MINNEAPOLIS — There’s a saying in Minnesota that when things go wrong you can blame it on the weather.

Lauren Bennett McGinty from Explore Minnesota said there is some truth to that phrase this year regarding the state’s travel and tourism industry.

“The weather this summer has been a huge factor,” Bennett McGinty said.

Explore Minnesota partnered with Hospitality Minnesota and the Minneapolis Federal Reserve to conduct a statewide survey of business owners in the tourism industry.

The survey included responses from 266 Minnesota business owners. About half of the respondents said their business saw fewer customers this summer. Around 48% of the business owners in the survey said the excess rain this summer hurt their business.

“When you look at many businesses involved in tourism, of course they are outdoor focused, and in the summertime especially. All the days of rain this summer, it was really challenging for them to have more people come and spend their time outdoors and experience all they have to offer,” McGinty said.

But weather wasn’t the only issue business owners had to deal with this summer. Around 60% of business owners say rising costs of goods and services was a major challenge this summer.

In the survey, business owners say their three biggest challenges this year were higher prices for goods and food, wage increases, and more government regulations.

Jami Olson is the CEO of the Centro Restaurant Group, which owns five restaurants in the Twin Cities. She said a lot of restaurant owners in the Twin Cities are seeing fewer customers and higher costs of doing business.

“Overall, we have seen a downtick,” Olson said. “I think in general the Twin Cities are going through a lot of things right now. I think we will continue to see a lot of changes within restaurants. A lot of things are getting more expensive. Minimum wage went up, so obviously that drives up prices.”

On the northeast side of the state, in the Brainerd Lakes Area, business owners were more optimistic.

Nichole Heinen with the Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce said many hotels and restaurants did see a slight drop in revenue this summer.

“It’s been down maybe a tiny little bit, but it is not something that has been a really big worry for us up here,” Heinen said.

She is hoping the warm fall will help business owners earn back some of the revenue they lost this summer.

“We just got done with Crosslake Days in Crosslake and there was a huge turnout. So many people were out there, and the businesses I spoke with out there were just really excited for the Fall. They’re already seeing a lot of people coming up to see the leaves and change of colors,” Heinen said. 

Business owners statewide also say it was easier this summer to find staff to fill their positions. 42% of the business owners surveyed said their staffing levels are stable, which is higher than in years past.

The survey also showed very few business owners had to cut jobs this year, with around 8.5% of owners reporting job cuts in 2024.

Explore Minnesota is also hopeful for the future. McGinty said the Twin Cities metro is seeing higher hotel occupancy this Fall, and she is hopeful that trend will continue this winter.

“We’re very excited to just get back into those seasons and have people experience all four seasons in Minnesota,” McGinty said. 

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s easy to see the impact Karl-Anthony Towns had on the basketball court, but what he did off it might not be as obvious.

In just his second season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, prepping Thanksgiving dinner for families in need in 2017, Towns understood how he could be a catalyst for change.

“Whatever we do on the court is what we do on the court, but a true man’s legacy is left by the effect he does on the community,” he said at the time. “I feel I can do more off the court than on it.”

He’s been living by that statement ever since, organizing a winter coat drive for kids and teenagers who don’t have jackets, fundraising for the Boys & Girls Club Twin Cities, helping formerly incarcerated people restore their right to vote, giving to families in need, and spending time with kids who are ill.

“The thing that I like about KAT, he shows up, he’s personal, he’s caring, and he’s made a really big impact on HopeKids and he’ll be deeply missed,” said Executive Director of HopeKids Minnesota Brian Anderson.

HopeKids helps children who have cancer or other life-threatening medical conditions along with their families.

“Every Christmas he would invite 100 people out to the Timberwolves facility, and we would go into the theater that they have, and we would watch a movie, a kid’s movie, and sometimes he would actually sit there and watch the movie in entirety with our families. It was pretty cool,” he said.

Anderson said he’s been hosting a Christmas party for HopeKids since 2018. He said KAT has made a big impact on their kids and has given them hope.

“The timeout that he took for people really showed that he cared makes a huge difference,” he said. “We’re going to miss him a lot.”

He isn’t sure if their relationship will continue, but he’s hopeful Towns will stop by when the New York Knicks come to Minneapolis in December.

Kai Glinsek will also miss KAT, but he’ll never forget how he helped his family through a hard time. Glinsek’s mother had pancreatic cancer, and the medical bills were piling up. The family started to a GoFundMe to help, but they were thousands of dollars short, until KAT heard about it.

“He changed my family’s life,” he said. “What KAT did for me and my family, I’ll never forget it. I’m never not going to be a KAT fan.”

Glinsek’s mother has passed away, but Towns got them to their goal, donating thousands of dollars.

“That meant the world to us and KAT didn’t want any recognition for it, he just did it. I believe it comes from the struggles he’s had,” he said.

He’ll never not root for KAT, and hope when people drive by Parkway Pizza in Northeast Minneapolis they’ll honk if they love KAT, too.

PIERZ, Minn — A man flying over Minnesota had to make an emergency landing Monday. 

Aaron Casper, 53, was flying from the Brainerd area to his home of Eden Prairie. While 3,500 feet over Morrison County, authorities said his engine lost power. 

According to the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office, Casper made an emergency landing on Highway 27 in Agram Township, which is located four miles west of Pierz. He drove the plane into a ditch to avoid traffic. 

The emergency landing left Caper without injury, officials said. The FAA is investigating the crash.