A proposal to turn the defunct Minnesota Star Tribune printing plant, one of the few remaining industrial sites in downtown Minneapolis, into a data center has become a contentious and defining issue in the neighborhood.

The Minnesota Design Center and the North Loop Neighborhood Association on Saturday reviewed three sessions of community input collected at a series of workshops last week from more than a thousand Minneapolis residents.

And the first public presentation about the developer’s plans for the site met strong public opposition Wednesday night. Hundreds of residents spilled out the doors of the North Loop Neighborhood Association's meeting room, across the street from the plant.

Local hostility to the plan mirrors rising public skepticism of data centers in Minnesota and around the country as some centers have driven up local utility bills and tech companies have signed secret agreements with cities about future projects.

The developer, Virginia-based Legacy Investing, has already signed a purchase agreement for the property with the Star Tribune and submitted a conditional use permit application to the City of Minneapolis.

The city will decide whether the project moves forward. Data centers have been top-of-mind for city leadership, and the Minneapolis City Council is in the process of updating its zoning rules for the centers.

Legacy Investing does not need the neighborhood association to sign on to the project, but Wednesday evening, two representatives of Legacy Investing attempted to get public buy-in at the neighborhood’s planning and zoning committee meeting.

“We understand how important this is to the community, and we are excited to truthfully work with and collaborate with you to reinvent this portion of the North Loop that we know is so important to this entire constituency,” Ari Chernikoff, vice president of development for the company, said.

Chernikoff and his colleague, Daniel English, pitched what they describe as a small, 20-megawatt, data center that they say wouldn’t strain the local energy grid or use more water than “two to four residential homes worth of water consumption.” That’s a lot less than nearby commercial buildings, Chernikoff said.

Legacy Investing would buy the plant and some land around it. Chernikoff said the data center would be an economic boon to the city, but also “provides an economic engine for these adjacent parcels to allow them to be developed into whatever the city sees as its highest and best use.”

However, scant public details are available about Legacy Investing’s plans for the 13-acre site.

Fernando Burga, senior research fellow with the Minnesota Design Center, facilitated the discussions over the last week and spoke to the crowd of more than 50 people on Saturday. Over 1,140 comments were collected on concerns and ideas for alternative plans for the former Star Tribune publishing plant.

“We considered next steps moving forward through developing other actions, including an engagement hub that will continue the efforts of mobilizing interest around this topic,” Burga said, adding that the design center staff would compile and analyze the input and release its findings next month.

Minneapolis City Council Member Michael Rainville, who represents Ward 3 covering the North Loop neighborhood, was also at the meeting, but told the crowd he couldn’t speak on the potential data center project because city council may need to vote on the issue in the near future.

Jo Vos, co-chair of the neighborhood planning and zoning committee, said Wednesday she requested more details about the proposal and didn’t receive them ahead of the meeting. Typically, she said, developers have given her committee more information.

“We've usually always gotten enough information to make a decision on,” Vos said.

The developers say it’s too early to know which company will make use of the data center. They didn’t present numbers on how much revenue their development would give to the city and they didn’t estimate the number of jobs created.

The skepticism from the public and the committee members was palpable in the room.

“I've worked in a data center in the past. These do not create real jobs,” said North Loop resident Jared Olson. “The construction jobs are transient. Any project there would create construction jobs.”

Burga said the speed of the project is “highly suspect from a development perspective.”

“I'm impressed and surprised by the lack of preparation,” Burga said, going on to say if Chernikoff and English were his students he’d give their presentation a D minus.

The developers, who have also developed a 30-watt data center in the Sleep Number building in downtown Minneapolis, said they would work to share more information with the committee.

“Daniel and I are standing in front of you today because this is important to us, right?” Chernikoff said, earning laughs because the developers were video calling into the meeting.

Committee Co-Chair Vos said she supports any plan that preserves the Star Tribune building and emphasizes mixed-use development of the property around it.

However, Vos said the committee didn’t have enough information to decide whether to support the data center plan. “We're kind of like in limbo,” she said.

Ultimately, the committee decided to write a letter capturing the unusual public energy at their meeting, requesting more details from Legacy Investing, and requesting the city slow down its permit approval process for the project.

The full board of the North Loop association meets at 6 p.m. Aug. 26. They’ll decide whether to agree with the planning and zoning committee’s letter asking the developer for more information and asking the city to delay the project by a month.

Matt Bruns, a North Loop association zoning committee member and board member, said “barring some massive amount of data and their plan being complete in the next week” he can’t imagine the board will have enough information to decide if it supports the plan.

Either way, the meeting is sure to be packed.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has a track record of spreading disinformation around autism, visited Rochester Friday to announce the launch of his new National Autism Missing Person Initiative.

Standing inside the Olmsted County Sheriff’s training center, Kennedy announced his agency’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to better support residents on the autism spectrum who are prone to wandering and getting lost. He said he wants to ensure individuals are recovered quickly and safely before they get into dangerous situations.

When an autistic child or an adult goes missing, every minute matters,” Kennedy said. “Approximately half of autistic individuals wander from a safe setting at some point. Wandering can happen during sensory overloads with anxiety, or when someone seeks some kind of new adventure or new experience. The consequence can be deadly.

“[Law enforcement needs] to know how the person communicates, what risks they face, and where to search first, including nearby bodies of water and other high-risk areas. The public also needs to know quickly when it could help make a difference.”

Kennedy has made autism a priority in his agency, but he consistently spreads false information about the condition, including claims that Tylenol causes it.

Kennedy says he hopes to set up an alert system, sort of like an Amber Alert, so that the public and local law enforcement are notified immediately when a resident with autism goes missing. And as part of the initiative, HHS, FEMA, and the Department of Justice will collaborate to provide communities across the country with best practices and training for first responders.

While the initiative launched Friday, Kennedy did not specify a timeline for implementation, and it’s unclear when the alert system will be active.

Kennedy said that he selected Rochester to make his announcement because of the county’s success with the Project Lifesaver program, which served as inspiration for Kennedy’s initiative.

“We came here to learn from one of the most successful programs in the nation,” Kennedy said. “We want to know the successful approaches and help communities across America to implement these kind of effective practices in every community.”

Project Lifesaver, the international program founded in the 1990s, is already at work in large portions of the U.S., and has been part of Olmsted County’s capabilities for nearly 20 years to support individuals with all sorts of cognitive conditions, including Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Through the program, clients wear a transmitter about the size of a wristwatch on their wrist or ankle. If the client becomes lost, the client’s caregivers can call 911 to activate the Project Lifesaver search team, which includes local law enforcement who are trained in these types of searches.

Diana Diaz-Harrison, HHS’s national autism coordinator, said that Olmsted County has a perfect record of recovery in these emergencies.

“We would love it to be at the level that it is here in Rochester, where – whether you call 911 and a sheriff or a police officer or even an off-duty person is in the area – when they hear ‘autism,’ they know what to do,” Diaz-Harrison said. “We want that knowledge to be baseline knowledge that all officers have.”

Expanding drought conditions are prompting some Twin Cities metro area water suppliers to consider restricting watering, as dry weather withers gardens and slows the flow of rivers.

The U.S. drought monitor map released Thursday elevated a small part of northwest Minnesota to the extreme drought category; much of the eastern half of the state, including parts of the Twin Cities metro, is in a severe drought.

Water systems in the Twin Cities metro area are monitoring their water levels, with an eye toward implementing water use restrictions if the supply dips too low.

Racquel Vaske is the general manager of St. Paul Regional Water Services, which provides water to St. Paul and several nearby cities. She said the system is monitoring dropping water levels in the Mississippi River, where its water comes from. Recently, the river’s flow speed has dropped.

“That's a number we're really watching closely because as that drops, then there's some triggers for us to really try and limit the amount of water that our customers are using,” Vaske said.

It hasn’t dropped low enough to prompt water restrictions yet. If the utility does issue restrictions, Vaske said users would see notices online and via email.

Some cities north of the Twin Cities, including Mora and Rush City, have already implemented watering restrictions. And some, including Edina and Eden Prairie, already have set watering restrictions in place year-round. Vaske said St. Paul has less of a challenge, since residents in the city tend to have smaller lawns and use less water keeping them up — but even so, conditions now are nearly dry enough to strain the water system.

Those dry conditions are also straining on backyard gardeners in the Twin Cities area.

Laura Irish-Hanson is a horticulture educator for the University of Minnesota Extension. She said gardeners are likely seeing dry soil, even if they water regularly.

“It's not just dry in the first six to 12 inches where a lot of the roots of the plants are, it’s dry even lower than that, which can be really problematic,” Irish-Hanson said.

That can leave roots without enough water. And in veggie-harvesting season, that can take a toll on produce. Irish-Hanson said irregular soil moisture might lead to misshapen cucumbers or rotten spots on tomatoes and peppers.

Irish-Hanson said it’s best to water gardens for a longer time, but less frequently — once every couple of days, depending on the soil.

“After you think you've watered enough, see how moist the soil is and how far down,” Irish-Hanson said. “If it's only wet for about an inch or so, you probably need to keep watering.”

But she said gardeners should still be careful of how much water they’re using, especially if watering restrictions are implemented in their areas. Even with limited hours or days for watering, she said it’s possible to water thoroughly, since gardens should only be deeply watered every few days.

The dry summer conditions are increasingly common. Vaske said it’s been a common concern at St. Paul Regional Water Services. The agency last issued watering restrictions in 2023.

Irish-Hanson said it’s becoming a “new norm.” She said the state is getting more of its precipitation in the spring — an observation backed by climate research from the University of Minnesota, which predicts more rainfall for the state overall, but longer dry spells in between more extreme rain events.

Irish-Hanson said gardeners can look into more drought-hardy plants in years to come if their current gardens aren’t surviving the dry conditions. And she said following watering guidance can go a long way, too.

A Brainerd company that builds ice fishing houses will pay more than $100,000 to settle a claim that it discriminated against an employee with cancer.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights investigated the complaint against Timberland, which operates in Brainerd as Glacier Ice House.

The department said the employee took disability leave in 2023 to receive cancer treatment.

During the leave, the employee lost their job as part of widespread company layoffs, but wasn't given the same opportunity as others to transition to other positions in the company, the investigation found.

The department said Glacier company leaders mentioned the employee's medical condition as a factor in their decision.

“No Minnesotan should have to choose between fighting cancer and fighting for their job,” stated Rebecca Lucero, state human rights commissioner.

Under the settlement agreement, Glacier will strengthen its policies and training related to employees with disabilities. The human rights department will monitor the company’s compliance for the next three years.

The employee will receive a settlement of $115,000.

A call to Glacier Ice House's president, Jason Jaeckels, was not immediately returned.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his country will initiate retaliatory tariffs against U.S. imports starting Sept. 8. The move came hours after the Trump administration began enforcing 50 percent tariffs on a slew of Canadian goods.

Trade negotiations between the United States and Canada fell apart Friday night, shortly before a midnight deadline for the 50% tariffs to take effect on $20 billion worth of Canadian products.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a bulletin to businesses Friday warning that its officers would be ensuring importers complied with the new rates starting immediately after the deadline passed.

Carney said late Friday that "Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses."

In a statement shared on social media, Carney said important progress had been made in recent weeks toward "improving Canada's position as having the best deal in the world with the U.S." That progress, however, did not meet Canada's objectives, he said, adding: "As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed negotiators to return to Ottawa."

The prime minister blamed the U.S. for the collapse in negotiations. "Last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal," Carney said, concluding, "Canada has what the world wants. And we will not allow any nation to determine our future."

On Saturday morning, in a fresh post on social media, Carney wrote his negotiators had worked "in good faith" for more than a year, and his government would in the coming days "release the details of these new tariff measures, which will come into force the Tuesday after Labour Day."

The U.S., in turn, pointed the finger at Canada. Shortly after midnight, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer responded to Carney with a statement posted on social media saying Canada had "declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week."

"Despite the U.S. offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walk backs of other commitments by Canada have upended the careful balance reached in the past days," Greer said.

He added that earlier this week "the United States agreed to provide even better treatment to Canada, offering significant tariff reductions on steel, aluminum, autos, and lumber."

"The offer would have led to supply chain coordination on aerospace, complementary actions to address unfair trade practices, critical minerals cooperation, increased enforcement against imports produced with forced labor, and the announcement of formal U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) negotiations," Greer said in his statement.

This is a developing story that may be updated.

