Walz inches closer to VP nod

Plus: Lee, Smith compete for Olympic gold today 🏅 [Plus: Lee, Smith compete for Olympic gold today 🏅] View this email as a [web page]( [Star Tribune]( [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! I've entered the part of my Olympics-watching routine where I shout at the commentators if they dare criticize my favorite athletes. Adding an extra half-twist on the vault is way easier said than done 🤸🏽 On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [The northern lights may be visible in Minnesota this week. Here's how to chase them.]( - [Twins games and Bally Sports North programming will return to Comcast later this week]( - [OG Zaza bringing New Haven-style pizza to Shakopee]( - [Fond du Lac Band becomes first Minnesota tribe to join legal fight against social media giants]( - [Twin Cities' Mill Valley Kitchen expands to downtown Rochester](   The Harris veepstakes tightens as Walz's national popularity skyrockets Caroline Yang/New York Times And then there were three. Last night, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper bowed out of the race to accompany Vice President Kamala Harris atop the Democrats' presidential ticket. And the three top contenders for the VP slot now appear to be Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Walz, who earlier this year scaled back his six-per-day Diet Mountain Dew habit, hardly made a blip in the first few veepstakes delegate polls. But he's become nearly inescapable on the national TV news circuit as he dug into the Democratic strategy of painting Republicans as "weird." Could Minnesota soon produce another vice presidential candidate? Or will the North Star State succumb to its traditional place in the national spotlight? I think the technical phrase is "always a bridesmaid, never a bride." Although this time it's more like, "usually a bridesmaid, this time we just got invited to the wedding." Check the links below for a look at Walz's history from our staff reporters, plus how national media is covering the second-term governor. Related coverage - [What you should know about Gov. Tim Walz's record in office amid VP speculation]( - [Tim Walz 'weird' quote has Republicans on defense]( - [One word has elevated Minnesota's governor to the Democrats' V.P. wishlist]( - New York Times - [Minnesota Spice: Gov. Tim Walz, a Harris VP contender, delights Democrats with MAGA mockery]( - CNN - [In Tim Walz, Democrats see a potential VP pick who can shore up the 'blue wall']( - NBC News     GOING OUT - Critics' picks: The 14 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week]( - [Minnesota Fringe Festival is smaller in 2024, but still is wild and wooly with 100-plus shows]( - [Like Mick Jagger, Barry Manilow still going strong at age 81]( Minnesota medal watch 👀 Sarah Bacon so far remains the sole Minnesotan to win a medal for the USA at the Paris Olympics. But that may change today! Here's what we're watching: 🤸🏽 Suni Lee will participate in the women's gymnastics team final at 11:15 a.m. 🏊🏻 ♀️ Regan Smith is favored to win in the women's backstroke 100m final, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Lee has individual events tomorrow and Smith will also compete in heats and the semifinals in the 200m butterfly. [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. Union efforts on the rise in Minnesota and elsewhere If you think you've heard more about workers unionizing in the last few years, it's because they are. Occupations that were once rarely mentioned in the same breath as organized labor — think employees in museums, nonprofits, restaurants and more — have increasingly mounted unionization efforts recently. And the pandemic played no small part as it helped workers identify who made the big decisions that affected their professional lives. Zoë Jackson has [the story about the uptick in union activity here](. Ayrton Breckenridge/Star Tribune MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - [Midway Contemporary Art reopens in a former limousine garage that's now environmentally friendly]( - [Vikings camp competitions: Wide receiver group starts with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison and awaits a clear No. 3]( ON THIS DAY IN 1972 Richard Olsenius/Star Tribune Virginia Piper was kidnapped outside her family's estate in Orono on July 27, 1972. Two days later, she was returned after husband Harry Piper paid a $1 million ransom, all in $20 bills. It was the largest ransom in U.S. history at the time. Piper was found chained to a tree in Jay Cooke State Park after an anonymous caller — who was tipped off by another anonymous caller — told the FBI where to find her. In this Star Tribune file photo from the July 30 edition of the newspaper, family spokesman Morgan Aldrich reads a note announcing her release. He told media that Piper was tired but that there were "otherwise no injuries." Donald Larson and Kenneth Callahan were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping Piper in 1977 just days before the five-year statute of limitations was up on the case. They were initially found guilty by a jury but acquitted on appeal in 1979. Authorities recovered $4,000 of the initial ransom. IN OTHER NEWS - [International adoption leads to family health mysteries for Minnesotans]( - Sahan Journal - [Envisioning a new future with artists with disabilities]( - MinnPost - [One idea to curb the invasive Asian carp: Eat them]( - Minnesota Reformer     THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE ProgramTricky6109 via Reddit We've reached mid-summer and you know what that means: It's time to systemically plot out everything you've meant to do so far this season and schedule a solid date and time to tick each item off your leisurely to-do list lest you regret it come September. Oh, it's also peak sweet corn season, as Reddit user ProgramTricky6109 points out. La Jefa and I, as you're surely aware at this point, are huge fans of easy dinners. And it doesn't get much easier than grilling or frying up some protein and tossing a couple of ears of corn on the grill or into a pot of boiling water so you can hurry up and hit the water. (After the requisite 30-minute wait to digest, that is.) What's your essential sweet corn recipe? Let us know 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.