🎒 It's back-to-school season. Are you ready?

Plus: R.I.P. George Latimer, St. Paul's longest-serving mayor [Plus: R.I.P. George Latimer, St. Paul's longest-serving mayor] View this email as a [web page]( [The Minnesota Star Tribune](   [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! I did a test bike ride from the newsroom to the state fairgrounds last night. I'll tell you why later this week 🚴🏽 On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [A gay, multi-ethnic, chicken farming family is part of Minnesota’s emerging polyamorous community]( - [Here’s how crime in Minneapolis and St. Paul compares to national trends in 2024]( - [Meet the successful chef opening a new eatery at St. Paul’s Union Depot]( - [Why entrepreneur thinks ‘Minnesota Kind’ should replace ‘Minnesota Nice’]( - [In a win for Minnesota gravel cycling, La Crescent will host national championships](   The hottest back-to-school trend is giving your kids a budget and letting them make their own decisions Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune Twin Cities parents say they expect to pay about $676 on back-to-school shopping this summer, more than $100 above the national average. Retailers use the season as a barometer to gauge how healthy the economy is and how much consumers are willing to spend as we head into the all-important holiday season. Both businesses and consumers are increasingly using smartphone apps and AI to make the shopping experience easier, too. My colleague Nicole Norfleet followed a Maple Grove family on their back-to-school shopping trip to get a sense of what that looks like. Kinna Thomas gave her sons a budget and let them shop around for their own back-to-school wardrobe. “They know how to use some technology and apps to know where to get the cheapest items and to see if they can save $15 to $20,” Thomas said. “I am letting them make those decisions because I think it will set them up longer term.” That makes me wonder: If I had the same tools at my disposal in 2001, would I have spent the first day of my freshman year of high school in an overly large T-shirt featuring a teenage Homer Simpson holding up a peace sign? The answer: Probably! Nicole Norfleet has all the [latest on back-to-school shopping trends here](.     GOING OUT - [24 Minnesota music acts (4 per day) to see for free at the State Fair]( - [9 free things to do in the Twin Cities this week](   [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.   R.I.P. George Latimer, 1935-2024 George Latimer, St. Paul's longest-serving mayor, died this week after years of failing health. He was 89. His positive attitude and upbeat approach to governing helped him pull Minnesota's capital city out of the doldrums. Latimer led the city for five consecutive terms, from 1976 to 1990. Read up on [Latimer's life, courtesy of James Walsh and Kevin Duchschere, here](. Star Tribune file MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - [Rainbow Health, which provided services to LGBTQ community, dissolving with $900k in liabilities]( - [Hormel’s head of retail retiring amid company transformation]( - [Apple Valley residents boosted the city parks budget. Now they’re worried about losing playgrounds.]( - [Tolkkinen: Urban and rural Minnesota might feel divided, but they need each other]( WE TOOK THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN GOIN' ANYWHERE Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune Twin Cities rockers had every right to keep believin' over the last four days. Several heavy-hitters of the rock genre toured through the region over the weekend as the summer concert season hit its zenith in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Metallica melted our faces on two separate nights at U.S. Bank Stadium. Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins, with an assist from the Linda Lindas, made basket cases of everyone at Target Field. Def Leppard closed things out last night after the Steve Miller Band and Journey got the party started. Take a peek at Journey frontman Arnel Pineda looking fresh and wowing the crowd above. Does anybody else have fond memories of closing your favorite college bar with a rousing rendition of "Don't Stop Believin'"?     IN OTHER NEWS - [Community members feel unheard as city pursues redevelopment of Minneapolis police’s Third Precinct]( - Sahan Journal - [How does the Minneapolis Police Department overcome language barriers?]( - MinnPost - [‘The forgotten tribe’: Mendota Dakota tribe seeks permanent home, federal acknowledgment]( - Pioneer Press THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE android_cook via Reddit Every once in awhile, a city I live in will be characterized as an urban hellscape. And its citizens will respond with images like the one above. This particular frame of ballpark bliss comes to us courtesy of Reddit user android_cook, one of many Minneapolitans I've seen sharing photos and videos of the city that push back against partisan national narratives. Over the weekend, I couldn't escape Instagram reels from Uptown Porchfest or Facebook posts from friends taking one of their last summer strolls through the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Many of them fashioned some kind of caption that said: "Look at this burning wasteland." Exaggeration begets exaggeration. This is the nature of the internet. What does your corner of the wasteland look like? Let us know and send us a photo at essential@startribune.com. Thanks for reading Eder Campuzano, reporter David Taintor, editor     [Premium digital access] GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO EVERY STORY [Premium digital access] GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO EVERY STORY [Subscribe]( SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER [Email]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]( [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.