Copyright 2026, NPR

The Minnesota Department of Health’s role in the state’s booming group home industry has been at the center of two of the biggest news stories in Minnesota over the past week.

On Thursday, the Health Department revoked the licenses of three group homes where Sekou Dukuly, a high-ranking government official in Liberia, was licensed as the group home’s director up until last week. The move followed one from the Minnesota Department of Human Services, which suspended payments to the facilities in response to what it described as “credible allegations of Medicaid fraud.”

An MPR News/APM Reports investigation found that Dukuly has had a hand in 24 group homes over the past decade and the state has paid group home companies linked to him at least $36 million. In 2024, Liberian President Joseph Boakai appointed Dukuly to run the country’s government owned ports.

The Health Department also revoked the licenses of two group homes unrelated to Dukuly following allegations from prosecutors that Homefelt Assisted Living facilities were connected to a sex trafficking operation in the Twin Cities.

An indictment filed Monday also alleged that the group home company fraudulently billed Medicaid for over $1 million. Among the defendants in the case was Andrea Sampson, a former assistant Anoka County attorney

Investigators with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension found that two properties linked to Homefelt Assisted Living, including one of the group homes shuttered this week, were allegedly used to traffic women.

The group homes associated with Dukuly and Sampson were all licensed under the same Health Department program, which classifies them as assisted living facilities. The department only began licensing group homes in 2021.

“People residing in an assisted living facility in Minnesota deserve to receive the best possible care and have reassurance that facilities are being held to the highest standards for health and safety,” the Health Department said in a statement. “MDH will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure the health and safety of residents as these actions move forward.”

The Health Department licenses approximately 1,600 assisted living facilities with five or fewer residents. An earlier MPR News/APM Reports investigation found that since late 2022, the Health Department has investigated the deaths of at least 32 people in the facilities it licenses.

Historically in Minnesota, group homes have been overseen by the Department of Human Services. But since 2009, there’s been a moratorium in place prohibiting the department from licensing any new group homes.

Despite the moratorium, the industry continued to grow. Providers were able to seek exemptions from the Department of Human Services, but the newer Health Department licensing program offered an easier path for group home entrepreneurs. And the program has fueled the industry’s rapid growth in the northwestern metro area, which has the highest concentration of group homes in the state.

No matter which state agency licenses the group homes, the Department of Human Services pays the bills, because it administers the state’s Medicaid program, also called Medical Assistance. That means Health Department-licensed group homes are jointly overseen by both agencies.

“We can require that you shouldn’t be having two agencies in charge of one provider, and this is part of my idea to streamline things,” Minnesota’s DFL candidate for governor, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said in an interview on MPR News Tuesday. Both candidates for Minnesota governor, Klobuchar and Republican Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth, said Minnesota’s group home industry needs more oversight — especially facilities licensed by the Health Department.

In May, the Minnesota Legislature set aside $150,000 for the Health Department to find a new way to license group homes currently classified as assisted living facilities.

Reporting interns Ahmed Hassan and Lili Euzet contributed to this story.

Olivia Miles scored 24 points Natasha Howard added 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Washington Mystics 94-84 on Friday night for their sixth straight win.

The Lynx (31-7) have won 16 of 17 have a 4 1/2-game lead on second-place Golden State in the WNBA standings.

Washington (21-15) fell into seventh, a half-game behind New York.

Howard finished with seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Kayla McBride scored 18 points and Courtney Williams had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Minnesota. Williams fell to the floor in the closing seconds and left the game due to an apparent lower-body injury. Napheesa Collier (rest) did not play.

Kiki Iriafen had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Mystics. Shakira Austin added 17 points and eight rebounds and Michaela Onyenwere scored 14.

Sierra Nicole Reece recorded the six-second TikTok right before bed, when she was already cozy in her bonnet, glasses on, at her dad’s home in New Jersey.

“Forget Coachella. I'm trying to go to the Minnesota State Fair. They got brand deals for that?”

This was in mid-April, when corporate partnerships with influencers at the California music festival dominated online discourse. Reece was on the job hunt after getting her MBA abroad and had been experimenting with content creation to build up her portfolio in digital and marketing strategies.

She thought nothing of the video and fell asleep.

Then overnight it blew up. On Instagram, the video drew over 4 million views — and attention from Minnesota organizations.

“I’m listening 👀,” reads the top-liked comment from the Minnesota State Fair account.

A Twin Cities-based influencer manager ended up reaching out to Reece. Together, they brainstormed and pitched a brand trip to the Minnesota State Fair and area tourism agencies, which ultimately agreed to sponsor her.

For Reece, a food culture aficionado who had long envisioned visiting the Minnesota State Fair, it was an exciting opportunity. She had enjoyed the Twin Cities during work trips but never had the chance to attend.

“Minnesota State Fair season, every year, I'm locked in. I'm like, ‘Oh my God, what's everybody eating? What are we doing, guys?’ Like that is one of my favorite times of year,” Reece said in an interview with MPR News.

“I've known about Sweet Martha's forever. I probably watched a YouTube video on it a long, long, long time ago,” she added. “That bucket of cookies has just lived rent free in my head for my entire adolescence.”

Growing influencer partnerships in Minnesota

The Minnesota State Fair has gotten more national attention with the growth of social media, according to Maria Hayden, who oversees the enterprise’s social media and marketing.

Over the years, there’s been an explosion of local and out-of-state influencers producing videos on the fair. The food is a major draw.

While the State Fair isn’t necessarily looking to boost its attendance numbers — about 2 million people visit each year, making for big crowds and long lines at times — Hayden’s team has jumped on the social media train, turning to influencer collaborations to reach new audiences and showcase different perspectives.

“There's so many different things you can do and explore at the fair. We want to make sure that we're helping contribute to amplifying a diverse range of things people are interested in,” Hayden said.

Explore Minnesota spokesperson Ben Johnson said the Reece collaboration is part of a larger marketing campaign around the Minnesota State Fair.

“It's really one of those flagship, quintessential Minnesotan events that really touches on so many parts of what makes our state great, and it really speaks to our mission, which is to promote Minnesota as a great place to visit,” he said.

The state tourism agency is charged with economic development: getting people to visit, then stay and create businesses in Minnesota. Johnson said Explore Minnesota has been working with content creators for a decade to drive traffic to the state.

One partnership with a content creator who has a broader Midwestern audience allowed Explore Minnesota to double their average views on a video and garner about fives times their average for interactions, according to Johnson.

“These are new audiences who may not have considered Minnesota as a travel destination, and so we just think that's important and a tremendous return on investment,” he said.

For Reece’s trip, the Minnesota State Fair provided admission tickets and assisted with planning. Visit Saint Paul is covering lodging, food and a stipend, and Explore Minnesota is covering work time, deliverables and expenses.

Johnson said the state agency receives hundreds of pitches a year and is selective about who it works with. Reece not only had a viral moment that the state could capitalize on, but she has an affinity for Minnesota and is based in Atlanta, a major flight market for the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Visit Saint Paul senior marketing manager Ava Diaz called the partnership “a huge win” that benefits the whole state, particularly after the federal immigration enforcement surge over the winter.

“People really value and can see our sense of community here, which is incredible,” Diaz said. “And not only that, like how much our communities uplift and support and advocate for everyone in it and the diversity that we have here.”

Reece plans to partner with local content creators

Two local content creators will be Reece’s guides to the State Fair and collaborators on the project: Sade Young and Mezan Ghebre, who respectively run the accounts “Sade in the Cities” and “FeedMeez.”

“This is going to be three Black women covering a state fair from our perspective, which is like unheard of,” Reece said. She hopes their videos will help support local businesses and be helpful to area residents, too.

“It's the Great Minnesota Get-Together. It's rooted in this idea of community and community building for Minnesotans, and that was at the core of what we’re trying to do,” she said.

Minneapolis police arrested far-right influencer Jake Lang and six of his supporters for rioting Saturday outside city hall.

Police said Lang and his entourage drove onto the sidewalk in front of city hall toward a crowd. Social media videos showed Lang standing in the bed of a pickup truck with a sign that included a racial slur.

Videos showed Lang and his fellow activists clashing with counterprotesters. Minneapolis police eventually came out from city hall, with Lang driving off around the same time.

Interim police chief Bill Petersen said at news conference that a chemical irritant “believed to be mace was deployed by both sides.” Petersen said there was “no evidence” police used any irritants.

Police said they tracked the two vehicles with Lang. One was stopped near Washington Avenue and Interstate 35W while the other was near the Mall of America.

Everyone in both vehicles was arrested on suspicion of rioting. Lang was booked into the Hennepin County jail without bail. Police did not respond to a request for the names of the six supporters also arrested.

Mayor Jacob Frey said police are still collecting evidence and the investigation into Lang and his supporters is ongoing.

“Certainly, there’s the possibility of other charges, but there’s still evidence to determine what happened. We’re in the early stages right now of any additional investigation.”

Petersen said three officers were injured, with one hospitalized and released. One of the officers may have had his ankle rolled up by one of the vehicles driving off and another was hit by a projectile.

He said investigators received a report of someone who was assaulted and are trying to get a statement from the victim.

Lang, whose legal first name is Edward, was in town holding a rally for Shiloh Hendrix, the Rochester woman who in 2025 called an 8-year-old boy with autism a racial slur while he was on a playground. Hendrix was found not guilty of disorderly conduct for accosting the boy, but was convicted on the same charge in July for doing the same to a bystander who recorded the altercation.

Four others not connected to Lang were also arrested, including one for rioting and another for assault, Petersen said.

The city of Biwabik is known for its Bavarian-themed downtown, mountain bike trails, and as the gateway to Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range. But the St. Louis County community of 966 people was never a defendant in a 1948 lawsuit filed by a plaintiff named Anderson.

That did not stop Minnesota attorney Faisal S. Ahmed from citing Anderson v. City of Biwabik in a 2025 legal memorandum that he filed in Hennepin County Court. Ahmed also cited Doherty v. Alma E. Clark Memorial Home, another nonexistent case, in an effort to convince Judge Lois Conroy to rule in his client’s favor in a civil suit.

Both cases were invented from whole cloth from an AI tool that Ahmed used in drafting the brief.

Ahmed, who was first licensed to practice law in Minnesota in 2014, had represented the owner of a Robbinsdale food store who’d been sued by his landlord after falling behind on rent payments.

The fake case citations first came to light in an Aug. 21, 2025 hearing when the property owner’s attorney, George Warner, Jr., told Conroy that Ahmed’s filing likely contained AI hallucinations. Ahmed missed a deadline to provide a written response to the allegations, but Warner outlined the errors in a detailed letter to the judge several weeks later.

In addition to the fake cases, Ahmed included a false quotation from a real case, as well as two citation errors. MPR News sought comment from Ahmed Friday afternoon via email and voicemail messages.

“AI, like the advent of word processors and the Internet, can be a powerful tool to aid attorneys in their legal work,” Conroy writes in a January order. “But these technological improvements should not be accepted with blind, unyielding faith or used as a substitute for legal analysis and interpretation.”

“The problem has become so common that a website has been set up to catalogue the over 800 documented instances of litigants (and now judges) using AI to cite fake law and hallucinate quotes,” Conroy added.

Conroy ruled in favor of the property owner and ordered the defendants to pay $233,563 in back rent. She later fined Ahmed $5,000 and referred him to the Minnesota Lawyer’s Professional Responsibility Board.

Ahmed’s “conduct in submitting false cases to the court caused unnecessary delay and burdened opposing counsel and the court, who had to take extra time to find cases that did not exist or that were incorrectly cited and address the case hallucination issues,” write Binh Tuong and Deanna Natoli with the state’s Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility in a petition for disciplinary action filed Friday with the Minnesota Supreme Court.

According to the filing, Ahmed agreed to a 30-day suspension of his law license and to pay an additional $900 in costs.

Tuong and Natoli note that this is not the first time in which attorneys have faced judicial opprobrium for submitting filings with fake AI citations. In 2024 the Minnesota Supreme Court declined to review a petition in a personal injury case after a lawyer included fictitious legal citations generated by ChatGPT.

“We take this opportunity to remind members of the bar of the State of Minnesota that their ethical obligations, including the obligation to provide competent legal representation and candor toward the tribunal, apply to any use of artificial intelligence tools,” writes Chief Justice Natalie Hudson in the 2024 case.

