Stories from May 1, 2021

Medina Spirit wins Kentucky Derby; Bob Baffert does it again
The 3-year-old colt won the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby, giving dominant trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh Derby win.
Temps retreat on Sunday; rain and thunder chances
We saw incredibly dry air in parts of Minnesota Saturday. We have details on that, plus a look at our Sunday rain chances and temperature trends for the coming week.
How 26 people in the census count helped Minnesota beat New York for a House seat
Small census numbers can make a big difference. If Minnesota's 2020 count included 26 fewer residents, it might have lost a seat in Congress — a seat that New York fell short of winning by 89 people.
Biden wants to go tough on Wall Street. The response? The best rally since FDR
The S&P 500 surged 11 percent in President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office — the best performance to start a presidential term since Franklin D. Roosevelt started his first term in 1933.
Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning 'Moonstruck' star, dies at 89
Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actress whose flair for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher’s mother in the romantic comedy “Moonstruck,” has died. She was 89.
COVID 'doesn't discriminate by age': Serious cases on the rise in younger adults
With older adults vaccinated, doctors say a growing share of their COVID-19 patients are in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s, as more contagious variants circulate among people who are still unvaccinated.
The controversial two-year term extension for Somalia’s president evaporated Saturday after intense public pressure, as the lower house of parliament approved his request to instead support efforts to organize the country’s long-delayed national election.
Ask a Bookseller: ‘Solutions and Other Problems’
This week, Ask a Bookseller called closer to home, with a recommendation from Charlie Aldrich of Buffalo Books & Coffee in Buffalo, Minn. He recommended “Solutions and Other Problems,” written and illustrated by Allie Brosh.
TSA extends mask mandate aboard flights through summer as travel increases
Even as COVID-19 cases decrease and more Americans get vaccinated, the Transportation Security Administration is keeping strict regulations on mask-wearing when traveling domestically.
A summery Saturday; shower chances return Sunday, with thunder possible too
We’re starting May with July-like warmth, then our temps will retreat on Sunday and Monday. We have your weekend forecast details, including Sunday rain chances, plus a look at the week ahead.
Got mud? For coastal cities, humble dirt has become a hot commodity
Coastal communities will need massive amounts of mud and dirt to protect their shorelines from rising seas. One federal agency has it — but most is disposed of, instead of reused.
An artist and a scientist take on the stigma of addiction
The nation's top addiction scientist has teamed up with a prominent artist to let people know that substance use disorder is a disease, not a moral failure. "Prevention and treatment and recovery can't take place until we get rid of the stigma," artist William Stoehr says.
'Great Circle' takes flight across decades and continents
The daredevil aviator in Maggie Shipstead's new novel was inspired by Amelia Earhart. Shipstead says she wants to investigate the difference between death and a disappearance like Earhart's.
Combating the ag industry's history of discriminatory practices
A lawsuit filed by a group of white farmers from the Midwest asks a federal court to declare a program that erases USDA loans for farmers from “socially disadvantaged groups” discriminatory and unconstitutional. But there's a long history of discrimination against women and people of color in agriculture — and the effects continue to impact the industry today.
A summery first day of May
Today is the first day of May, but it’ll feel like July. We have your Saturday forecast details.
'It made my heart broke': Marshall first-graders, parents grieve loss of classmate to COVID-19
School community members this week grieved the loss of a first grader at Park Side Elementary School in Marshall. Many families navigated the loss — and helped their children try to make sense of it.
Portugal opens world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge
The record-breaking bridge measures about 1,692 feet long and is suspended more than 570 feet above a rushing river. Officials in the town of Arouca called it "frighteningly beautiful."
Murderbot meets Miss Marple in 'Fugitive Telemetry'
Martha Wells' new Murderbot novella is a classic locked-room mystery — only the locked room is a docked shuttle at a normally peaceful space station ill-equipped to deal with murder and mayhem.