I describe them as if, like, a punk band played bluegrass music. They just bring more of a rocker sensibility to this old folk music that they perform. They are excellent live—just wonderful. They have a really beautiful community of fans as well. They're also really great mentors to up-and-coming bands.”

A funny, heartfelt musical about acceptance

Twin Cities vocalist Jennifer Eckes is looking forward to seeing the musical “The Prom” performed at Lyric Arts in Anoka. The musical comedy, which was on Broadway in 2018-2019, is set in a small town in Indiana that chooses to cancel its high school prom rather than allow two girls to attend together. Four Broadway actors grab onto this cause and decide to throw a prom for the school. “Mayhem ensues,” Eckes said. She added that the show has a message of acceptance. The production runs July 10 through Aug. 9.

Of Lyric Arts, Eckes says: “It's a lovely little theater, very intimate. There's not a bad seat in the house. This production is bound to be chockfull of great talent, great singing, great music, great dancing," said Eckes. "I have every confidence it's going to be a gangbuster show.”

It was a small victory, but one Gabe Lyrek was eager to share.

The county had found housing for a woman who was a regular at the NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center’s needle exchange program in north Minneapolis. A permanent home might not end her opioid use but it would mark an important step forward.

As a harm reduction services coordinator for NorthPoint, Lyrek spends much of his time providing prevention education, distributing sterile syringes and helping people access treatment.

He is a key piece of what has become an informal but vital overdose response network across north Minneapolis made up largely of healthcare providers, community coalitions, a fire station and neighbors equipped with naloxone. Collectively, advocates say it has helped address the opioid crisis that has gripped the area in the years during and since the COVID-19 pandemic.

A data analysis by MPR News found the number of people going to the emergency room with opioid-related illness decreased in north Minneapolis.

From 2021 to 2024, ER visits related to overdoses as well as visits for health issues associated with opioid use, dependence and withdrawal consistently declined for residents in the 55411 ZIP code, the heart of the Near North neighborhood. It is a trend seen in only nine ZIP codes across the state.

Public health officials cannot say for certain what caused the drop, although they point to the commitment of the people on the ground in north Minneapolis.

The declining numbers only tell part of the story, though, as opioid-related emergency department visit rates remained more than three times the statewide average. Overdose deaths in the neighborhood did not similarly decline.

Building a neighborhood response

In north Minneapolis, where fentanyl has reshaped the local drug landscape, the opioid crisis persists. At the same time, harm reduction programs have expanded dramatically, giving residents greater access to lifesaving services.

Participation in NorthPoint's Harm Reduction and Testing Services program has grown more than 1,000 percent since launching in 2018, according to program data. Between 2018 and 2025, it served nearly 17,000 individuals.

Through the first half of 2026, participation was already up another 27 percent compared with the same period in 2025, and Lyrek said demand continues to grow.

Harm reduction is a public health approach that seeks to reduce the health risks associated with drug use rather than requiring abstinence first. Strategies include distributing sterile syringes, providing overdose prevention education and expanding access to naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication commonly sold under the brand name Narcan.

Public health officials said fewer emergency visits may indicate that more overdoses are being reversed in the community through wider naloxone availability, faster emergency response, expanded prevention efforts and treatment that increasingly occurs outside hospital emergency departments.

“I think it's a culmination between a lot of things, like Narcan became available over the counter at pharmacies,” Lyrek said. “You can’t spit without hitting free Narcan in North.”

A new campaign led by the North Minneapolis Harm Reduction Coalition has placed red “Narcan Available” stickers in 32 businesses between West Broadway and Lowry Avenue, signaling that the overdose-reversal medication is available at no cost.

A spokesperson for the city of Minneapolis said the response system also includes Minneapolis’ Safe Station program at Fire Station 14, which has helped nearly 8,000 people connect with detoxification services, substance use treatment and recovery resources since opening in 2023.

Access to naloxone has also expanded through self-service vending machines installed at Fire Station 14 and two other Minneapolis fire stations through a partnership between the Minneapolis Fire Department, the Minneapolis Health Department and Hennepin County. By the end of 2025, the machines had dispensed more than 8,500 doses.

