Suni Lee takes Olympic gold 🥇

Plus: Sentencing expected in Apple River stabbing case [Plus: Sentencing expected in Apple River stabbing case] View this email as a [web page]( [Star Tribune]( [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! I had no idea so many of you had thoughts about corn 🌽On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [Report shows little evidence to counter defense that Ricky Cobb II shooting was justified]( - [Judge takes away operation of Superior Shores Resort from owner of fire-ravaged Lutsen Lodge]( - [Minnesota college students get smaller grants as state aid program faces $40 million shortfall]( - [Toddler bitten by 2 pit bull mixes in Brooklyn Park backyard dies]( - [As renters gobble up new Twin Cities apartments, developers aren’t keeping pace](   Suni Lee helps Team USA reclaim gold in women's gymnastics Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press We love a hometown hero. And yesterday, Sunisa "Suni" Lee earned the moniker as she helped Team USA reclaim the gold in the women's team gymnastics competition. The first-place finish comes three years after the team took silver in Tokyo at the 2021 games. Like many of you probably did, I kept one eye on a Peacock feed while I typed away on my laptop yesterday. I also gasped when Lee fell onto the mat during her uneven bars warmup, mistakenly thinking it was the medal run. [image] Charlie Riedel/Associated Press But the St. Paul-raised gymnast pulled off a flawless routine when it came time for the real thing, securing the third-best score for the event. Right after they notched the winning score, Lee and her teammates began planning the TikToks they'd shoot with their new medals. You can watch one of the videos they made in the first link below. The vibes, as the kids say, were immaculate. Yesterday's Team USA win comes after Simone Biles, the most decorated American gymnast in history, returned to the competition after taking two years off to address her mental health. Lee also faced struggles as a cancer diagnosis in 2023 made for an uncertain future and she dealt with stalkers while attending Auburn University. The Olympic athletes have come a long way and were joyful in a post-competition presser as former Olympian Aly Raisman asked the women to divulge their 2024 team name. Biles hedged for a bit as Lee whispered into her ear to make the moniker safe for work. "F Around And Find Out," Biles told the press corps. She'd later take to X and say the real unofficial team name is "The Golden Girls," owing to the fact that they're the oldest squad to ever compete for the U.S. Related coverage - [Suni Lee, U.S. women win team gold medal in gymnastics at the Paris Olympics]( - [Suni Lee’s community sends love from Maplewood to Paris]( - [Suni Lee wants balance beam gold. These elements could get her there.]( - [Stalkers, disease and doubt: Suni Lee’s hard road back to the Olympics]( - New York Times - [Regan Smith of Lakeville wins silver in 100 backstroke behind Australian Kaylee McKeown in Olympic swimming showdown](     GOING OUT - [The Big Gigs: 10 best concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week]( - [The latest restaurant openings and closings in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Twin Cities]( - [Tickets go on sale this week for Cavetown, Oleta Adams and Kip Moore]( - [Review: Vampire Weekend confidently but kookily kicks off two-night stand in Minneapolis]( Minnesota medal watch 👀 How many medals have Minnesotans won for Team USA so far? We're up to three after Suni Lee and Regan Smith's standout performances yesterday. 🥇 Lee and the women's gymnastics team bring Minnesota's gold medal count to one. 🥈 Smith's second-place finish in the 100-meter butterfly adds to Sarah Bacon's silver in the 3-meter synchronized springboard to bring Minnesota its second silver of the games. There aren't any Minnesotans competing in medal events today, but we're keeping an eye on a few who have qualifying events on the schedule. Who we're watching today: Anthony Edwards and the U.S. men's basketball team take on South Sudan at 2 p.m. Smith in the 200-meter butterfly heats and semifinals throughout the day. If she qualifies, the medal event happens tomorrow. Jordan Thompson of Edina joins the U.S. women's volleyball team against Serbia at 10 a.m. [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. Sentencing expected in Apple River stabbing case Nicolae Miu was convicted in the killing of a Stillwater high school student in April, the result of a stabbing that left four more injured on the Apple River in 2022. His sentencing is today. A judge in St. Croix Circuit Court will decide whether Miu will get the maximum penalty of decades in prison. Matt McKinney has all of the [details about today's sentencing in St. Croix Circuit Court](. Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - [Welcome to a new era of technology growth for the Star Tribune]( - [Vista Outdoor again postpones vote on ammunition business sale]( - [Video: 2 women in SUV seriously hurt in Robbinsdale when driver crosses in front of train]( THE CHILD SEATBELT LAW CHANGES TOMORROW Ruth Fremson/New York Times Minnesota's child seatbelt laws update tomorrow. Columnist Laura Yuen reports that between 2018 and 2023, nearly 13,000 kids 7 and younger were involved in Minnesota car crashes and were properly restrained — nearly 9 in 10 were not injured. Yuen and reporter Tim Harlow spent some time poring over the new regulations and we've drawn out a few bullet points to help get you up to speed, including a five-step test that law enforcement officials say should keep you in compliance. The new rules: Children younger than 2 must ride in rear-facing car seats. Children older than 2 who have outgrown their rear-facing seats must be secured in forward-facing car seats with an internal harness. Kids older than 4 who have outgrown their forward-facing seats must ride in a booster. The five-step test: Does your child sit all the way back against the vehicle seat? Do your child's knees bend all the way across the front of the seat? Does the seatbelt fit snugly over your kid's thighs and lower hips, not the abdomen? Does the shoulder strap snugly cross the center of your child's chest, not their neck? And can your kid sit correctly and without slouching for the whole ride?     IN OTHER NEWS - [Minneapolis Police Department hasn’t published all disciplinary records as required]( - Minnesota Reformer - [Odds aren’t zero that DFLers Peggy Flanagan, Bobby Joe Champion make history alongside Walz]( - MinnPost - [Comedian Mike Hanford talks Prince, standup, and local pyrotechnic laws]( - Racket THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE kato_koch via Reddit It's been awhile since we featured a good old-fashioned Minnesota sunset here on Essential Minnesota. And today's frame comes to you courtesy of Reddit user kato_koch, whose father snagged this view up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness back in June. 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.