Star Tribune
Circus Juventas founders stepping away from Big Top in St. Paul
After almost 30 years and nearly 30,000 students, big changes are happening at St. Paul’s Big Top, Circus Juventas. Founders Dan and Elizabeth “Betty” Butler are stepping away from their renowned circus school.
“It gives us time to enjoy retirement while we’re still young,” said Betty Butler, the school’s artistic director since its founding in 1994.
Dan Butler, who talked of the heavy lifting that was required to see the school successfully through a global COVID-19 pandemic, said the couple have been thinking about stepping away for several years.
“When COVID hit, I was pretty tired. We actually thought it was over,” Dan Butler said. “The timing is just right.”
Never fear, circus fans, the trapezes and trampolines aren’t going still. The circus school’s year-round training program and its seasonal shows are continuing; Rob Dawson and the Butlers’ daughter, Rachel Butler Norris, have stepped into the school’s leadership roles.
Dawson, the new executive director, comes to St. Paul after many years as an acrobat and coach with the world-famous Cirque Du Soleil.
“I want to focus on [students’] experience here and on the experience of their parents,” Dawson said. “And I want to say just how honored I am to be taking on this role.”
Butler Norris worked alongside her parents as Circus Juventas’ national and international profiles have grown. While she said she is excited to continue the trail blazed by her mother, she admitted in a recent interview to having a few butterflies following in those footsteps.
“It’s very daunting to think I have to create something that lives up to it, of that same caliber,” Butler Norris said. “I have a good handle on what worked really well. I’m sure there will be some differences, but I’m curious to see what those will be.”
The elder Butlers will continue to help their successors during the next year, Dan Butler said. Nevertheless, stepping away is a bit bittersweet, he said.
“I’m going to miss the kids,” he said of the thousands of students who found confidence, passion and careers in the circus arts.
Said Betty Butler: “I’ll miss the creativity. I just love the creative process.”
Nonprofit Circus Juventas was started with the idea of inspiring artistry and self-confidence through a circus arts experience. Whether its students found a new calling, or a place where they felt they belonged, Dan Butler said Circus Juventas strove to empower its students with new possibilities.
“We’ve accepted kids from all walks of life and from all backgrounds,” he said.
According to its website, Circus Juventas alumni have gone to work at Cirque du Soleil, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, the Flying Wallendas, Bello Nock, the Royal Hanneford Circus, Cirque Mechanics, Cirque Eloize and many other professional circus organizations. Danny Butler, Dan and Betty’s youngest child, is performing his professional inaugural season with Ringling Brothers.
According to the website, the Butlers met as teenagers in Sarasota, Fla., where they trained at Sailor Circus, one of the oldest circus schools in the country. They continued training as young adults at the Florida State University Flying High Circus.
In 1994, the Butlers returned to the circus after years away, starting Circus of the Star, an after-school program in Highland Park. In August 2000, they broke ground on a permanent home at 1270 Montreal Av. In July 2001, they opened the school’s new Big Top.
Star Tribune
Wisconsin’s Senate race appears to be close enough to allow for a recount
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s hotly contested race for U.S. Senate between Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Eric Hovde, who was backed by President-elect Donald Trump, appeared to be close enough early Wednesday for a recount to be requested.
Baldwin, a two-term incumbent, declared victory early Wednesday over Hovde, a multimillionaire businessman who poured millions of his own money into race. The Associated Press has not called the race. Hovde’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Baldwin declared victory after the tally of absentee ballots from Milwaukee was reported around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. Baldwin had a lead of 0.9% based on the unofficial results, just within the 1% margin that would allow for Hovde to request a recount if he pays for it.
”The people of Wisconsin have chosen someone who always puts Wisconsin first, someone who shows up, listens, and works with everyone to get the job done,” Baldwin said in a statement. ”And they rejected the billionaires and the special interests who want to come to our state, spread hate and division, and buy their way into power.”
On Tuesday night, Hovde blamed the tight race on America First candidate Thomas Leager, a far-right candidate who was recruited by Democratic operatives and donors to run as a conservative.
Leager ran a distant fourth, but got more votes than the margin between Baldwin and Hovde.
”It’s unfortunate if the Democrats wouldn’t have put a plant, this probably would have been called some time ago,” Hovde told his backers before sending them home. ”But you know what? It is what it is.”
Baldwin ran ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost Wisconsin to Republican Donald Trump by less than a percentage point. That marks the fifth time in the past seven presidential elections that a presidential election in Wisconsin has been decided by less than a point.
Star Tribune
Former Minnesota GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan wins Nisswa mayoral race
When she first hit the campaign trail, Jennifer Carnahan didn’t think she had a shot at winning.
But the former Minnesota GOP chair won the Nisswa mayoral race Tuesday night, unseating incumbent John Ryan, who has served on the Nisswa City Council for eight years and ran uncontested in 2022. That’s the year Carnahan moved to Nisswa after years of legal troubles and the death of her husband, U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who represented Minnesota’s First Congressional District.
Ryan received 45% of the vote with all precincts reporting. Carnahan earned 54% of the vote.
Carnahan, 47, vacationed in Nisswa throughout childhood and it’s where her parents first met and still call home. It’s also where she owns a women’s boutique Primrose Park, which she first opened in northeast Minneapolis but relocated up north a decade ago.
Since then she has served on the Nisswa Downtown Council and Brainerd Lakes Chamber government relations committee.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Star Tribune
Minnesota Wild’s struggles on power play continue in home loss to Los Angeles Kings
“We work on it every day,” said Zuccarello, who is on the top unit alongside Kaprizov, Faber, Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek. “We try. Everyone, the 10 guys that are on there take pride in the power play, and we want to help our team win. But I think it’s important that we don’t get down on ourselves. When you lose a little bit of confidence, the puck bounces everywhere, and your passes don’t go tape to tape and stuff like that.
“So, in a game like this, we would have liked to score a couple of goals on the power play and help the team. But that was not good enough on our part.”
The power play, though, isn’t the only side of special teams that’s struggling.
At 62.5%, the penalty kill is second-to-last in the NHL. Not only did the PK give up the decisive goal to Fiala, but the Wild haven’t had a clean game since Oct. 24 at Tampa Bay when they went 1-for-1.
Unlike the power play, which was top-10 last season, this is familiar territory for the penalty kill after the Wild finished 30th.
They have shown they can win despite these deficiencies but as their latest loss proved, expecting that to happen all the time isn’t realistic.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings