Star Tribune
MVTA sets State Fair ridership record
More people than ever rode Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) buses from the southern suburbs to the State Fair this year, and the agency set six daily ridership records.
MVTA provided 127,220 rides to and from the Great Minnesota Get-Together during its 12-day run, which beat the previous record of 110,718 set last year, according to figures the agency released this week.
Meanwhile, Metro Transit saw State Fair ridership of nearly 331,000, which marked a 14% increase over last year, the agency said Wednesday.
The MVTA started out by providing a record 8,526 rides on the fair’s opening day on Aug. 22. That was followed the next day when more than 11,200 people rode MVTA buses to the fair. But by the midpoint of the fair, overall ridership was lagging behind last year’s numbers, said spokesman Richard Crawford.
A strong Labor Day weekend rewrote the history books. On Friday, MVTA provided 16,752 rides, which was a record. But that mark fell two days later on Sunday when ridership hit 18,528 .
“It was a very interesting year with ebbs and flows based on the weather,” said MVTA Chief Executive Officer Luther Wynder. “The extreme heat on the first Monday and threats of storms during the week kept attendance down. People were ready to go on the days with pleasant forecasts.”
Metro Transit expanded its park and ride offerings by adding lots in Maplewood and Maple Grove, and that helped push overall ridership on express and regular-route buses to nearly 331,000, said Metro Transit General Manager Lesley Kandaras.
Metro Transit had about 100 extra buses in service each day during the fair to meet demand, Kandaras said.
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.
