Star Tribune
Hottest day yet of 2023 will take stage in Twin Cities
Summer’s sizzle is about to take hold of the Twin Cities, with temperatures reaching the mid-90s on the doorstep.
The first hint comes Sunday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), when the afternoon high is forecast to reach 89 degrees under mostly sunny skies and a light breeze.
By early afternoon, at the newly resurrected Taste of Minnesota festival on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, the temperature was 85 and the sunshine made it feel even warmer. So much so that thousands of attendees were using the shade of skyscrapers as protection from the heat, said spokesman Blois Olson.
“I think these are the kinds of days we remember in January,” Olson said of the free event, for which 60,000 passes were distributed. “People are excited to be here. It’s busy, and we expect thousands of people over the course of the day.”
As a precaution, Olson said monitors were out walking the 10-square-block Taste area to keep an eye out for anyone struggling with the higher temperatures. A bevy of beverage vendors helped keep the lines shorter for something cool to drink, he said.
On Monday, the heat is expected to dial up a notch with an anticipated afternoon high of 95, the NWS said.
“Dew points will be moist but not oppressive” on Monday, according to an NWS forecast statement posted Sunday morning, “so heat indices shouldn’t be too much hotter than the air temp.”
There’s also no indication of smoky conditions adding to the discomfort as has been experienced in recent weeks in the Twin Cities that were caused by wildfires hundreds of miles away in Canada.
While 95 would fall far short of the Twin Cities’ hottest July 3, when the temperature touched 100 in 1990, we should be in store for our hottest day yet this year. The weather service said we’ve warmed up to 92 degrees four times in 2023: June 4, 21, 22 and 23.
A chance of thunderstorms Monday night and again on Tuesday — the July Fourth holiday — is expected to pull the mercury down a fair bit to a high topping out at 88.
From there, conditions are expected to cool down even more. High temperatures Wednesday and Thursday should peak at no more than 77 degrees, the weather service said.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will auction off state lands in popular northern counties next month.
The public land — in Aitkin, Cook, Itasca, and St. Louis counties — will go up for sale during the Department of Natural Resource’s annual online public land sale from Nov. 7 to 21.
“These rural and lakeshore properties may appeal to adjacent landowners or offer recreational opportunities such as space for a small cabin or camping,” the DNR said in a statement.
Properties will be available for bidding Nov. 7 through Nov. 21.
This all can trim for print: The properties include:
40 acres in Aitkin County, with a minimum bid of $85,000
44 acres in Cook County, minimum bid $138,000
1.9 acres in Itasca County, minimum bid $114,000
Minneapolis city officials say razor wire, concrete barriers and fencing will be removed from around the former Third Precinct police station – which was set ablaze by protesters after George Floyd’s police killing – in the next three weeks. The burned-out vestibule will be removed within three months with construction fencing to be erected closer to the building.
This week, Minneapolis City Council members have expressed frustration that four years after the protests culminated in a fire at the police station, the charred building still stands and has become a “prop” some conservatives use to rail against city leadership. Most recently, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance made a stop outside the building and criticized Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of the 2020 riots.
On Thursday, the council voted 8-3 to approve a resolution calling for “immediate cleanup, remediation, and beautification of the 3000 Minnehaha site including but not limited to the removal of fencing, jersey barriers, barbed wire, and all other exterior blight.”
Council Member Robin Wonsley said the city needs to acknowledge that many police officers stationed in the Third Precinct “waged racist and violent actions” against residents for decades.
Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said the council wants the building cleaned up and beautified “immediately.”
“We cannot allow for this corner to be a backdrop for those who wish to manipulate the trauma of our city for political gain,” Chowdhury said.
Council Member Katie Cashman said the council shouldn’t be divided by “right-wing figures posing in front of the Third Precinct and pandering to conservative interests.”
“It’s really important for us to stay united in our goal, to achieve rehabilitation of this site in a way that advances racial healing and acknowledgement of the past trauma in this community, and to not let those figures divide us here,” she said.
It’s MEA weekend — the four-day stretch in mid-October when educators traditionally flock to St. Paul RiverCentre for a conference organized by the statewide teachers union as students and their families take an extended break.
Some orchards offer visitors the opportunity to pick their own fruit, while others operate sprawling general stores that sell a variety of apple-themed goodies.
Tiger cub twins Amaliya (female), left, and Andrei (male), right, who were born in May, hang out with their mother, Amur tiger Sundari, after making their debut in their new public habitat at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minn. on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. ] LEILA NAVIDI • leila.navidi@startribune.com (Leila Navidi)
October is usually a happenin’ month at the Minnesota Zoo. The annual Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular is chock-full of meticulously decorated gourds, and this year’s event runs until Nov. 2. Tickets start at $18 for adults and $14 for children (kids younger than 2 get in free but must still register for tickets). The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular begins at 6 p.m.
But there’s another new attraction at the zoo these days: the pair of Amur tiger cubs born to 7-year-old mom Bernadette just a couple of months ago. This week, zoo officials named the young felines Marisa and Maks. The zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.
Patrons enjoy drinks and dinner on the patio Thursday evening, July 18, 2024 at Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia. Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia features a large back deck/patio area with views of Lake Waconia. (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
With so many people out of town, there’s no better time to visit some of the Twin Cities’ most popular eateries.
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