‘No one wants to be in it’

Public health researchers and clinicians say the shifting data cannot be understood without considering the medical realities of opioid use disorder.

The American Medical Association’s 2025 report on the nation’s overdose epidemic notes that while opioid-related overdose deaths declined nationally in 2024, the increasing prevalence of fentanyl mixed with other substances and the unpredictability of the illicit drug supply continue to drive severe risk.

Almost a decade after the U.S. government declared the opioid epidemic in the U.S. a national public health emergency, the crisis remains deeply entrenched in communities across the country, including in Minnesota.

Dr. Robert Levy, a family medicine and addiction medicine specialist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota who treats patients at the Broadway Family Medicine Clinic in north Minneapolis, describes opioid use disorder as a treatable medical mental health condition.

“It’s simply another illness,” he said. “It’s not that different than diabetes or hypertension or asthma. It has psychological, physiological and physical causes and effects like all illnesses. There are risk factors that make it more dangerous or more likely to be severe.”

Levy said a defining feature of opioid use disorder is the cycle of withdrawal and relief that drives continued use.

“Opiate withdrawal feels terrible,” he said. “It feels like you’re very ill. No one wants to be in it.”

He noted that many people continue using opioids not to get high, but to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

“The only way they know to get out of it is to take more opioids,” Levy said. But that cycle, he added, can eventually lead people into getting healthcare. “It gets them to a point where they’re willing to walk into my office or go to treatment.”

Levy said the increasing potency of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl complicates the situation. Because fentanyl and related substances have a narrow margin between a dose that produces an effect and a dose that can cause respiratory failure, small variations in use can be deadly.

As tolerance builds, people need more to achieve the same effect, Levy explained. And eventually, he said, the amount that relieves withdrawal is very close to the amount that can stop someone from breathing.

Guilt and shame remain major barriers to care that can keep people away from the emergency room, he added, “but most people don’t want to die. If there’s a way to feel safe and avoid going to the emergency room, they will choose that.”

Minnesota also saw a drop in opioid-related deaths from 2023 to 2024, recording a 26 percent decline. But provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the number of deaths from opioids remained steady in Minnesota in 2025, even as they continued to decline nationally.

‘Not everything is equal’

In 2020, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners declared racism a public health crisis, acknowledging the role systemic inequities play in health outcomes, including substance use.

The county's opioid response funding has increasingly been directed toward Native American and Black communities, particularly in north Minneapolis, where data show the greatest need.

“Not everything is equal in this crisis for all the communities,” said Lolita Ulloa, who leads the county’s opioid response work. “You have to measure everything you do with compassion and help. We’re in the community all the time. They see our faces. They know who we are.”

Julie Bauch, the county’s senior strategist for opioid response, said data show Black residents in north Minneapolis account for a disproportionate share of opioid-related deaths. Black people “have by count more opioid-related deaths than any other population,” she said, even though “the number of white people in Hennepin County far surpasses the number of Black and African American people. That is troubling.”

Ulloa and Bauch said those disparities helped drive the creation of a north Minneapolis coalition in 2025 that brings together community organizations and outreach workers responding directly to people affected by opioid use.

The area is also lower-income, which in Minnesota is associated with particularly high ER visit rates related to opioid use. In 2023, opioid ER rates for low income ZIP codes in the state were two times the average of low income ZIPs nationally, an MPR News analysis found.

Bauch said longstanding distrust of medical systems and law enforcement rooted in historical and ongoing inequities continues to shape how people seek help.

As a result, she said, community-based organizations like the coalition play an increasingly central role in overdose prevention and response, combining naloxone distribution with relationship-building and healthcare navigation.

“It’s a constant, long-term relationship,” Bauch said. “We might not see somebody show up at a hospital, but that doesn’t mean their journey isn’t going to lead them to treatment and recovery.”

Showing up, day after day

Walking the streets of north Minneapolis on a recent day, Lyrek is well-known to people on the street and consistently has a kind word to share.

As he spoke, a young man moved erratically down the street. Lyrek’s expression brightened. “Oh my God, this kid,” he said with a smile. “I love him.”

He said he tries to seek people out first, so they do not have to spend time tracking him down.

On this day he tried but could not find the woman he was looking for to tell her Hennepin County had found her a home, but he was confident they would connect.

