Also in the Strib: “Is that a cougar making its way through the lush, late-summer greenery in Eden Prairie? On Monday afternoon, an Eden Prairie resident took a photo that appears to show one near Purgatory Creek, south of Cold Stream Lane. Police in the west metro city shared the photo in a tweet Thursday night, saying they’re working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to positively identify the animal in the photo.”
For Politico, Elaina Schneider writes, “At one point, [Kirsten] Gillibrand looked on paper like a legitimate, if not formidable, presidential candidate — one with flaws but also the pluses of a perfect electoral record and a distinctly feminist message that looked like a compelling counter to Donald Trump. But Gillibrand, dogged by criticism for pushing for Sen. Al Franken’s resignation, never took flight. … ‘Franken was definitely a problem in terms of fundraising,’ the person familiar with the Gillibrand campaign said. ‘He just kept coming up, over and over again.’”
At MPR, Mukhtar Ibrahim reports, “The FBI is looking into an anonymous death threat message against U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar that said she would not make it back to Washington, D.C., and would likely be killed at the Minnesota State Fair. … In a statement, Kevin Smith, public affairs officer for the FBI’s Minneapolis field office, said his agency and other law enforcement agencies are aware of the threat and looking into it.”
Also at MPR, this from Mark Zdechlik, “‘This is a record. We have not had this many beach closures since the beginning of our beach sampling program in 2003,’ said Deb Pilger, who decides whether to close Minneapolis beaches when weekly water tests show contamination. At times this summer, half of the 12 beaches she oversees were not swimmable. Pilger said heavy rainfall brought dirty water into lakes, leading to contamination. … ‘It is all about poop,’ said [the Minnesota Department of Health’s Trisha] Robinson. ‘That’s how people come down with these illnesses.”
Says an AP story, “Best Buy Co. reported a sales shortfall for the fiscal second quarter and trimmed its annual sales forecast, blaming uncertainty surrounding an escalating trade war with China heading into the holiday shopping season. Shares of the Richfield-based retailer fell 8 percent Thursday.”
This from ESPN: “The Minnesota Twins set a major league record for home runs on the road in a season, hitting three in Thursday’s 10-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox to lift their total to 141 away from home. … [Jake] Cave added a shot in the seventh for his second career multi-homer game, increasing the Twins’ overall total to 261, which leads the majors and already is the third most in a season in MLB history. The record for homers in a season (267) was set last year by the New York Yankees. The 1997 Seattle Mariners hit 264.”