In a St. Paul federal courtroom several months later, U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino tossed out the testimony of Stanford misinformation researcher Jeff Hancock, who was retained by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to defend a state law prohibiting election deepfakes, after Hancock submitted written testimony that included non-existent academic paper citations generated by ChatGPT.

Thomas Vasquez had been living in his Brooklyn Park group home for over a year until last Thursday, when the Minnesota Department of Health shut it down.

“I’ve been trying to get out of here,” Vasquez said. “This place should have been condemned a long time ago.”

The group home is owned and managed by Sekou Dukuly. An investigation by MPR News and APM Reports found that Dukuly was serving as the licensed assisted living director — the person responsible for ensuring residents are well cared for — at three group homes, despite working as the executive director of the National Port Authority of Liberia some 5,000 miles away.

Dukuly has had a hand in 24 group homes over the past decade. Facilities linked to him have racked up multiple complaints of neglect. Some residents have died. Meanwhile, the state has paid group home companies linked to Dukuly at least $36 million.

On Thursday, the Health Department revoked the licenses for the group homes where Dukuly had identified himself as the licensed assisted living director. The move followed one from the Minnesota Department of Human Services, which suspended payments to the facilities in response to what it described as “credible allegations of Medicaid fraud.”

Dukuly did not respond to an interview request. In a press release sent Friday through Minneapolis law firm Goetz and Eckland, Golden Touch Health Care said some of the reporting in the MPR News/APM Reports investigation was “wholly inaccurate.”

“There is nothing improper, unlawful or fraudulent about Mr. Dukuly’s involvement with Golden Touch,” the press release, signed Golden Touch Management, said.

The Health Department also revoked the licenses of two group homes unrelated to Dukuly following allegations from prosecutors that Homefelt Assisted Living facilities were connected to a sex trafficking operation in the Twin Cities.

The agency said that, due to ongoing investigations, it could not say how many residents were currently living in the five facilities it shut down last week. According to each facility’s last site visit, 17 people could need relocating.

“We’ve asked all of the case managers to make this their No. 1 priority,” said Debbie Ackerman, human services area manager for Hennepin County, where the group homes are located.

Ackerman said the timeline for finding new housing for group home residents varies by licensing action and the needs of residents. The suspension imposed on the three group homes owned and managed by Dukuly went into effect immediately, though the homes are required to ensure that residents “receive necessary care until they can be safely transferred to other facilities.”

Hennepin County case managers are working to find intermediary facilities for residents to live, but Ackerman said residents will be able to move again if they find a facility that is better suited for a resident’s long-term needs.

“Whenever there’s an emergent need, it’s finding the the best option to meet their immediate needs, and then we’re asking all the case managers to have a follow-up with people,” Ackerman said. “The most difficult thing is finding ongoing supports that really meet the holistic needs of a person.”

The Health Department said in a statement it was working with partners to “help residents find new homes that meet their care needs” but did not provide a timeframe for upcoming transfers.

“We know people who are living with mental illnesses need as much stability as possible and this is another example of disruption in their lives,” said Marcus Schmit, the executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "We have a system of human services in Minnesota that is too complicated. It's time for us to rebuild the system."

The Health Department has only revoked 10 group home licenses since it started licensing them as assisted living facilities in 2021. Last week’s licensing actions against five marked a rare and significant step.

Speaking with MPR News outside his group home last week, Vasquez was uncertain of his next steps. He said he hoped to move into another one across the street.

“I think it’s about time that Minnesota Department of Health starts stepping up for people, what they call vulnerable adults,” he said.

A bridge that’s almost as old as Minnesota is getting a new life in a new location on Monday.

The historic, 189-foot-long Kern Bridge, was lifted off its crumbling abutments along the Le Sueur River nearly six years ago with two heavy cranes. It had spanned the river south of Mankato, Minn. since it was built in 1873, only fifteen years after Minnesota became a state.

Since being removed in 2020, the unique truss bridge has been restored. Weather permitting, construction crews plan to install the bridge over the Blue Earth River Monday, connecting Land of Memories Park on one side of the river with Sibley Park on the other side, allowing visitors to walk, jog or bicycle over it from one park to the other.

The crews will start rigging the bridge Monday morning and then cranes will lift and set the wrought iron structure on newly constructed concrete piers. The work is expected to finish around noon.

“There's been a lot of planning and kind of preparation for this moment,” said Cory Bienfang, Mankato city engineer. “The idea of preserving a historic bridge like this, reconditioning it, and allowing, for it then, to serve a new use, I would say, is the real uniqueness to this current bridge project.”

Bienfang said there is still some remaining work left to do over the next few months to put the decking and railings on the Kern bridge before it can open for public use this fall. The bridge rehabilitation and placement in its new location was estimated to cost about $10.5 million, with about 75 percent of the funding coming from state and federal grants. Funding from Mankato’s city parks budget and local sales tax revenue covered the rest of the cost.

The city of Mankato has asked residents to not come to the new bridge site to watch the bridge installation Monday for safety reasons. The city will provide a live stream of the installation work.

The Kern Bridge — also known as Yaeger Bridge — carried people, wagons and farm animals and then cars until it shut down to traffic in the early 1900s. When it reopens, the bridge will serve as a pedestrian and bike crossing over the Blue Earth River.

It’s the only example of a “bowstring arch through-truss” bridge remaining in Minnesota and the oldest bridge of its type still intact in the entire country. The Kern Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation and Blue Earth County saved the bridge from getting demolished. MnDOT had offered the bridge to other cities and counties to use as a pedestrian or bike trail amenity. Since there were no takers, the bridge had been sitting in storage containers for a little over five years, while also being restored.

The friendship between Kristen Donaldson, Margie McCarron and Kathy Riewe started at the small information booth located near the main gates of the Minnesota State Fair, where they answer the public’s questions about the fair for all 12 days of it. Donaldson became an information booth employee in 2011, and McCarron in 2015. But compared to Riewe, they were newbies.

Riewe worked at the fair for over 50 years. Her first shift was at 8 years old, at a diner her parents owned on the fairgrounds.

It made sense that when Donaldson conspired to start a podcast in 2021 based on their experiences, called the “Info Booth Ladies,” that Riewe’s life and knowledge of the fair would be front and center.

For five years the three friends interviewed dozens of fair workers and profiled iconic spots but in March the unexpected happened, and they became the story.

Riewe died suddenly in March at 63 years old. She went to the hospital for a blood clot and died during a procedure to treat it.

The three had just spent a lot of time together. They attended a conference in St. Cloud about fairs where they spent time with their “fair family” and hosted a live recording of the podcast. Donaldson and McCarron said Riewe was completely in her element. When they got the call that Riewe had died, they were both stunned. It couldn’t be true, they thought — they were just with her laughing and scheming for their future episodes.

How the ‘Info Booth Ladies’ are honoring Riewe

They knew they had to tell their listeners. So Donaldson and McCarron got together, poured some wine and hit record.

“I think we were both pretty numb,” McCarron said at the beginning of the episode about how she felt after she got the call that Riewe had died.

“It just feels like well this can’t possibly be real. We were just all together at the live show having so much fun. How could she be gone?” Donaldson said.

Riewe's wishes were to have no wake, no funeral service and no obituary. McCarron said Riewe didn’t want to put anyone out, but of course, that wouldn’t be the case. So Donaldson and McCarron started brainstorming how they could honor their friend and they soon realized the answer was right in front of them — the fair.

They started a GoFundMe to raise money to get a chair named after Riewe in the Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum. “Kathy told us more than once that the Coliseum was her church and the fair was her playground,” Donaldson said.

The cost was $800, which they raised in less than two hours. People kept contributing afterwards, so the women put that money toward a panel for Riewe on the Welcome Wall near Gate 9, and in 2027 they plan to create a new contest in the Creative Activities Competition.

What the ‘Info Booth Ladies’ plan for the Minnesota State Fair this summer

As the State Fair opening day of Aug. 27 approaches, Donaldson and McCarron said they face the ultimate question — how do they do it without their friend? Where does all of the grief go?

“I think it's going to be a really difficult fair for lots of reasons, and not the least of which is that people are going to want to come up and talk to us about Kathy, and of course we’re going to want to do that, but we also still have to do our info booth job too,” Donaldson said. “So balancing those things is going to be a little tricky, but we'll get through it.”

The info booth has three windows, a spot for each of them. There’s a rhythm and a flow to the process as they answer questions for hours. They can’t just replace Riewe with anyone. For this season, McCarron’s daughter will step in and work the third window. Donaldson and McCarron said it will help to have a familiar face with them, someone else who also knew and loved Riewe just the same.

Riewe’s dedication to the fair was next level, her friends say. There’s all different types of fair-goers and everyone goes for different reasons but for Riewe the fair brought her the purest joy, which the podcast only made stronger. Even the year she had knee surgery and couldn’t work the booth, Riewe still hobbled in a few times to make sure things were running OK.

McCarron is still getting used to the fame, people coming up to them and asking for selfies and being recognized in public, but Riewe leaned into it. She saw fans as an extension of her “fair family,” the type of people you may only see a few times of year but when you do, it’s like time hasn’t passed.

The duo plans to host a remembrance for Riewe on Aug. 31 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Horton Pavilions on the fairgrounds. There won’t be a formal program, but there will be space to share stories and memories of Riewe.

Season six of the podcast, which launched in June, is dedicated to Riewe. But Donaldson and McCarron are still deciding if the show is something they can continue without her.

Whether you’re chasing the latest fair food craze, catching a show at the Grandstand or making your annual trip for the classics, the Minnesota State Fair has something for everyone. Here’s what to know before you go, from tickets and transportation to deals and can’t-miss attractions.

When is the Minnesota State Fair?

The 2026 Minnesota State Fair runs from Thursday, Aug. 27, through Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 7. The fairgrounds are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day except Labor Day when they close at 8 p.m.

Guests can enter the fairgrounds until 9 p.m. daily and until 6 p.m. on Labor Day. Hours for specific buildings, attractions and services vary and are available on the State Fair’s website.

State Fair tickets

You can purchase pre-fair discount admission tickets for $17 online through Wednesday, Aug. 26. Tickets are also available by phone through Etix by calling 800-514-3849, at the Minnesota State Fair Ticket Office and at select Cub Foods locations and participating ticket outlets in Greater Minnesota and Hudson, Wis.

Tickets can be downloaded to your phone or printed at home for free. If you’d like tickets mailed to you, select regular mail delivery for an additional fee. Regular fair-time admission is $20 for adults ages 13-64, $18 for seniors ages 65 and older and $18 for kids ages 5-12. Children 4 and under are always free.

Grandstand tickets

To see acts like “Weird Al” Yankovic, Brad Paisley and TLC with Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue, you’ll need a Grandstand ticket in addition to your general admission ticket to the fair.

Show listings and tickets are available through the Minnesota State Fair Ticket Office, online through Etix or by calling 1-800-514-3849. Admission to the fair is not included with a Grandstand ticket.

Ride and attraction tickets

If you’re looking for a way to work off some of those new foods, the midway has plenty of rides ready to send you spinning, swinging and soaring.

The Mighty Midway has two new attractions this year: Thor and Juke Box Funhouse. Thor sends riders through a high-flying thrill ride, while Juke Box Funhouse puts a musical spin on the traditional funhouse.

Kidway also has two new additions for 2026: Pirate Jet and Ghost Pirate Dark Ride, giving younger fairgoers a couple of new attractions to check out.

Rides and games at the Mighty Midway and Kidway use Fun Cards, which store the tickets needed for each attraction. Individual tickets cost $1, while 44 tickets cost $40 and 80 tickets cost $70.

The Thunderbird is also back for another year. At 180 feet tall, the fair bills it as North America's tallest portable swing. The ride operates separately from the Fun Card system and costs $8 per rider.

Getting to the State Fair

Driving

Driving to the State Fair? On-site parking is available in limited fairgrounds lots on a first-come, first-served basis for $25. The lots open at 6 a.m. and can fill quickly, particularly in the morning. Parking can be paid for with cash or a credit/debit card.

Overnight parking is not allowed in the fairgrounds lots. If you leave the fair and want to drive back later in the day, you'll have to pay the $25 parking fee again.

If the fairgrounds lots are full, there are also privately operated parking lots and neighborhood parking options around the fairgrounds. Be sure to check posted signs and parking restrictions before leaving your vehicle.

