Minnesota
Future of discarded Minnesota wind blades cloudier after company disappears
![Future of discarded Minnesota wind blades cloudier after company disappears Future of discarded Minnesota wind blades cloudier after company disappears](https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/startribunemedia/IEXPK7OGABFZTC7AQKQGKJAQXI.jpg)
Travis Warmka, the city’s former fire chief and co-owner of the lot, said he expected to be a temporary “transfer station” for the blades. Now he worries he will get stuck with the task of getting rid of them.
So he took matters into his own hands.
On Aug. 18, a city employee saw a skid loader with a stump grinder attachment next to a wind turbine blade, Christian said. It was Warmka, and his grinding created a cloud.
“It isn’t just dust, it’s fiberglass,” Christian said. “I immediately sent him basically a cease and desist and told him there will be no processing of those blades of any kind, grinding, crushing, anything until I get an air and water permit from the MPCA.”
That letter says “numerous people” reported Warmka.
For his part, Warmka said he wasn’t trying to “clean the pile.” Rather, he briefly “touched” one turbine blade to see what would happen, and if he could cut one in half. The grinding lasted less than a minute. “It was just by luck that everybody was driving by apparently at that time,” Warmka said.
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Minnesota
5 New York Giants who can make life hell for the Minnesota Vikings
![5 New York Giants who can make life hell for the Minnesota Vikings 5 New York Giants who can make life hell for the Minnesota Vikings](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3345,h_1881,x_0,y_10/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_vikings/01j6w83553w5yy5n921r.jpg)
When the football is booted into the air at 12:03 p.m. CT Sunday in Easter Rutherford, New Jersey, the Minnesota Vikings will begin what most pundits expect to be an uphill climb in the challenging NFC North.
The uphill climb will get really slippery if the Vikings don’t leave with a win over the New York Giants because waiting in the wings are the juggernaut San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively. Must-win game in Week 1? You betcha.
With that, let’s dig into the five Giants who could make Sunday miserable for Minnesota.
Thomas is one of the premier left tackles in the NFL. Last season, Thomas owned the ninth-best pass-blocking grade (per Pro Football Focus) among tackles who played at least 20% of the snaps. His pass blocking graded better than road graders like Trent Williams, Lane Johnson and Penei Sewell.
After only four sacks as a rookie in 2022, Thiobdeaux burst onto the scene with 11.5 sacks in 2023. He’s a menace off the edge and with Brian Burns rushing on the other side he could see plenty of one-on-on opportunities. It’s a pick your poison scenario for the Vikings against two elite edge rushers. Thibodeaux will primarily be the responsibility of right tackle Brian O’Neill.
The rookie from LSU appears destined to be the next big thing at wide receiver in the NFL. He gave Lions and Jets cornerbacks nightmares in preseason joint practices and if Jones can simply be somewhat accurate Nabers could be in for a monster rookie season as the clear No. 1 WR for the Giants. Expect veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore to be stalking the Giants rookie on Sunday.
Burns gets a fresh start in New York after playing for the lowly Carolina Panthers the first five seasons of his career, but his 46 sacks with Carolina are nothing to scoff at. He had 12.5 sacks in 2022 and followed up with eight sacks last season. Now playing for a better defense, he appears destined for double-digits again in 2024. Christian Darrisaw has a very big job ahead of him in Week 1.
No player wrecked Minnesota’s magical 13-win season in 2022 than Lawrence, who ate Vikings center Garrett Bradbury alive in the first round of the playoffs. Sure, Minnesota’s awful defense made Jones look like an elite quarterback, but it was Lawrence who was basically shoving Bradbury into Kirk Cousins’ face every time the former Vikings quarterback dropped back to pass. With Burns and Thibodeaux rushing on the outside and Lawrence likely giving Minnesota’s interior issues on the inside, it could be a long regular-season debut for quarterback Sam Darnold.
Minnesota
Review: Semisonic delivers the perfect, Minnesota-proud set for State Fair closing time
![Review: Semisonic delivers the perfect, Minnesota-proud set for State Fair closing time Review: Semisonic delivers the perfect, Minnesota-proud set for State Fair closing time](https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/startribunemedia/6ZDIJRF5YBDMFGK3NP356XJ3V4.jpg)
An unofficial tradition in recent years for the State Fair’s final day, old-school Minnesota music fans filed in as the masses started clearing out to catch local rock royalty close down the Leinie Lodge Bandshell stage on Monday night. This year’s entrant, Semisonic, seemed extra fitting — not only because the trio’s biggest hit is “Closing Time,” but because it put out its first full-length album in 22 years last November. This wasn’t just another case of rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia at the fair.
The scene: After an overflowing crowd crammed the bandshell area for the band’s first night there Sunday (another record-breaking attendance day), the scene on closing night was less mobbed and a lot more chill, in a good way. Fans kicked back under the big trees and lit-up Space Tower to soak up the golden late-summer weather. Semi-perfect night, you might say.
The music: With a 19-year lull between recordings — from 2001 to 2020 — there are two distinct eras of Semisonic, and Monday’s 90-minute set pulled evenly from both.
After opening with two upbeat, older fan faves to get the crowd singing along sweetly from the get-go, “Singing in My Sleep” and “F.N.T.,” the band set down a steady groove for “Grow Your Own” that was funky and hippie-ish enough to make you believe the song from last year’s album “Little Bit of Sun” is a cannabis legalization anthem (in fact, it’s about starting a band). That was the first of many smooth transitions between old and new material, and the reception from the crowd stayed steady between the two eras.
Biggest takeaways: These 2020s-era songs really have sparked a whole new life to Semisonic’s live shows. Especially for Minnesota fans who caught a majority of the band’s very sporadic concerts during their long recording lull, it was great to hear the extra musical spark in songs like the urgent rocker “The Rope,” the comforting “You’re Not Alone” and the paisley-poppy “If You Say So,” the latter earnestly sung by bassist John Munson.
The other definitive aspect of the show was how much the band clearly relished playing the fair. They said so several times, but they also paid homage to the fair’s Minnesota-proud vibe by playing what singer/guitarist Dan Wilson called a “triptych of Minnesota songs” (“trio” to those of us who didn’t go to Harvard). It included: “Falling,” a song inspired by getting stuck on the fair’s Ferris wheel; “Sculpture Garden,” about the shenanigans that go on outside Walker Art Center, and a cover of Prince’s “Take Me With U,” another one sung by Munson.
Coolest moment: Hearing the big “Closing Time” singalong just before closing time at the fair was obviously a serendipitous moment not lost on anyone. It may even go down as many attendees’ most memorable instance of hearing it.
However, there was arguably an even more meaningful and lasting moment in the three-song encore that followed, when the band closed the night with the new ballad “Beautiful Sky,” co-written with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James. “Let’s make this one last,” frontman Dan Wilson sang over and over in the song about relishing post-pandemic togetherness. A spot-on choice for closing out this particular show.
Minnesota
Minnesota schools begin implementing new cell phone policies
![Minnesota schools begin implementing new cell phone policies Minnesota schools begin implementing new cell phone policies](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/09/02/56ff5fef-cf88-47d2-be59-478705e16034/thumbnail/1200x630/de44c57f9906e76f1e8a522b50c59125/snapshot-34.jpg?v=25685eaa472b1a5dbb5bd46ae506d232)
Maple Grove, Minn. — As students head back to class across Minnesota this week, they’ll find new expectations regarding cell phones and other electronic devices.
“The kids are there to learn. So, it’d be a good idea to focus on the learning and what teachers are trying to teach them,” said Jamie Skjerseth of Maple Grove.
The Minnesota legislature mandated school districts adopt a clear cell phone policy by March 2025.
It also required two principals’ organizations to design a new model policy that districts could adopt.
The resulting “Cell Phone Tool Kit,” released in July, suggests that all classrooms be phone free with few exceptions.
“This year they’re pushing it to where you can’t have phones during school hours at all. Not even during lunch or their walking hours in between classes,” explained Karin Sayler of Otsego.
Sayler supports the change for her middle school son.
“He has kids in his class that will actually use it and it distracts him a lot,” she said.
The toolkit also spells out an alternative for high schoolers.
“We cannot have them in the classroom. We have to put them in these phone holders and then we can have them in the hallway or at lunch,” said incoming Rogers High School freshman Grace Hobbins.
Hobbins has mixed feelings about her school’s new policy.
“In high school, I feel like we’re old enough to control ourselves,” she said.
“I’m not going to lie, I do like to be able to text my kids at school,” said Amelia Hobbins, Grace’s mom.
It’s a concern Maple Grove High School addressed in a letter to parents last month, saying in part:
“Students will be able to use their cell phones during passing times and lunch – added together, this amounts to 55 minutes each day! They’ll be just fine.”
Grace’s mom, Amelia, will miss the convenience but agrees that it’s needed to limit distractions, boost learning, and improve kids’ mental health.
“At the end of the day, they should keep the phones in their locker,” she said.
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