Minnesota Primary Preview: Races to Watch for Governor and U.S. Senate | August 10

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We have all practiced and trained for the last several months to think as a team, share information, enlist all available help, and act decisively when required. We believe strongly that our county partners and the state agencies who support them are as prepared and ready as they can be for whatever may come their way tomorrow and over the 2026 election season. Most polling places will be open at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning for in-person voting. And be sure to watch WCCO for complete election night results. You can also find results as soon as polls close at 8 o'clock tomorrow night. Just head to our website, WCCO.com. Number three, a man had his wife and five kids running military drills before an hours-long shootout with police. That's according to new charges from last week's standoff in Isanti. And today we learn the suspect's wife and children were trapped inside while he exchanged gunfire with officers. Jason Phillips is now charged with 32 felonies. The charges say Phillips made one of his kids hold a gun and told a girl, quote, to put face paint on to make herself look scary. It is incredible that no one was hurt. Charges do say one of the bullets he fired hit a neighbor's home and flew by a minor child when he was walking to the bathroom. Phillips is making his first appearance in court today. Your fourth thing to know today, if you were in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday night, you probably saw it. Hundreds of people flooding the streets of Minneapolis on scooters and e-bikes. And now we are actually hearing from the man behind it all. 20-year-old Johann Vargas posted a video on TikTok inviting people to a scooter takeover. Vargas said it's just a way to hang out with friends and enjoy the city, but it quickly grew hundreds speeding through northeast Minneapolis, and later highway cameras actually captured people on scooters on I-35W. Minnesota State Patrol said troopers responded around 11 p.m. after witnesses reported seeing hundreds of Lyme scooters on the highway. State Patrol called it an extremely dangerous situation, saying, quote, freeways are designed for high-speed motor vehicle traffic, leaving scooter riders with little protection and drivers with very little time to react. WCCO spoke with Vargas, that organizer of the scooter rally. That was past me because I left at like 10 p.m. and then everyone just went their own separate way. I mean, I put a disclaimer to follow all traffic laws. I don't support that. I support everyone being in the city just having fun. Obviously not blocking traffic, causing a ruckus. Going on the highway, that's not what I support. I support people having fun.

Minneapolis police did not make any arrest, but say at times the riders were reckless and disruptive. And since the meetup, Vargas's videos have gained hundreds of thousands of views. He says this is not the last time he will be organizing a scooter takeover. Those are the four things to know today. And before we check in on our next weather forecast, I just had a quick update on the wildfires up north in the Boundary Waters. Listen to this. The U.S. Forest Service says it will reopen 1,500 campsites in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on August 13th as part of the Phase 7 plan. That's this Thursday. And the plan includes several entry points, including the Kawishiwi and La Croy districts. The Forest Service has a full list of closures and reopenings on its website, but good news. Hopefully things continue to improve up in the boundary waters. Now let's check in on our next weather forecast. Hi, I'm next weather meteorologist Lisa Meadows. Your forecast tonight taking those temps pretty warm, just down to 68, increasing humidity tonight as we head into tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, some thunderstorms could roll through, especially across southern Minnesota, then a hot day in store tomorrow with Tuesday's high at 87. And now, here's more to know. A tragic story. A teenager is dead following a crash last night on I-94. It happened near Olson Memorial Highway just before 10 o'clock. 18-year-old Drew Von Fisher from Eden Prairie was in a Ford Focus when he hit a barrier. The State Patrol says he then got out of the vehicle and was hit by another driver. A Minnesota farm played host to soybean buyers today from Taiwan. It comes at a time when farmers in the state have been struggling due to rising costs and tariffs. Jason Rantelow went to Rice County today and he has the impact that this has been having on farmers. Soybeans are Minnesota's number one agricultural export. And today, buyers from Taiwan toured this family farm just outside Faribou. More specifically, this is Matt Perfist's family farm. It dates back to the 1850s. They played host to six buyers from Taiwan today as they showed off some of their latest equipment. It has been easy. It has not been easy for farmers like Perfist. He says fertilizer prices spike because of the war with Iran. On top of that, he says there was a mini drought in July. As part of a 2025 deal, the Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association is set to purchase up to $4.2 billion worth of U.S. soybeans over four years. That should help give some relief.