Biking

Biking to the State Fair is an option, with three free bike corrals available around the fairgrounds. The fenced-in corrals have bike racks and are monitored by State Fair staff. The locations are:

• South Bike Lot: Loop Gate No. 9 on Como Avenue

• North Bike Lot: North End Gate No. 2

• West Bike Lot: Randall Avenue-Buford Gate No. 16

The bike corrals are open from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. each day of the fair, except Labor Day, when they close at 9 p.m. Bike riders can also store their helmets at the fair’s bike lots.

If you’re riding a motorcycle or another motorized bike or scooter with a license plate, you can park in the motorcycle lot on Como Avenue near the International Institute for $15. Motorcycles can also park in the fairgrounds' general parking lots for $25. The motorcycle lot opens at 6 a.m., and overnight parking is not allowed.

Public transportation

Express buses

If you want to avoid driving to the State Fair, Metro Transit, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) and SouthWest Transit all offer express bus service from locations around the Twin Cities. The buses provide free parking and direct service to the fairgrounds, with drop-offs and pickups at the State Fair Transit Hub at Gate No. 16.

Metro Transit offers express service from six locations Blaine, Maplewood, Minnetonka, Bloomington and Cottage Grove every day of the fair, with service from Maple Grove available on weekends and Labor Day. Round-trip tickets cost $5 when purchased in advance through the Metro Transit app or $6 when paying cash at the boarding location.

MVTA provides express service from four south metro locations: Eagan Transit Station, Southbridge Crossing Park and Ride in Shakopee, Burnsville Transit Station and Blackhawk Park and Ride in Eagan, which is new for 2026. Service runs every day of the fair from all four locations, beginning at 7 a.m. Round-trip tickets cost $6 and can be purchased through the RideMVTA app or at the station with exact cash or a credit card.

SouthWest Transit offers express service from Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Chaska and Carver. Buses run every day of the fair, including Labor Day. Round-trip fares are $6, with tickets available in advance through the Token Transit app or at the station with exact cash or a credit card.

Regular Metro Transit bus routes and Metro Mobility also provide service to the fairgrounds. Check the State Fair website for schedules, routes and additional transportation information.

Taxis, rideshare apps

Rideshare

Planning to take an Uber, Lyft or another app-based ride service to the State Fair? There are two designated drop-off and pick-up locations near the fairgrounds. One is on the northeast side near Snelling and Hoyt avenues, outside North End Gate No. 2. The other is on the south side of the fairgrounds in the parking lot south of Como Avenue, across from Gate No. 7 and the Dairy Building.

Taxis

If you prefer a traditional taxi, the designated drop-off and pick-up location is Loop Gate No. 9 on Como Avenue on the south side of the fairgrounds.

Park and ride

If you want to avoid driving to the fairgrounds, the State Fair offers free Park and Ride service from approximately 30 locations around the Twin Cities. Most are located relatively close to the fairgrounds, and buses provide free rides to and from the fair.

Buses begin running from the lots at 8 a.m., with the last bus to the fair leaving at 8 p.m. on regular fair days and 6 p.m. on Labor Day. The last buses from the fair to the Park and Ride lots leave at 11:30 p.m. on regular days and 9:30 p.m. on Labor Day.

Find more information on Park and Ride locations and service on the State Fair website.

10 things you should bring to the fair

1) Comfortable shoes

The fairgrounds are huge and you can easily walk several miles while checking out food, exhibits, rides and entertainment. Wear comfortable shoes that you can walk in for hours.

2) Water

Save money and stay hydrated by bringing a refillable water bottle. Drinking fountains and water bottle refill stations are located throughout the fairgrounds. You can also bring your own food and nonalcoholic beverages.

3) Portable charger

There are several places around the fairgrounds where you can charge your phone, but if you're planning to spend the entire day at the fair, bringing your own portable charger is still a good idea.

4) A map

Whether you prefer a paper map or a digital one on your phone, having a map handy can save you time when you're trying to find a food stand, exhibit, restroom or stage. The official Minnesota State Fair app has an interactive map with locations for things such as drinking fountains, restrooms and ATMs.

5) Summer gear

Minnesota weather can change quickly, so come prepared for the elements. Sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen are good items to have, especially if you'll be outside for most of the day.

6) Cash

Many fair vendors accept credit and debit cards, but it's still a good idea to carry some cash in case you need it. ATMs are available at numerous locations throughout the fairgrounds.

7) Hand sanitizer

You'll be touching plenty of things throughout the day — and then eating fair food with those hands. Bring some hand sanitizer for a quick cleanup between stops.

8) Napkins or cleaning wipes

Fair food can be messy, especially when you're eating things on the go. A small pack of wipes or extra napkins can come in handy when you inevitably get something on your hands or clothes.

9) A bag

Bring a backpack, purse or other bag to carry your phone, wallet, keys, water bottle and anything you pick up along the way. Bags, backpacks and coolers are permitted on the fairgrounds but are subject to search. There are no lockers or bag check at the State Fair.

10) A plan

There is a lot to see at the Great Minnesota Get-Together, so having an idea of what you want to do can help you make the most of your day. The official Minnesota State Fair app includes an interactive map, Food Finder, Shops & Booths Finder and real-time daily schedules. It is available through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

5 things you cannot bring into the fairgrounds

The fair’s security program includes walk-through metal detectors at all entry gates. Bags, purses, coolers and packages will be subject to search. Find a full list of prohibited items on the fair website.

1) Pets

Pets are not allowed on the fairgrounds during the 12 days of the Minnesota State Fair, with the exception of service animals or animals approved as part of an exhibition. Emotional-support animals are also not allowed.

2) Alcohol or illegal substances

You cannot bring outside alcoholic beverages or illegal substances onto the fairgrounds. Marijuana smoking is not permitted anywhere on the fairgrounds.

3) Selfie sticks, drones and recording of performances

The use of selfie sticks and camera poles is prohibited in the Grandstand concert venue, free entertainment stage seating areas and on rides at Mighty Midway, Kidway, Adventure Park and ticketed attractions.

The State Fair also prohibits unauthorized operation or use of any unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone, on or above the fairgrounds. Drones and remote-controlled toys are prohibited.

You can bring cameras and other handheld devices to the fair, but photography and video of free entertainment and Grandstand shows without prior permission is prohibited. Unauthorized use of photo, video and sound equipment also is prohibited on rides and ticketed attractions.

4) Weapons

Weapons and objects that appear to be weapons are not allowed. This includes firearms, knives and self-defense items such as pepper spray, mace and Tasers. Fireworks and other explosive or flammable objects also are prohibited.

5) Bikes, skateboards, hoverboards and skates

Two-wheeled devices, including bikes and hoverboards, are not permitted. Electric scooters and wheelchairs also are available to rent on the fairgrounds.

You can bring personal mobility devices such as strollers, wagons, wheelchairs or electric mobility scooters. Power-operated mobility devices brought to the fair must have three or four wheels, be less than 48 inches long and 32 inches wide, and be operated at a reasonable walking pace or slower.

Minnesota State Fair on a budget

Here are our top tips to save money at the fair.

1) Buy tickets in advance

You can save on admission, rides and games by buying your tickets before the fair opens.

Pre-fair admission tickets are $17 and are available through Aug. 26. Regular admission at the gate is $20 for adults ages 13-64 and $18 for seniors 65+ and kids ages 5-12. Children 4 and under are always free.

You can also buy Mighty Midway and Kidway ride and game tickets at a discount before the fair. The fair has switched from paper ride tickets to Fun Cards, which can be loaded with ride and game tickets. During the fair, tickets cost $1 each, or $40 for 44 tickets or $70 for 80 tickets.

2) Volunteer for free admission

The fair offers a free admission ticket to anyone who volunteers. Most volunteer shifts are two to three hours, and no experience is required. You can sign up individually or with a group.

Volunteer opportunities include helping with photo opportunities, games and crafts at Alphabet Forest, guiding visitors through EquiMania! and helping children experience the agricultural process at Kemps Little Farm Hands.

3) Get the Blue Ribbon Bargain Book

For just $5, the Blue Ribbon Bargain Book features 112 coupons for food, merchandise and attractions. The book is valid throughout all 12 days of the fair, and you may only need to use one or two coupons to make back the $5 cost.

Before the fair, the books are available online, at the State Fairgrounds Ticket Office and at participating Cub Foods and other ticket outlets through Aug. 26, while supplies last. During the fair, you can buy them at State FairWear Gift Shops and Blue Ribbon Bargain Book carts.

4) Bring your own food and drinks

Fair food can add up quickly, especially for families. One easy way to save is to bring your own food and nonalcoholic drinks.

The fair allows outside food and beverages, including coolers, although coolers are subject to search and aren't allowed inside the Grandstand.

5) Take advantage of discount days

The fair has special admission prices for seniors, kids and military families, along with additional deals on food, merchandise and rides. Here are the 2026 discount days:

• Opening Day, Thursday, Aug. 27: Admission is $18 for adults ages 13-64 and $15 for kids ages 5-12 and seniors 65 and older. There also are deals on food and merchandise and all-day ride and game discounts.

• Seniors Day, Monday, Aug. 31: Admission is $15 for seniors 65 and older. There also are deals on food and merchandise, plus all-day ride and game discounts.

• Military Appreciation Day, Tuesday, Sept. 1: Admission is $15 for active military members, their spouses and kids; veterans and their spouses; and retired military members and their spouses with valid military service documentation. There also are deals on food and merchandise and all-day ride and game discounts.

• Kids Day, Wednesday, Sept. 2: Admission is $15 for kids ages 5-12. There also are deals on food and merchandise and all-day ride and game discounts.

• Seniors Day, Thursday, Sept. 3: Admission is $15 for seniors 65+. There also are deals on food and merchandise.

• Kids Day, Monday, Sept. 7: Admission is $15 for kids ages 5-12. There also are deals on food and merchandise and all-day ride and game discounts.

6) Focus on free entertainment

You don't have to spend extra money to have a full day at the fair. There are hundreds of free activities, performances, demonstrations and exhibits throughout the fairgrounds.

The fair has more than 900 free shows featuring more than 100 acts over the 12 days of the fair. There are also free activities in the exhibit buildings, livestock and horse shows, daily parades, educational exhibits and performances at stages throughout the fairgrounds.

7) Go on the last day

Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7, is a good day to look for end-of-fair bargains. Vendors offer special deals on food and merchandise, and the fair publishes a Last Chance Deals flier with many of those offers.

You can pick up the flier at any information booth or find it online on Labor Day.

Zane Bakken calls out to a herd of about 65 goats. They start walking toward him, and congregate in a large clump.

Bakken grabs a large branch of buckthorn — a stubborn invasive shrub found across Minnesota — leans it over, and snaps it as goats begin munching on its leaves.

He says it’s a really good indicator of how hungry the herd is getting.

“Every single one would be on this branch if they were looking for food, but it seems everyone’s pretty happy with themselves,” he says.

This herd is mowing down buckthorn at Casperson Park in Lakeville. But you may have seen — and heard — goats hired by cities or private landowners across the state for years now, to help control invasive species. They’ve even cleared invasives from a hillside next to the Minnesota Capitol.

Bakken is operations manager at ScapeGoats Farms, one of several companies operating in Minnesota that rent out goats to graze fields and forests.

“It’s a more holistic customer base,” Bakken said. “People who are worried about spraying chemicals, and not really knowing where they’re going to go, or the total effects of them — or next to water like we are here, it’s not a great pairing. So, goats are the chemical-free way.”

The “chemical way,” or just digging up buckthorn by the roots, potentially can be cheaper and faster. But Bakken said the goats provide “a natural disturbance. It’s sowing in new seeds when we do some native seed, and it is damaging the root systems and weakening the plants of the invasives.”

As any Minnesota gardener will tell you, buckthorn can be obnoxious to remove. It can tower up to 20 feet tall and have thick branches.

While goats can’t eat entire buckthorn trees, they eat the leaves — which weakens and eventually kills the plants. Goats also digest berries in a way that helps prevent invasive species from spreading.

“In the gut of a goat, the berries come out the other end, and they’re 98 percent unviable, so they don’t get tracked from job to job as they eat berries, which is very important. Because if they dropped seeds like birds did, we would be in trouble, making problems everywhere we went,” Bakken said.

Lakeville is one of the cities that contracts with ScapeGoats. Ann Messerschmidt, an environmental resource specialist for the city, has hired goats to clear buckthorn in Lakeville’s parks for the better part of a decade — including Casperson Park this year.

