It's Walz.

Plus: Where to catch this week's meteor shower [Plus: Where to catch this week's meteor shower] View this email as a [web page]( [Star Tribune]( [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! And now, our (Walz) watch has ended 🐉 On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [After power outage, WCCO TV is back on the air]( - [U profs gene sequenced a corn dog. Guess what they found.]( - [Who’s the Queen Spinner of the Shell Shock ride at Nickelodeon Universe?]( - [GOP primary in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District marked by confusion, intraparty feuding]( - [Rising New York art world star Walter Price debuts solo show at Walker Art Center](   Kamala Harris chooses Minnesota man as her running mate Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune Vice President Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the Democratic presidential ticket. The Harris campaign made the announcement this morning, but not before several media outlets leaked the news. They'll face former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio in November. If elected, Walz will become the third Minnesotan to serve as vice president, after Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. Both men also ran for president after their stints as second-in-command. Neither succeeded, but ever since Mondale, Minnesotans have voted for the Democratic presidential nominee, a streak that's lasted 52 years. Walz had long been a surrogate for President Joe Biden's re-election campaign, particularly given his role as chair of the Democratic Governors' Association. But since Biden dropped his bid for another term and endorsed Harris, Walz's national profile skyrocketed, due in large part to his frequent TV appearances calling Republicans "weird." We'll have much more about what a Walz vice presidential bid means for Minnesota and the nation in the coming days and weeks. (Spoiler alert: The country could get its first woman Native governor and the balance of power in the state Senate will be interesting to watch, to say the least.) Briana Bierschbach has all of the [details about the Walz selection here](.     GOING OUT - [Drink up: Here are the 63 new State Fair speciality sips for 2024]( - [The 15 best chocolate chip cookies in the Twin Cities]( - [Daily concert highlights at the Minnesota State Fair (Aug. 22-Sept. 2)]( Minnesota medal count 👀 We didn't have any Minnesotans competing for medals on behalf of Team USA yesterday. Today is the same story, but Jordan Thompson of Edina will compete in the women's volleyball quarterfinals against Poland and Lara Dallman-Weiss will participate in sailing events. Here's the full Minnesota medal count so far: 🥇 3: Suni Lee won gold in the women's gymnastics team competition. Regan Smith claimed two golds — one as a member of the mixed medley relay and another as a member of the women's medley relay. 🥈 4: Sarah Bacon won silver in the 3-meter springboard. Smith won silver in the 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter butterfly and the 200-meter backstroke. 🥉 2: Lee won bronze in the gymnastics all-around and the uneven bars. [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. Are you ready to watch the skies? Think of the darkest place you know. It's gotta be far away from the city lights. Got it? Good. Now plan a trip there. And do it soon. The Perseid meteor shower is about at its peak and there are several great places to watch the show throughout the state. Bob Timmons has the [details about this year's Perseids here](. Brian Peterson/Star Tribune MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - [Should the Master Gardener program at the U remove ‘master’ from its name?]( - [Driver was drunk when he caused crash in Minneapolis that killed other motorist, police say]( ON THIS DAY IN 1958 Larry Schreiber/Star Tribune When Lawrence Welk came to town in 1958, a crowd of 15,655 jammed the Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington and grossed $61,000 for the venue. That made us wonder: How does Welk's appearance compare to that of other musicians? (Well, one in particular.) When Taylor Swift came to town, the economic impact rivaled that of the Super Bowl, which brought $450 million in gross local spending. U.S. Bank Stadium can also seat about 73,000 at its peak. IN OTHER NEWS - [Conservative talk radio show host Al Travis is trying to depolarize the airwaves]( - MPR News - [Meet Your Neighbor: Hyperlocal photographer Stephen A. Born]( - Southwest Voices - [Expungement is great… until you need to prove a conviction to get into the cannabis business]( - MinnPost     THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE Will Wright via Instagram I recently had a friend in town and realized it was the first time I've given an out-of-towner a full-on tour of some of my favorite haunts. It's wild because for about 2½ years, I've been more of the tourist than the tour guide. We spent most of the weekend in Duluth, where we got some sandwiches, brews and a bit of hiking in. Before that, we strolled around St. Anthony Falls after an early dinner at Owamni. Photographer Will Wright recently captured this fantastic timelapse of the falls, which felt serendipitous given the trivia-laden tour I had given days ago. 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.