Today is Tuesday, June 17, the 168th day of 2025. There are 197 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On June 17, 1994, after leading police on a slow-speed chase on Southern California freeways, O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with murder in the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. (Simpson was acquitted of the murders in a criminal trial in 1995, but held liable in a civil trial in 1997.)

Also on this date:

In 1775, the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill resulted in a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses.

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In 1885, the Statue of Liberty, disassembled and packed into 214 separate crates, arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French frigate Isère.

In 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which boosted U.S. tariffs to historically high levels, prompting foreign retaliation.

In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Abington (Pa.) School District v. Schempp, struck down, 8-1, rules requiring the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer or reading of biblical verses in public schools.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon’s eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside the Democratic headquarters in Washington, D.C.’s, Watergate complex.

In 2008, hundreds of same-sex couples got married across California on the first full day that same-sex marriage became legal by order of the state’s highest court; an estimated 11,000 same-sex couples would be married under the California law in its first three months.

In 2015, nine Black worshippers were killed when a gunman opened fire during a Bible study gathering at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. (Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, was captured the following day; he would be convicted on state and federal murder and hate crime charges and sentenced to death.)

In 2021, the Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, left intact the entire Affordable Care Act, rejecting a major Republican-led effort to kill the national health care law known informally as “Obamacare.”

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, creating the first new national holiday since the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Today’s Birthdays:

Filmmaker Ken Loach is 89.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is 82.
Musician Barry Manilow is 82.
Comedian Joe Piscopo is 74.
Actor Jon Gries is 68.
Filmmaker Bobby Farrelly is 67.
Actor Thomas Haden Church is 65.
Actor Greg Kinnear is 62.
Olympic speed skating gold medalist Dan Jansen is 60.
Fashion designer Tory Burch is 59.
Actor Jason Patric is 59.
Actor-comedian Will Forte is 55.
Latin pop singer-songwriter Paulina Rubio is 54.
Tennis Hall of Famer Leander Paes is 52.
Tennis star Venus Williams is 45.
Actor Jodie Whittaker is 43.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar is 38.
Actor KJ Apa is 28.

A line of severe thunderstorms Monday brought several reports of tornadoes in Crow Wing and surrounding counties in north-central Minnesota.

Severe weather in south-central Minnesota included reports of at least one small tornado and several funnel clouds. However, no major damage was immediately reported.

In northern Minnesota, initial information during and after the storm indicated damage appeared to be confined to trees, with no major property damage or injuries reported.

At 4:40 p.m. Monday the National Weather Service in Duluth issued a tornado warning until 5:30 p.m. for south central Cass, central and northern Crow Wing and west central Aitkin counties. The weather service reported weather spotters confirmed a tornado northwest of Gull Lake about 4:36 p.m., and law enforcement officers in Cass and Crow Wing counties also reported seeing a funnel. Tornados also were reported later near Crosby and east of Brainerd, prompting the weather service to extend the tornado warning until 5:45 p.m. and again 6:15 p.m. into Aitkin County.

Along with tornadoes the thunderstorms brought a lot of rain and strong winds. The weather service received several reports of hail, with 1.25 inch hail reported in Lake Shore. Over an inch of rain fell Monday in Brainerd.

A storm chaser 6 miles northwest of Wealthwood in Aitkin County reported debris in the air and on the ground. A trained spotter 1 mile north of Merrifield reported trees fallen in multiple directions.

Several fallen trees partially blocked County Road 127 west of Merrifield, and the road was closed from County Highway 3 to County Road 137 for crews to perform highline repairs due to the storm damage.

Steve Bible, a resident on County Road 127, joined others to help clear the roads with a chainsaw after the storm cleared up. Bible said the clouds turned dark green and gray and began swirling overhead as a tornado passed nearby. Multiple driveaways were blocked and powerlines were crushed. Leaves, branches and debris littered the road.

Nisswa Fire and Rescue reported to Twin Lakes Road to the north of Merrifield to clear multiple large fallen trees blocking the road. Winds ripped down a large wooden sign at Northland Construction on County Highway 3. It was reported Mollie Lake Road also was closed for a period of time to clear numerous trees that had fallen during the storm.

