🏖️ If you’re planning a trip to the beach this late-summer holiday weekend, check ahead to make sure it’s open. Several beaches in and near the Twin Cities are closed due to high levels of E. coli bacteria.
The closures include the beach at White Bear Lake County Park in the north metro.
South of the Twin Cities, the Lake Byllesby Beach near Cannon Falls is closed.
In Minneapolis, three beaches are closed due to high bacteria levels: Wirth Lake Beach, the 32nd Street Beach at Bde Maka Ska and the main beach at Lake Nokomis.
💧 Drought conditions continue to expand and worsen across Minnesota. This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor update classifies about 80 percent of the state in drought. That’s up from 78 percent last week. Within that, the portion of Minnesota in severe or extreme drought also grew larger as recent rain has largely missed the parts of the state that need it most. Extreme drought expanded in the Red River Valley and also near the Twin Cities, in parts of Dakota and Washington counties.
In sports news:
🏈 The Minnesota Gophers
football team had a strong season opener yesterday, beating the Eastern Illinois Panthers 59-7. The Gophers take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs next Saturday, Sept. 12 at home.
⚾ The Minnesota Twins are heading to Chicago for a three-game series with the White Sox starting tonight.
⚾ The St. Paul Saints lost to Omaha yesterday 7-1. Those teams play three more games in Nebraska.
⚽ Minnesota United plays Portland tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. in Oregon.
state fair
🎡 Heading to the Minnesota State Fair? Here’s what to know before you go, including information on tickets, transportation, attractions, what to bring and ways to save.
🌤️ State Fair forecast: Hot and dry Friday. There won’t be any rain on Friday, but there will be lots of heat for the final Friday
before the holiday weekend.
🎤 Visit us at the MPR booth at the corner of Judson and Nelson! Here is the schedule for Friday and the weekend:
Friday
It's MPR's Made of Minnesota Day All programming will be live in Dan Patch Park
10-11 a.m. – Annual State Fair Weather Quiz with Mark Seeley and the MPR Weather Team, hosted by Cathy Wurzer Join us for a chance to test your weather knowledge for the annual State Fair weather quiz from iconic Minnesota climatologist Mark Seeley.
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. – The Current presents Koo Koo Koo Koo is the high-energy duo of Bryan Atchison and Neil Olstad. Built on crowd participation, comedy, dance music and playful experimentation, Koo Koo turns every performance into an all-ages party. Their shows invite audiences to sing, move and laugh along, stretching the idea of what a band can be.
1–2 p.m. – YourClassical presents Cantus As one of the nation’s few full-time vocal ensembles, Cantus has come to prominence with its distinctive approach to creating music. Working without a conductor, the members of Cantus rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing to the entirety of the artistic process, creating programs that give voice to shared human experiences.
2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. – Carbon Sound presents Obi Original and The Black Atlantics Obi Original and The Black Atlantics. Guitarist and producer extraordinaire, Obi Original mixes rock, highlife, and African fusion into a unique Minnesota sound.
4–5 p.m. – The Current presents Davina and the Vagabonds Davina Sowers and the Vagabonds have created a stir on the national music scene with their high-energy live shows, level A musicianship, sharp-dressed professionalism and Sowers’ commanding stage presence.
Saturday
11 a.m. and 1 p.m. – The Current presents Bunny Blood Bunny Blood — the Minneapolis trio of Hallie Gronquist, Jared Jones and Josh Fetzek — was the top vote-getter in The Current’s 2026 Minnesota Music Month Scouting Report poll. Their genre-bending sound blends shoegaze, nu metal, grunge and alternative pop into music that is heavy, hypnotic and constantly evolving.
3 p.m. and 5 p.m. – The Current presents Room3 Room3 is a jazz fusion wild card rooted in tradition yet driven by experimentation. Their sound is imaginative, playful and rhythmically sharp, mixing elements of bebop, contemporary jazz, prog rock, funk and more.
Sunday
11 a.m. and 1 p.m. – The Current presents Jeremy Messersmith Jeremy Messersmith is an indie pop singer-songwriter and one of Minnesota’s most recognized and celebrated artists. A thoughtful, clever lyricist with a tender voice, the Minneapolis-based troubadour crafts songs that are catchy and relatable, and span the emotional gamut from poignancy to whimsy.
3 p.m. and 5 p.m. – The Current presents Megasound Megasound is the rock and roll progeny of three indie pop friends. Kerry Alexander has fronted Bad Bad Hats with Chris Hoge for more than a decade, and the duo have known Elana Carroll (aka Party Nails) even longer. Songs inspired by early 2000s rock, the music of their collective youths.
