HOPKINS, Minn. — Things have been hard for the Hopkins football team.

“I was still having fun, it’s just the winning aspect of football wasn’t there,” said senior offensive lineman Chase Vagle.

“We worked really hard on instilling a good culture,” said Hopkins head coach Chauncy Williams-Barefield.

Hard is something he’s never shied away from, in fact hard is the foundation of his program.

“Our team philosophy is go hard. Honest, accountable, relentless and disciplined,” said Williams-Barefield.

Those pillars have led to a shift this fall for the Royals.

“Coach Chauncy is a great coach. I feel like I’ve learned a lot. With him being my coach, he’s a great man, teaching me a lot of valuable life lessons,” said junior safety Ignacio Cisneros.

“We feel we have a really talented coaching staff this year, and players. So we knew we could win,”

The Hopkins program entered the season having not won a varsity game since Nov. 11, 2020, with 29 consecutive losses by an average margin of defeat of 42 points.

“For you to put in all of that work, blood, sweat, tears, energy into something and not be able to taste the reward of it with a win for three-plus years, it’s tough,” said Williams-Barefield.

On Sept. 13, 1,402 days after their last varsity win, the Royals beat Eastview in overtime.

“I saw my friend Tanner, who’s also a senior captain, and he was crying, so we hugged each other and cried for five minutes. I don’t think I’ll ever have a greater sports experience than that in my life,” said Vagle.

Two key aspects of the turnaround include star basketball player Jayden Moore playing this fall. He entered this week leading the state in receiving yards this season, joining his freshman brother Tre, who starts at QB for the Royals.

“He’s special. Athletically, there’s not many kids that are as athletic as he is,” said Williams-Barefield.

“It’s been amazing. It’s been great. That brother-to-brother connection has been great. Experiencing this is cool, we used to do this back in our neighborhood, we’d play all the time,” said junior wide receiver Jayden Moore.

Scheming up the dynamic Moore duo is former Gophers QB Bryan Cupito, the Royals’ first-year offensive coordinator.

“He’s been amazing. He’s helped me sleep well at night knowing that I don’t have to worry about the offense,” said Williams-Barefield.

Those ingredients all help propel the Royals to new heights this fall, including a new type of streak.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of teams, and this team is different, this is special,” said Vagle.

“I’m just really happy to be a part of history. Finally breaking the streak, and the best part about it is we just started a new streak,” said Cisneros.

MINNEAPOLIS — To say that the past few months have been difficult for the Twins may be an understatement. Winning just 12 games since Aug. 18, the slide has been hard to see for fans.

“I wish they would’ve planned better for the fall,” Art Hansen, a fan, said.

“The chances aren’t zero, but they’re a little more difficult now,” Kalli Vinson, another fan, said.

Playoff hopes were already slim going into the weekend, with a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles and help from Detroit or Kansas City needed to sneak in.

“They had a really great start to the year, and then, of course, they started down hilling,” Jen Katke said.

On a weekend meant to appreciate fans, some told KARE they felt the opposite – even going so far as to call for leadership changes.

“Two weeks ago we had a 95% chance, now we have a 3% chance,” Jordan Kjenstad said. “Doesn’t make any sense.”

“Rocco Baldelli, coach the team, stuff that shouldn’t be happening is happening,” Ethan Kjenstad said. “It’s pathetic.”

Both Kjenstads held signs, one reading, “On this fan appreciation day… remember the Pohlads cut $30M from payroll.” The other featured the Twins TC logo, with “Too cheap,” spelled using the logo.

Even those covering the team say there’s bad luck surrounding the choice to not splurge for players in the off-season.

“I think it’s deserved based on the karma that was built up from ownership not investing in the offseason, not bringing in anyone of value at the trade deadline,” Sam Ekstrom of Locked On Sports Minnesota said.

“I think the Pohlads are gonna take a lot of arrows for this because the payroll went down 20, 30 million,” he continued. “There’s been a lot of consternation with their TV deal, and fans are aware of this.”

While the Twins chances look to run out Friday night, some fans are still optimistic – albeit still looking for more to be done.

“I feel like maybe not to that extent,” Ryan Haines, a fan, said, speaking on those calling to sell the team. “I feel like they, they could put more money into the actual team building and worry a little less about the, you know, the media deals and other things like that.”

ST PAUL, Minn. — A few thousand copies of a new children’s book are now on book store and library shelves nationwide, in time for election season.

Dr. Artika Tyner wrote the book, “Kwame Votes,” which she dedicates to St. Paul’s Rondo community. 

The author is also executive director of Planting People Growing Justice, a literary organization now in its eighth year. Tyner has written 35 books over the years and is partnering with Minneapolis-based Lerner Publisher Services to distribute “Kwame Votes” as part of a fall book collection.

The plot starts with Kwame voting in a student government election, and that leads to a larger conversation with his father and grandmother.

“The conversation isn’t about partisanship or a particular candidate,” Tyner told KARE 11 from the organization’s new Writing House in St. Paul. “It’s about the importance of issues that matter to the people that are there.”

By the end of the book, the boy visits an Election Day polling place.

“He stands nearby as grandmother cast her vote,” Tyner said. “He remembers that his mother is serving as an election judge. So he gets to see democracy literally in action.”

Tyner says she hopes the story leads real families to vote.

“‘She proudly placed the ‘I voted’ sticker on Kwame’s sweater,'” she said, reading the final page aloud.

According to Pew Research Center, the number of Black eligible voters has gradually risen over the past 2 decades. The number this November is projected to reach 34.4 million, up 7% from 4 years ago. Black people are also projected to account for 14% of eligible voters in the upcoming election.

“We cannot ignore the fact that there were many impediments of access to the ballot box,” Tyner said. “For instance, could you imagine being asked how many bubbles are in a bar of soap? So when we think about the history, we know that within the African-American community voting is something sacred. Voting is something that we know has to be protected.”

As Tyner does her part, Urban League Twin Cities is focused on getting people registered. President and CEO Marquita Stephens says the organization’s Young Professionals are posting Get Out the Vote content on social media.

She says Urban League is also reaching those newly allowed to vote in Minnesota.

“The Legislature passed a law that allowed ex-felons to vote,” she said. “But I’m concerned about the people that have been off paper for 10 years or 20 years and have curated a habit of not voting, of not feeling part of the democratic process. Reaching those folks and making sure that they know yes, it’s their turn, and we fought long and hard to include them.”

For Tyner, growth in civic engagement is also key.

“That we’ll get involved in the commissions and the boards and volunteerism, philanthropy,” Tyner said. “And in fact, in the back of the book, there are some practical strategies on how young people can get involved.”

Tyner’s fall book collection also includes “Dreams of our Ancestors,” a poem co-written by five Black children and writer Wisdom Mawusi, and “Jaheem’s First Kwanzaa,” a book exploring the importance of honoring cultural roots.