“She is someone who has expressed that she wants to stop using,” he said. “But that’s not something she can focus on if she’s not sleeping in a safe place.”

SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders. Call: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Editor's note (July 2, 2026): Two graphics in the story initially included data by ZIP code on opioid emergency room visits in Minneapolis. While accurate, they also showed several St. Paul ZIP codes. To avoid confusion, the graphics have been updated to include data from ZIP codes in Minneapolis.

Mexico had an enormous home-field advantage and an opportunity to make its deepest run in the World Cup, but El Tri let it slip away against England on Sunday night.

Playing at altitude with the passionate backing of 80,824 fans at Estadio Azteca, and with a man advantage for most of the second half, Mexico scored twice but could never equalize and lost 3-2.

Mexico hadn't conceded a goal in its first four World Cup matches but had no answer for Jude Bellingham, who scored twice in a 98-second span in the first half.

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“To dream and then fall like this hurts deeply, but the players should leave with their heads held high,” coach Javier Aguirre said. “They gave it their all on the pitch, but it wasn’t meant to be today. The fans had high hopes, and we couldn’t get the job done and give them another night of joy.”

While El Tri made a step forward from their group-stage exit in Qatar in 2022, the defeat leaves a bitter taste for Mexico fans who were hoping to see their country's first quarterfinal appearance since 1986, when it last hosted the World Cup. Mexico has been eliminated in the round of 16 eight times since then.

“We played against a strong team in an amazing stadium, in an amazing country. I feel almost to say sorry that you (Mexicans) are out after seeing all the emotion from the people on the side of the street. You should be proud of your team,” England manager Thomas Tuchel said.

Aguirre will step down after his third stint as Mexico's coach. Rafael Marquez, a former Barcelona defender, who was Aguirre's assistant at this World Cup, will replace him.

“These five matches are unforgettable. I am saying goodbye to the Estadio Azteca and leaving with great pride after so many years,” Aguirre said. “Rafa is a great kid, a valuable coach and he is going to show it. Hopefully he is going to do it better than me.”

It was Mexico's third competitive loss at Azteca, which opened in 1966, after a pair of 2-1 defeats in World Cup qualifiers, to Costa Rica in 2001 and to Honduras in 2013.

“I am sad, we had everything to win the match. (England) did not play well, they had five shots on goal and scored three,” said Mexico fan Ramiro Caballero, a 44-year-old businessman. “It was the perfect scenario to take the next step and now we must wait for that victory.”

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Ahead of the game, fans flocked to buy Team Mexico jerseys — FIFA said Mexico's jersey is the tournament's hottest-selling national team shirt, bolstered by the furthest the team has advanced in 40 years.

Leobardo Contreras, who's been selling Team Mexico jerseys from a tent on the west side of St. Paul nonstop for the past few weeks, said he's seen that spike firsthand.

"I'm very, very busy. People buying a lot of shirts — Mexico shirts. This World Cup is crazy, crazy, crazy. It's pretty good for business,” he said.

Contreras estimates he's sold more than 1,000 jerseys since the World Cup began. Among his customers Sunday was Juan Sanchez and his family, who drove from Blaine to St. Paul to find jerseys before the World Cup match against England.

Sanchez, originally from Mexico City, was one of about 10 people crowded around a white tent on Cesar Chavez Street on Sunday.

"I've been watching them for the past two days, and then finally decided, after church we're going to go get them shirts."

Across the street, Lupita Flores said the World Cup has brought customers back to her shop, Novedades Lupita. The federal government's immigration enforcement surge earlier this year scared many away.

"We closed for almost three months. It was very sad because we didn't see people walking around. It was really, really hard for us,” Flores said.

And excitement for the World Cup has helped bring the neighborhood back to life.

"I'm very happy for my community. After what happened at the beginning of the year with the problems with ICE ... now I'm so happy to see everybody smiling, laughing and celebrating."

While Mexico couldn’t come out on top against England, the run — and the pride it brought for fans — will last long after the final whistle.

With this year’s Fourth of July landing on a Saturday, many people also have Friday off — setting up a long holiday weekend filled with celebrations across Minnesota as the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Communities statewide are planning fireworks, parades and festivals, giving residents plenty of ways to mark Independence Day whether at a local park, lakeside or small-town gathering.

