Minnesota
Made in Minnesota: How Rollerblade founder turned inline skates into wheels of fortune
![Made in Minnesota: How Rollerblade founder turned inline skates into wheels of fortune](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox9.com/www.fox9.com/content/uploads/2023/07/1280/720/inline-skates-guy.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Made in Minnesota: Rollerblades
The St. Louis Park native was just 19 years old when he stumbled across his first pair of inline skates while playing junior hockey in Canada in 1979. Scott Olson wanted to be a goalie in the NHL and thought they would be a great way to train in the summer.
WACONIA, Minn. (FOX 9) – On a 40-acre farm on the edge of Lake Waconia, there are interesting inventions scattered around the property.
From a bike that can be rowed instead of pedaled called a Rowbike to a device suspended from a track that can be peddled or rowed through the air called Skyride.
The brain behind all these unusual products is the farm’s owner Scott Olson.
But his biggest claim to fame is reinventing the wheel and changing the way the world gets on a roll.
“Being the grandfather of Rollerblades has always been a highlight. So even though I don’t like to be introduced as the Rollerblade guy. At the same time, I don’t like to live in the past, but at the same time I’m still into it,” said Olson.
The St. Louis Park native was just 19 years old when he stumbled across his first pair of inline skates while playing junior hockey in Canada in 1979.
He wanted to be a goalie in the NHL and thought they would be a great way to train in the summer.
But Olson tinkered with the design, making the wheels softer and faster and putting them on an adjustable track that could be attached to hockey skates.
Soon players around the Twin Cities were skating around on his creation.
Scott Olson is the “grandfather” of roller blades. (FOX 9)
“I think just the instant gratification of experiencing ice skating on pavement was something that was hard to imagine and then you’re doing it,” said Olson.
Olson eventually started his own company and named it Rollerblade, a hybrid between roller skates and hockey blades.
He and his brother used to make them one at a time in their parent’s basement in Bloomington.
But by the mid-80s, Olson was in danger of losing his business, so he sold it to two investors who kept the brand alive and gave him a tiny percentage.
“I didn’t make a huge killing on it, but I made enough to set me up and do what I love doing,” said Olson.
Within a few years, Rollerblades exploded in popularity, spawning an entire industry that by the mid-90s peaked with sales of half a billion dollars.
Olson’s invention brought inline skating into the mainstream from coast to coast as a form of recreation, exercise, and a good way to get around town.
“To really see it blossom and really become a fad like in L.A. that was really cool to see. Making a trip out to L.A. and seeing everybody blading around town,” said Olson.
Rollerblades were even immortalized on the silver screen in movies like The Mighty Ducks.
Even though their popularity started to wane by the early 2000s, Rollerblades never completely went out of style here in Minnesota with inline skaters turning the old Metrodome into the “Rollerdome” and U.S. Bank Stadium into a “Skadium”.
But Rollerblades saw a resurgence during the pandemic, with sales jumping 300 percent, as COVID-19 protocols sent people scrambling for activities they could do while socially distanced and out in the fresh air.
“I was excited to hear that. It’s always scratching your head, Why did it even drop off when it’s such a great fitness device,” said Olson.
Olson says he’s proud of the legacy his invention has left behind both for himself and the State of Hockey.
“Everybody thinks they came from L.A. but it really started right here in Minneapolis and Bloomington. So to have that product come out of Minnesota is really a big feather in everybody’s cap,” said Olson.
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Minnesota
Minnesota Wild regular season schedule released
![Minnesota Wild regular season schedule released](https://www.wdio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MGN_MinnesotaWildLogo_NHL.jpg)
On Tuesday, the National Hockey League released its schedules for the upcoming season.
The Minnesota Wild will start the season at home on Oct. 10, taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets. They will then play another home game against Seattle on Oct. 12. After two back-to-back games at home, the Wild will be all over the place for the next three weeks, playing seven away matches before returning to the land of 10,000 lakes.
That will be the Wild’s longest stretch away from home for the entire regular season. The rest of the Wild’s 2024-25 season can be found below:
The 82-game season will conclude for the Wild on Tuesday, April 15, before postseason play begins.
Minnesota
Minnesota passes new law allowing motorcyclists to split lanes
![Minnesota passes new law allowing motorcyclists to split lanes](https://www.kaaltv.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Motorcycle-Lane-Splitting.png)
The day’s local, regional and national news, detailed events and late-breaking stories are presented by the ABC 6 News Team, along with the latest sports, weather updates including the extended forecast.
(ABC 6 News) — A new law has passed in Minnesota allowing motorcyclists to split lanes, but it won’t go into effect until next July.
The law is similar to those in other states that allow motorcyclists to ride slowly between lanes in stopped or bumper-to-bumper traffic.
When the law does go into effect, Minnesota will be among at least half a dozen states allowing lane splitting.
Minnesota
Teen vaping nicotine dependence increasing in Minnesota: Survey data
![Teen vaping nicotine dependence increasing in Minnesota: Survey data](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox9.com/www.fox9.com/content/uploads/2024/07/1280/720/Vapes-sized.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Vaping trial: Ellison says Juul, Altria ‘hooked a generation of Minnesota kids on e-cigarettes’
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison laid out his case against vaping company Juul in his lawsuit over teen use of vapes.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Minnesota teenagers have increasingly found themselves dependent on nicotine, thanks in part to the rise in popularity of vaping, a new study has found.
According to data from the Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey, 70% of students who vape say they want to quit, and nearly two-thirds have tried to quit in the past.
Meanwhile, 79.6% of surveyed students who use e-cigarettes, or vapes, reported suffering dependence on the devices, which can provide high levels of nicotine and lead to stronger withdrawal symptoms such as mood fluctuations, stress, anxiety and depression.
“It’s a dire situation that so many of our teens are struggling with the health harms of nicotine dependence,” Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham said in a statement accompanying the data. “Many teens may smoke or vape because they think it helps them relieve stress or anxiety, but the nicotine can actually worsen those feelings. We want teens to know that we understand the mental health challenges they may be facing and how hard it is to quit, and that free help is out there to support them.”
The Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey data show that among students who vaped in the past 30 days, 49.5% vaped at least 20 in the past 30 days – a 47% increase since 2020, and a 165% increase since 2017.
Until age 25, nicotine can negatively affect learning, attention and memory. It also increases risk for addiction to other substances, the study says.
A majority of teens surveyed – 76.3% – reported their first tobacco product was flavored. In 2023, 93.3% of students who vape used a flavored vape in the past 30 days.
However, data show that overall vaping usage numbers could be declining.
In 2023, 13.9% of high school students reported vaping in the past 30 days – a decline from 19.3% in 2020.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) offers the My Life, My Quit program to support teens in quitting commercial tobacco use, including vaping, by texting “Start My Quit” to 36072.
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