Minneapolis’ Birchwood Cafe shuttered after mass layoffs amid Juneteenth party dispute

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may [see it online](. [Star Tribune]( Talkers TOP STORIES - Minneapolis' Birchwood Cafe shuttered after mass layoffs amid Juneteenth party dispute: The Birchwood Cafe in south Minneapolis threw a Juneteenth block party this year to mark the holiday that recognizes the date enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. Then, just days two days later, [the well-known restaurant shut down](, with most of its staff laid off and a fight spilling onto social media about racism, safety and the stresses staff faced during the pandemic and a year of racial reckoning. - Names of officers who killed Winston Smith unlikely to ever be made public: Minnesota and federal laws call for concealment of the names of officers working undercover, and [the legal hurdles against their release are high]( — especially since the officers were deputized as federal agents by the U.S. Marshals North Star Fugitive Task Force. - With thousands behind on rent, new state law sets rules for aid: Federal funds could help as many as 50,000 Minnesotans with unpaid rent. Thanks to a new state law, [they can't be evicted while their application for rental assistance is pending](. - DFL chair says he's "disappointed" by Rep. John Thompsons's actions: Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin said Sunday [he is "disappointed" by the actions of Rep. John Thompson](, who recently said St. Paul police racially profiled him during a traffic stop. Thompson, DFL-St. Paul, wascited July 4for driving while under suspension after police say he was pulled over for not having a front license plate. Days later in St. Paul, Thompson described the interaction as an example of being profiled by police because of his race. - Lawsuit alleges Minneapolis police shot peaceful protester in face with projectile during Floyd protests: A St. Paul woman says she was protesting peacefully outside Minneapolis' Third Precinct last summer when [police shot her in the face with a projectile](, causing permanent injury to her eye. - Wildfires rage as U.S. West grapples with heat wave, drought: [Firefighters were working in extreme temperatures across the U.S. West]( and struggling to contain wildfires, the largest burning in California and Oregon, as another heat wave baked the region, straining power grids. - I-494 in Bloomington set to become Twin Cities' next big road project: As four years of construction on Interstate 35W in south Minneapolis come to a close — the project between downtown Minneapolis and the Crosstown will be done Sept. 10 — the Minnesota Department of Transportation is prepping for the metro's next major freeway upgrade: [Interstate 494 through Eden Prairie, Bloomington and Richfield.]( - Years in the making, $8.6M Wakan Tipi Center will be an epicenter of Dakota culture in St. Paul: [Ground will be broken in September]( near the entrance to the 27-acre Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary at the edge of downtown St. Paul. - Pup births are a hopeful sign for Isle Royale wolves, scientists say: Wolf pups have been spotted again on Isle Royale, [a hopeful sign in the effort to rebuild the predator species' population]( at the U.S. national park, scientists said Monday. WATCH THIS The time Shohei Ohtani hit a home run into the roof of the Tokyo Dome: The Angels' star will hit and pitch in the All-Star Game this week. Here's [a flashback to the time in 2016 he hit a fly ball so high it went into the roof]( of the Tokyo Dome. Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to [talkers@startribune.com](. TRENDING - Restored Hibbing bus tells story of the Freedom Riders: In May, a newly restored 1958 General Motors intercity bus from Hibbing rolled up to theFreedom Rides Museumin Montgomery, Ala., greeted by a crowd that contained nary a dry eye. The bus [marks the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Rides](, which challenged segregated interstate travel and served as a critical linchpin for the civil rights movement in the 1960s. More than 400 Freedom Riders, six of them from Minnesota, boarded commercial buses in the spring and summer of 1961 to challenge Jim Crow laws that still gripped the South. - Summer cocktails come alive with fresh herbs, flowers and fruit: [Try these fun and refreshing concoctions]( at Twin Cities area bars, or make your own with sunshine-grown ingredients. - Architect's "very contemporary" house on Golden Valley hill for sale for $1.2M: The owners built their home in 2003 in Golden Valley's Cedarhurst neighborhood on a quarter-acre lot that was supposed to be unbuildable. [It sits beside a pond on a steep, irregularly shaped hill.]( SPORTS ROUNDUP - Twins draft hard-throwing prep pitcher, switch-hitting shortstop: About an hour before the 2021 baseball draft began, 18-year-old righthander Chase Petty [received a text from one of his biggest admirers]( — another southern Jersey ballplayer named Mike Trout. - Slow sports week? Here are six things to see while the pros are idle. The Twins, Lynx and Loons aren't playing this week. But if you're looking for sports to watch, [you can still find baseball, basketball and more around the Twin Cities](. - Still hard to believe, North Stars' 1991 postseason run was a stunner: Little in the early days of the 1990-91 NHL season pointed to the North Stars playing for the Stanley Cup. But eight months later [Minnesota was on a rollicking ride to the finals.]( Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can [sign up for Talkers here](. WORTH A CLICK Scientists use snails and lasers and to solve mystery of giant naked man depicted on English hillside: "Until this May, researchers debated whether [the Cerne Abbas Giant] was anIron Age fertility symbol, a Roman representation of Hercules, or a parody of 17th-century politician Oliver Cromwell," [writes Keridwen Cornelius for the Atlantic.]( (Warning: The article contains an image of the artwork, a depiction of a large naked man.) TRIVIA WINNER Congratulations to Mike Svenddal! Mike was randomly selected from among the many readers who correctly answered that Iceland is the European nation where researchers found reduced work hours led to no loss of productivity or decline in service levels. He wins a $15 gift card. Be sure to read Talkers on Friday for another trivia question! FROM THE ARCHIVES July 12, 2017: A parade of Polaris SlingShot three-wheeled vehicles passes through Stillwater during a 60-mile charity ride to raise money for Road 2 Recovery, a nonprofit that assists athletes who have sustained serious or career-ending injuries. (Photo: Carlos Gonzalez/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 © 2021 StarTribune. All rights reserved. We value your opinion! [Give us your feedback.](