Minnesota
Will Timberwolves, Wild make Minnesota sports history Thursday night?
Timberwolves have 2 chances to eliminate Nuggets in NBA Playoffs
Timberwolves’ players Ayo Dosunmu and Rudy Gobert spoke to reporters after practice on Wednesday at Mayo Clinic Square. The Timberwolves can eliminate the Denver Nuggets from the NBA Playoffs in Game 6 Thursday night at Target Center. If they lose, there will be a decisive Game 7 in Denver.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Thursday has a chance to be a historic night for the Minnesota professional sports scene.
The Timberwolves and Wild both have home playoff games, both lead 3-2 in their best-of-seven series and each can advance on the same night with a victory. If the Timberwolves and Wild both lose, they had back on the road for decisive Game 7s.
Timberwolves have 2 chances to close out Nuggets
The backstory:
The Minnesota Timberwolves host the Denver Nuggets at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Game 6 on ESPN, with a chance to end Denver’s season. The Timberwolves had a 3-1 lead, but lost Game 5 125-113.
The Timberwolves committed 25 turnovers, and allowed 125 points without Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo.
Chris Finch says Timberwolves had ‘soft mentality’ in Game 5
The Minnesota Timberwolves practiced Wednesday at Mayo Clinic Square ahead of Game 6 against the Nuggets. Chris Finch spoke with reporters and said the team had a soft mentality that led to their Game 5 loss in Denver. The Timberwolves can close out the series with a win Thursday night.
“I thought we had a soft mentality,” Timberwolves’ coach Chris Finch said after Wednesday’s practice at Mayo Clinic Square.
Aside from the turnovers, Jaden McDaniels had two early fouls as the Timberwolves started slow. Nuggets’ role players Spencer Jones and Cam Johnson also combined for 38 points.
Game 6 – What’s at stake
Why you should care:
The Timberwolves have another chance to eliminate the Nuggets, but this time can do so on their home floor in front of what will be a raucous crowd at Target Center. If they win, the Timberwolves advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the third straight year.
If they lose, they head back to Denver for a Game 7. The team knows what’s at stake.
“We’ve got to come out, have fun, stay together. That’s what I told the guys. The game is going to swing, that’s basketball. It’s all about staying together and sticking to the game plan. I’m excited to play in front of the best fans in the world,” guard Ayo Dosunmu said.
“Obviously a lot is at stake, but it’s basketball. This is the moment you dream about,” center Rudy Gobert said. “It’s huge having the home crowd, but it’s basketball. At the end of the day, it’s on us to bring it.”
If the Timberwolves advance, they’ll face the San Antonio Spurs, who eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night.
Wild host Dallas Stars for Game 6 Thursday
Dig deeper:
Over in St. Paul, the Minnesota Wild host the Dallas Stars in Game 6 Thursday night at Grand Casino Arean. Puck drop is set for just after 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on TNT as well as FanDuel Sports Network.
Minnesota Wild can eliminate Dallas Stars Thursday night
The Minnesota Wild has a 3-2 lead over the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and can close out the series with a win in Game 6 Thursday night at Grand Casino Arena. Wild coach John Hynes spoke to reporters on Wednesday ahead of the pivotal game.
The Wild can end the Stars’ season with a win, after earning a 4-2 win at Dallas in Game 5. Michael McCarron scored what ended up being the game-winning goal at the 7:47 mark of the third period, which gave the Wild a 3-1 lead. Up 3-2, Kirill Kaprizov sealed the game with an empty-net goal.
Does the Wild’s mentality or approach change with a potential closeout game Thursday night? John Hynes says no.
“I just think it’s the mindset we’ve had as a group – you take each game for what it is. Each game has been highly-competitive, tomorrow night isn’t going to be any different,” Hynes said.
What’s next:
If the Wild lose Game 6, they will head back to Dallas for a decisive Game 7. The Wild is looking for its first playoff series win since 2015. If they advance, they face the Colorado Avalanche.
What to know about PCBs and their impact on the Great Lakes, Wisconsin
PCBs are a class of more than 200 chemicals that are known to cause cancer.
An invasive shrimp is swimming in Lake Superior. This is the last Great Lake to be invaded — all five Great Lakes now are infested by the crustaceans..
Researchers for the first time have confirmed a breeding population of an invasive Black Sea-native shrimp in Lake Superior.
The number and extent of the shrimp’s spread in Lake Superior is not clear. However, there is a breeding population in the Duluth.
The findings by researchers at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Lake Superior Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin Superior, and the Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York, published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research in April, found that the shrimp are now reproducing and surviving year-round in the Duluth-Superior Harbor, the farthest west the European species has been confirmed.
“Samples we collected in 2025 from two locations in the Duluth-Superior Harbor, a major inland shipping port in the Great Lakes, contained juveniles, adult males, and (pregnant or with young) adult females, indicating a self-sustaining population. Additionally, we document earlier evidence from 2018 samples we collected in the harbor that contained two juvenile specimens,” the article in the Journal said.
