FOX 9 reports: “The wildfires that caused the first closures of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in 45 years continue to burn. Sunday night, forestry officials held a community meeting to discuss the John Ek and Welp fires, both of which have been burning for a week. … Because of the remote locations of the fires, crews are not able to access fires from the ground and are instead utilizing airdrops.…Meanwhile wilderness crews are evacuating visitors still in the BWCA, which will be closed until at least Friday.”
Kristi Belcamino writes in the Pioneer Press: “A three-alarm blaze that broke out Saturday afternoon just west of Selby and Hamline avenues burned through the night and into Sunday before it was extinguished, officials say. Nobody was injured in the fire, which started about 6:30 p.m. and sent massive plumes of black smoke throughout the area, but it consumed four buildings in the 1400 block of Dayton Avenue, according to St. Paul Fire Chief Butch Inks. More than 50 firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the blaze, which was just behind the Concordia University baseball field, and successfully saved a fifth building that belonged to the college.”
At Politico, Dave Siders and Paul Demko write, “Republicans in Minnesota were losing ground statewide long before [Jennifer] Carnahan was forced out. … And though Republicans flipped one rural congressional seat and maintained a majority in the state Senate last fall, they ceded ground in the state’s populous — and growing — suburbs, an ominous sign for the party’s future in a once-promising state. … In the wake of Carnahan’s departure, some Minnesota Republicans see reason for optimism. The party had rid itself of a ‘terrible chair’ who ‘wielded a hammer and kept power in this state through intimidation and false accusations and all the things people hate about politics,’ said Amy Koch, a former Republican state Senate majority leader.”
For KARE-TV, Danny Spewek says, “Travelers like [James] Keig are playing a crucial role in the slow but encouraging recovery of the hotel industry in Minneapolis, where occupancy rates plummeted to an astonishing 3.4% in April 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, according to Meet Minneapolis. Those rates improved in early 2021 and grew at a steady pace after the COVID-19 vaccine became widely available, climbing to 37.7% in July 2021 and now 42% during the first half of August 2021. … Over the previous six weekends, hotels in Minneapolis have averaged an occupancy rate of 57%. On August 14, a Saturday, the rate jumped to 69.5%, the highest since the pandemic.”
In the Star Tribune, Kim Hyatt writes: “A 20-year-old St. Cloud woman with an outstanding fugitive warrant out of Wisconsin crashed in St. Paul on Saturday following a high-speed chase with an infant in the vehicle. … The driver fled the gas station at high speeds, and the deputy gave chase on Interstate 35E, following onto westbound Hwy. 36 before exiting on Hamline Avenue. The driver was southbound on the avenue when she lost control, hit a retaining wall and rolled the vehicle onto its passenger side at Hamline and Idaho avenues. Deputies found a 9-month-old baby in the vehicle who had no visible injuries.”
This from Brittney Ermon at KSTP-TV, “The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is back and celebrating its 50th year as some events change up their requirements due to the pandemic. Roughly 300,000 people pass through the festival in Shakopee each year, and even with coronavirus concerns, organizers said ticket sales look good this year.”
Kyle Brown reports for KSTP-TV: “The first group of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban arrived Sunday at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. According to a news release, special immigration visa applicants, their families and other people at risk arrived at the military installation midway between Sparta and Tomah. More were finalizing their processing at Fort Lee in Virginia. Around 1,000 service members are working to build out capacity at Fort McCoy in anticipation of more refugees, according to the release.”
From the Pioneer Press’ Ross Raihala: “In a one-time-only move away from its no-refunds policy for tickets, the Minnesota State Fair is accepting refund requests for this year’s Grandstand lineup. Ticketholders have up until 24 hours prior to showtime to seek a refund via email at tickets@mnstatefair.org or by phone at 651-288-4427. The Minnesota State Fair runs Thursday through Labor Day. Grandstand headliners include Miranda Lambert, the Doobie Brothers, Tim McGraw and the Chainsmokers.”
