We could see a few showers south of U.S. Highway 2, but much of the region will start the day with sun. By the afternoon, the chance for a few pop-up rain showers will linger across northern Minnesota, and a few will track into northern Wisconsin as well. Temperatures stay in the 60s for most, with cloudy skies.

Wednesday, we are still cool, around 60 degrees for most, with clouds persistent early, but by the afternoon, we start to see sunnier skies. Thursday stays a mostly sunny day, with highs in the mid-60s.

Scattered showers return to the region Friday, and we likely will still see them off and on during the first weekend in June, but temperatures get up into the upper 60s and low 70s.

I grew up in Central Minnesota, and my in weather and storms led me to pursue my passion for meteorology. I got my Bachelor of Science from Iowa State University, and my experiences with forecasting there led me to start my career as a Meteorologist for WDAY as well as The Forum.

MINNEAPOLIS — Linda Hood is always on the move. She’s a marathoner who has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. 

In 2018, quadriplegia changed her body, but her will is the same — especially after she realized the basic task of using a public restroom was now alarmingingly complicated.

“We got on the floor and it was wet. It was cold. It was filthy,” Hood said. “It was awful and I looked at my husband and thought, this is disgusting.”

Babies have changing tables — why don’t kids and adults, she wondered.

So Hood got to work, getting the first adult changing table in U.S. Bank Stadium, helping push for the first one at the Minnesota State Fair and now it’s law in Minnesota for changing tables to be in large, public new builds.

This month, Hood set her sights on Washington to talk specifically about airport bathrooms.

“All I could do is say, ‘When are they gonna listen? I need someone to hear me,’” she said.

And they did. Hood says she was warmly greeted by Minnesota congressmembers Betty McCollum and Dean Philips, where she explained the experiences of friends like Prince Cole, a Minnesotan and native Liberian who wants badly to visit home more often.

“Every time I go to the airport, I get huge anxiety. My anxiety is around the bathroom” Philips said. “You have to get changed and get changed on the floor so some people would rather stay at home than go through that, a humiliating experience.”

So Hood fought back against the norm and the Senate passed the bill. It’s soon to be law to have adult changing tables in U.S. airports.

“I got results and if I could have jumped out of this chair and jumped to the moon, I would have done it,” Hood said. “I had that much energy and that much joy. I was elated. It made me feel so good and I Just wanted to hug everyone in Washington and say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servants.’”

“When I found out the change was coming, I was like, ‘Thank God for Linda,’” Philips said.

Because there’s no mountain Hood can’t climb.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport already has two adult changing tables — one in Concourse D and the other near baggage claim.

Hood’s next mission is to broaden federal law and she is prompting the Olympic Committee to have adult changing tables at their venues. 

The Minnesota Vikings are firmly entrenched in OTAs and are progressing toward training camp at TCO Performance Center. This will be the third season under head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and it’s also a turning point in the future of the organization.

To prepare for the pivotal 2024 season, we will break down each player on the 90-man roster leading up to training camp. In this series, we will look into their background, scheme fit, best and worst case scenario along with what to expect from each player. It will also help gain more insight on each player going into the year, especially with players who haven’t gotten much fanfare.

Is Dallas Gant the next Vikings special teams ace?

Background

Gant was a four-star recruit out of high school and committed to Ohio State. He played their for four season but couldn’t break through which led to his transfer to Toledo. In his two years with the Rockets, Gant was a two-time first-team All-MAC linebacker with 116 tackles in both 2022 and 2023. He was also a team captain and Academic All-MAC.

Scheme fit

Gant is a traditional middle linebacker who can thrive in multiple alignments. He lined up all across the second level for the Rockets in 2023 along with multiple spots on every special teams unit. Gant can do a little bit of everything for you for an on-ball linebacker.

Best case scenario

Gant is going into a linebacker room that doesn’t have a lot of depth. Brian Asamoah II and Kamu Grugier-Hill don’t have roster spots locked up and could be overtaken. Gant’s ability on special teams could land him a roster spot and there is some intrigue in him as a depth linebacker.

Worst case scenario

Gant’s athletic profile is okay, but considering he only weighs 228 lbs, you would like to see more. His 40-yard dash splits are all in the low 70th percentile range and poor agility scores don’t project well to playing off the ball. He did have a 95th percentile broad jump which helps with his explosiveness. 

What to expect in 2024

Gant is an interesting player. He was an Ohio State Buckeye for four years before going to Toledo but not emerging in Colombus isn’t great to read in his profile. The one thing that stands out on Gant’s profile is the special teams acumen. The Vikings did give Gant a $5k signing bonus and $50k guaranteed so there is real intrigue in what Gant can do.

Much like how NaJee Thompson was a standout on special teams, Gant is the same type of player. He has over 1,000 special teams snaps and the fourth linebacker on the roster needs to be a special teams ace. Gant can be that guy. Will he have upside as a linebacker? We genuinely don’t know but it’s not out of the question.

Previous player profiles

Devron Harper | Ty James | Trey Knox | Gabriel Murphy | Dwight McGlothern

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