Twins part ways with human who was T.C. Bear for 19 years

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may [see it online](. [Star Tribune]( Talkers Top stories - Twins part ways with human who was T.C. Bear for 19 years: Greg Wilfahrt is no longer portraying the wide-eyed and permanently smiling mascot that he has embodied since the caricature's birth in 2000, a role he has played [without missing a regular season home game for 20 seasons](, a team official said Wednesday. A Twins spokesman declined to say whether the only Wilfahrt resigned or was fired. - Two more Minnesotans die from vaping-related lung disease: Two more Minnesotans have died from vaping-related lung illnesses, raising the toll in [what has become a nationwide outbreak](, health officials announced Wednesday. - St. Paul must pay haulers even if voters reject trash program, court rules: If St. Paul residents vote down the city’s trash collection system next month, the city will still have to [hold up its end of a five-year contract]( with haulers, the Minnesota Supreme Court said Wednesday. - Debate rivals assail Warren as she surges to front of pack: Elizabeth Warren [repeatedly came under attack]( during the Democratic presidential debate as rivals accused the Massachusetts senator of ducking questions about the cost of Medicare for All and her signature wealth tax plan in an attempt to derail her rising campaign. The pile-on Tuesday reinforced her new status as a front-runner in the contest to take on President Donald Trump next year. [Here are some key quotes]( from each candidate on a range of issues from the debate. Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar "turned in her most aggressive performance to date" during Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary debate. [Here's what pundits and analysts are saying]( about her night. Meanwhile, [Rep. Ilhan Omar endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders]( for the Democratic nomination, setting her apart from a long list of Minnesota Democrats who are in camp of Klobuchar. - Drone with thermal camera finds missing boy in dark cornfield near Becker: A 6-year-old boy missing in Minnesota was found safe early Wednesday after a search by hundreds of volunteers and the use of a drone with a thermal camera that [helped locate the child in a dark cornfield.]( - U.S. has no stake in Turkey's fight in northern Syria, Trump says: President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that Turkey's attacks in Syria against Kurdish fighters who fought alongside American soldiers [are not a U.S. concern.]( - Another man arrested in probe of Giulani associates: David Correia, 44, was [named in an indictment with two Giuliani associates]( and another man arrested last week on charges they made illegal contributions to politicians and a political action committee supporting President Trump. Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, is Trump's personal lawyer. - Man found dead after apparent assault in Dinkytown: A call to 911 about 4:30 a.m. sent police to a residential area near 7th Street and 5th Avenue SE. in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood, where officers found the man “suffering from what appears to be an assault,” [a statement from police read.]( - Wisconsin jury awards $450K in Sandy Hook defamation case against retired UMD professor: A jury in Wisconsin has awarded $450,000 to the father of a boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting after he filed [a defamation lawsuit against conspiracy theorist writers]( who claimed the massacre never happened.  Watch this Toto goes rogue in stage performance of "The Wizard of Oz": Sometimes animal actors [can be a bit unpredictable.](  Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to [talkers@startribune.com](.  Trending - UFOs are back in the news — and Minnesotans are seeing more of them: Nearly a hundred times each year, Minnesotans file reports of suspected UFO encounters with a volunteer organization known as the National UFO Reporting Center, which makes them available to be searched online. This series of graphics shows [where Minnesotans are reporting UFOs](, and what they say they're seeing. - Science Museum of Minnesota reopens state-of-the-art Omnitheater:The new digital laser dome is only [the third of its kind in the world.]( - Organizers of popular Iowa bike ride cut ties with newspaper: Organizers of the popular summer bike ride across Iowa are cutting ties with its longtime sponsor, the Des Moines Register, amid [backlash over the newspaper's handling of a story](.  Sports roundup - Gophers' Eric Curry out for the season with knee injury: The junior forward [suffered his latest knee injury last week]( and will need reconstructive surgery. - Combining substance with style, you can't deny Fleck can coach: If you hate overt marketing and sloganeering, you may still not like Gophers coach P.J. Fleck. But Fleck knows his target audience, and has passed an eye test that speaks to his coaching skills, [writes Jim Souhan.]( - Maybe the Vikings' second-half road slate isn't as tough as advertised: The outlook on the gauntlet of road games at Kansas City, Dallas, Seattle and the L.A. Chargers — all playoff teams a season ago — [has changed recently.](  Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can [sign up for Talkers here](.  Quote of the day “They've got a lot of sand over there. So there's a lot of sand that they can play with.” -- [President Donald Trump](, on the conflict between Turkey and Kurdish fighters previously allied with the U.S. following his decision to pull out of Syria.  Worth a click Dutch family spent nine years "waiting for the end of time" at remote farmhouse: "A family who spent nine years on a farm 'waiting for the end of time' have been discovered by police in the Netherlands after one of them turned up at a local pub, reports say. A man of 58 and six young adults aged 18 to 25 were living at a farm in the province of Drenthe," [the BBC reports.](  From the archives Oct. 16, 1963: The Gunflint Lake cabin of artist Adrian Hoover and his wife, author Helen Hoover, served as a canteen for all sorts of birds and animals that dwell in the forest. Here, a jaunty Canada jay (also known as a gray jay, whisky jack or moose bird) eats from Helen Hoover's hand. Hoover wrote in her book, "A Place in the Woods," that hand-feeding "requires, at the start at least, relaxation, a complete lack of apprehension, and the ability to sit or stand with the steadiness of a student of yoga." (Photo: Earl Seubert/Star Tribune) Connect with Star Tribune [facebook]([twitter]([pinterest]([instagram]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]( • [Unsubscribe]( This email was sent by: StarTribune, 650 3rd Ave S, Suite #1300, Minneapolis, MN, 55488 © 2019 StarTribune. All rights reserved. We value your opinion! [Give us your feedback.](