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That's Minnesota Weather for Ya
OK, let's do a speed round of Minnesota weather stories that'll dominate dinner conversation tonight.
Up first: On Monday, as wildfires continued to rage, the U.S. Forest Service temporarily shut down the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. All entry points will be closed at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday “due to extreme weather conditions and numerous wildfires.” Any permit with entry dates through Friday will be canceled, according to Forest Service officials. “[Rangers are] going campsite to campsite and determining whether or not people are there. If they are, then they’re making contact and letting them know that they need to leave,” Drew Stroberg, acting Superior National Forest supervisor, told reporters Monday. Fiery conditions last halted BWCA access in 2021. You can track the fires over at Watch Duty.
Next up: Lake Superior water temps from Duluth to Two Harbors plunged by 10-30 degrees over the weekend, the National Weather Service reports. The McQuade Harbor buoy recorded a drop from above 70 degrees to the middle 50s in less than 24 hours. The culprit: "recent upswelling due to southwest winds," per the NWS. Brave swimmers? Consider yourselves advised.
And, finally: This blasted heat dome we're under will double the metro's recorded 90-plus-degree days thus far in 2026 this week. We've had four such days, MPR News meteorologist Mandy Thalhuber writes, and prepare to strap yourself in for at least four more as "hot, dry, steamy conditions" take hold. The Twin Cities average around 13 90+ days per year, Thalhuber writes, and this heatwave should put us on pace to hit that mark. All this weather talk got you hot for some scorching history? Consult this nifty chart assembled by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
GOP-Endorsed State Auditor's "Certified Fraud Examiner” Claim Exposed as Fraudulent
In the wake of Graham Platner's scandal-plagued exit from the Maine U.S. Senate race, much is being made of the vetting—or lack thereof—applied to political candidates.
Closer to home, the Strib revealed last month that Brian Nicholson, the man tapped as running mate to Minnesota GOP-endorsed Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls, was among the January 6, 2021 insurrectionists at the U.S. Capitol. Not great optics! And on Monday, MinnPost published a funny fact check of Nate George, the MN GOP's runaway pick for state auditor this fall.
In spectacular dumb-guy fashion, George issued a Facebook post last month that trumpeted his credentials as a “certified fraud examiner.” But when MinPost checked with the Austin, Texas-based Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, certification manager Ashley Glenn revealed that George "has not even applied for such a certification, much less been awarded the credential," reporter Matthew Blake writes. In a statement, George admits that he should have "made it clearer that I was still competing the certification process." His campaign says he plans to take the necessary exams this fall.
Which brings us back to optics. “For someone to say they’re the best person to tackle fraud by providing fraudulent credentials is an irony that’s impossible to miss,” says Aaron Rothe, campaign manager for George's DFL-endorsed opponent, Zack Filipovich.
Blake then checks references up and down George's long, varied LinkedIn career history. He finds some minor discrepancies and some hard-to-verify claims, but plenty of enthusiasm for George's tenure as part-time mayor of Braham, population 1,769.
LeBron-to-Wolves Hype Grows
If you're to believe the betting markets, the Minnesota Timberwolves have just a 5% chance of landing all-time great LeBron James. But, along with Cleveland, Golden State, Miami, and Philadelphia, your hometown hoops squad is very much in the running, which would've seemed inconceivable prior to the Anthony Edwards era.
The Wolves pitch to LeBron received a boost Monday over The Athletic, where senior columnist David Aldridge writes:
James has multiple good options for what should be the last stop in his career tour. But … James should take his talents to Minneapolis. The land of KG and ‘Sota, and Prince, and Kirby Puckett, and Mary Richards. Go to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, LeBron. It’s the best basketball move, and I’m not just taking the Wolves’ word for it.
Aldridge's reasoning? Fit. Minnesota can plug James, 41, into the vacant starting power forward position and watch him cook alongside superstar Ant, newly acquired passing wizard LaMelo Ball, rising two-way ace Jaden McDaniels, and defensive powerhouse Rudy Gobert. "The best spot is Minnesota," Aldridge concludes. Listen to the man, LeBron!
In other Timberwolves news: Nick Halter of Axios explores what might happen to the 3.5 acres of Target Center real estate should the team get a new arena elsewhere.
RIP Doug Grow, Longtime Stribber and Early MinnPoster
Last week the local journalism world mourned Doug Grow, a Star Tribune sports and news columnist of 27 years who, after accepting a "so-called voluntary buyout" in 2007, joined the original MinnPost crew. He died July 8 of cancer at age 78.
The Strib was first to eulogize Grow with this lovely obit by Tim Harlow. We learn that the lifelong newspaperman began as a newspaperboy who delivered the Minneapolis Tribune around his hometown of Watertown, South Dakota. He came aboard the Minneapolis Star as a sportswriter in 1979, and by the late 1980s he had shifted over to the metro desk. He was a "must read" byline, retired Stribber Randy Furst tells Harlow.
“Being a newspaper reporter isn’t a job. It’s a daily rush,” Grow said during a 2007 interview with NPR. “In what other job do you get to reveal that a CEO has just helped himself to a multimillion-dollar bonus? Then in the next paragraph, report about the woman who works for the CEO who has just taken a 20% pay cut. In what other job do you get to toss irreverent questions at the president or the governor?”
MinnPost published a nice Grow remembrance Monday authored by his former Strib colleague, retired biz columnist Neal St. Anthony. "He was self-effacing, witty and grateful for his family and a journalism career that satisfied his curious, sometimes-challenging nature," Anthony writes, adding that Grow was a good union man, eager mentor, and skilled writer who was deeply skeptical not just of certain political parties, but rather anyone wielding power.
