Welcome to Essential Minnesota 💫

Wolves in...6? [Wolves in...6?] View this email as a [web page]( [Star Tribune]( [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! The skies are smoky and we have a new state flag 🔥 Here's today's news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [Canadian wildfire smoke lingers in Minnesota: Pollution Control Agency issues first red alert for 2024 season]( - [It's Bike to Work week: Here are 5 tips for newbies]( - [Award-winning Danish modern home in St. Paul's Highland Park lists for $1.15 million]( - [Polar Semiconductor lands up to $120 million from CHIPS program]( - [Today's e-edition](   Let's capture this Minnesota moment together [image] Photo by Alex Kormann / Star Tribune Good morning, dear reader, and welcome to the inaugural issue of Essential Minnesota. Our mission is simple: We want to make you the most interesting person at the watercooler. (Or, you know, workplace Slack chat.) And we'll do that by tapping into the stellar journalism we produce here at the Star Tribune day in and day out. We're launching this newsletter at what feels like the apex of a specific moment in Minnesota history. A new state flag flies high over the Capitol. Employers and workers find themselves at an inflection point as we continue finding our post-pandemic rhythm and adjust to a new economic reality. (Will Millennials ever be able to buy a house?) The state's relatively low cost of living and inclusive policies have attracted new residents while its evolving culture and a looming presidential election have led to tensions across the state, from Minneapolis to Otter Tail County. As the weather warms up, we're swapping our winter coats out for swim trunks and our Minnesota Wild gear for Twins jerseys. I've recently started doing a 10-mile loop around the Chain of Lakes on my bike and it's been wonderful. We here at Essential Minnesota want to capture the day's mood and make sure you're in the loop. We're also here to have fun. Every few days we'll highlight local events and pull from our archives to bring you interesting historical tidbits from decades-old editions of the newspaper. We'll also need your help every once in a while. Read to the end of today's edition for this week's callout. Let's get started!     FULL WOLVES COVERAGE Charles Barkley was wrong about a Timberwolves sweep Remember when the Timberwolves crushed the Denver Nuggets by 26 points and had a 2-0 lead in the playoff series? And how NBA-legend-turned-TNT-commentator Charles Barkley said the Wolves would sweep the whole thing? Well, that obviously didn't happen. The series returns to Denver on Tuesday for Game 5 with the teams tied 2-2. Related coverage - [Wolves backfire: Meltdown before halftime lets Denver tie series]( - [Souhan: In Timberwolves' Game 4 loss, only Anthony Edwards stepped up to challenge Nuggets]( - [Timberwolves-Nuggets 10 clutch points: Jamal Murray strikes a pose. Where's Karl-Anthony Towns?]( - [Neal: Five things the Timberwolves must do to turn around the playoff series, beat the Nuggets]( more from sports - [Twins defeat Blue Jays 5-1. Bailey Ober spectacular, Carlos Santana hits another home run]( - [Gophers women's track and field wins Big Ten outdoor championship]( - [Former Gophers, NFL player, pro wrestler Bob Bruggers dead at 80](   This St. Paul school found a recipe for success — by listening to its families Photo by Shari Gross/Star Tribune A struggling St. Paul school that was once slated for closure is now thriving after district leaders asked its diverse community a simple question: What do you want for your kids? Somali families said they wanted their children to become doctors, engineers and lawyers. The Karen community said: "We are farmers." And Latino parents wanted their kids to learn the trades and position themselves to take over family businesses. St. Paul Public Schools officials listened. And over three years Highwood Hills Elementary Principal Fatima Lawson led the charge in transforming the school into a polytechnic academy. That work earned her the 2024 National Distinguished Principal award. Anthony Lonetree has the full story [here](. More in education: - [Piecing together the puzzle of college financial aid]( - [College graduations will be twice as sweet for class whose high school celebrations happened online](   what else we're reading - [Dispute over Ramadan hours leaves owner of Turkish cafe facing big drop in business]( - Sahan Journal - [As Police Week begins, pride mingles with grief over fallen Burnsville officers]( - Pioneer Press - [Grand Portage Band and MnDOT to unveil Ojibwe-English road signs]( - MPR look at those lights Photo by Aaron Lavinsky / Star Tribune If you spent even a second scrolling through social media over the weekend, odds are you were inundated with images of the skies alight in traces of green and purple. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are more common this year as the sun moves through the peak of its cycle, which happens approximately every 11 years. My wife and I have a penchant for chasing celestial phenomena: We were married just before the total solar eclipse in Dallas, Texas, and spent three hours hunting for dark skies to see the northern lights on Saturday. A few of my colleagues were out camping when the aurora hit. One of my friends in Oregon reported a purplish hue to the sky at the coast. We'll make sure to give you a heads up here and at startribune.com the next time there's a chance to catch the sight. 📷 Send us your flag pics Even before the new flag was officially raised at the Capitol this weekend, sites were already cashing in on the redesign with Minnesota flag merch. Mugs, stickers, shirts, you name it. We want to see how you rep the new flag. Submit your pictures [here.]( And you can always email us at [essential@startribune.com.](mailto:essential@startribune.com)     the minnesota goodbye This is where we'll give you a nice lil' sendoff each morning with something that says, "Only in Minnesota." And since we're on the topic of the new state flag, today we can't stop thinking about this post by Reddit user Apprehensive-Tree-81. Rumor has it Chris Evans is reprising the role of Captain America for a limited series. I, for one, cannot think of a better way for his character arc to end than for ol' Cap to go hyperlocal and adopt one state to protect until his retirement. First order of business: Bring back Camp Snoopy! Thanks for reading Eder Campuzano, reporter David Taintor, editor [Email]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]([Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Manage]( your preferences | [Opt Out]( using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? [Sign up]( to receive our future emails. View this email [online](. 650 3rd Ave. S. Suite 1300 | Minneapolis, MN 55488 US This email was sent to {EMAIL}. To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.