Are Minnesota state leaders taking fraud seriously enough?

Plus: How to deal with the heat and humidity this weekend 🥵 [Plus: How to deal with the heat and humidity this weekend 🥵] View this email as a [web page]( [Star Tribune]( [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! I've enjoyed reading emails of your cherished concert memories. Keep 'em comin' 🎵 On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [From blue to red in a generation, Upper Midwest’s Driftless Area flexes political muscle]( - [Minneapolis hotel revenue for June sets all-time monthly record, thanks to event-filled month]( - [Delta apologizes for posts criticizing attendants' Palestinian flag pins, will ban all but U.S. pins]( - [Tensions rise between restaurant owners, unions over Minneapolis' proposed labor standards board]( - [The 5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities and beyond this week](   If the heat doesn't get ya this weekend, the humidity will Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune Man, it's gonna be a hot one — it might even feel like all of Minnesota is 7 inches from the midday sun, as a certain late-'90s rocker would say. That's because the extreme heat that's plagued much of the U.S. for the last couple of weeks is about to hit the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The weekend forecast for much of the state calls for highs in the 90s and dewpoints in the upper 60s and low 70s, which means the air will be about as refreshing as a damp sock. And don't count on the evenings to bring much relief. The National Weather Service forecasts lows in the 70s tonight, tomorrow and Sunday night. "Monitor your body if you have outdoor activities," said Caleb Grunzke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. "Take frequent breaks. Heat stroke can sneak up on you fast." The Weather Service suggests planning ahead for the heat. Although officials don't advise Minnesotans to cancel their plans, they do say you should be "weather aware." The Weather Service posted some tips on how to stay safe in the heat on its social media accounts: • Stay hydrated. Drink water even if you aren't thirsty. • Check in regularly with kids, pregnant people and your elderly friends and relatives. They're at the highest risk of heat-related illnesses. • Use an air conditioner or stay in the shade. • Wear light, loose-fitting clothing. We've linked to a New York Times roundup of safety tips for extreme heat toward the bottom of today's edition. Tim Harlow has all of [the details on this weekend's scorcher](.     MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - [One sector of Twin Cities commercial real estate that's not sputtering: Industrial]( - [New era of leadership begins for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe]( - [Gophers football players aren't sugarcoating what needs to happen this season]( [Share this newsletter with friends]( Do you enjoy Essential Minnesota? Encourage your friends and family to [sign up](. You also can share it using the links below. Is Minnesota taking fraud seriously enough? Minnesota's Office of the Legislative Auditor, the state's nonpartisan watchdog, has issued two scathing reports this year on fraud and waste that has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions. But agency leaders say they're encountering some indifference to their findings. And lawmakers from both parties agree. "The buck is still running down the street, running down the street and stopping nowhere," Democratic state Sen. Ann Rest of New Hope said. Politics reporters Briana Bierschbach and Ryan Faircloth break down the reports about Minnesota Department of Education and Department of Labor and Industry oversight. You can [find their analysis, as well as responses from legislative leaders, here.]( Glenn Stubbe/Star Tribune SPORTS ROUNDUP - [For Lynx's Dorka Juhász, last season's rookie experience fueled this year's dependability]( - [Twins utilityman Willi Castro named to American League All-Star team]( - [Family ties fuel Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker in first Olympics with Canada]( CURIOUS MINNESOTA Marszalek family Minnesota, like much of the U.S., found itself with a sudden housing shortage at the end of World War II. And one solution readily available here and elsewhere was in the form of corrugated steel sheds that housed soldiers on U.S. bases and in the Pacific for much of the war. This week's entry in the Star Tribune's reader-powered reporting project aims to answer the questions: What is a Quonset hut? And where in the Twin Cities did the military dispatch them after the war? You might be surprised to learn that the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus hosted a Quonset village well into the '60s. All-star intern Steph Quin has [all of those details and more at the link here.]( IN OTHER NEWS, Extreme heat edition - [As extreme heat bakes the West, emergency helicopters struggle to fly]( - Washington Post - [Heat is deadly. Why does our culture push us to ignore it?]( - Vox - [How to stay safe in extreme heat]( - New York Times - [What American cities could do right now to save us from this unbearable heat]( - Vox     THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE Pioneer Press If you subscribe to this newsletter and you're on any major social media platform, you probably follow a number of Twin Cities-based journalists. And on Wednesday, it's likely you saw several of them sharing stories and remembrances of one man: Rubén Rosario. The legendary St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist died this week from complications related to multiple myeloma, which he battled for more than a decade. He was 70. Rosario was a titan of the local journalism scene. He told stories of everyday people with compassion and empathy and he always told it straight. Rosario was also invested in the storytellers who would come after him. In addition to mentoring fledgling reporters at the Pioneer Press, Rosario volunteered to coach high school journalists through the ThreeSixty journalism program at the University of St. Thomas. Read Laura Yuen's touching [tribute to a former colleague and Twin Cities journalism legend here](. 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.