It's time for the State Fair! For a limited time only, become a sustaining member at $10 per month and receive MPR’s latest tote bag designed by Marlena Myles plus the Minnesota Mammals Nalgene.
🌤️ Today: Partly sunny in the morning then clearing. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs in the lower 80s to lower 90s, except in the upper 60s near Lake Superior.
☁️ Tonight: Partly cloudy. Patchy dense fog. Lows in the mid-50s to lower 60s north, to upper 60s south.
☀️ Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. Patchy dense fog in the morning. Highs in the lower 80s to lower 90s, except in the mid-70s near Lake Superior.
What began as an apparent custody handoff of a child ended in a mass shooting Wednesday in Minneapolis that left three people dead, including the shooter, state investigators said Thursday as they provided new details on what happened.
When the stand first opened in 1955, it charged 10 cents for a bottomless 12-ounce cup of milk. The booth sells hundreds of thousands of cups every year.
NEWS ROUNDUP
🚨 ICE officer charged with lying about shooting turns himself in to feds, AP source says. The federal charges follow Castro's release from jail last week after Texas’ governor refused to immediately sign an extradition warrant to hand him over to Minnesota authorities.
🍼 Minnesota is losing hospital obstetrics units faster than most states, new data finds. Minnesota is one of only eight states that
lost more than 20 percent of hospital-based labor and delivery units since 2010.
🍂 How will Minnesota's drought conditions affect fall colors this year? There are clear impacts of drought, such as poor crops and increased fire danger. But the affect that drought has on Minnesota’s trees can be less obvious — and take longer to become evident.
🚔 Suspected shooter at Minneapolis apartment complex was getting evicted. According to court records, Loring Towers, now known as Shoreline Plaza,
filed an eviction complaint against Carlton Johnson II in June.
🎭 MN Shortlist Sept. 4-10: Grand Portage National Monument artist, Nina Simone at Pillsbury, Penumbra’s 50th and more. The first artist-in-residence at northern Minnesota’s national monument, a civil rights era musical play at Pillsbury House + Theatre and Penumbra Center for Racial Healing’s world premiere of “Mothership” are among this week’s picks.
⚖️ Diocese of Winona-Rochester insurer to pay $30 Million to survivors of clergy sexual abuse. One hundred forty-five people who were sexually abused by Catholic clergy and staff in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester will be paid $30 million in a settlement agreement reached with the largest insurer of the diocese.
MUST LISTEN
🎧 With two months until Election Day, politics takes center stage at the State Fair. It’s not hard to miss politics at the fair, whether its candidates booths or candidates going down the giant slide. The MPR politics team breaks down the big races to watch.
🎧 Minnesota Secretary of State warns USPS mail voting proposal would be 'a real mess.' State officials say a federal proposal to restrict mail-in voting could disenfranchise voters and be costly for states. But for now, mail-in voting procedures remain the same.
🎧 Minnesota unemployment rate rises above national rate for first time since 2007. Alene Tchourumoff, the lead author of the Minneapolis Fed's recent report on lower-income Minnesotans, discussed what data points like the unemployment rate could mean for Minnesota families.
🎧 Community land trusts: A different way to own land and build community power. MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about how community land trusts work, why collective ownership matters and what the model can offer communities across Minnesota.
🎧 Farmers union: Uncertain times for family farms amid tariffs and global conflicts. The Minnesota Farmers Union has advocated for family farms across the state since 1918. MFU president Gary Wertish shared more about how their work is evolving amid the uncertainties farmers are facing from tariffs and global conflicts.
🎧 Minneapolis sibling duo The Cactus Blossoms make their State Fair return. The Cactus Blossoms joined MPR News host Nina Moini live at the State Fair to share music and stories, ahead of a show Thursday night on the Preyes Stage at the fair’s Schilling Amphitheater.
🎧 Tasting new fair foods: Ube strawberry sundae pie and cheese curd lumpia. There are 36 new foods at this year’s State Fair. Minnesota Now
tried two of them during a live taping at the MPR stage and heard more about how they came to be.
We’d love it if you would complete a short anonymous survey. It will only take about 10 minutes and as a token of our appreciation, you can enter for a chance to win one of six $100 gift cards once you’ve completed the survey. No purchase or survey participation necessary. U.S. residents 18 and up. Ends Sept. 21. Odds depend on entries received. Official rules at mprnews.org/survey
