Star Tribune
As Gov. Walz campaigns across the country, how much time is he spending governing Minnesota?
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been campaigning almost nonstop since Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris selected him to be her running mate, leaving little time for him to spend at home governing.
The daily schedule published by the governor’s office has become repetitive since Walz was elevated to the presidential ticket on Aug. 6: “Governor Tim Walz has no public events scheduled,” the schedule has stated every day but two. On Aug. 12 and Aug. 26, Walz interviewed candidates for judicial vacancies.
Walz was back in Minnesota on Sunday for a brief visit to the State Fair. He told reporters he’s leaned on his team to help manage his schedule and balance his governor duties while on the campaign trail.
“We appointed three great judges last week in Ramsey County,” Walz said at the fair. He added that his team updates him throughout the day, and he goes over memos and speaks with commissioners every night.
The governor’s chief of staff, Chris Schmitter, and communications director, Teddy Tschann, have also joined the Harris-Walz campaign. Schmitter continues to work limited hours with the state, “ensuring the Governor always has the latest information from our office and cabinet,” said Claire Lancaster, the governor’s spokeswoman.
Lancaster said in a statement that “our office is still running as it always has — core functions haven’t changed.”
“The Governor is still meeting with staff, interviewing judges, and making decisions,” Lancaster said. “Our Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Carlbom has taken over day-to-day management of the office and Anne O’Connor continues to lead the cabinet.”
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Walz’s second-in-command, would become governor if he is elected to the White House in November. She said in an interview last week that she’s in frequent contact with Walz while he’s on the campaign trail. Even when he isn’t in Minnesota, Flanagan said Walz is making major decisions and steering the state.
While Timberwolves guard Mike Conley was in Minneapolis for Sunday’s Minnesota Vikings home game, where he fired up the crowd before kickoff, his west-metro home was targeted by burglars, police said Wednesday.
The break-in of Conley’s sprawling residence in Medina occurred mid-afternoon Sunday and was the second of three carried out that day by at least two suspects while the homes were unoccupied, said Police Chief Jason Nelson.
In each instance, the chief said, the thieves got away with a yet-to-be determined amount of jewelry.
The perpetrators “may have done some surveillance or figured out some patterns” of the people who lived at the homes before striking, Nelson said.
In each case, the suspects approached the houses from the rear, broke in through lower-level windows, entered primary bedrooms, scooped up what jewels they could and were out within five minutes, the chief said.
Video surveillance at the Conley home on the southwest side of the city captured the image of a vehicle driving off that might be tied to the suspects. Nelson said there have yet to be any arrests.
One of the other homes was down the street from Conley’s, while the third was on the southeast side of Medina, the chief said.
Conley’s multimillion-dollar residence sits along a road with few other homes within shouting distance.
If someone glues countless seeds and beans onto a board to create your likeness, the correct response is thank you.
Minnesota artist Christy Klancher bent over her canvas, manipulating tiny grains of millet and quinoa with a toothpick tipped with Elmer’s glue, nudging split peas into tidy rows. Around her in the sweltering Agriculture/Horticulture building at the Minnesota State Fair, crowds watched this crop art demonstration avidly. Millet face. Wild rice mullet. Poppy-seed eyes a-twinkle. A portrait of ex-teen idol John Stamos was coming together before their very eyes, a face familiar to any eyes that witnessed the 1990s firsthand.
What, you might ask, was the response from Stamos to this ultimate of Minnesota honors, being rendered in crop art?
“Crap art,” the small-screen star posted on X, with a photo of his seed-and-bean doppelganger.
Now there’s going to be weirdness between us, John Stamos.
There’s a story behind this incredibly niche crop art beef, so gather around, Minnesota, and learn the story of Riot Fest, an excellent Chicago music festival that has been trying to lure Stamos — best known for playing Uncle Jesse on saccharine ‘90s sitcom “Full House” — into its lineup for years.
Riot Fest — unofficial and irreverent motto: “Riot Fest Sucks” — has carved Stamos in butter, curated an exhibit of fine Stamos art and hired other celebrities to stand in for him and pledge never to set foot on the fest.
Riot Fest 2024 runs from Sept. 22-24 in Chicago’s Douglass Park with a lineup of more than 90 acts, from Beck to Public Enemy to St. Vincent to Rob Zombie to Waxahatchee. Stamos, once again, is a no-show.
Kevin Ulmer, head coach of the Bemidji State University women’s volleyball team for nine seasons, has died after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 41.
Ulmer died Tuesday afternoon surrounded by his family, according to an announcement from the school.
“We are heartbroken to lose our colleague, our coach, and our friend Kevin Ulmer,” Bemidji State Director of Athletics Britt Lauritsen said in a statement.
Friday’s match at University of Minnesota Crookston has been canceled, the school said.
Ulmer came to Bemidji State in 2016 after serving as head volleyball coach at Bethel College (Ind.) for four seasons and earlier as an assistant coach at Georgetown College (Ky.).
He graduated from Northwestern College (Iowa) in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health education, and earned his master’s degree in biomechanics and exercise physiology at the University of Kentucky.
Since taking over the program in 2016, 30 of his players have earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference All-Academic Team honors
He also coached two All-NSIC selections, Jessica Yost and Rylie Bjerklie, in one of the toughest volleyball conferences in NCAA Div. II.
