Aug. 19, 2021

Good afternoon,

Minnesota’s GOP is apparently heading for an endgame in an ongoing leadership crisis, sparked after the indictment of a Republican donor and activist on sex trafficking charges.

Party leaders are meeting tonight, to talk about party chair Jennifer Carnahan. The party's most recent executive director said he believed Carnahan knew of the nature of the allegations against the donor before his arrest, and had expressed reservations about the donor's personal behavior.

An attorney for Carnahan says she did nothing wrong, but multiple party leaders, including members of the state committee, have said they will nonetheless seek to oust her.

This year's Minnesota State Fair is likely going to be significantly altered by COVID-19.

A number of state agencies, including the Department of Education and Department of Health, will not have presences at the fair – along with a number of other smaller agencies.

MPR also indicated today it has no plans this year to broadcast news or music programming from its booth on Judson Avenue, for the first time in memory — although the booth will be open and staffed and some live stage shows are still being planned for MPR Day on Sept. 3 at Dan Patch Park.

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Half of Minnesota is now in extreme drought, but rain is on the way

Hot and dry weather continue to deepen Minnesota’s drought situation. A pattern change could make a dent in the drought over the next week, starting with a potent storm that hits the state Friday.

Drought in Minnesota: How to conserve water at home
Weekend forecast: Friday rain chance and more

St. John's Abbey Church gets a pipe organ worthy of its space

For half a century, the St. John’s Abbey Church in Collegeville in central Minnesota has attracted visitors from around the world. Now, after a huge expansion of its pipe organ, enthusiasts say it finally has an instrument to match its modernist splendor.

Man surrenders after claiming to have bomb near U.S. Capitol

The man who claimed to have bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol has surrendered to law enforcement, ending an hourslong standoff.

U.S. struggling to speed Kabul airlift amid hurdles, glitches

As of Thursday, about 7,000 people had been evacuated in the U.S. airlift, including about 2,000 on each of the past two days. With an Aug. 31 deadline looming, tens of thousands remain to be airlifted to safety.

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A summer tradition changes with the climate

Climate change is affecting everything from campers’ schedules, to infrastructure needs, to the kinds of trees on the property at Camp Mishawaka in Grand Rapids, Minn. And it isn’t alone; a major insurer of summer camps has pulled out of the business as camps on the coasts lose property to wildfires and hurricanes.

Forest Service says lightning caused Minnesota wildfire

A wildfire in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota that crews have been fighting since the weekend has grown to 6 1/4 square miles. The Forest Service says lightning caused the fire near Greenwood Lake, which was first spotted Sunday.

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