Be sure to check MPR News’ Updraft weather forecasts as you make your plans. Here’s a look at where to find events and fireworks across Minnesota for 2026.

St. Paul

The St. Paul Rotary Club will host the capital city's Fourth of July fireworks at Cathedral Hill Park. Food trucks will line Dayton Avenue beginning at 6 p.m., and visitors are encouraged to arrive early to picnic before the fireworks begin at dusk.

Delano

Delano’s Fourth of July celebration runs July 1–4, 2026, with a multi-day festival featuring a parade, fireworks and community events. The 2026 celebration is especially notable, marking Delano’s 150th birthday.

Brainerd Lakes area

Fourth of July events across the Brainerd Lakes Area will mark America’s birthday with a full weekend of celebrations. Communities throughout the region are planning hometown parades, fireworks over the water, live music, family activities, races and festivals in honor of Independence Day.

St. Cloud

Greater St. Cloud will mark the Fourth of July with a full day of events at Wilson Park, ending with fireworks over the Mississippi River at 10 p.m. The celebration includes live music, food vendors and a shuttle from downtown St. Cloud.

Duluth

Duluth’s Bayfront Festival Park will host a full day of live music, food, family activities and entertainment on July 4, capped by a large fireworks display celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Fargo-Moorhead

Bonanzaville will host a Fourth of July celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring kids’ activities, games, food vendors and an annual parade, with fireworks at dusk.

In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, visitors can also watch an historic printing demonstration and take home a reproduction of the Declaration of Independence.

Marshall

Independence Park will host its annual Independence Day celebration with food vendors opening at 5 p.m., a performance by Kayla Daniels at 8:30 p.m., and fireworks at 10:15 p.m.

Ely

Ely’s Fourth of July celebration begins July 3 with the Rock the Park music event at Whiteside Park, featuring live music, food trucks and beverages provided by the Ely Fire Relief Association.

The festivities continue July 4 with the “4 on the 4th” run and walk, a flag-raising ceremony at the Ely Veterans Memorial and the city’s annual parade at 1 p.m.

Minneapolis

Red, White & BOOM! returns to the Mississippi Riverfront for a full day of free programming and community celebration hosted by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, ending with fireworks over the river at 10 p.m. The event takes place along West River Parkway and Water Works Park.

Eden Prairie

Eden Prairie’s Fourth of July Hometown Celebration spans two days at Round Lake Park, beginning July 3 with Sparklefest, a family-friendly event featuring live music, food trucks, activities and a drone show.

The celebration continues July 4 with food trucks, live music, a World Cup watch party, a flyover and fireworks.

Stillwater

Stillwater’s Fourth of July celebration features live cannon firing demonstrations, free concerts and performances at Lowell Park and Pioneer Park, and a fireworks show over the St. Croix River and Historic Lift Bridge at dusk.

Mankato

Mankato’s Fourth of July fireworks will be held at the Minnesota State University, Mankato Athletic Fields, with the show beginning around 10 p.m. Attendees can listen to a choreographed soundtrack on local radio stations while enjoying the display.

Rochester

Rochester’s 4th Fest: Rochester Celebrates America will take place at Soldiers Field Memorial Park from 5–10:15 p.m., featuring live music, local food vendors, family activities and a fireworks finale honoring Independence Day and America’s 250th anniversary.

“The Pitt” is the leading nominee at the upcoming Emmy Awards, with numerous actors who play doctors on the drama series snagging nominations.

“Hacks,” another HBO series, got the second most nominations when the Emmy nominations were announced Wednesday in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, NBC announced that “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay will host the Sept. 14 ceremony.

Drama series

“The Diplomat”; “The Gilded Age”; “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”; “Paradise”; “The Pitt”; “Pluribus”; “Slow Horses”; “Your Friends & Neighbors.”

Comedy series

“Abbott Elementary”; “The Bear”; “Hacks”; “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”; “Nobody Wants This”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “Shrinking”; “Widow’s Bay.”

Limited series, anthology series or movie

“All Her Fault”; “The Beast in Me”; “Beef”; “DTF St. Louis”; “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.”