“I've had goats come in here periodically to do the work, and then sometimes I do switch back to chemicals ‘cause I just don't have enough money,” Messerschmidt said. “But I much prefer this, and so does everybody else, so we’re looking at hopefully adding more areas.”

She says residents love to watch the goats, which are contained within a temporary electric fence.

Messerschmidt says clearing out thickets of buckthorn makes the park more welcoming.

“It definitely draws people into these areas where they would generally stay out,” she said.

There is research on using goats to control invasive species. Sara Nelson is a natural resources specialist at Dakota County Parks. Back in 2018, she was part of a team at the University of Minnesota looking at how effective goats actually are at getting rid of buckthorn.

After three years, they found the goats were making a difference.

“It has these applications to… really open up the space from dense buckthorn,” Nelson said.

Nelson said while the goats didn’t fully eradicate the buckthorn in that study, they did bring other benefits.

“The native plants didn’t seem to be that damaged by the goats. And that kind of makes sense because a lot of our native plants do have really resilient root systems, and a lot of them probably liked the open light, too,” she said.

Compare that to chemical methods, which can leave native plants as collateral damage when applied liberally.

For Bakken, in addition to the reasons he sees goats as a viable option for conservation, he also thinks about the animals’ well being.

“That’s why I’m still here, is to give the animals meaning and to incorporate them into the interests and needs of society, so people can see the amazing things that they can do and connect on that level,” Bakken said.

While goats are not a one-time fix for buckthorn, Bakken says they've taught him lessons about taking on seemingly impossible challenges — in the woods, and in life.

“It might be a big issue, and you see it everywhere, and it’s ... overbearing,” he said, “but you can make a dent as long as you put your head down and try to do the smartest thing and keep learning along the way.”

Minnesota’s hemp farmers have weathered a boom, a bust and years of changing rules. Now, a federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products is the latest blow to an industry they helped build.

For Jeremy Saueressig, that means no hemp in his Hastings fields this year. He’s among the few Minnesota farmers still growing hemp for THC. After growing the crop since 2019, he planted more soybeans instead.

“Missed opportunity,” he said, looking over his fields of soybeans. “The lost opportunity of another year of R and D, another year of moving the market, setting networks.”

That’s because of a looming federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products set to take effect Nov. 12. Saueressig’s hemp crop is typically turned into THC drinks and edibles or CBD products.

Leftover hemp at the farm

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Saueressig is among farmers across the country cutting back on hemp as the market faces uncertainty. Farmers in Colorado, Vermont and Kentucky are making similar decisions, with some cutting acreage, abandoning hemp altogether or being left with harvest they can't sell, according to MJBizDaily.

Saueressig says he’s sitting on 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of harvested plant material from last year that should’ve been sold by now. With the federal ban nearing, buyers are limiting their risk and holding back on purchases, which is driving down demand.

“I know of farmers that are sitting on leftover biomass from last harvest that they are having trouble moving, and because of that sentiment, a lot of farmers are not growing at all this year,” said Dennis Mistrioty, president of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a national hemp advocacy group.

That’s creating ripple effects through the supply chain. Burnsville-based Northern Diversified Solutions, a hemp manufacturer, works with about a half-dozen growers in Minnesota including Saueressig to make THC emulsions used in drinks and gummies. All six decided not to grow this year.

“They're not going to grow something that they don't believe they can sell,” said Kyle Marinkovich, founder of Northern Diversified Solutions. His company has supply secured for the next year, but the future is unclear.

Congress works to delay ban as farmers cut down on hemp

The federal hemp ban will limit hemp-derived products to 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. In comparison, Minnesota limits hemp-derived products at 5 milligrams THC per serving, 50 milligrams per package of edibles, and 85 milligrams in large-format beverages.

The Senate has already voted to push that deadline to Dec. 11 as part of a bill championed by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, but the House has yet to sign off on the bill and is expected to take it up next month.

The one-month delay would give hemp businesses and farmers a little more time to prepare and also give Congress more time to determine what comes next for the industry.

But the ban has already damaged the hemp-THC market.

“It's been really challenging because innovation and creativity and growth has been stunted by uncertainty,” said Mistrioty, who’s also a hemp farmer based in Milwaukee. “We don't know where things are going to end up this fall, and you don't want to spend money and resources on a long-term payout when that long term might not exist at all.”

In Burnsville, Marinkovich says the uncertainty is affecting his manufacturing business. Northern Diversified Solutions had doubled its business every year since it launched in 2019, but sales are flat this year.

He says that's not because consumers have stopped buying hemp-derived THC products, but because distributors and retailers are ordering less to avoid being stuck with unsold inventory when the federal restrictions take effect.

If the ban goes into effect, it could shutter Marinkovich’s business.

“We would be at best a much smaller operation, and more likely, unless some of our other products could pick up the slack, we'd probably have to shut,” he said. “Yeah, it's dire.”

According to U.S. Hemp Roundtable, the U.S. hemp-derived product market is worth about $28.4 billion. The advocacy groups puts the economic impact of hemp farming at $6.86 billion and says farmers retain a larger share of hemp’s value than they do from traditional crops like corn and soybeans.

“My farmers here in Wisconsin have indicated that per acre, hemp has been more profitable than corn and soybean,” Mistrioty said. He says the crop's smaller scale can also create opportunities for small farms.

Ban is latest blow to farmers who have faced challenges building the hemp industry

Nationwide, commercial hemp production was legalized through the 2018 Farm Bill.

“Starting in 2019, that is when we saw cannabinoid production come onto the scene and really explode,” said Katy Mutschler, who oversees the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's hemp program.

That year, the state licensed more than 350 growers. By 2020, that number had climbed to a peak of 461.

The boom didn't last. Mutschler says the market became oversaturated as more farmers grew hemp for cannabinoids, while the industry struggled to develop enough processing capacity and demand. Prices fell.

Many of those growers eventually left the industry. According to a recent analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, the decline isn't unique to Minnesota.

“After the initial wave of novelty and interest, growing hemp for extracts was less profitable than initially thought,” wrote Joe Mahon, regional outreach director. “While industrial hemp for fiber and seed is relatively low maintenance and grows well in the district’s climate, hemp flower requires a lot more hand-holding.”

On top of all those factors, Minnesota farmers growing hemp for cannabinoids have also faced changing rules under the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management, which was established after the state legalized recreational cannabis in 2023.

Angela Dawson started growing hemp under her 40-Acre Co-op soon after the 2018 Farm Bill passed. She developed her own strain of hemp to grow, and produced body products and gummies containing CBD.

She struggled to find banks willing to work with a hemp business, in her assessment confusing her with a cannabis business. Then the state’s changing rules around packaging and labeling made it harder to stay afloat.

“We had a customer that was going to order a bunch of the product, and then the rules came and they canceled their order, and so we were left with a whole bunch of product that was not labeled right and didn't have anywhere to sell it to. So that was one big hit,” she said.

Dawson decided to leave the hemp industry in 2024.

In 2025, Minnesota had about 60 licensed hemp growers. Among them was Saueressig, the Hastings farmer who spent years experimenting with strains and techniques to try to improve profitability.

“Historically, looking at the hemp growing and biomass market, it hasn't been very lucrative financially,” he said. “We just have put in enough risk where we can keep going with everything else.”

The lower profit margins, combined with the federal ban and new licensing rules under Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management, influenced his decision to take a break from growing hemp this year.

Future for hemp farmers is unclear

For many farmers, the difficulties and uncertainty around hemp have been too much. Dawson is instead moving into Minnesota's adult-use cannabis market and plans to open a dispensary in the Eat Street area of Minneapolis next month.

“We had a really great success when we were growing hemp outdoors and I'm really sad that we're not doing that anymore,” she said. “But you know, we're pivoting with the times.”

Saueressig hopes to plant hemp again next year if the ban is overturned. Current federal law defines hemp as cannabis containing no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight. He wants federal lawmakers to raise that threshold to 1 percent, which he says would give farmers more flexibility in what they can grow, improving their odds of success.

U.S. Reps. Angie Craig of Minnesota and Andy Barr of Kentucky have introduced legislation that would regulate hemp-derived THC products instead of banning them, including raising the federal THC threshold for hemp plants to 1 percent by dry weight.

Although hemp hasn't been particularly lucrative for Saueressig, he says the plant has too many potential uses and benefits to give up on it.

“I do see a future for it. I really do,” he said.

Body camera footage shows that Jonah Neal did not pose a threat that warranted deadly force when a member of the federal crime-fighting task force in Memphis shot him in late May, according to a lawyer representing his family.

Jonah Neal, 25, was shot inside his home by a federal agent who responded to a 911 call that Neal was experiencing a mental breakdown. The agent who opened fire worked for Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is one of the federal agencies that have sent officers to Memphis to tackle local crime at the direction of President Trump and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

Andre Wharton, who is representing Neal's family, said that he and Neal's mother were recently shown body camera footage by the Shelby County District Attorney's Office and it casts doubt that Neal posed any imminent threat to the agents.

"It was unjustified in our opinion," Wharton told NPR.

The video was taken from the perspective of a second agent, not the one who opened fire, according to Wharton. The attorney said Neal's mother could be heard in the video telling federal agents that her son was experiencing a mental crisis and he needed help.

The footage also showed federal agents were by the apartment front door and Neal was at a significant distance when the shooting occurred, according to Wharton. The attorney said that, in the footage, he heard one federal agent say aloud that Neal was not wielding a firearm, but rather a knife, and that, seconds later, a second agent opened fire.

Wharton called the response "out of proportion with what they were facing" and that it appeared to show a "lack of good training and experience."

"The response that we were able to observe was just totally inconsistent with good law enforcement," he said.

At a press conference on Saturday, Neal's mother Jessica asserted that her son did not harm anyone leading up to the shooting.

" My son did not hurt anybody. And, within 30 seconds, she decided his life was not worth it," Jessica Neal said, referring to the agent who opened fire.

The Shelby County District Attorney's Office did not respond to NPR's request to review the footage. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also declined to comment on the body camera footage because the investigation is ongoing.

Wharton said Neal's family wants the case to be transparent and timely. He added that how the investigation is handled matters to the greater community.

"Citizens are wondering, are these agencies … going to be able to do this without some accountability? Are they gonna be able to do this with impunity?" He said. "Or are the laws gonna apply equally to them?"

Neal is one of five people who have been shot by a member of the Memphis Safe Task Force since it began last fall. Four of the incidents, including Neal's, turned deadly, according to state data. Wharton is representing the families of two other victims of federal agent-involved shootings, including Tyrin Johnson who was fatally shot by National Guard troops on July 5.

State authorities have provided limited information about the shootings — including the names of the task force members who opened fire and whether they remain on duty.

When asked about the spate of shootings, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told NPR that the task force has made more than 11,000 arrests and seized more than 2,000 firearms.

"The Task Force has driven down violent crime in a city that had been failed by extreme Democrats soft on crime policies," she said in a statement.

Jessica Neal previously told NPR that on May 20, she called 911 after she found her son holding her handgun and threatening suicide.

Neal's family described him as smart, quiet, caring and not an aggressive person. They added that Neal wanted to become a doctor before he began to suffer from mental health issues in his early 20s.

At the press conference on Saturday, Neal's grandmother Cindy Leachman Aldridge said her grandson was "not a lowlife, not a lawbreaker." She added that she's committed to seeing justice for her family.

" We're not giving up," she said. "We're gonna have justice. We're gonna have peace, and we are, we are not going away."

Copyright 2026, NPR

Kelvin Yeboah scored two goals to help Minnesota United beat the San Jose Earthquakes 5-1 on Saturday night to snap a nine-game winless streak.

Minnesota (7-7-7) won for the first time since a 3-2 victory at Columbus on May 2.

The Earthquakes (10-8-3) have lost four in a row and are winless in six straight.

Drake Callender had five saves for Minnesota. Joaquín Pereyra, Marcus Caldeira and Mauricio González each scored a goal.

Yeboah, on the counter-attack, flicked a shot from the top of the penalty box inside the left post — his first goal since May 16 — to make it 2-1 in the 40th minute and gently chipped a first-touch shot over the head of goalkeeper Angus Gunn into the net in the 44th to give Minnesota a two-goal lead.

Pereyra scored in the 10th minute to make it 1-1. Near the left corner of the 6-yard box, Pereyra turned and flicked a shot inside the back post.

