With roots in Southern California, where the weather is notoriously perfect for baseball, Twins first baseman Ty France – in his first season in Minnesota after spending 2024 with Cincinnati – admitted there is a little more spring in the step when you come to work on a June morning with sunshine, low humidity and the thermometer headed for the 70s.

“Whenever you get a little bit of sunshine, it’s nice to get out there,” France said prior to Saturday’s game versus Toronto, admitting that recent road trips have offered better weather than what they experienced at home early in the season.

“The first month was a little bit of a grind, but we ran into some warm weather too, in Tampa, Sacramento, Seattle was nice,” France said. “But it’s nice coming home to this, for sure.”

First proposed in the late 1990s, the original plans for a ballpark to replace the Metrodome included a retractable roof similar to those in Seattle and Houston. When legislators and much of the voting public in Minnesota soundly rejected the cost of a retractable roof facility, the design of what eventually became Target Field was scaled back, and outdoor baseball – for better or worse depending on the whims of Minnesota weather – returned in 2010.

Some believe that April and May games at Target Field, when the weather can be colder than anywhere else in the majors, give the Twins a home field advantage. On a smaller scale, similar to what the Minnesota Vikings enjoyed for their first two decades, playing outdoors at Met Stadium, where the weather could be frigid late in the football season.

France said they play in any temperature, but admitted that short sleeves and sunglasses are ideal.

“It’s a more comfortable environment for us,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s necessarily an advantage, but once we get the opportunity to thaw out after the first month, it’s nice. I haven’t played here in the summertime, but I’ve heard the ball starts carrying a little better, and I’m looking forward to that.”

Lewis past slump

After snapping out of a brutal 0-for-32 slump at the plate during the Twins’ three-city road trip, Royce Lewis continues to do good things with his bat, going 3 for 3 with a walk in Friday’s loss to Toronto.

“I think he has looked good at the plate. I think he has looked more comfortable. I think his swing has been synced up really good,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Both his timing on his swing, and actually the swing itself, has looked a lot like the Royce you would see last year at times and the year before.”

Lewis, who scored a run in the Twins’ 6-4 loss, said he’s concentrating on what he can control at the plate, and leaving the rest to the hands of fate.

I can only control so much. Once the ball leaves the bat, it’s on God and it’s on those fielders where they’re playing. So I’ve just got to keep doing my thing and controlling what I can control, and looking for my pitch, which is key I think for any hitter,” he said following Friday’s game.

“If you’re looking for your pitch, and you’re focusing on every pitch of every at-bat which is tough to do sometimes, I know you wouldn’t think it, like ‘oh, you should be focused.’ Well, sometimes you just lose sight of your plan. You get homer happy or you swing too hard. Those are the little things that I’m trying to take care of right now. Just breathing and having fun.”

Whatever is working for Lewis, Baldelli wants to see it continue.

“It’s been a week, so we want to keep this going throughout the whole season,” the manager said.

Happy birthday “Buck-Ninety”

Tim Laudner, the former Twins catcher and current member of the broadcast crew, celebrated his 67th birthday on Saturday, noting that he and late Minnesota music icon Prince entered this world on the same day: June 7, 1958.

Born in Iowa, Laudner played high school baseball at Park Center, in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and at the University of Missouri before making his major league debut with the Twins in 1981.

As a catcher on Minnesota’s 1987 World Series title team, Laudner was beloved for his local roots, and playfully teased for his light-hitting ways.

He batted .191 for the 1987 season with 16 home runs, prompting some fans to hang a banner from the facing of the Metrodome’s upper deck during the playoffs with Laudner’s number, declaring them members of the “Buck-Ninety Fan Club” in reference to his batting average.

In the clubhouse before Saturday’s game, Laudner joked about being the second most prominent Minnesotan – after Prince, who died in 2016 – but said that a fan once noted that for their careers, Laudner had more hits than the musician.

Originally Published: June 7, 2025 at 1:54 PM CDT

As the Hubert Humphrey Job Corps Center in Saint Paul prepares to close its doors, dozens of young adults are facing an uncertain future. The closure leaves many without housing, education, or other skills needed to succeed in the workforce.