Drama actor

Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”; Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”; Mark Ruffalo, “Task”; Rufus Sewell, “The Diplomat”; Noah Wyle, “The Pitt.”

Drama actress

Carrie Coon, “The Gilded Age”; Chase Infiniti, “The Testaments”; Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”; Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus”; Zendaya, “Euphoria.”

Supporting actor drama series

Patrick Ball, “The Pitt”; Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”; Shawn Hatosy, “The Pitt”; Gerran Howell, “The Pitt”; Jack Lowden, “Slow Horses”; Tom Pelphrey, “Task”; Carlos-Manuel Vesga, “Pluribus.”

Supporting actress drama series

Taylor Dearden, “The Pitt”; Fiona Dourif, “The Pitt”; Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”; Katherine LaNasa, “The Pitt”; Sepideh Moafi, “The Pitt”; Julianne Nicholson, “Paradise”; Karolina Wydra, “Pluribus.”

Comedy actor

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Wonder Man”; Steve Carell, “Rooster”; Matthew Rhys, “Widow’s Bay”; Jason Segel, “Shrinking”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building.”

Comedy actress

Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”; Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”; Elle Fanning, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”; Lisa Kudrow, “The Comeback”; Jean Smart, “Hacks.”

Supporting actor comedy series

Colman Domingo, “The Four Seasons”; Paul W. Downs, “Hacks”; Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”; Nick Offerman, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”; Stephen Root, “Widow’s Bay”; Michael Urie, “Shrinking”; Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary.”

Supporting actress comedy series

Dale Dickey, “Widow’s Bay”; Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”; Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”; Kate O’Flynn, “Widow’s Bay”; Michelle Pfeiffer, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”; Megan Stalter, “Hacks”; Jessica Williams, “Shrinking.”

Lead actor limited series, anthology series or movie

Riz Ahmed, “Bait”; Jason Bateman, “Black Rabbit”; Charlie Hunnam, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”; Oscar Isaac, “Beef”; Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in Me.”

Lead actress limited, anthology series or movie

Claire Danes, “The Beast in Me”; Sally Field, “Remarkably Bright Creatures”; Carey Mulligan, “Beef”; Sarah Pidgeon, “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette”; Sarah Snook, “All Her Fault.”

Supporting actor limited, anthology series or movie

Jason Bateman, “DTF St. Louis”; Richard Gadd, “Half Man”; David Harbour, “DTF St. Louis”; Richard Jenkins, “DTF St. Louis”; Charles Melton, “Beef”; Nick Offerman, “Death by Lightning.”

Supporting actress limited, anthology series or movie

Linda Cardellini, “DTF St. Louis”; Dakota Fanning, “All Her Fault”; Laurie Metcalf, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”; Joy Sunday, “DTF St. Louis”; Youn Yuh-jung, “Beef”; Constance Zimmer, “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.”

Talk show

“The Daily Show”; “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”; “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”; “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”; “Saturday Night Live.”

Reality competition

“Dancing With the Stars”; “RuPaul’s Drag Race”; “Survivor”; “Top Chef”; “The Traitors.”

Outstanding reality or reality program host

RuPaul Charles, “RuPaul’s Drag Race”; Alan Cumming, “The Traitors”; Kristen Kist, “Top Chef”; Ariana Madix, “Love Island USA”; Jeff Probst, “Survivor.”

Animated program

“Bob’s Burgers”; “Rick and Morty”; “The Simpsons”; “Smiling Friends”; “South Park”; “Star Wars: Visions.”

Outstanding television movie

“Heads of State”; “Miss You, Love You”; “People We Meet on Vacation”; “Remarkably Bright Creatures”; “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War.”

Scripted variety series

“Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable…”; “The Muppet Show”; “Nikki Glaser: Good Girl”; “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — Final Show”; “Wicked: One Wonderful Night.”

Live variety special

The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show starring Bad Bunny; 83rd Annual Golden Globes; 68th Annual Grammy Awards; The Oscars; 78th Annual Tony Awards.

Outstanding game show host

Steve Harvey, “Family Feud”; Ken Jennings, “Jeopardy!”; Colin Jost, “Pop Culture Jeopardy!”; Jimmy Kimmel, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

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The freedom to choose your work hours has been a game changer for many white-collar workers. Now, it has quietly become an option for some blue-collar workers as well.

