Some vendors can't or won't be there. Others are back — and hoping for the best.
| | Aug. 25, 2021
Good evening,
Lower humidity and cooler temperatures are allowing fire crews to escalate their fight against the Greenwood Fire, which has now burned nearly 22,000 acres of forest in northeastern Minnesota. Crews are conducting burn-out operations away from State Highway 1 and County Highway 2.
Fire information officer Clark McCreedy says they're removing burnable fuels and creating wider fire lines to prevent the blaze from jumping the highways.
The U.S. Forest Service has extended the closure of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for another week and announced closures along a long stretch of the upper Gunflint Trail as fires continue to threaten northeastern Minnesota.
Officials are still assessing the damage caused by the fire Monday, when it nearly doubled in size and swept through an area of homes and cabins. The fire is still zero percent contained.
And the State Fair opens tomorrow, amid controversy and concern over the COVID outbreak. Some state officials have criticized the fair for not instituting a mask or vaccine mandate, but fair officials say the sprawling grounds and huge walk-up crowds would be impossible to control. The gates open at 6 a.m. on Thursday, for the first fair since 2019. More on that below.
In weather, mostly cloudy tonight with a chance of storms after midnight. Lows in the mid-40s to mid-50s north to near 60 south. Rain and thunder move into southern Minnesota tomorrow morning.
Subscribe to our Minnesota Today podcast to get up-to-date Minnesota news twice daily. — Tim Nelson, MPR News | |
|
|
|
|
| State Fair vendors hope to make lemonade from COVID's lemons | | The Minnesota State Fair opens its gates Thursday for the first time since 2019. Many vendors will be glad to get back to the end-of-summer tradition, after one of the most trying years of their lifetimes. Still some can't, or won't, be back. | | |
|
|
|
|
| Judge denies request to allow guns at Minnesota State Fair | | A Ramsey County judge has ruled against gun permit owners who sought the right to carry weapons at the Minnesota State Fair. The ruling on an injunction request won’t be the last word in the case, but comes as the 2021 fair opens on Thursday. | | |
|
|
|
| It's not just the crops. Drought puts stress on farmers, too | | As the drought lingers in much of the state, there is growing concern about challenges faced by farmers and other people in rural Minnesota. Agriculture officials in Minnesota say they are seeing an increase in inquiries about mental health. | |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
