Welcome home, Minnesota Olympians 🏀

Plus: New Strib state fair lip balm just dropped [Plus: New Strib state fair lip balm just dropped] View this email as a [web page]( [Star Tribune]( [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! Hoping to run into an Olympian or three tonight ⛹🏽 ♀️ On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss 2024 season after knee surgery]( - [Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey proposes 8.1% property tax hike in 2025]( - [Like generations before, Gen Z struggling to remain optimistic about the economic future]( - [How Zorbaz became greater Minnesota’s best-known beach bar]( - [United Therapeutics to build $100M pig-to-human organ research center in southeast Minnesota](   It's Napheesa Collier bobblehead night at Target Center Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune The Minnesota Lynx welcome four Olympians home tonight. Head coach Cheryl Reeve and forward Napheesa Collier led Team USA to a win over France Sunday in a nail-biter of a gold medal game. Center Alanna Smith, playing for Australia, came home with a bronze. And forward Bridget Carleton played for Canada but the team never made it out of group play. Sunday's win by Team USA marked the global powerhouse's 61st consecutive victory on the world stage and its eighth gold medal in a row. The team beat France by a single point. Reeve recalled receiving a message from men's coach Steve Kerr after the victory welcoming her to the "thank God club." “It’s either relief or misery when you’re the coach,” she said. “But I’m thrilled to have a chance to add another gold medal to the dynasty that is USA Basketball.” The Lynx will kick off the final 15 games of their season ranked third in the league. And Target Center is celebrating the occasion with a Collier bobblehead giveaway tonight. Will I get there early enough to snag one? Probably not — my days of arriving at a venue more than 15 minutes before the game starts are long over. Read up on how the four Lynx standouts feel about their two-week stint playing among the best athletes in the world. We've also included a few features from Kent Youngblood and columnist Jim Souhan for your reading pleasure. Related coverage - [Lynx’s four Olympians return to Target Center with three medals, new perspective]( - [Cheryl Reeve at heart of women’s sports success in Minnesota]( - [Humble Lynx star Napheesa Collier wants her play to do the talking]( - [Napheesa Collier ready to lead new-look Lynx with a baby brightening her life]( - [Alanna Smith, Minnesota Lynx free-agent signee, finds a WNBA fit]( - [Bridget Carleton comes out of her shell as a Lynx shooting threat](     GOING OUT - [10 new State Fair beers we can’t wait to try]( - [Sweet or savory, fruit soups add chill to mealtime]( - [Recipe: Celebration of Fall Bundt Cake]( [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. Have some rhubarb crisp for your lips You've had blueberry cake-scented lip balm. Chocolate chip. And even last year's out-of-left-field crop art variety Now, the Star Tribune is ready to unveil the 16th edition of its State Fair-exclusive balm: Rhubarb crisp. Read all about [how we settled on this year's flavor, courtesy of Taste Editor Nicole Hvidsten](. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - [Inflation continues to subside, but Twin Cities housing prices aren’t helping]( - [What it’s like to be on ‘The Great American Baking Show’]( INTRODUCING: STRIB VOICES Star Tribune The Star Tribune's opinion desk is launching a new initiative that brings together a diverse slate of perspectives to weigh in on life, culture and politics in the North Star State. Strib Voices is the brainchild of Opinion editor Phil Morris and Kavita Kumar, Opinion's new community engagement director. They've tapped 11 Minnesotans from various backgrounds, from a metro-area Republican to an author who calls the Iron Range home to an Emmy-winning writer and comedian who lives in the Twin Cities. Meet our 11 new contributors and [learn a little about the initiative here](. IN OTHER NEWS - [Tim Walz agrees to an Oct. 1 vice presidential debate on CBS. JD Vance hasn’t responded]( - Los Angeles Times - [Tuesday’s primary results show fault lines in Minnesota’s GOP]( - MinnPost - [Pro-Palestinian protesters demand Walz, Minnesota divest from Israel and weapons manufacturers]( - Sahan Journal     THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE dberthia via Reddit I was 20 the first time I saw the Milky Way — and I mean really, truly saw it the way it looks in movies. But that sight was nothing compared to this 20-second exposure of the stars in our galaxy that Reddit user dberthia recently took on the shores of Lake Superior. I recently spent a weekend touring parts of the North Shore with a friend from Oregon. And before you ask: Yes, we ate our hearts out at Northern Waters Smokehaus. I had the Hardhat but was torn between that and the Great Summer Caper. Mind picking one up for me next time you're up there? 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.