With U.S. manufacturers struggling to staff up, a handful are opening the doors to people who may not be seeking a traditional career in the industry or even a 40-hour workweek.

It's a change that manufacturers including Stanley Black & Decker and Georgia-Pacific are embracing. And it has also taken hold in rural northwest Georgia.

Ruth Ransom calls it the best thing she has ever heard.

"I wasn't interested in working full time," says the 68-year-old grandmother, who considered herself retired when she learned of the opportunity to pick up shifts at the Roper Corp., a kitchen appliance plant owned by GE Appliances. "I was just wanting to work part time, maybe two days a week somewhere. You know, just to get out of the house."

Today, Ransom is part of a pool of more than 900 workers who sign up for shifts via an app. Not only do workers make their own schedules, deciding how many four-hour shifts to pick up each week, but they also choose what kind of work they want to do. Assembly line jobs are fast-paced and physically demanding, so Ransom often opts for quality control, which she finds less taxing.

"It's your choice," she says. "I love it."

A COVID-era struggle leads to a "crazy" idea

GE Appliances first embraced flexible work out of necessity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company found itself inundated with orders and severely short on workers.

"People were buying appliances in record numbers, because they were staying at home and they were cooking," says Tony Gabbert, the plant's director of manufacturing operations. "It was a great time, great problem to have when you're just selling product so fast that you can't hardly make them quick enough."

The not-great problem was that workers were staying home, even quitting, because of COVID-19. On some days, the plant was hundreds of workers short. Salaried employees, including Gabbert, had to step in to keep the highest-priority lines moving.

Amid the crunch, Gabbert learned of a staffing firm called MyWorkChoice. Its pitch was intriguing. The firm would recruit and vet a pool of workers who could be trained to do different jobs, building ovens and ranges across the plant. The workers, who would remain employees of MyWorkChoice, would use an app to sign up for open shifts, covering for absences and helping out with increased demand.

Gabbert presented the idea to his boss, Bill Good, GE Appliances' vice president of manufacturing. Today, the two of them chuckle, recalling his response.

"I did say this is crazy," says Good, who has worked in manufacturing for almost four decades.

An industry that runs on consistency

The mantra in manufacturing, Good says, is that you need consistency to build a quality product. It's why, for generations, the proposition to workers was simple.

"We would say: Hey, we have a 40-hour job. We will pay you this amount. This is your benefits. You show up every day, and that is a nonnegotiable," says Good.

What was initially proposed felt like the antithesis of that: adding workers who could sign up for as little as two hours of work at a time.

"The two-hour increments scared the heck out of me, because I was envisioning people coming and going at a rate that we could not control," says Good.

So they settled on four-hour shifts. They started out small, in just a couple of areas of the plant, and expanded over time. Today, in any given week, about 450 flexible workers — roughly half the pool — pick up shifts at the plant, with workers putting in an average of 24 hours a week.

Their contributions have been key to GE Appliances' $180 million expansion of the Georgia plant, completed last year, which added 600 new jobs.

Prizing flexibility over money and benefits

Good's hope is that some of the workers who make their way to manufacturing through MyWorkChoice will discover that they want a career in the industry after all.

But many may not.

"I think with the current workforce, the way that it has changed, it's not the way that it was 20 years ago, where you come, you stay at a job and you work those hours," says Darcy Duvall, the plant's director of human resources operations.

She has found that people are comfortable with app-based work. Workers get rated on their reliability. Those with the highest ratings get the first pick of shifts.

"This is like the Uber of manufacturing," Duvall says.

She has also come to see that many workers prize flexibility despite the significant trade-offs — like lower pay and almost no benefits. MyWorkChoice employees can opt into their own group healthcare plan, but few do.

Kwame Crockett is among a sizable share of flexible workers who are putting in full-time hours at the plant. When he first started with MyWorkChoice, he saw it as a way to supplement his other job, managing and remodeling properties in a mobile home park. He'd sign up for shifts at the plant a few days a week.

"At the time, it worked out perfectly," he says.

