Minnesota
Michigan State basketball wins 13th straight with 73-51 victory over Minnesota
EAST LANSING – In a flash, Tre Holloman took over the game. In every facet. Against his hometown team.
The junior guard’s seismic stretch of three consecutive 3-pointers near the end of the first half made Breslin Center shake with excitement as No. 7 Michigan State basketball overwhelmed Minnesota for the second time this season.
Holloman led another balanced effort with 12 first-half points, all on 3-pointers, as the Spartans won their 13th straight game, 73-51, on Tuesday night. They are off to its best start and on its longest winning streak since the 2018-19 season, when they also won their first nine Big Ten games and had a 13-game streak to open 18-2.
The Spartans (18-2, 9-0 Big Ten) head to Los Angeles later this week for a two-game road trip, starting 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon at USC (12-8, 4-5) and 8 p.m. next Tuesday at UCLA (15-6, 6-4). Both games will not be on broadcast or cable TV but streamed on NBC’s Peacock app.
Dawson Garcia scored 21 points for Minnesota (11-10, 3-7), which had won three straight after opening league play with six straight losses.
Defense to start
MSU and Minnesota opened the game in a defensive tussle, trading blocked shots and turnovers during a sloppy start.
The floodgates, albeit through some volume shooting early, finally opened from outside for the Spartans. MSU entered ranked 341st out of 355 Division I teams at 28.7% 3-point shooting, 342nd at 5.5 made 3s per game and 325th at 19.1 triple tries a contest.
Holloman made the Spartans first 3-pointer Tuesday on their fifth attempt, a pull-up from deep over the Gophers’ guards, just before the first media timeout. It was part of a 16-6 opening salvo by the Spartans, which was capped by Jaxon Kohler’s first of two first-half 3-pointers.
Through the first 16:34, Minnesota committed nine turnovers to MSU’s five, while each team had four blocks and four steals. That was when Holloman took center stage.
After Carson Cooper missed a pair of technical foul free throws and MSU retained possession, Holloman buried a triple from the right corner with 2:17 to go before half. Jase Richardson picked up a steal at the other end and fed it ahead to Holloman, who pulled up for a second 3-pointer. Then after a Richardson rebound, he again found Holloman. He buried the heat-check third time, and Breslin erupted.
Then it was Holloman’s turn to pick up a steal and hit Richardson, who got fouled. He hit both free throws to cap a 13-0 takeover run and give MSU as big as a 22-point lead. And for good measure, just before halftime, Holloman dished to Szymon Zapala for an alley oop dunk.
The Spartans have not lost since Holloman joined the starting lineup for their overtime win against North Carolina at the Maui Classic.
Izzo movin’ on up
With the win, MSU coach Tom Izzo now has 352 victories in Big Ten regular-season play. A victory over the Trojans on Saturday would move Izzo into a tie with former Indiana coach Bob Knight’s record 353, and he could break that mark by winning both games out West.
It is the first time in Izzo’s 30 seasons the Spartans went undefeated in December and January. And their balanced production continued.
And the balanced production continued.
Jadin Akins and Xavier Booker each added 10 points, while Cooper had nine points and 11 rebounds as MSU finished with a 40-22 rebounding edge that set up a 13-4 second-chance points edge and a 30-20 points in the paint advantage.
Coen Carr had seven points, including a late alley-oop dunk through a foul for a three-point play. Kohler added eight points and seven rebounds.
Richardson had eight assists, Jeremy Fears Jr. had six and Holloman had three as MSU had helpers on 20 of 25 baskets in the game.
The Spartans went 8-for-25 from 3-point range while also holding a 17-3 edge in fastbreak points.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. A the 20-game regular season nd catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Minnesota
Minnesota voter registration review finds county record errors
A new state evaluation found Minnesota’s voter registration system mostly works as intended, but some counties did not update their records accurately.
On Wednesday, the Office of the Legislative Auditor published a summary of new voter registration applications submitted in the summer and fall of 2024. The findings stated counties processed 96% of new applications within the legal time frames, but struggled to process applications when recieved within 20 days of an election.
