Smoke from Canadian wildfires prompts air quality alert across northern Minnesota

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may [see it online](. [Star Tribune]( Talkers TOP STORIES - Smoke from Canadian wildfires prompts air quality alert across northern Minnesota: Northerly winds behind a front moving into the northern parts of the state will carry the smoke with it, [the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said]( in a news release Monday evening. The air quality alert was issued for most of northern Minnesota including Hibbing, International Falls, Bemidji, Roseau, East Grand Forks, Leech Lake and Red Lake. - Walz renews call for Rep. Thompson to resign: Gov. Tim Walz on Monday again [insisted that state Rep. John Thompson resign]( over reports of multiple domestic violence accusations as House DFL leaders considered what to do about the lawmaker's refusal to step down. Police reports from three departments detail five domestic assault cases, some that took place in front of children, from 2003-11. Walz said the allegations have rendered the freshman DFL lawmaker from St. Paul no longer fit to serve. - Renting can be tough for reformed gang members in Minneapolis: Facilitators of a Minneapolis program that urges gang members to step away from the lifestyle in exchange for a stable roof over their head say [the city is struggling to uphold its end of the bargain]( amid a lack of available affordable housing. - St. Paul wants residents to think twice about all the food they throw out: Starting this week, [officials are issuing a six-week Food Waste Challenge](, asking dozens of households to voluntarily record the uneaten chow they discard, then let the city know the results. The program is designed to draw awareness to the impacts of wasting food, including food insecurity and environmental concerns. - Four companies on verge of settling U.S. opioid lawsuits: The three biggest U.S. drug distribution companies and the drugmaker Johnson & Johnson [are on the verge of a $26 billion settlement]( covering thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids across the U.S., two people with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. - Jeff Bezos launches himself into space on Blue Origin rocket: [Jeff Bezos blasted into space Tuesday]( on his rocket company's first flight with people on board, becoming the second billionaire in just over a week to ride his own spacecraft. The Amazon founder was accompanied by a hand-picked group: his brother, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands and an 82-year-old aviation pioneer from Texas — the youngest and oldest to ever fly in space. - Fauci, Rand Paul clash on virus origins: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, [angrily confronted Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul]( on Tuesday in testimony on Capitol Hill, rejecting Paul's insinuation that the U.S. helped fund research at a Chinese lab that could have sparked the COVID-19 outbreak. - Wisconsin man charged in dismemberment of St. Paul man whose remains were found in Lake Superior: Remains of a Twin Cities man who had been missing for nearly a month [have been located in the waters of Lake Superior]( off the northernmost reaches of Minnesota's shoreline, and a man has been charged with helping with the dismemberment. - Elk River man who hid camera in MOA fitting room sentenced to jail: [An Elk River man has been sentenced to jail](for recording women and girls undressing in the fitting room of a Mall of America store. Trevor Nielson, 42, was also accused of similar acts at swimming pools, parks and Elk River High School. Nielson's sentence of 90 days in jail comes after he pleaded guilty to interference with the privacy of a minor, a felony. As part of the plea deal, Judge Martha Holton Dimick, agreed to stay a three-year prison term. - NBA approves initial sale of Wolves and Lynx to Marc Lore, Alex Rodriguez: The NBA's board of governors [approved Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez's first acquisition]( for 20% of the Timberwolves and Lynx, sources confirmed Tuesday. The sale is expected to close in coming days as Lore and Rodriguez embark on their two-year path to becoming controlling owners of the Wolves and Lynx. HEY, LOOK AT THIS Young red-tailed hawk shares nest with bald eagles in Wisconsin: We expect to see red-tailed hawks soaring over open country, or perched on a freeway light tower, searching for the rodents that make up much of their diet. Where we don't expect to see a red-tailed hawk is in a bald eagle's nest. And yet [that's exactly the situation in one nest this summer in Door County, Wis.]( Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to [talkers@startribune.com](. TRENDING - Club gives RVs cheap access to off-the-beaten-path campsites in Minnesota: [Harvest Hosts offers stays at 2,550 camping locations](, 47 of them in Minnesota, all at attractions like wineries, breweries, farms, botanical gardens, museums and golf courses. - A noise barrier on a St. Louis Park highway has become an art wall of old telephones: Along a St. Louis Park bike trail, there's a time capsule, [a witty take on technology by an artist]( who jokingly calls himself "Phone Banksy." - Minnetonka hijab maker debuts Nordstrom collection: Hilal Ibrahim of Minnetonka first became known forhijabs designed for health care workersand now, through a new collaboration with Nordstrom, [she's bringing luxury hijabs into a major department store.]( SPORTS ROUNDUP - A future Gopher at age 14, now he's a first-round NHL draft prospect: Incoming Gophers freshman Chaz Lucius is [the highest-ranked Minnesotan in this week's draft]( despite getting hurt and playing only for a small part of last season. - If Twins want to maximize value, they should trade Berrios: Baseball's economic system is set up in a way that Berrios is the perfect candidate to be traded — [and that's exactly what the Twins should do with him.]( - Sailor goes from White Bear Lake to Tokyo Games: Lara Dallman-Weiss didn't like being alone in a small craft. When she tried a bigger boat, boys picked on her. She didn't fall for sailing until she found the right partner and the right vessel, and she didn't commit to sailing until she decided to leave the Midwest for college. [Somehow, this unlikely track led to Tokyo.]( Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can [sign up for Talkers here](. WORTH A CLICK An Oregon wildfire is so big it's generating its own weather: "TheBootleg Firein Southern Oregon, spurred by months of drought and last month's blisteringheat wave, is thelargest wildfire so far this year in the United States, having already burned more than 340,000 acres, or 530 square miles, of forest and grasslands. And at a time when climate change is causing wildfires to be larger and more intense, it's also one of the most extreme, so big and hot that it's affecting winds and otherwise disrupting the atmosphere," [reports Henry Fountain for the New York Times.]( FROM THE ARCHIVES July 20, 2017: Twins great Tony Oliva "blew out" the candles, which were unlit sparklers, on a cake to celebrate his 79th birthday. Fans were invited to mingle with players from the 1987 World Series Championship team during a benefit for the Twins Community Fund that was part of the team's 1987 Summer Celebration at Target Field. (Photo: Jeff Wheeler/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.](