More recently, he has been working five days a week. Under the agreement between GE Appliances and MyWorkChoice, Crockett could become a full-time employee of the plant and gain access to GE Appliances' full benefits package, which includes paid time off, paid holidays, on-site healthcare and even a 401(k) match.

But Crockett isn't interested — for now, anyway.

"I've thought about it," he says. "But I never know when my other remodeling or anything might kick up. So I might need a vacation or a little time off, you know?"

Keeping experienced workers on the job

The flexible work option has also helped GE Appliances keep longtime employees with decades of experience on the job.

Doris Hamby worked at the plant full time for 35 years. After her husband died, she might have retired. Instead, she went part time. These days, at 62, she works three to four days a week.

"That way I can spend time with the grandkids, and my momma's real sick so I'm having to take care of her too," she says.

After her move to part time, her boss got her back on the same line, so she's doing the same work, although for a couple of dollars less per hour. Being free to set her own schedule makes it worth it, she says.

"I got people asking me, 'When you going to retire? When you going to quit?'" Hamby says.

Last year, she told her co-workers maybe by the end of the year. Now, she's saying maybe by the end of this year.

"I'll probably be here a while," she says.

Copyright 2026, NPR

President Trump said Wednesday he believes the current ceasefire with Iran is over after an exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran, the latest escalation straining the agreement to end the war.

"I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum," Trump told reporters in Ankara, where he is attending the NATO summit.

He called the Iranian leaders "vicious, violent people."

"If they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it," he added.

Trump, however, did not rule out talks continuing to permanently end the war with Iran.

He said the top U.S. negotiators, Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, want to negotiate.

But, Trump added, "as far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars."

There was no immediate response from the Iranian government.

His comments came after the U.S. and Iran traded attacks again overnight Wednesday, the second such escalation since the two sides signed an interim deal in mid-June.

The strikes followed Tuesday's attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets in what it said was retaliation for the previous Iranian aggression. Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it responded to those strikes by launching missiles and drones against Kuwait and Bahrain, two Arab Gulf countries that host U.S. military bases.

Trump is in Ankara, Turkey, to attend the NATO summit, where he has continued to air grievances, lamenting that European countries don't contribute enough to their own defense spending, as Russia's war against Ukraine has dragged on.

He has also expressed frustration since the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran began that Europe hasn't been supportive enough of his agenda.

Earlier in the day, the president said he was "testing" allies on how they'd help with the war.

"Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down, and it's OK, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them," Trump said.

The tension between Trump and NATO nations has also grown as the president continued on Tuesday to insist that the U.S. should have control of Greenland, a territory currently under Denmark.

Despite friction in the alliance, at the gathering Trump has discussed some issues important to him related to the U.S.-Israel-led war in Iran, such as increased defense spending and logistics around opening the Strait of Hormuz.

And as the two-day summit ends, Trump is expected to take questions during a Wednesday press conference.

The brief two-day gathering typically left little time for one-on-one meetings, but Trump was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the gathering. Negotiating an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been an elusive goal for Trump, who has teased recently that the end of the war is "getting closer," without providing much further detail. He also said he recently spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Tuesday, Trump met with the leader of the host nation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he considers a friend. The two discussed the U.S. potentially selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey — despite there being a congressional ban in place that prevents this.

"We have a very good relationship. … Why wouldn't we do that?" Trump said in his meeting with Erdogan.

Tina Kraja in Washington, D.C., contributed reporting to this story.

Copyright 2026, NPR

The Elk River City Council voted Monday night to reject changes to a city ordinance that would have allowed a new data center.

Elk River Capital and Swervo Development Corp. are proposing to convert an existing 60,000-square-foot industrial building to a data center.

The project would be smaller than hyperscale data centers proposed in other Minnesota communities and promises benefits including jobs and property tax revenue. But many Elk River residents have expressed strong opposition.

Elk River has two existing data centers that don't conform to the city's current zoning rules, which don’t allow data centers in any zoning district.

The City Council considered changing its ordinance to allow data centers in industrial zones, with restrictions. Those included limits on size and energy use, and a requirement to use a closed-loop cooling system to reduce water use.

But the council voted against the change after hearing from numerous residents. They voiced concerns about noise, energy use, pollution from backup diesel generators and health effects on neighboring homes and schools.

