Report: State officials missed major red flags in Feeding Our Future fraud

Plus: Big Minnesota connections at the 2024 Tony Awards 💃🏽 [Plus: Big Minnesota connections at the 2024 Tony Awards 💃🏽] View this email as a [web page]( [Star Tribune]( [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! Sound the alarm because it looks like we get one sunny afternoon before the storms move in this weekend 🌩️ On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [Regan Smith, swimming without fear at last, takes on another Olympics]( - [What could third-party candidates mean for Minnesota's 2024 presidential election?]( - A St. Paulite plans to bring Minnesota's first Black woman-owned brewery to the Rondo neighborhood]( - [Minnesota lottery winner wins judgment over his charitable foundation's money]( - [A Minnesota man dreamed of being published. After his suicide at age 20, his parents made his dream come true.](   Minnesota connections abound at this year's Tony Awards Joan Marcus/Broadway We all know Minneapolis is a theater town. Drive down Hennepin Avenue downtown on a given night and you'll find yourself wrestling with showgoers for a decent parking spot. That's why it's no surprise that this year's Tony Awards, hosted by Ariana DeBose and airing Sunday on CBS, boasts several Minnesota connections. Whether they're nominated for one of the night's big awards or as costumer for storied producers, here are some of the strongest local connections our theater reporter Rohan Preston dug up: Stone Arch Theatricals The Minneapolis-based production company backed 2019 best musical winner "Hadestown." This year, two of the company's productions are up for awards. "Suffs" was nominated for best musical and "The Who's Tommy" is up for best musical revival. Dugo This Edina-based boutique provided the outfit for Broadway producer Frances Wilkinson in 2019. Now, Wilkinson and partner Jennifer Melin Miller are tapping Dugo for their outfits once again. Jessica Lange The two-time Oscar winner is nominated for best leading actress in a play. Lange, who's from Cloquet, plays an alcoholic single mom in Paula Vogel's "Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions." Christine Heesun Hwang This Minnetonka High School grad made her Broadway debut in the ensemble of "Suffs." She also played Éponine in the national tour of "Les Misérables" when it came to the Orpheum Theatre for a two-week run in 2022. "Lempicka" This musical based on the life of Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka is nominated for three Tony Awards and boasts two major Minnesota connections. Minneapolis-based Broadway backer Colleen "Kittie" Fahey became a full-time producer two years ago to raise money for the show. And it was conceived with lyrics by Minnesota playwright Carson Kreitzer. Preston has the [full breakdown of Minnesota's contributions to this year's Tony Awards here](.     MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - [Curious Minnesota: Why did Minneapolis bury Bassett Creek?]( - [Tornadoes confirmed across swath of northern Minnesota]( - [Major Minnesota cattle company sued over scheme to 'disguise' operations to hide from creditors]( Audit finds 'inadequate oversight' in Department of Education's handling of federal meals program A scathing new state report found the Minnesota Department of Education's inadequate oversight of Feeding Our Future "created opportunities for fraud" and scrutinized the agency's shortcomings in its administration of millions in federal pandemic aid. The audit and a legislative hearing on its findings came nearly a week after a jury convicted five of seven defendants in the first trial of the case prosecutors say is a sweeping $250 million scheme to steal federal meal program money. Reporter Kelly Smith has all of the [details from yesterday's legislative hearing here](. Glenn Stubbe/Star Tribune [Share this newsletter with friends]( Do you enjoy Essential Minnesota? Encourage your friends and family to [sign up](. You also can share it using the links below. GOING OUT - [The 5 best sandwiches our food writers ate this week]( - [Merger that created Hennepin Arts makes it Minnesota's 2nd-largest arts group]( ADD OLYMPICS ANCHOR TO Weggemann's RESUME Anthony Soufflé/Star Tribune A Minnesota gold medalist is about to make history as the first Paralympian to host NBC's coverage of the Olympics. Mallory Weggemann of Eagan is a five-time medalist who recently added documentary filmmaker to her résumé. Her film, "Watershed," about her and husband Jay Snyder's journey to become parents, streams on Peacock later this summer. NBC has also tapped Weggemann as a studio host for the network's coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. It'll make for quite the busy summer. Weggemann tells reporter Neal Justin that she'll be on the air for seven hours a day, then training for one or two hours in preparation for this year's Paralympic Games, also in Paris. IN OTHER NEWS - [Hmong-led movie starring St. Paul actor Wa Yang debuts at Tribeca Festival]( - Sahan Journal - ['Soul Care' summit emphasizes mental health role of hair stylists in Black community]( - MinnPost - [Biofuel plants a significant source of air pollution in Midwest, study finds]( - Minnesota Reformer     THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE Hot take alert. Just as I was getting used to saying "greater Minnesota" instead of "outstate," the geographical discourse has revved up once again. An X user recently posited that Brainerd isn't north enough to be considered Up North. Instead, he argues, you can draw a nearly straight line from Duluth to Dilworth to determine the region's boundaries. Not so, several folks said. Some mentioned there are cultural attitudes to consider. Gov. Tim Walz weighed in with a map of his own that claimed everything north of Mankato qualifies as Up North. What say you? Send us your take at essential@startribune.com. Thanks for reading Eder Campuzano, reporter David Taintor, editor [Email]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]([Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Manage]( your preferences | [Opt Out]( using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? [Sign up]( to receive our future emails. View this email [online](. 650 3rd Ave. S. Suite 1300 | Minneapolis, MN 55488 US This email was sent to {EMAIL}. To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.