>>Minnesota National Guard Assisting with Hurricane Relief in North Carolina
(St. Paul, MN) — Members of the Minnesota National Guard are assisting with the Hurricane Helene relief efforts in North Carolina. Governor Tim Walz signed an emergency executive order Wednesday, deploying two helicopters from the St. Cloud-based C Company, 2-211 General Support Aviation Battalion and 11 soldiers. The Minnesota troops are expected to arrive Friday in North Carolina and support the mission for at least one week. The St. Louis County mobile command post is on the way to assist with the response and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office is working with local fire departments to assemble equipment and personnel for dispatch to the affected areas as needed.
>>Walz to Make Late Night Debut on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ and Appear on ’60 Minutes’
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be getting some more time on national television next week. The Democratic vice presidential candidate is scheduled to make his first late-night T-V appearance Monday on A-B-C’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Walz will also be part of a special airing of “60 Minutes” on C-B-S Monday. He will be featured in portions of an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Forty-three-million viewers watched the vice presidential debate between Walz and Republican Senator J-D Vance on Tuesday night.
>>State’s First Social District Closing for Season in Anoka
(Anoka, MN) — This is the last week of the season for Minnesota’s first social district in downtown Anoka. City development director Gary Borgland says the social district program came from a state law which allows people to carry a alcoholic beverage out of a bar in a social district cup on public sidewalks, and then public spaces and parks. Anoka had a successful 30-day pilot program last September and the first full season opened in May and ends Sunday night. He says the social district has generated additional traffic for businesses. Stillwater and Shakopee also established social districts this year.
>>CAIR-MN Hosts Prayer for Families Ahead of Thompson’s Federal Trial
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Minnesota chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) invites the public tonight (THURS) to join them and the families of five Muslim women killed in a June 2023 car crash in prayer and remembrance ahead of the suspect’s federal trial Monday. Derrick Thompson has yet to enter a plea in the Hennepin County case and has until November to decide. The victims killed in the crash are 20-year-olds Sahra Gesaade, Salma Abdikadir and Sagal Hersi, 19-year-old Siham Odhowa and 17-year-old Sabiriin Ali. The prayer event begins at 6 pm at Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in Minneapolis.
>>Search for Minnesota Man Now a Recovery Effort at Yellowstone National Park
(Yellowstone, WY) — Officials at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming say the search for a missing Minnesota man is now a recovery effort. Twenty-two-year-old Austin King from Winona was last heard from on Tuesday September 17th from the summit of Eagle Peak. The National Park Service says more than 100 personnel, two helicopters, dog teams and drones have searched more than 32 hundred miles by air and ground. Superintendent Cam Sholly says despite significant search efforts over the past week and a half, they have not been able to locate Austin . Limited searches will continue as conditions warrant.
>>2028 NCAA Wrestling Championship, 2027 Men’s Basketball Tourney Coming to Minneapolis
(Minneapolis, MN) — Two major college sports events are coming to Minnesota over the next three to four years. Minnesota Sports and Events say Minneapolis will host the 2028 N-C-A-A Division 1 Wrestling Championships and the first and second rounds of the N-C-A-A Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2027. The wrestling tournament at U-S Bank Stadium is expected to break the all-time attendance record and generate more than 45 million dollars for the area economy. The men’s basketball games will be played at Target Center in March 2027. The previous rounds of the N-C-A-A men’s tournament in Minneapolis were at the Metrodome in 2009.