The 21-year-old Caldeira scored his first career goal, in his fourth MLS appearance, to make it 4-1 in the 65th minute and González capped the scoring in the 86th.

Timo Werner converted from the penalty spot to open the scoring in the fourth minute.

Gunn finished with one save.

A federal judge has struck down a Trump administration ban on issuing immigrant visas to people from 75 countries, saying the policy violated federal immigration law by discriminating on the basis of nationality.

The State Department said earlier this year that it was halting immigrant visas for citizens of Afghanistan, Brazil, Yemen and dozens of other countries because the Trump administration determined people from those nations were likely to need public assistance if they came to the United States.

The policy would have barred the U.S. government from issuing immigrant visas even in cases where consular officers individually assessed applicants and determined they were likely to be self-sufficient in the U.S., according to a ruling Friday by District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in the Southern District of New York.

"In many ways, this is not a challenging case," Vargas wrote. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 prohibits discrimination on the basis of nationality in the issuance of immigrant visas, Vargas said. However, the Trump administration's policy banned certain people from receiving immigrant visas "based solely on their nationality," the judge wrote.

Vargas cited a U.S. diplomatic cable that instructed consulates to refuse immigrant visas to applicants who had already been approved but whose printed visas hadn't left the consulate.

Vargas said the Trump administration's policy was "contrary to law" and exceeded the authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The judge's ruling vacated the visa ban and also set aside visa denials that were based only on the policy.

A State Department spokesperson told NPR the Trump administration is "protecting the American people by upholding the highest standards of screening and vetting of visa applicants," adding that the administration doesn't comment on ongoing litigation. When the State Department issued the ban, it said the policy would "remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people."

The ban was part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to limit legal and illegal immigration. In June, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, rejecting an executive order Trump signed that tried to bar citizenship for babies born in the U.S. to parents who either entered the country illegally or who are living and working here legally with temporary visas. The executive order never went into effect because lower court judges ruled it was unconstitutional.

Susan Welber, supervising attorney at The Legal Aid Society, which represented plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the federal government, says the 75-country visa ban was "premised on a fiction" that residents of the targeted nations are likely to use public resources if they come to the U.S.

"Any time that we can fight back against policies that are based on fictions and untruths and prejudices, I think we're making for a more just immigration system," Welber says.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit included the Catholic Immigration Legal Network and African Communities Together, which provide immigration legal services, as well as six U.S. citizens who filed family-based immigration petitions on behalf of relatives and five "intending immigrants" who filed employment-based petitions on their own behalf.

"The suspension of lawful visa processing across 75 countries separated spouses, parents, and children who were simply following the legal immigration process," Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, said in a statement.

Plaintiffs' lawyers said Friday's ruling will allow their clients to proceed through the immigration process.

"For 75 countries' worth of families, this decision means a return to fair, case-by-case review, and a chance to be reunited with their loved ones," said Antionette Dozier, senior attorney for Western Center on Law & Poverty, which represented the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. "No administration gets to override the law because it deems an applicant's nationality unacceptable."

Copyright 2026, NPR

Ty France homered and drove in three runs and Randy Vásquez and two relievers combined on a two-hitter as the San Diego Padres beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2 Friday night in the opener of a three-game series between teams fighting for wild-card berths.

The Padres held onto the National League's third wild card while the Twins dropped one game behind Texas in the race for the American League's third wild card.

Vásquez (9-6) matched his career long with seven innings while allowing two runs and two hits. He struck out three and walked none. Bradgley Rodriguez pitched a perfect eighth and Mason Miller struck out the side in the ninth.

The Padres retired the final 16 Twins batters.

San Diego won for the ninth time in 12 games and for the 19th time in 26.

The Twins, coming off a three-game sweep of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, lost for the fourth time in seven games.

France hit a two-run homer to left with two outs in the first off left-hander Connor Prielipp (3-7). It was his 18th and Manny Machado was aboard on a single.

Vásquez's only big mistake was allowing Kody Clemens' two-run triple off the right field wall with two outs in the fourth tie the game.

The Padres rallied for three runs in the fifth on four hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly. Tatis, Luis Rengifo and Machado hit consecutive RBI singles with one out and France followed with a sacrifice fly.

Prielipp allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings, struck out seven and walked two.

Dozens of people crammed into a conference room for a gathering at a public library in Washington, D.C.

The topic? Automated license plate readers, such as the ones sold by Flock Safety, a company facing major backlash from residents in communities across the country who find themselves deeply unsettled by privacy concerns.

On Monday, members of DeFlock DC, a grassroots group dedicated to ending all contracts between the Metropolitan Police Department and Flock, explained to the group how these controversial cameras work and where they are located throughout the city.

But as Loreal Hawk, a member of DeFlock DC, told the group gathered, automated license plate readers are neither new nor unique to Flock. Competitors such as Axon, Motorola Solutions and Verkada, offer similar products to law enforcement agencies, and have for years.

"We need to cancel these contracts," Hawk said.

Flock has been the target of much of the public's ire, but its rivals have largely avoided it. Now, some of those competitors are trying to cash in on Flock's fall from grace.

More than 130,000 automated license-plate readers, or ALPR's, can be found in cities and towns across the country, according to the crowdsourced database DeFlock.org. The cameras take images of the backs of cars. Law enforcement has increasingly turned to this tool to help solve crime.

"The Flock ALPR technology has captured the public's attention" and spurred a realization that "maybe we don't want to be surveilled all the time," said Andrew Ferguson, a law professor at George Washington University.

But now, he said, Flock is the one that has "the target put on its back."

Why is Flock facing so much heat?

Flock CEO Garrett Langley regularly posts on social media extolling the benefits of his company's tech, often noting that communities are safer because of it. Flock was credited with helping to track the suspect in last year's Brown University shooting, which killed two students and injured nine other people.

"On a very personal level, I go to bed every night very proud of the impact we have in the world," Langley told NPR.

Many automated license plate readers, including Flock's, use AI to capture information such as a vehicle's make, model and color. Police can search Flock's shared national database of these images — including vehicles outside of their own jurisdiction.

That national database is a core point of contention for Flock opponents.

"People got really mad at Flock because they realized that it was a window into a whole network of surveillance," said Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital privacy advocacy group. He strongly opposes the technology broadly, not just Flock's version of it.

With this network "suddenly your cameras are being used to enforce things that you don't agree with or that are not illegal in your town," he said.

In Texas, for instance, deputies used Flock data to help investigate a woman suspected of traveling to have an abortion.

Hits against Flock keep coming. Police officers have been found to use this technology to stalk women. And while Flock allows customers to control the information they share on its network, there are some cases where information was unknowingly shared more widely, including with federal immigration agencies.

In response, the company last week announced a host of changes, including reducing its data retention period and emphasizing safeguards around local data searches.

The ACLU said the changes were largely unsatisfying.

Competitors step in

License plate readers are only one piece of a growing police surveillance industry.

Many law enforcement agencies use integrated tools such as facial recognition, gunshot detectors, predictive policing, drones and real-time crime centers that pull all this information into one central hub used by investigators.

Ferguson, who is also the author of Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance, says in his view, those integrated systems raise far more red flags for privacy than license plate readers alone. Yet, they've drawn almost no large-scale public protest.

Guariglia believes Flock is at the center of the license plate reader firestorm, in part, because of its cameras' visibility.

"Once you know what they look like, you become aware of how ubiquitous they are," he said.

Dozens of communities have turned against Flock amid widespread public backlash. About 100 cities have deactivated cameras, rejected deals or cancelled contracts, according to DeFlock's database. Some, such as Denver and Longmont, Colo., signed contracts with Flock competitors this year, including Axon, a trend reported by 404 Media.

Axon, a multibillion dollar company that provides tech and weapons to law enforcement and the military, says it's positioned to step in amid the "deFlock movement." During Axon's most recent earnings call, CEO Rick Smith told investors that law enforcement agencies are making the switch.

"We're seeing a significant number of agencies want to come over to Axon and convert from existing license plate readers to us." He credited the company's "controls and privacy work."

Axon declined to say how much business the company has gained from cancelled Flock contracts.

When asked how Flock is responding to other providers swooping in on their departing business, Langley said he is unconcerned.

"We will have added seven times the number of new customers that have left us this year," he said.

Langley said he was especially surprised about Denver's move to sign a one-year deal with Axon, after residents voiced concerns over data sharing for immigration enforcement.

"I guess in some ways I scratch my head because that company works with ICE," he said. "They lack the accountability and transparency we have, and so I don't know why they made that choice."

Axon holds several multimillion dollar contracts with the Department of Homeland Security for its products, including body cameras and Tasers.

"For more than 30 years, we've built products to protect life," Axon spokesperson Kate MacKinnon said in an email to NPR. "As new technologies emerge, we know that our customers require solutions that protect data and privacy."

But privacy experts warn the switch to other police surveillance technologies isn't a fix.

"You're just replacing one color of camera for another," Guariglia said. "Those dangers you were concerned about are still going to be there."

Copyright 2026, NPR

The Minneapolis City Council is weighing a new ordinance requiring businesses that have a dress code to post it publicly before entry. Council member Jason Chavez, who authored the ordinance, said it was created to end what is called “velvet rope discrimination.”

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Minneapolis City Council member Pearll Warren, about the dress code ordinance.

Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player above.

Correction (Aug. 23, 2026): An earlier version of this story misspelled Pearll Warren’s first name.

Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday allowed the White House to continue construction on President Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom project for now, as the Supreme Court considers the Trump administration's emergency request to intervene in lawsuits over the project.

The temporary order comes hours before lower-court rulings would have forced a halt to aboveground construction. It will remain in place until the court issues a more durable decision, though the one-page document does not detail his reasoning or indicate when another ruling will be handed down.

The order pauses the decision of a Washington-based judge who found that work must stop because Trump didn't get congressional approval. It was signed by Roberts because he oversees appeals of cases filed in the capital.

The case comes before the nation’s highest court as Trump, a Republican, exercises unparalleled assertions of presidential power and increasingly seeks to mold the capital in his own image.

The Trump administration has scored a series of victories on the high court’s emergency docket, though the justices have ruled against some of the president's signature policies after fuller review.

The administration has argued that the president has total authority to renovate the White House and other federal buildings as he sees fit and that the ballroom project must be completed due to national security concerns.

When Trump first announced the plans for a new ballroom, he did not emphasize national security. He said the project would be funded by private donations, including from himself.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation argues that Trump has no unilateral authority to undertake the work, which has included demolishing the East Wing. Lawyers for the preservation group accused the White House of trying to “outrun the courts” by accelerating construction.

A spokesperson for the trust said Friday that the order from Roberts is not a final decision and the group is awaiting further action from the court.

The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The Trump administration says 65% of the work has already been completed on the planned 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom, where the East Wing stood before the president ordered its demolition. Crews are working 20 hours a day, seven days a week on the project, where about $200 million in private donations has been spent or committed, according to court documents filed by the Justice Department.

A district court judge ordered a stop to aboveground construction of the planned ballroom in April in a ruling that was suspended before being upheld by an appeals court panel. The order from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington allows belowground work on bunkers and military installations to continue. Leon was nominated by President George W. Bush, a Republican.

Two appeals-court judges appointed by Democratic presidents found the project was for Congress to decide and “not a matter for Executive self-help.” A third judge, appointed by Trump, found that the preservationist group challenging the project had no legal standing to sue.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer picked up on that argument, calling the decision halting the work “extraordinary and unlawful.” He said the completion of the project was “vitally required by national security.”

Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx co-owner Marc Lore has agreed to sell his controlling stake in the franchises to limited partner Marc Stad at a $4.5 billion value barely a year after his purchase was finalized, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person spoke Friday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the agreement — the second sale in the NBA this month — were not being publicized.

The Los Angeles Lakers were flipped by Mark Walter to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner at a $12.5 billion valuation in a deal struck last week.

Lore, a New York e-commerce entrepreneur, and partner Alex Rodriguez, the former Major League Baseball star, bought the NBA and WNBA clubs from Minnesota businessman Glen Taylor. That complicated and contentious process lasted more than four years until the $1.5 billion sale got league approval in June 2025.

Lore will retain a limited share and essentially swap roles with Stad, who is the founder of Dragoneer Investment group, a California-based firm focused on technology companies. Rodriguez will remain as a co-owner and continue as the most publicly visible owner of the pro basketball franchises.

