Here's the latest news from across the state to start your day. ☕
WEATHER
🌧️ A low-pressure wave will bring rain to west-central Minnesota Thursday morning. Showers and a few possible thunderstorms will grow as they move eastward across the state in the afternoon and evening.
☀️ Temperatures will cool Friday and into the weekend. But highs in the 70s will return to southern Minnesota by Monday.
Walz joined first lady Gwen Walz and their son Gus in voting, with Gus casting a ballot for the first time since turning 18 last week. He’s joked with his dad that he was still undecided about whether to support him on the ticket.
This fall marks the first time in more than two decades that Mayor Dave Kleis’ name hasn't appeared on the ballot. St. Cloud’s longest serving mayor decided not to run for reelection after 19 years in the office. The mayoral race is highlighting some of St. Cloud’s most pressing challenges, including a housing crunch, a struggle to revive its downtown and a perception that the city is less safe.
NEWS ROUNDUP
🌲 Renew it or lose it: Lawmaker asks voters not to skip ballot question on lottery amendment. Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul, sponsored the 2023 bill to reauthorize the earmark and told MPR News that the change would help ensure money doesn’t just go to large organizations.
🗳️ With dueling rallies this week, Georgia is on the mind for Trump and Harris. President Joe Biden won Georgia by just 12,000 votes in 2020. It's a state that was ground zero for both false claims of election fraud and the political fallout afterwards, and it's home to the key demographic groups that will help decide the next president.
MUST LISTEN
🎧 Blackouts in Cuba disrupt exchange between Minnesota, Cuba orchestra students. Cuba is suffering a nationwide blackout after the collapse of its electrical grid on Friday, days before Tropical Storm Oscar hit the island as a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday. The first night of the blackout, a handful of Minnesotans — along with other American and Cuban classical musicians and teachers — were set to play a concert celebrating a diplomatic exchange between young Cuban and American performers. 🎧 PolitiFact weighs in on false claims about Walz and how to spot disinformation. A senior U.S. intelligence official has found that Russia is behind viral disinformation about Gov. Tim Walz. An account on X spread false claims against the Democratic vice presidential nominee, but a closer look at the posts reveals inconsistencies and inaccuracies.
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