The report also said counties did not always update voter registration records as required by law when the Office of the Secretary of State flagged possible disqualifying conditions, such as incarceration. Counties sent required notices within 10 days to 84% of registered voters whose incarceration or guardianship challenges they removed.
The report goes on to say counties followed the identity verification process correctly for 99.9% of applicants and followed the residency verification process correctly for 99% of applicants. But among applicants counties manually reviewed for residency, counties either inaccurately assigned voter statuses or failed to document their rationale in more than one-third of the cases reviewed.
The Secretary of State maintains the Statewide Voter Registration System, while counties are responsible for creating and maintaining their own voter registration records. As of January of 2026, nearly 3.8 million people were registered to vote in Minnesota.
Top officials respond
Reaction to the report from Minnesota leaders has been mixed, with some top Republicans saying Secretary of State Steve Simon is to blame for inactive voters being left on voter rolls.
However, Simon’s takeaway from the evaluation was mostly positive, saying, “the report found our office has established the appropriate procedures for counties and that counties have performed their work with a nearly perfect record of accuracy.”
Cory Kampf, president of the Minnesota Association of County Officers, said counties generally agreed with the recommendations but asked for more context. He added voter residency was verified in 99% of applications, following the correct processes.
Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and Leader Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, full statement reads: “This voter registration audit exposes major loopholes in our system, including the thousands of votes that were allowed to register and cast a ballot on Election Day but couldn’t be verified as legal voters. It also showed that the Secretary of State does not follow the law for inactive voters, choosing to leave voters on the rolls years after they should have been deactivated. These are major problems that need to be addressed. Integrity in elections is paramount, and Minnesotans deserve certainty that only legal voters are deciding our elections.”
Minnesota
Minnesota Looks to Add 1,100 Child Care Slots, With Melrose Among the 11 Funded Communities
UNDATED (WJON News) — The city of Melrose is one of 11 communities and organizations sharing in the latest round of child care grants.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has announced more than $1.4-million in child care economic development grants that will create more than 1,100 new child care slots across the state.
DEED says more than 80% of the money is slated for outstate Minnesota.
Commissioner Matt Varilek says the grants help working families by ensuring parents are able to work. It also helps employers retain talent and establish the foundation for long-term economic vitality.
Since the program’s start in July 2023, DEED has awarded more than $13-million in grants to 56 organizations to fund child care startups and business expansions.
25 Board Games That We All Played in the ’70s
From well-known favorites like Clue to cult classics like Masterpiece, these 1970s board games bring a wave of nostalgia for a time when life felt simpler — and maybe even a little more exciting.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
LOOK: The Best Car Ads of the 1970s in One Nostalgic Gallery
From the Pinto to the Civic, get ready to relive the days of manual windows and two-door wagons as we flip through some of the most iconic car print ads from 1970s magazines.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
Summer Vacation in the ’80s: These Nostalgic Photos Say It All
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
Minnesota
Where to watch Cleveland Guardians vs Minnesota Twins: TV channel, start time, streaming for July 9
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
The 2026 MLB season has surpassed the quarter mark, and after each team’s first 40 games, there’s plenty of reasons to tune in all summer long.
Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has already proven doubters wrong by launching 17 home runs, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes consistently looks like the best version of himself on the mound and Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski is throwing harder than any starter in the majors.
The MLB action continues on Thursday as the Cleveland Guardians visit the Minnesota Twins.
Here’s everything you need to know to tune in for the first pitch.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Cleveland Guardians vs Minnesota Twins?
First pitch between the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, July 9.
How to watch Cleveland Guardians vs Minnesota Twins on Thursday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 6:33 a.m.
- Matchup: CLE at MIN
- Date: Thursday, July 9
- Time: 1:40 p.m. (ET)
- Venue: Target Field
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- TV: Guardians.TV and Twins.TV
- Streaming: MLB.TV on Fubo
Watch MLB all season long with Fubo
MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for July 9 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
See scores, results for all of today’s games.
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