Lore's decision to sell his majority stake stems from his focus on his food delivery startup Wonder, according to a second person with knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity to the AP because those details were not being made public. Lore has started the process of taking Wonder public.

Lore, Rodriguez and Stad issued a joint statement Friday expressing their commitment to the current leadership in the organization including chief executive officer Matt Caldwell, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, and Lynx president of basketball operations and head coach Cheryl Reeve.

“We have been working together for years with a shared goal of building the Timberwolves and Lynx into the best organization in basketball on and off the floor. Our priority is and always will be championships,” the owners said. “Our new agreement, pending league approval, is an evolution of the partnership we have built together and strengthening of our commitment to our team and our culture.”

The two teams currently play at Target Center, which opened in 1990 for the second season of the Timberwolves after they were granted an expansion franchise. Lore and Rodriguez have previously pledged a desire to keeping the teams in downtown Minneapolis, eventually in a new arena.

The Lynx were added to the WNBA as an expansion club in 1999 and have won four championships, with a healthy lead on the rest of the league this season behind star Napheesa Collier and rookie Olivia Miles.

The Timberwolves have never won a title or reached the NBA Finals, with an eight-year run of making the playoffs behind star forward Kevin Garnett their only period of sustained success until recently.

Since drafting Anthony Edwards with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft, hiring Finch in 2021 and Connelly in 2022, the Timberwolves have grown into one of the league's best teams. They reached the Western Conference Finals in 2024 and 2025 and were ousted in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs last season. They acquired point guard LaMelo Ball in one of the NBA's biggest summer trades.

A Republican legislator who fielded questions Thursday about the reopening of a detention center in Appleton said the discussions were respectful, even though people have strong opposing views.

State Rep. Paul Anderson co-hosted a town hall forum on the Appleton Detention Facility — formerly known as the Prairie Correctional Facility — which will begin housing people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers later this year.

The federal government bought the 1,600-bed facility, which will result in a loss of local tax revenue for the area. Anderson says that was one of the most common concerns raised by residents.

"I'm really hoping and encouraging folks negotiating that there should be some kind of a hold harmless for the city of Appleton, especially to negate the negative impact of them losing that big a piece of their tax base, that was a big concern of residents," he said to Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer on Friday.

Appleton city officials have said they expect to lose about 30 percent of the city’s tax base starting in 2028.

Anderson said he and Republican State Sen. Torrey Westrom, who co-hosted the forum, were asked if there’s anything they can do to help the area.

“Well, we can't do anything on our own,” he said. “It has to take a governor signing a bill that the Legislature would pass.”

He added that one possibility is an increase in Local Government Aid for the city.

CoreCivic Senior Director of Public Affairs Ryan Gustin said the company strives to be a “good partner” with local communities.

“To that end, we continue to be in dialogue with local officials about opportunities to partner through memoranda of understanding and other means that support the successful operation of the facility in a manner that is mutually beneficial to the community, CoreCivic, and our government partners at ICE/DHS,” Gustin said in a statement.

Gustin also said the facility will create 525 jobs.

“These positions are expected to include detention and security staff, medical and mental health professionals, case management and programming staff, administrative personnel, maintenance employees, food service workers and transportation staff,” he said.

He added that the starting salary for a detention officer is $32.50 an hour.

News of the reopening of the facility has sparked weekly protests. Earlier this month, residents told MPR News that while they understand the appeal of the potential economic boost, they found the idea of housing ICE detainees in their town “morally reprehensible.”

Anderson said he understands that people have strongly held views on the facility, but “they're not going to stop the national trend of detaining people and deporting folks that are not here legally. So you know, let's work together and make this a positive thing economically for Appleton, even if you don't agree with what's happening there.”

Reporter Jon Collins contributed to this story.

The USS Abraham Lincoln — which has been participating in U.S. military operations in the war with Iran — is now on its way home. The roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard that ship have spent a grueling nine months at sea with little relief.

Reports have emerged of deteriorating conditions — and of deteriorating mental health, including apparent attempts by crewmembers to jump overboard. The Navy has not confirmed those reports and NPR has not independently verified them. "A small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life," Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said in a statement last week.

Experts say while the physical circumstances are difficult, a lack of careful and consistent messaging from leadership at the highest levels also contributed to the crews' mental distress.

The USS Lincoln is like a small city, according to Armen Kurdian, a retired U.S. Navy captain who served aboard the aircraft carrier in 2005. The labor aboard the carrier, he says, can be uniquely physical and difficult.

" It takes a toll on your body," says Kurdian. "The plane captains are out there on the flight deck — you know, these 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds lugging these 100-pound chains on their backs in 120-degree weather."

He describes dehydration and exhaustion as pilots have to take off and land on the carriers, sometimes at night and in bad weather, and "then just being mentally prepared to go fly because lives are at stake."

In the off-hours, Kurdian says there is little to no privacy, with people sleeping in crowded quarters.

While difficult, these conditions can be bearable, he adds. But experts say once uncertainty is thrown into this equation, it can push people to their mental brink.

Jack Stuster is a retired behavioral scientist who spent decades studying human performance.

"In conditions of isolation and confinement," says Stuster, "one of the worst things that you could do to the person is to tell them they're gonna come home at a certain time, and then you say, 'No. It's gonna be delayed.'"

Return is overdue

The Abraham Lincoln's deployment was originally scheduled to end in May.

In addition to the Navy, Stuster worked with NASA and scientists operating in small groups in places like Greenland, where return flights home were often canceled at the very last moment — even after their would-be passengers had dragged their duffle bags right up to the flight line.

" People have described to me going out there for the third time … only to be told that it wasn't gonna happen," says Stuster, which caused them "to break down in tears."

Then there's the issue of duration. A three-month deployment is ideal, says Stuster, or even six. At nine months, he says, things start to become untenable.

Dr. Phillip Hunt was for years a Navy physician who deployed on several submarine missions. His background is in emergency medicine, but Hunt says in the Navy much of what he treated was mental health. " I was kind of the father confessor, psychologist, what have you," says Hunt.

With a crew of 5,000 people on a ship, Hunt says it's inevitable that some people will struggle with mental health — even in the best of deployment conditions. "You'd have guys getting anxious. You'd have guys getting depressed."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says reports of poor conditions aboard the Lincoln are overstated. President Trump recently called the deployment "not nearly long enough."

Hunt says a lack of certainty or reassurance from leadership at the highest levels can trickle down to impact everyone's mental well-being. "Denial of this unit's deteriorating operational conditions is highly detrimental to the crew's morale," says Hunt. "The result can include anger, anxiety, or eventually mental exhaustion and depression."

Hunt says he blames leadership at the highest levels for the lack of recognition of this hardship.

" I just, I feel so badly for that crew. It's just tragic," says Hunt. "Just thinking about them almost brings me to tears."

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, please call or text the number 9-8-8 to connect with a counselor.

Copyright 2026, NPR

Myles Price has been a standout performer throughout training camp for the Minnesota Vikings.

His experience got even better this week.

The second-year wide receiver, who made the team as an undrafted rookie last season after winning both the kickoff returner and punt returner jobs, has elevated his game as a pass-catcher and route-runner enough this summer to put himself in position for a depth role on offense.

The 5-foot-9 Price, who played four years at Texas Tech before finishing his college career in 2024 at Indiana, has made multiple highlight-reel catches during open-to-the-public practices, including an in-traffic snag of a pass by J.J. McCarthy that ended a two-minute drill and concluded a joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday.

Price impressed a prominent visitor, too. Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, who was in Minnesota this week as a guest of the Vikings, sat in on a position group meeting, spent time with players and watched both days of dual workouts with the Ravens.

“He was sitting right next to me. He was giving me tips. I couldn’t believe it. I’m not going to lie,” Price said Thursday, his face beaming with pride. “Then we come out on the field before practice, and he comes here and shows me a little move. I think that is so cool.”

Even for Justin Jefferson, the time with Moss was particularly meaningful. The two-time All-Pro, who has broken some of his predecessor's records, sounded almost as awestruck as Price when reflecting on their interactions around the facility.

“The information that he has is just endless,” Jefferson said, before making sure to pay respect to his current position coach: “There’s no better person out here — beside maybe Keenan McCardell — who can teach me different things of how to be a true route runner, how to be a true receiver.”

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who had Moss as a teammate with the New England Patriots in 2008, said he had a goal since being hired in Minnesota to get Moss around the team whenever possible.

“He talks to me more now than he did when I was teammates with him,” O'Connell said. “I remind him of that often, but I love him.”

The Ravens and their defense under new coach Jesse Minter provided plenty of valuable moments for the Vikings, too, especially considering neither team was planning to play starters in the preseason game on Saturday.

Cornerback Marlon Humphrey, himself a two-time All-Pro, presented Jefferson plenty of challenges in their one-on-one matchups.

“It felt good to win some battles against him,” Humphrey said on Thursday. “He got me on some.”

One of those came near the end of the workout on Wednesday during a two-minute drill the Vikings owned, when Kyler Murray threaded a pass through a double team to hit Jefferson in stride. Though Murray has had an uneven camp while learning a new offense and only taking full-time turns with the first team since being named the starter last week, his connection with Jefferson has stood out.

“It's definitely rolling as time goes on,” Jefferson said. “As much as he sees me in practice and seeing how I run my routes and the timing and everything, everything’s going to come together.”

Ravens reset at the center position after Pinter's injury

Danny Pinter was in line to take over as Baltimore's starting center for the departed three-time Pro Bowl pick Tyler Linderbaum, but he went down with a right leg injury during practice on Wednesday and needed a cart to be transported off.

NFL Network reported that Pinter tore his patellar tendon, a diagnosis that Minter declined to confirm other than to acknowledge the seventh-year player would “miss an extended amount of time.” Two other newcomers, Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic, remain in the mix for the starting spot.

“It's probably still a competition,” Minter said, “and we’ll see how it shakes out these next couple weeks.”

It’s been hot in Hubbard County, and farmer Joe Morgan has noticed.

“It was relentless,” he said. “It was like three weeks of being in the 90s, and that puts a lot of stress on the plants.”

The northwestern Minnesota county has been in a severe drought since June, and it’s affected Morgan’s business, Midheaven Garden. Last week, he showed up to the Red River Market in Fargo without any lettuce, since it was too hot to plant them in the ground.

That’s despite his farm being covered in ways to fight against rapid shifts in the weather. He irrigates his crops when they’re too dry and grows many of them in greenhouses to extend their growing season and protect them from the elements.

At the same time, greenhouses can get hot very quickly, so he’s planning to buy covers to shade them.

“Every year you're trying to make improvements,” Morgan said. “One of them is just to purchase items to act as an insurance policy, to try to have less of a gap. Because two weeks without head lettuce, people are expecting me to have an item … and I want to be dependable and serve my customers.”

Morgan grew up farming this land with his parents and six years ago, after careers in cabinet making and operating heavy equipment, he decided it was time to return. But, farming, he said, is different than when he was a kid.

“It’s just bigger extremes,” he said. “If we get rain, we're going to get a lot of rain in a little bit of time, and then when the heat comes, it comes in a big shot. It's just higher fluctuation than I remember as a kid.”

In Minnesota, climate change is already making the state warmer and wetter, meaning higher temperatures and more rainfall, on average. Experts say it’s not clear what that means for the future of drought in Minnesota.

“In order for you to develop drought, you really need a lack of precipitation and warmer temperatures,” said State Climatologist Luigi Romolo. “That's the perfect recipe for drought. With the models telling us that it's getting wetter and warmer, we don't really have a good sense of how drought might change in the future.”

More rain helps ease drought, but warm weather draws more water from plants, soils and bodies of water, drying out the landscape.

“If the increase in precipitation can't offset the demand that's created by the increase in temperatures, then what we're going to see is more frequent drought and more intense drought,” Romolo said.

As Morgan has already noticed on the farm, climate change is expected to change the nature of precipitation. According to the University of Minnesota, the state is seeing more intense rainfall events than ever before, but is also expected to see longer dry spells and rapid transitions between the two.

“The best thing that folks can do is to come up with drought plans that might take into account all different kinds of possible scenarios,” Romolo said.

National study calls for new drought frameworks

Across the country, climate change is already making drought more difficult to assess and project, because it’s creating new normals, according to Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan.

“In the 50s and 60s and 70s, the climate was not changing very quickly, so the statistics of what happened in the past were a good guide to what would happen in the future,” he said. “But now, with human-caused climate change, things are changing really fast, and the statistics are changing.”

