Stories from December 21, 2024

Rising overnight temperatures with warm south wind
Warmer air will lead to rising temperatures overnight, with south winds ranging from 5 to 10 mph. A wintry mix is possible late Sunday night as a clipper system moves in. Expect a mild week ahead for the holiday.
Minneapolis softens law on obstructing abortion clinics in response to free-speech lawsuit
Minneapolis has softened an ordinance that prohibited obstructing entrances and driveways to abortion clinics after anti-abortion activists sued to challenge it on free-speech grounds. The City Council this month quietly amended the ordinance to exclude constitutionally protected activities and agreed to pay the plaintiffs’ legal fees. 
Who's been funding the HTS rebels now in control of Syria?
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, made a lightning assault across Syria. Where did the rebels get the cash, weapons and training that made their takeover possible?
NHL: Utah beats Minnesota 2-1 for season-high 4th straight win
Dylan Guenther scored his second goal of the game midway through the third period and the Utah Hockey Club beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1. Guenther beat Marc-Andre Fleury five seconds into a power play for the go-ahead goal. 
'Gravy Day' is an Australian tradition inspired by an unlikely Christmas song by Paul Kelly
December 21 isn’t just four days before Christmas for many in Australia. It’s “Gravy Day,” inspired by one of the most unlikely Christmas songs ever written. Singer Paul Kelly's 1996 composition “How to Make Gravy” is one of that country’s most popular holiday songs, even though its setting is a letter written from a prison inmate to his brother, ostensibly to pass along a recipe for the family's Christmas dinner.
Duluth’s Spirit Mountain celebrates 50 years of skiing
Spirit Mountain Recreation Area, which opened its ski slopes in 1974 with support from the state legislature and the city of Duluth, celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend.
Winter solstice arrives with chilly temperatures
The first day of winter brings chilly temperatures in the teens, along with some early Saturday morning sunshine for the Twin Cities. Expect calm conditions throughout the weekend. A quickly moving clipper system arrives late Sunday night, bringing light snow showers.
Celebrating the winter solstice with a puppet procession in Minneapolis
People carried lanterns and larger-than-life handmade puppets to Powderhorn Park to celebrate the arrival of astronomical winter and, with it, increasingly longer days.
Little Falls baby shop owner faces prison after admitting loan fraud scheme
The U.S. Small Business Administration named Baby’s On Broadway Minnesota’s woman-owned small business of 2023 but the U.S. Attorney’s Office says she used a phony supplier and fake invoices to secure $9 million in financing from two lenders.
Expert calls spread of bird flu to Midwest a ‘wait-and-see’ situation
A farm worker in Barron, Wis., is recovering from mild illness after being infected with bird flu. And in California, cows at 645 farms have tested positive for bird flu and the dairy industry has been hit so hard in that state that California has declared a state of emergency.