Last week, the Department of Labor announced that they would pause operations for Job Corps centers nationwide. Students and staff are expected to leave by June 30th.

The Department of Labor decision “aligns with the President’s FY 2026 budget proposal.” Also stating that the Job Corps program has faced “significant financial challenges under its current operating structure.”

“People come to Job Corps because they have no other place to go, they have no other family to turn to,” said Job Corps student, Christopher Walter.

Walter joined the program to get away from a parent that experienced a psychotic episode. He found himself a community, and a family at Job Corps.

“I’m actually crying behind my sunglasses right now,” said Walter. “Job corp was essentially family, it’s a home away from home.”

Job Corps, the largest federal job training program for low-income youth, has been a lifeline for young people, offering a place to live, learn and prepare for careers. Now, with no alternative – the future for these young adults remains unclear.

“It makes me want to cry, it’s just really hard,” said Job Corps staff member Laura Nelson. “They were promised if they worked hard, did what they were supposed to do they’d get something out of it.”

Finding job opportunities, outside resources and homes is all the staff at Job Corps can do for now.

“For every single center across the country you have a homeless population of around 25%,” said Christopher Kuhn, Job Corps Executive Director Center of Operations and Support. “I don’t know where they all will go and I don’t know what services will be available for them.”

While the closure has been met with shock and disappointment, local organizations like the Salvation Army’s Booth Brown House, is stepping up to support. The Booth Brown House, a shelter for homeless young adults, is preparing for the surge of homeless youth displaced by the job corps closure.

“We do have capacity in our emergency shelter to take a handful and we have seen interest from those youth when the time comes,” said Erin Foss, Program Director at the Booth Brown House.

Although disappointed at the closure, Foss remains hopeful. The Booth Brown House staff visited the Job Corps to discuss housing and job opportunities.

“We’re going to do our best to keep encouraging and assist them in finding other resources so these youth continue to move forward and don’t fall through the cracks,” said Foss.

Pushing back, Christopher Kuhn, is urging the public to ensure that these young adults don’t get forgotten.

“America needs skilled workers, let us help. That’s what we do. Otherwise you’ll have a whole generation of young people that’ll be a burden on our economy and society, when they can really be contributors. And they want to be, they want to help,” said Kuhn.

As the June 30th deadline approaches, the future of the young adults still remains uncertain. But there is still hope for some of the students and staff at the Hubert Humphrey Job Corps Center and centers across the nation.

On June 3rd, the National Job Corps Association (NCJA) filed “a motion for a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to stop the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) closure of 99 Job Corps campuses nationwide.”

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from eliminating the Job Corps program.

A hearing is set for June 17, where the fate of the program will be decided. 

The White House’s new travel ban takes effect on June 9. The 19 countries listed as a security concern by President Trump also include some of Minnesota’s largest immigrant communities.

“My parents were actually from the country of Laos. They can here after the fall of the Vietnam war,” said Hmong-American Mike Hang.

“The civil war is the reason why I’m here and made Minnesota my home,” said Somali-American Jaylani Hussein.

Two Americans with Hmong and Somali heritage. President Trump cited specific security concerns for each of these 19 countries with travel restrictions.

Two of those, Somalia and Laos, are responsible for some of the largest immigrant populations in Minnesota.

“Most folks who have been in the process of coming to the U.S. have been vetted, went through a process sometimes five, six, seven years. There is no other option,” said Hussein.

“It’s also very hard on the elders, too, right? Because they’re pretty old now and they do want to go see some family back there, it’s made it hard for them,” said Hang.

The President’s travel restriction proclamation listed specific security concerns with each country.

Somalia faces a full travel ban. The President cited a “persistent terrorist threat,” describing the country as a safe haven for terrorists and saying the country’s government is not vetting or screening travelers’ identities properly.

“It cuts deep for a community that’s seen little progress in Somalia,” said Hussein.

Travelers and immigrants from Laos are facing partial restrictions, with nearly 35% of people who come here on temporary basis overstay their visas, according to a Trump administration report.

The national security concerns and travel restrictions, leading to uncertainty for families in Minnesota.

“They’re very uncomfortable. We don’t know if someone’s gonna get banned,” Hang told WCCO.