In an interview on the CBC’s “Superior Morning” show with Mary-Jane Cormier on June 10, lead researcher Donn Branstrator, of the University of Minnesota, said studies in the Duluth-Superior Harbor this spring after ice was off the lake found adult males and females.
“It’s pretty clear evidence of overwintering,” Branstrator told Cormier. “It would be very unlikely for the population to extinguish (at this point).”
Branstrator told Cormier ongoing bi-weekly research in the harbor, and along the Lake Superior shoreline will exam those questions.
According to the research, the non-native shrimp, about a quarter to half inch long, were first detected in the lower Great Lakes in 2006 in lakes Michigan and Ontario. By 2008, they were found in lakes Huron and Erie as well.
“It has also spread to Oneida and Seneca Lakes in New York … as well as the St. Lawrence River and various canals in northern New York State,” the research said.
Branstrator said the Black and Caspian sea region natives, also have spread throughout Europe into areas they were not native. He said they likely hitchhiked with ballast or bilge water, but the exact mechanism will never be known.
What we know about bloody red shrimp.
What is a bloody red shrimp?
Bloody red shrimp are small crustaceans native to the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region of Europe. They are adapted for fresh and brackish water.
This freshwater shrimp can be ivory-yellow in color or translucent, but exhibits pigmented red pigment cells in the carapax and tail, according to the USGS.
The quarter to half inch long shrimp feed on both phytoplankton and zooplankton at various stages of life.
While relatively small, they are among the larger creatures in the Great Lakes feeding on those food sources.
“They are very large bodied, at the upper end of what we consider zooplankton,” Branstrator said.
Branstrator said the shrimp live in near-shore environments and like to hide in crevices during the day, making use of dock pilings, breakwaters and other human-made structures.
They come out at night and “swarm” together in groups of up to 135 per square foot, the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant said.
Bloody red shrimp have a lifespan of about nine months, grow to adults in just 45 days, and an produce up to four generations per year. Females have been documented to carry up to 66 eggs in a clutch. Broods carried by females in the Muskegon population ranged from two to seven.
Where have the shrimp been found?
The shrimp have spread throughout Europe and now have been found in all five Great Lakes, as well as some locations away from the lakes.
The recent study found a breeding population in the Duluth, Minnesota, harbor, the first in Lake Superior.
According to the research, the non-native shrimp, about a quarter to half inch long, were first detected in the lower Great Lakes in 2006 in lakes Michigan (near Muskegon) and Ontario. By 2008, they were found in lakes Huron and Erie as well.
A single specimen was found in Duluth in 2017, and two were found in 2018. It wasn’t until 2025 that the researchers found a sustaining population when they captured 81 individuals.
How did the shrimp arrive in the Great Lakes?
The shrimp likely hitched a ride in the ballast water of ocean-going vessels, although Branstrator noted during an interview on CBC’s “Superior Morning” that we will never know for certain.
He added that the shrimp have multiple opportunities to hitch rides with vessels during the shipping season.
What impact will the shrimp have on Lake Superior and the Great Lakes?
Branstrator said that question hasn’t been answered. They feed on the same sources as other water-dwelling creatures, but they are large enough that small fish may find them to be a new food source.
Are any shrimp native to the Great Lakes?
The opossom shrimp is a Great Lakes native and looks similar to the bloody red shrimp.
A St. Cloud Tech ninth-grader won the Minnesota State High School League Clay Shooting championship on Friday.
Allie Lauer won the title with a score of 99 and reverse run of 83, while second-place finisher Isabella Blaz (Rosemount) also scored a 99 but a reverse run of 54. LeRoy-Ostrander’s Kimberly Volkart finished in third place with a score of 98.
MSHSL:
“I was nervous coming in because the other girls are older,” Lauer said. “It was nice weather today and things worked out well. Your average (score) doesn’t really matter. Just keep a good mindset and don’t focus on the scores.”
BOYS CLAY SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP
Proctor sophomore Lane Graves took home the championship after a grueling three-way, two-round shoot-off against Rushford-Peterson’s Colton Ronnenberg (second place) and Prior Lake’s Jack Benedict.
After Benedict was eliminated in the first shoot-off, Graves outlasted Ronnenberg with a 9-7 win in round two.
TEAM CLAY SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP
The Bemidji Lumberjacks took the team title with a total score of 487, one ahead of Lakeville South and five better than both Stewartville and Spring Grove.
St. Cloud’s Stanley Cup Champion Nate Schmidt [GALLERY]
Former St. Cloud Cathedral and University of Minnesota standout Nate Schmidt will bring the Stanley Cup to St. Cloud on August 25th. Here’s a look at his career through photos.
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