But the more we can export, the better off we are. It just prevents that backlog. It helps just get those beans out of the US, get them into these guys' hands. They'll crush them for their population. Helps them as well too, right? I mean, they want to import our beans, right? So how can we kind of bridge that gap? And at the end of day, it's just a win-win for everybody when we can increase our sales. Now here at the Perfist family farm, he said they're going to have a pretty decent crop, all things considered. It won't be record-breaking by any means. Now, after this, those buyers are actually set to head to tonight's Twins game, so they're getting a little bit of a taste of the Minnesota experience. To another story now that we've been following for quite a while, Taylor Fresh Foods is now recalling more products following a deadly cyclospora outbreak. All of the items contain jalapinos that could be tainted with salmonella. It includes burritos, sauces, and guacamole. The peppers were supplied by a grower in Mexico. And the recalled products were sold to places like Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods, among other spots. Now, if you bought them, you can return them for a refund. Residents in the Howard Lake neighborhood think they saw a cougar walking through the houses, and the DNR says the animal is likely just passing through, though, and as long as it doesn't pose a threat to people or pets and doesn't linger in town, they say they'll leave it alone. And typically, the large cats avoid contact with humans, but they could view small animals as prey. That's why Jim Harvath is keeping a close eye on Sunny, his Boston Terrier. Normally we let Sunny off the chain out to use the yard at night before bed. I've been coming out here with them just to make sure that nothing happens. Cougar is definitely out looking for food when they're in the area. The animal was spotted near the north shore of Howard Lake in late July, and the DNR was then made aware of it. No sightings in town have been reported since then. This afternoon, the funeral for University of Minnesota baseball coach, John Anderson. A service will be held at 3 o'clock at St. Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Then a celebration of life will follow at 6 o'clock at the Maturi Pavilion at the University of Minnesota. Both are being live streamed if you'd like to tune in. We got to talk about the links. One of their players set a WNBA record over the weekend. Caleb McBride hit 10 three-pointers on the day. No one in league history had ever done that before. And with that, too, it was a career personal high for McBride. She had 43 points. And the links also clinched a playoff spot with back-to-back wins over the weekend. They just keep rolling. Best team in the league. Let's get to baseball. The twins lost two of three in Milwaukee over the weekend. They are back at Target Field tonight hosting the ball. Baltimore Orioles. And now we have to get to football. The Vikings held their annual night practice last night. Apparently mixed reviews coming out of TCO Performance Center in Egan on the quarterback competition. So no word on that yet. Just going to have to keep following that. Hopefully we get a resolution soon. But we have to talk about the defense quickly. You guys might know this name, Dallas Turner, a former first round pick.

He's a third year talented outside linebacker, and the team's really going to need him to step up this year. Remember, they traded their best pass rusher, Jonathan Grenard, this offseason to the Eagles, and someone has to fill Grinard's void. We actually spoke with Turner. Definitely excited, you know, more importantly, have to be prepared for it, though, but, you know, definitely having a lot of positive doubts for it. What you describe kind of this just front, the defensive front that you guys have? A little bit of new guys, but a lot of the guys are talking about. I feel like already, you know, we're real close with each other. You know, there's a lot of camarader, a lot of competition, friendly competition and stuff like that. You know, we laugh, joke, but we also know how to get serious and get the work. So, you know, I feel like every single day, the energy is to get better than we were yesterday, you know, knowing that we young, trusting the coaches and stuff like that and everything that they tell us what to implement on the field and stuff like that. It's time to take a breath with your daily bright spot. And we had to stick with sports for the bright spot today. A Minneapolis native is now enshrined in gold. Starwide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, was officially inducted into the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Fitzgerald played 17 years with the Arizona Cardinals. He made 11 Pro Bowls. And in his NFL career, he finished second in both catches and receiving yards. That's pretty incredible second in both those categories. And meanwhile, his 121 touchdown catches put him sixth all time. Just an absolute legend. And in his induction speech, he thanked the Minnesota legends who mentored him growing up, legends like Randy Moss. He gave me his clothes. He gave me his size 14 shoes. He came to my high school games. He let me use his car and even surprised me with the knock for the Hall of Fame. Randy, being acknowledged by you. someone bigger than life. It meant the world to me. And I'm happy, I'm so happy you're healthy, brother. Larry, of course, was a ball boy growing up for the Minnesota Vikings, so he grew up a Vikings fan, still lives here. And that is so cool. Speaking of Randy Moss, who we mentioned, Moss is cancer-free and in remission after completing treatment for stage two bile duct cancer. Congratulations to Larry Fitzgerald. It was sad because his late father passed away recently, so he was not at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. His father had such a great impact on Larry and in the Minnesota sports community. So just really cool to see one of our own get honored, an absolute legend. Always fun when a Minnesotan makes it to the Hall of Fame. Well, I'm Johnny Connor. This has been four things to know. We, of course, are here with the news you need every weekday afternoon by 3 o'clock. Thanks so much for listening to us today for watching us on YouTube or Spotify. We'll be back tomorrow. Hope you have a great Monday night, everybody.

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