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This Valentine’s Day, name a bug at the Minnesota Zoo after someone who bugs you

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This Valentine’s Day, name a bug at the Minnesota Zoo after someone who bugs you


Need a last-minute Valentine’s Day gift for a friend or a foe? The Minnesota Zoo Foundation has you covered. You can make a $15 donation to the zoo and in return get to name a bug that will be fed to an animal.

It is the first time in about a decade the zoo has done a campaign of this sort. Naming bugs, feces or other parts of everyday zoo life after someone you love or hate is a popular fundraising tool used across the country. The Fort Worth Zoo has let people name a pound of animal poop, while the San Antonio Zoo and Brookfield Zoo Chicago offered naming rights for cockroaches. 

Sarah Lennander, the senior marketing communications manager with the Minnesota Zoo Foundation, said on Tuesday donations were already triple the amount of the last campaign, with donations coming from 49 states, Washington, D.C., and 15 countries. 

“We wanted a playful approach. That’s why we used the word bugs,” Lennander said. “Name a bug after someone who bugs you — we wanted to offer people the opportunity to kind of poke fun at one another, but keep it lighthearted and fun.” 

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While Lennander said you are encouraged to name the bug after anyone in your life, she said the vast majority of this year’s donations have been for loved ones, like parents naming bugs after their kids who “bug them” or women buying their friends a bug and naming it after their friend’s ex-partner. 

With each donation, the zoo will send an e-card with your personalized message to the recipient.

Rest assured: Lennander said if you choose to name the bug after an ex-partner, they won’t ever know — unless you want them to, of course. If that is the case, the zoo is not responsible for any messiness that arises. 

“You can name the bug after your friend’s ex, but then you can send that notification email to your friend so that they won’t ever see it, but your friend will hopefully get a giggle out of it,” Lennander explained.

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She is sure they will do the fundraiser again next year, and even explore ways to upgrade the gifts. This year, for example, a husband called asking if he could name a piece of meat that would be fed to a komodo dragon, his wife’s favorite animal.

“It has been more popular than we ever imagined,” Lennander said. “It’s been a very fun couple of weeks.” 

The bugs, which include mostly crickets and mealworms, will feed are variety of animals at the zoo including a tamandua (a type of anteater), golden lion tamarins, panther chameleons, poison-dart frogs, turtles, opossums and hedgehogs. 

Donations must be made before the end of Friday, Feb. 14.



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Minnesota Vikings’ plane turns around after mechanical issues en route to game against Giants

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Minnesota Vikings’ plane turns around after mechanical issues en route to game against Giants


Sunday, December 21, 2025 12:31AM

ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream

The Minnesota Vikings had some travel trouble Saturday getting to northern New Jersey for their game Sunday at the New York Giants.

Their team plane experienced mechanical issues that required turning around shortly after departing Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to a team spokesperson. The Vikings were expected to arrive in Newark later Saturday night after boarding a second plane, the spokesperson said.

Minnesota is 6-8 and, like the 2-12 Giants, has been eliminated from playoff contention. The Vikings are coming off beating Dallas, with this game more about young quarterback J.J. McCarthy getting additional NFL experience.

Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Colder, windier Saturday in Twin Cities; warmup set for Christmas week

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Colder, windier Saturday in Twin Cities; warmup set for Christmas week



After some light morning snow, temperatures will gradually fall Saturday in the Twin Cities amid powerful wind gusts.

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WCCO

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Expect daytime highs in the upper teens to low 20s, with gusts of up to 40 mph.  

The metro could see another small round of snow Sunday night into Monday.

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Next week’s highs will be in the 30s, with temps pushing into the 40s on Christmas Day Thursday.

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Finland picks up where it left off in Minnesota, beats Germany

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Finland picks up where it left off in Minnesota, beats Germany


DULUTH — Finland was a force this summer at the University of Minnesota’s Ridder Arena in Minneapolis during the

World Junior Summer Showcase,

beating the United States, Canada and Sweden by a combined score of 15-7.

The Finnish national junior team continued its domination at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Amsoil Arena on Friday night, beating Germany 7-3 in a 2026 World Junior Championship pre-tournament game played before a modest crowd of 650.

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Finland also won the bonus 3-on-3 simulated overtime period after the game, scoring with 46.4 seconds left in the five-minute period.

The seven Finnish goals in regulation came from seven different players, with winger Max Westergard, a 2025 fifth-round NHL draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, getting the 3-on-3 goal after scoring an unassisted goal in the third period.

Elias Schneider (24) of Germany scores a goal against Kim Saarinen (1) of Finland during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Centers Heikki Ruohonen, Oliver Suvanto and Jasper Kuhta, wingers Joona Saarelainen and Matias Vanhanen and seventh defenseman Lasse Boelius were among the other goalscorers for Finland.

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Lenny Boos, Dustin Willhoft and Elias Schneider scored for Germany, which was outshot 29-17. The Germans had just one power play, in the third, compared to Finland’s four.

German goaltender Linus Vieillard made 22 saves while Finland goalie Kim Saarinen, a 2024 third-round pick of the Seattle Kraken, stopped 14 shots.

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Daniel Nieminen (7) of Finland skates with the puck against Finland during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Finland’s lineup Friday featured 12 NHL draft picks — Germany had three — including Dallas Stars 2024 first-rounder Emil Hemming, Minnesota Wild 2024 fourth-rounder Aron Kiviharju and Montreal Canadiens 2024 third-rounder Aatos Koivu — the son of former NHLer Saku Koivu. Mikko Koivu, the former Wild captain, is Aatos’ uncle.

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Ruohonen, a 2024 fourth-rounder of the Flyers, is the lone player on Finland’s roster from the NCAA. He’s a freshman at Harvard.

Finland will play one more pre-tournament game in Duluth at 6 p.m. Tuesday against the United States at Amsoil Arena. The Americans host Germany at 4 p.m. Sunday at Amsoil Arena.

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Clemens Sager (21) of Germany skates against Kasper Pikkarainen (20) and Oliver Suvanto (26) of Finland during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

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Max Bleicher (4) of Germany shoots the puck against Finland during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

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Niklas Nykyri (4) of Finland skates with the puck against Simon Seidl (27) of Germany during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Full tournament coverage


Click on the image above to read comprehensive coverage of the 2026 World Junior Championship tournament.

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Click on image to read comprehensive coverage of the 2026 World Junior Championship tournament.

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Daniel Nieminen (7) of Finland skates with the puck against Germany during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

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men play ice hockey
Niklas Nykyri (4) of Finland shoots the puck against Germany during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

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Moritz Kretzschmar (18) of Germany skates with the puck against Finland during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

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men play ice hockey
David Lewandowski (11) of Germany skates with the puck against Finland during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

men play ice hockey
Lenny Boos (17) of Germany skates with the puck against Jasper Kuhta (29) of Finland during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

men play ice hockey
Daniel Nieminen (7) of Finland skates with the puck against Fabio Kose (5) of Germany during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

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Timo Kose (22) of Germany shoots the puck against Finland during a World Junior Championship pre-tournament game on Friday.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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