Good morning, Minnesota. Today is Tuesday, July 20.

Our current heat wave feels a little too familiar. Yesterday marked the 15th day at or above 90 degrees in the Twin Cities so far this year, which is already well past the annual average of 11 days. This heat wave is slated to peak over the weekend, likely cooling down by mid-next week. In other words, get ready to ride this out for a bit ( and stay both cool and safe.)

Today brings more 90s to the southwest half of the state — cooler near Lake Superior. It'll be partly sunny and hazy with a slight chance of showers and storms in northern Minnesota. But not enough to make a real impact on our statewide drought. More on that below.

Northern Minnesota is under an air quality alert due to the Canadian wildfires. Take it easy out there if you are sensitive to air pollution.

Gymnast Shane Wiskus of Spring Park, Minn., is one of more than 20 Minnesota-connected athletes headed to the Tokyo Summer Olympics. | Jamie Squire, Getty Images

Minnesota, meet your Olympians

Cheer on Team USA, sure. But what's even more fun is rooting for your hyper-local Olympians — those are the 20+ athletes competing in Tokyo this summer with ties to Minnesota. And there's nothing Minnesotans love more than a local connection.

We've got a complete rundown of which "locals" to keep an eye out for — from swimming to cycling to one of the newest Olympic sports: sport climbing.

The Tokyo Summer Olympics are scheduled to begin Friday.

The midway at the Olmsted County Fair in Rochester in 2010. | Chad Johnson, MPR News 2010

County fairs are back, and so are the crowds

One can find a Minnesota county fair to attend somewhere in the state in most — if not all — weekends in July and August of 2021. These smaller fairs lead up to the great return of the Minnesota State Fair opening Aug. 26.

Dodge, Waseca and Lake of the Woods counties hosted fairs this past weekend, and this week alone will see county fairs in Blue Earth, Wright, Chisago and Otter Tail counties.

A county fair is a classic summer tradition for many, including midway rides, barn animals, 4-H exhibits and, of course, beloved fair foods.

"You could just tell that people were longing to be part of a crowd," said Kirk Peysar, an organizer of the Aitkin County Fair that took place earlier this month. He said this year brought in an even greater turnout than usual, despite the small window fairs had to pull things together.

Find a county fair near you.

Drought stresses crops, streams, lawns

Some Minnesota farmers are getting just enough rain to keep their crops green and growing. But it's a different story for many others.

Streams and rivers are showing record lows, too. It's likely the Mississippi will fall low enough this week to activate drought water management plans in the Twin Cities — like even-odd sprinkling restrictions.

Some simple ways to cut back water use:

Take shorter showers
Turn off the faucet when you aren't using water
Use a broom instead of spraying to clear pavement
Skip the car wash

And did you know a brown lawn isn't actually a dead lawn? Our story has guidance on mindfully keeping a lawn alive during a drought.