What to know about last night's big storms ⚡️

Plus: What's it like to live next to the State Fair? [Plus: What's it like to live next to the State Fair?] View this email as a [web page]( [The Minnesota Star Tribune](   [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! If you're the one who got on Ororo Munroe's bad side last night, we're not mad — just very disappointed ⚡️ On to the news📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [Up to 2,000 cyclists will roll through Minneapolis and St. Paul for an inaugural fall tour]( - [Long-dead Duluth priest’s body exhumed to begin winding path to sainthood]( - [A tragic death. A town bonded by baseball. How Waterville embraced the Sellner family as one of their own.]( - [At camp in rural Minnesota, high schoolers who oppose abortion learn to discuss their views in nonconfrontational ways]( - [Yuen: She spent 20 years as a Macalester College therapist. Take it from her — college is hard.](   Did you catch that gnarly storm last night? What about this morning? Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune I don't think I've ever seen the sky do that before. First, it got really dark. Then it got really light before the clouds began to glow with a strange orange hue. At some point, my neighborhood was shrouded in darkness even though I could see patches of blue sky to the west. Last night's storms left more than 140,000 people without power in the metro area and forced the State Fair to cancel its grandstand concert for the night. Winds gusted up to 60 mph. And it all kicked up again this morning. Thankfully, it'll be a bit cooler today than yesterday — high temperatures in the upper 70s and much lower humidity. Tim Harlow is at the fairgrounds to get a sense of the cleanup. Officials briefly delayed today's opening to assess the damage. Check out the links below for a glimpse of some truly stunning images from the deluge, plus more of the forecast. How did the wind and heavy rain affect you? A friend of mine was briefly stuck at Target in St. Louis Park when the deluge began. "I just wanted a hot pocket lol," they told the group chat. Related coverage - [Storm cuts power to 80,000 in metro, largely shuts down State Fair]( - [Gnarly Twin Cities storm gives way to double rainbow. People soaked in the vibes.]( - [Storm fallout in Twin Cities: More than 143,000 without power, State Fair opening briefly delayed](     GOING OUT - [Critics’ picks: The 10 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week]( - [Marky Ramone calls Minnesota State Fair gigs an ‘all-American’ thing](   [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.   What's it like to live near the state fairgrounds? Imagine it only took 20 minutes to get to the Minnesota State Fair from your front door. Would it be worth the daily rush of tens of thousands of people clogging the streets in your neighborhood for 12 days every year? That's the reality for residents of Falcon Heights. Some soak it all in and thrill in watching fellow Minnesotans filter through the gates. Others skip town to avoid it all. Greta Kaul spoke to folks who live in the neighborhoods surrounding the fairgrounds. [Read the story here](. Alex Kormann/ The Minnesota Star Tribune MORE FROM THE MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE - [The self-proclaimed ‘Founding Mother of Minneapolis Advertising’ dishes blunt truths to industry]( - [Second District Republicans to decide whether to back Joe Teirab after primary win]( - [Meet the Minnesota Dream Team, the best high school football players in the state at every position]( How do you reprimand a werewolf? Bruce Bisping/The Minnesota Star Tribune On Saturday, Aug. 28, 1976, the Wolf Man was late to work. So goes the dispatch from the next day's issue of the Minneapolis Tribune, which chronicled the bumps and bruises that plagued the opening of the haunted house at the Minnesota State Fair. The attraction was supposed to open the first day of the fair. But a late shipment of supplies from Milwaukee delayed construction by 15 hours, and it started raining before workers could complete the roof. "This is no cheapie haunted house," said Todd Mallow, the Los Angeleno hired to supervise the 36 teenagers charged with scaring the bejeezus out of fair-goers that year. He's not wrong: The haunted house cost $2 to enter back then, or close to $11 in 2024 dollars. Admission was $5 when I visited the attraction over the weekend with a pair of friends from out of town. They dedicate most of October to visiting Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. Their verdict of the Minnesota spook-fest? Two thumbs up. IN OTHER NEWS - [‘Breath of fresh air’: Kamala Harris’ presidential run inspires Minnesota’s South Asian community]( - Sahan Journal - [A cheapskate's guide to the Minnesota State Fair]( - Racket - [For women, Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge brings a special focus on recovery needs]( - MinnPost     THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE @WalkMinnesota via X I spent much of last night gawking out my window and about as much of this morning scrolling through my social feeds in awe of the images that came out of last night's storm. This frame, from @WalkMinnesota on X, might just be my favorite of the lot. Do you have photos or videos from last night's storm or from this morning's sequel to last night's storm? Send them to us! We're at essential@startribune.com. And if you're on X, here's a [link to the custom search I set up]( to find posts about the storm damage. Thanks for reading Eder Campuzano, reporter Patrick Condon, 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.