That was the impetus for a year-long study conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and chaired by Overpeck.

The 200-page report contains many recommendations for federal agencies on how to better monitor and model drought. For modeling, the report recommends a two-pronged approach. For short-term assessments, it recommends using recent baselines of about 30 years to determine whether there’s a drought.

But long-term drought assessments are trickier, because that involves factoring in changes to many variables — including temperature, water demand and soil moisture — that will be affected by climate change and figuring out what those changes mean for drought.

“We just want to make sure that our models not only get the temperature well, but they also are able to forecast how precipitation is going to change, and how the combination of temperature and precipitation is going to end up giving us what we're dealing with on the land surface or in the rivers,” he said. “So there's some new science and continued scientific research that needs to take place.”

This matters because decisions need to be informed by the frequency and severity of drought. For example, Overpeck said major public safety issues, such as forest fire management, depend on understanding current and future drought conditions.

“We want to be able to give forest managers a better indication of what that situation is going to look like by year going into the future, and then allow the forest managers to come up with strategies for treating the forests either through prescribed burns or thinning, or just letting the fires burn,” he said. “Those are the big choices going into the future.”

Decisions about drought today

Parts of Minnesota have been in drought for months and a small part of the state entered extreme drought this week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday. That drought extends into North Dakota, which recently announced a drought emergency.

The Red River forms the boundary between the two states, and the Red River Basin Commission nonprofit helps facilitate cooperation between stakeholders who depend on it for business or drinking water. But the available models can make it hard to make decisions.

“At the end of the day, drought projection is notoriously poor,” said Executive Director Ted Preister. “Projection of when a drought is going to come, or going to be alleviated, or how long it will keep going, is still a lot of guesswork. So, the basin commission, we advocate for not waiting for that.”

He said if rainfall gets rarer but more intense, greater investment will be needed to capture water where it falls. That includes building more reservoirs.

“That means you have to have a whole bunch of these retention facilities scattered everywhere, so that if it's a very small, localized nine inches, you can capitalize on that because you have something in the stream that will grab that water and set it off to the side,” he said.

That will be expensive, he said, and at the same time, attitudes need to shift about how water is used by cities, farmers and others in the basin.

“Everybody that is using and counting on water needs to think about, ‘How do we be more efficient with every drop?’” he said.

Some businesses are more impacted by drought than others. Andrew Johnson owns Pelican Paddle Company, which rents kayaks for use on the Pelican River in Pelican Rapids.

But the business has been unable to operate for four weeks because of low river levels. Summer is when kayaks are most in demand, but for the past few years, low precipitation has meant frequent pauses. That’s prompting tough questions about the future.

“It’s hard to rely on something and then you can't make full pass at it through the summer,” he said. “It's definitely something we're thinking might not be viable long term.”

Minnesota’s future

It’s not yet clear how drought will change in Minnesota. But Overpeck said the American Southwest may be a glimpse into the future. The region has been in a historic multi-decade drought.

“The worsening drought situation out there is a canary in the mine shaft for us here in the Midwest because we are going to have really major problems with our forests, with our agriculture, as the climate continues to warm,” he said.

Overpeck said how bad drought gets in the Midwest depends on a variety of factors; not only the variables he hopes get incorporated into new models, but also the decisions people make.

“It's going to be a really hard situation,” he said. “And the public might agree that it's a hell of a lot smarter just to try and work harder to stop climate change because it's climate change and the burning of fossil fuels that's making it so much worse.”

This story is part of our series on Native economic development, "Beyond the Bet."

Gas in Minnesota and around the region is hovering around four dollars a gallon, which often puts a fill-up well north of $50. At the charging station on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community south of the Twin Cities, entrepreneur Bob Blake said charging an electric vehicle runs about fifteen bucks.

Blake, a member of Red Lake Nation, said the idea for a network of tribally owned EV stations came to him during a pipeline protest in North Dakota a decade ago.

“There was a helicopter coming down and there was all this sand in our faces,” Blake said of the protest. “And I thought to myself, there's got to be a better way to do this.”

The chargers belong to the tribe. Blake's nonprofit, Native Sun Community Power Development, built them and signed them over. It has done the same at 80 charging stations on tribal land across the Midwest, each one owned by the tribal nation where it sits. A developer would normally hold an asset like that and sell the power for decades. Blake does not, which means the revenue stays in rural Native communities. He calls the project Electric Nation.

“If the fossil fuel companies are going to continue to build pipelines through tribal nations’ homelands, then what we're going to do is we're going to build an electric vehicle charging station network pipeline through our communities,” Blake said. “They may win the battle, but we're going to win the war.”

Blake is a little surprised that the project got as big as it did.

“Someone said, ‘Bob, your little nonprofit did an infrastructure project,’ and I was thinking about it, and I was like, ‘Wow, we did do an infrastructure project,’” Blake said. “But that was never the intention.”

Blake said tribal communities don't see the same investments that other communities do.

“It really makes us be more genius, in the way that we have to figure out capital stacks and tax structures and investment vehicles,” he said. “It makes the Native entrepreneur think about two different worlds, because we have to bridge them to put together our endeavors.”

Adam Crepelle is a law professor at Loyola University Chicago who studies the barriers to economic development in Indian Country. Those barriers can include things such as jurisdictional uncertainty, dual taxation, and issues with federal land leasing. He said in the dominant American economy, entrepreneurs often start a business by borrowing against something they own, usually a house and the land it's built on.

“Whereas if you're in Indian Country and you have trust land, that cannot be repossessed because the federal government owns trust land," Crepelle said. “So, that eliminates that source of capital, essentially.”

Blake has used federal grant dollars to fund his projects. Since the start, he said people often see him as just the solar guy. He views it a little differently. He said developing renewable energy is part of his responsibility to his home community at Red Lake Nation. He said his own community, like other tribal nations, continues to struggle with high unemployment and geographic isolation.

"If I can fight poverty with renewable energy and distributed energy resources, then I can make my community healthier," Blake said.

Last fall the Trump administration canceled federal money Blake's nonprofit had been awarded for the second phase of his Electric Nation project. Blake, along with grantees in seven other states, sued the U.S. Department of Energy. Officials there admitted in court that grants were cut based on how states voted in the 2024 presidential election. The funding was restored this summer.

Crepelle said the economic benefits to tribal nations are felt beyond reservation boundaries.

“Whenever tribes do well, it helps the surrounding state,” he said. “It creates jobs for non-Indians too, and it's no good for the state to have a big pocket of poverty. So, whenever tribes win economically, it helps everyone.”

Blake's nonprofit has already started installing more chargers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

This story comes from the Upper Midwest Newsroom, a public media collaboration between Wisconsin Public Radio, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Prairie Public in North Dakota and Minnesota Public Radio News made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

MN Shortlist is the MPR News weekly roundup of arts and culture recommendations. This week’s picks include a history of Mexican music in Minnesota, the new musical “Made in India” by local playwright Kristen Marx, the inaugural Duluth Flock ArtFest, the first Midwest Black Book Fair and more.

‘140 Years of Mexican & Latino Music in Minnesota’ at the Hennepin History Museum in Minneapolis — Through February 2028

In 1886, as Aaron Johnson-Ortiz tells it, a 56-member military band from Mexico came to perform at the inaugural Minneapolis Industrial Exposition. They performed for 41 days and even celebrated Mexican Independence Day in Minneapolis on Sept. 16, 1886, with a parade through the city.

“This would be the first cultural celebration of Mexican and Latino culture in Minnesota,” said Johnson-Ortiz, executive director of the Minnesota Latino Museum. To celebrate this untold history, the MN Latino Museum and the Hennepin History Museum collaborated on the exhibit “140 Years of Mexican & Latino Music in Minnesota,” which opened Aug. 20. The exhibit highlights historic photos, documents, banners and newspaper articles. There will be an opening reception Sept. 3. (Alex V. Cipolle)

‘Bonus Joy — A New Comedy Variety Show’ at Turf Club in St. Paul — Aug. 21

A little bit of everything is on the bill at Turf Club. “Bonus Joy,” a new locally produced variety show, brings together stand-up, music and magic for a night of entertainment where you’re never quite sure what’s coming next. Minneapolis comedians Ben Katzner and Pearl Rose host, with comedy from Maggie Faris and Comrade Tripp, music from the duo Ashton & Maddock and a performance from Parker William, a comedy magician and mentalist.

The show starts at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21 at the Turf Club in St. Paul. (Annie Russell)

Flock ArtFest — Aug. 21-22

Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth will be home to the inaugural Flock ArtFest this weekend. It’s unclear if this two-day festival is completely bird-centric, but one thing is certain: there will be improvised bird-inspired puppetry including options for “life advice from a bird” and “tarot reading from a bird.”

Other highlights: Twin Cities textile artist Sadie Ward will host an interactive art event, making a “Superior Memories” quilt using upcycled textiles from festivalgoers’ written memories of the lake. The fest will also install a towering piece of dichroic film, or an iridescent shimmering material that will provide a dreamy new lens of Superior. Chalk artist David Sundaram will transform pavement into tableaux and there will also be a kid artist tent, where artists under 14 can display and sell their wares. Flock ArtFest tickets start at $10. The festival runs Friday from 12 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Alex V. Cipolle)

‘Made in India’ at the Cowles Center for Dance & Performing Arts in Minneapolis Duluth — Aug. 21-29

The South Asian Arts & Theater House presents “Made in India,” a production that uses dance, theater and puppetry to tell the story of “an Indian-born transracial adoptee as she navigates identity, belonging, and the search for her roots.” The all-ages production includes more than 70 artists, dancers and crew members, including several South Asian adoptees and plays with many genres, from Michael Jackson to traditional and contemporary Indian dance and music. The play was written by Minnesota playwright and actor Kristen Marx and, according to the press release, it was “workshopped with parents who adopted from India, so those lived experiences are woven into the production.”

At the preview Aug. 19, director Madhu Bangalore told the audience to engage with the production. “Leave Minnesota Nice outside this,” he said. “There are times you might have to cheer, holler, hoot, cry. Let it all out. Your energy feeds the people on stage.”

Tickets are “pay what you like” with a $10 suggested donation. (Alex V. Cipolle)

‘Zagaandagaa-Anishinaabeg, People of the Thick Coniferous Forest’ exhibit celebration at the Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center on the Gunflint Trail — Aug. 22

Near the northern border, surrounded by the boreal forest, sits the Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center and Gunflint Trail Historical Society.

Inside the museum, a new permanent exhibit, "Zagaandagaa-Anishinaabeg, People of the Thick Coniferous Forest," has been years in the making.

Margo Brownell, chair of the Anishinaabe Exhibit Task Force at the museum, said the exhibit tells the story of the Anishinaabe, the Ojibwe people, who lived in the area before contact with settlers, through the fur trade and into the 1900s.

“We have been incredibly fortunate in doing this exhibit to have worked with the descendants from some of these Anishinaabe families that really lived here for generations,” Brownell said.

The exhibit features a mural of Ojibwe clan animals by Sam Zimmerman, an animated video by artist Jonathan Thunder, art by Carl Gawboy, artifacts that are on display for the first time and more.

The celebration runs from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the museum. Heads up: Though the museum's address is in Grand Marais, it’s more than an hour's drive from town, at the end of the Gunflint Trail. (Leah Lemm)

The Midwest Black Book Fair at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis — Aug. 22

Because Terresa Hardaway wasn’t busy enough, she decided to start the first Midwest Black Book Fair. Hardaway, the cofounder and owner of Blackbird Revolt, professor at the University of Minnesota and owner of Black Garnet Books (to list a few of her accolades), was in a meeting with other Black bookstore owners when it dawned on her — there isn’t an event to celebrate Black booksellers and authors in the state.

Hardaway got to work planning the event and reaching out to publishers, authors and bookstores in the region. The fair will feature two dozen particiants and organizations, along with workshops about Black literary history in Minnesota, the publishing industry and the influence of the Midwest on Black writers.

Hardaway took over Black Garnet Books in 2024 and said it’s hard for her to not think about the literacy crisis while planning the event. She hopes that people walk away excited to keep reading and get involved in bookish spaces.

“I have a responsibility to make sure that I am pushing this idea around the importance of literacy,” she said. “That should really be an agenda item for anyone who's in the literary space.”

The Midwest Black Book Fair is Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center in Minneapolis. Tickets are free, but attendees must register in advance. (Sam Stroozas)