Stories from May 30, 2025

Brand new books: Stephen King’s latest, plus tales of a tired mom and a scary stalker
Holly Gibney is back in King’s thriller, “Never Flinch.” “The Stalker” follows a manipulative man. Happily ever after is evasive in “Consider Yourself Kissed.” Plus, new work from Tash Aw and Etgar Keret.
Smoky haze and hot days take hold
Minnesota remains under a statewide air quality alert as wildfire smoke from Canada continues to blanket the region. Meanwhile, summer-like temperatures are expected to persist through early next week, with highs in the 80s and 90s.
DHS demands Minnesota counties and cities review, revise ‘sanctuary’ policies
Minneapolis and St. Paul city leaders have pushed back against the Trump Administration’s attempts to get them to use local police to enforce federal immigration law. And they say “sanctuary” policies foster greater public safety.
An air quality alert is now in effect for all of Minnesota through Monday evening, as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to stream across the state. That's an expansion of earlier alerts, as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says reinforcing waves of smoke are expected Saturday, Sunday and again on Monday.
Taylor Swift has regained control of her music, buys back first 6 albums
Taylor Swift says she’s has regained control over her entire body of work. In a lengthy note posted to her official website on Friday, Swift announced that all the music she’s ever made now belongs to her.
‘Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine’ talks about bars, the blues and belonging
Callie Collins’ new novel is a blues song in literary form, set in a saloon in 1970s Austin, Texas. What happens when the need to belong collides with a world that just keeps moving on?
Vikings sign GM Adofo-Mensah to extension, keeping his contract in sync with O'Connell's
The Minnesota Vikings have signed general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to a multi-year contract extension that keeps his status in sync with head coach Kevin O’Connell's for the long term.
After 529 days alone in the Australian bush, Valerie the mini dachshund is home
Valerie ran off while she was on a camping trip with her owners back in 2023 on a remote island in Australia. They had lost hope until locals spotted her more than a year later, surviving in the wild.
Bernard Kerik, who led NYPD on 9/11 before prison and pardon, has died at 69
Kerik, an Army veteran, was hailed as a hero after the 9/11 attack and eventually nominated to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, before a dramatic fall from grace that ended with him behind bars.
Anthony Edwards and the T-wolves again enter the summer focused on the final 2 steps to an NBA title
Reaching a second straight Western Conference finals was a remarkable accomplishment for the Minnesota Timberwolves after a surprise shuffle of the roster right before training camp and the pains of adjustments and injuries throughout the regular season.
Trump holding Pennsylvania rally to promote deal for Japan-based Nippon to ‘partner’ with U.S. Steel
President Donald Trump is holding a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday to celebrate a details-to-come deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel. He says the plan will keep the iconic American steelmaker under U.S. control.
A former state trooper has pleaded not guilty to charges of killing someone in a car crash while on the job. And attorneys presented their opening statements Thursday in the trial of a Brooklyn Park man accused of killing five women in a high speed crash in 2023.
Pro rugby finds a friendly scrum in Minnesota’s fast-growing women’s sports market
TC Gemini, the new Twin Cities women’s professional rugby team, is finding a fan base here for a sport increasingly popular with women. With a roster that includes locally grown players, the team’s riding a wave of interest in women’s sports, especially in Minnesota.
Long stretch of Interstate 494 will be closed this weekend
If you’re driving in the southern Twin Cities metro area this weekend, you may want to allow some extra time to reach your destination. A long stretch of Interstate 494 in Bloomington will be closed in both directions.
MN Shortlist, May 30–June 5: Hitchcock with a live score, an outlaw musical and women muralists
This week’s MN Shortlist highlights a live score performance of Hitchcock’s “The Lodger,” a new musical about Minnesota outlaw Nellie King and a talk on Latin American women muralists.
She left a career in government auditing to advocate for farmers like her parents
Friendly Vang-Johnson’s parents were some of the first Hmong refugees to farm in Minnesota. She wasn’t planning to follow in her parents’ footsteps, but that changed when she started a delivery program that eventually became Friendly Hmong Farms, a wider effort to support farmers in Washington and Minnesota.
Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end humanitarian status for some migrants
The move to grant a stay in the case means that the Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who were granted temporary parole under the program known as CHNV would lose their temporary legal status to be in the U.S.
Minneapolis community leader and violence prevention non-profit head Bishop Harding Smith is facing wage theft charges, after allegedly misusing funding from Hennepin County that was intended to go into his employees’ paychecks.
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