☀️ The first two days of this year’s Minnesota State Fair look nearly ideal. Highs Thursday and Friday will run in the upper 70s to lower 80s across Minnesota. Get the latest weather news on Updraft.

🎡 Welcome to the best day of the year: Day 1 of the Minnesota State Fair! Find Minnesota Public Radio's booth near the corner of Judson and Nelson, Aug. 22 through Labor Day, Sept. 2.

Camp MPR State Performance schedule for Thursday:

10:30 - 11:30 a.m. — Little Moments Count presents a live taping of the Early Risers Podcast 
Noon - 1 p.m. — MPR News presents Minnesota Now with Cathy Wurzer
2 - 3 p.m. — YourClassical MPR presents a live taping of Project DJ with Steve Staruch 
5:30 - 6:05 p.m. — The Current presents MAKR AN ERIS with an intro from Diane

With a one-time $10 (or more) donation or member gift, you can snag our limited-edition tote bag!Go to mprnews.org for the latest State Fair news and join us in Dan Patch Park on Aug. 30 for MPR Day.

Coming up on Morning Edition

🎡 The gates of the Minnesota State Fair opened at 7 a.m. Thursday. More than 100,000 people will likely visit on the first day and nearly 2 million could visit by Labor Day. MPR News reporter Estelle Timar-Wilcox introduces us to the first fair-goers.

📝 And Vice President Kamala Harris will carry on portions of the Biden-Harris agenda — but there are new twists she'll campaign on. She has yet to release a detailed agenda, but NPR has more on what we do know about Harris’ plans as she prepares to formally accept her party’s nomination for president.

Coming up at 9 a.m.

🗳️ MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about the key takeaways from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago — including Wednesday night’s speech by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

📞 Have you watched or listened to the convention? We want to hear from you. What moments have stood out for you? What did you think of Gov. Tim Walz’s speech on Wednesday night? What do you hope to hear from Harris when she addresses the convention Thursday night? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.

Gov. Tim Walz introduces himself to the nation as Harris' running mate at DNC

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted his party's nomination for vice president Wednesday and used his Democratic National Convention address to thank the packed arena for “bringing the joy” to an election transformed by the elevation of his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“We’re all here tonight for one beautiful, simple, reason: We love this country,” Walz said as thousands of delegates hoisted vertical placards reading “Coach Walz” in red, white and blue.

‘He’s always going to be Mr. Walz’: Mankato West alumni watch former teacher accept VP nomination

Former students, alumni, colleagues and neighbors gathered at the Mankato West High School auditorium Wednesday evening to watch Walz formally accept his nomination on the big screen with a speech. The room broke into cheers like a pep rally as he recognized Mankato West students and staff as the inspiration to start his political career.

Minnesota State Fair 101: Your guide to the Great Minnesota Get-Together for 2024

Did you miss our guide the first time around? You're in luck, we have everything here you could ever want to know about the fair.

Reminder: The day-of ticket price is $18 for adults, $16 for seniors (+65) and kids (5-12) and free for children 4 and under, with exceptions for certain groups on discount days.

What else we're watching:

🤝 Tribal leaders weigh in on Walz’s work with tribal-state relations. Though there have been “moments of disagreement and difference,” tribal leaders across the state have voiced their support for Gov. Tim Walz as the democratic VP nominee, pointing to his efforts to build tribal-state relations.

🚙 Job Interview: Climate activist parks cars on her lawn for the Minnesota State Fair. Tina Clark worked for years in America and Europe to create solutions for climate change. When she moved to Minnesota in 2017 to help her mom, she didn’t realize she had also stumbled upon her largest captive audiences for discussing climate solutions: the Minnesota State Fair.

📊 Minnesota State Fair by the numbers 2024. The Great Minnesota Get-Together is upon us. And for some of us, the best part about it isn’t the corn dogs and cheese curds we get to munch — it’s the data and the numbers we get to crunch.

🌊 Authorities investigating source of two sheens spotted on Mississippi River. State officials said a smaller sheen was detected shortly after 8 a.m. on Wednesday on the west shore of the river near Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park. Agencies are investigating whether this sheen is connected to the initial incident.

🐺 Researchers capture video of possible wolf-dog hybrid in northern Minnesota. Researchers with the Voyageurs Wolf Project have captured footage of what could be a wolf-dog hybrid roaming the forests of northern Minnesota.

💵 Minneapolis community safety group asks city council for more money. The Unity Community Mediation Team — which has formally worked with the Minneapolis Police Department on reform since 2003 — asked the city council Wednesday for $937,900 to help cover costs.

🎨 Art Hounds: ‘Five More Minutes’ looks at love and loss. From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art.

— Sam Stroozas and Anna Haecherl, MPR News