"This is not an anti-technology conversation. What this is is, ‘We don't know what we don't know,’” said resident David McClellan. “There are other communities that are investigating this for us. There's a lot to learn, but there's no reason for us to rush into this."

The council still needs to vote on whether to approve a conditional-use permit for the data center. Without the ordinance amendment, the project isn’t allowed. The council is expected to deny the permit at its Aug. 3 meeting.

Some council members said they’re not against all data centers but want to look at each proposal on a case-by-case basis. Some said Elk River Capital’s location near housing and schools doesn’t fit with the city’s future plans.

"Good community planning sometimes means saying yes,” council member Jennifer Wagner said. “It also means sometimes saying no, or not yet, or we just don't have it right yet."

Instead, the council asked city staff to draft a one-year moratorium on new data centers for consideration at an upcoming meeting.

Several other Minnesota cities have already adopted temporary bans on data center construction, including Minneapolis, Rosemount, Inver Grove Heights and Carver.

A data center developer is suing the city of Eagan after leaders adopted a one-year moratorium on new or expanded data centers in February.

Authorities say a man died after a firework exploded in his hand over the holiday weekend in the northern Twin Cities metro area.

It happened at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday on the roof of an abandoned building on a portion of the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant site in Arden Hills. The building is at the north end of the large property, near County Road I.

Officials with the Lake Johanna Fire Department, which covers that area, said a 911 caller reported that a man had a firework explode while he was holding it.

There were no stairs that could be used for a rescue. Authorities initially called for a helicopter but eventually used a ladder truck to access the victim.

He was removed from the roof and taken to HCMC, where he later died from his injuries. KARE 11 reported the victim was 23-year-old Yaseen Abumayyaleh.

Fire officials said a group of 15 to 20 people had gathered at the site at the time of the incident. Abumayyaleh reportedly was holding a fireworks mortar tube with a 2-inch shell inside when it exploded.

The incident remains under investigation.

An under-construction high-rise in Manhattan was still unstable Tuesday after buckling columns and sagging floors raised fears of a collapse, forcing the tower and other nearby buildings to evacuate, officials said.

The 1970s-era office building is being converted to luxury apartments, and is the former global headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Initial reports of falling bricks at around 8 a.m. sent firefighters rushing to the busy corridor near Grand Central train station and the landmark Chrysler Building.

New York City officials were using drones to monitor the building to avoid having to send people inside. A nearby school that has 400 students was among the evacuated buildings, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.

“The building remains unstable,” Mamdani said at a news conference at the scene. “This is an extremely serious situation.”

Fire Chief John Esposito said the way the steel-framed building is constructed, “it would not be a total collapse, it would be more of a localized collapse.”

Ahmed Tigani, the city’s building commissioner, said officials had not seen evidence that debris fell off the building. Nevertheless, nearby streets remained closed to people and vehicles. Mamdani said there were no reports of injuries.

The office-to-residential conversion would add more than a dozen stories and redesign an adjoining tower, according to Gensler, the architectural firm leading the project. With more than 1,600 units, it has been billed as the largest conversion in the city’s history, Gensler says.

A spokesperson for Gensler did not return a voicemail and email seeking comment.

Officials found two columns had buckled on the 21st and 22nd floors and floors were sagging between the 21st and 26th floors.

First responders and city officials were working closely with the project engineer to develop plans to shore up the impacted flooring, Mamdani said. If it's deemed to be secure, engineers will enter and begin making repairs.

“This is a minute-by-minute assessment," the mayor said.

The building commissioner said workers will need to add emergency beams and columns to stabilize the compromised ones.

“Our top priority right now,” the mayor said Tuesday morning, “is the safety of those who live in this area and the safety of those who work in this area.”

More than 100 family members, friends and community members gathered in Falcon Heights on Monday evening at the Philando Castile Peace Garden.

Castile was killed by a St. Anthony police officer during a traffic stop in 2016. Valerie Castile, Philando’s mother, said at the candlelight vigil that she remembers her son as kind and hardworking. She also urged those present to keep healing and seeking justice.

“We come together today to form new relationships, mend relationships and just come together as human beings, as one,” she said.