At 6:05 p.m., Crow Wing County Emergency Management Director Clayton Barg said they positioned the emergency command trailer in Merrifield at the Merrifield Lions Park and were beginning to receive reports from the storm. At that time, there were around 2,000 people in the county without power and reports of a lot of trees down, though the county had not received any reports of structural damage or injuries.

Barg said most of the damage they were seeing was west of Merrifield.

At around 7:10 p.m., Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang said dozens of trees were down and had multiple roads closed in the county.

“We got a lot of tree damage, a lot of roads blocked. We have about 2,000 people without power, and we are currently just trying to make an assessment,” Klang said. “We got our drones up and we’re flying the damaged areas to see what kind of damage there was to homes and any structural damage or anything like that. We’ve seen a few things, but luckily nothing too bad as of right now.”

Klang said they had not yet received any reports of injuries caused by the storm.

At around 5:35 p.m., Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk said they were working to get everybody situated and start their damage assessment.

“Some trees are down for sure, but we’re just in the process of getting everybody in position,” Welk said.

At around 7 p.m. Welk said “they dodged a bullet” as he reported only minor structure damage and dozens of trees down. He said most of the damage was around Agate Lake, just west of Gull Lake.

According to a Facebook post, 1,800 Crow Wing Power members in the Merrifield area were out of power as of 5:16 p.m., while smaller outages were reported in the Nisswa area. Crews were on their way to restore power.

The post advised people to stay away from downed power lines or trees near power lines, as they could still be energized. Power outages should be reported by texting “OUT” or calling 1-800-648-9401.

At 5:30 p.m. Monday Minnesota Power reported active outages in Cass and Crow Wing counties, affecting 17 customers.

 

Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel in St. Paul won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest, making her the first St. Paul chef to ever win that prestigious culinary prize.

French-influenced Bûcheron in South Minneapolis was also named the country’s Best New Restaurant, beating out nine other finalists for one of the award’s top honors.

Tomlinson — wearing a dress her grandmother wore in 1941 when she was crowned a local Corn Queen — was presented with the medal Monday night in Chicago by Twin Cities star chefs Sean Sherman, of Owamni, and Andrew Zimmern.

“I am privileged to work with many farmers today who are stewarding our resources to the best of their abilities and proud of their work,” she said in a brief acceptance speech. “The Midwest is beautiful. The Midwest is diverse. The Midwest is tenacious and strong, and we grow really good food.”

This is Tomlinson’s first win at the James Beard Awards and also her first time as a finalist for the Midwest award; she’s previously been named a semifinalist three times.

Tomlinson beat out four other finalists in the Best Chef: Midwest category, including Minneapolis chefs Diane Moua of Diane’s Place and Shigeyuki Furukawa of Kado no Mise. (The category encompasses Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.)

The Twin Cities were also well-represented at the James Beard Media Awards, presented earlier this week.

In particular, the Twin Cities Public Television series “Relish,” hosted by chef Yia Vang, won in a category called “lifestyle visual media,” which “honors excellence in food-centric talk shows and lifestyle programs that explore food or beverage alongside broader societal and cultural themes.” (Season 6 of “Relish” premieres June 23 on TPT.)

The National Geographic Channel show “World Eats Bread” won in the docuseries category; the third episode of the show features local culinary advocate Amalia Moreno-Damgaard exploring tortilla-making in Guatemala.

In addition, the James Beard Foundation recognized Minnesota U.S. Rep. Angie Craig with one of five Impact Awards, a new honor this year to highlight those pushing for broader food system changes. Craig, from Minnesota’s 2nd District, serves as ranking member on the House Committee on Agriculture.

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The adult children of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman released a statement on behalf of their Brooklyn Park family on Monday saying their slain parents were the “bright lights at the center of our lives.”

Sophie and Colin Hortman said: “We are devastated and heartbroken at the loss of our parents, Melissa and Mark. They were the bright lights at the center of our lives, and we can’t believe they are gone. Their love for us was boundless. We miss them so much.”

The siblings said that they wanted to let people know that they were safe and with loved ones.

“We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received, and we appreciate your respect for our family’s privacy as we grieve.”

They also said the family wanted to thank law enforcement for “their swift action that saved others and for the coordination across communities that led to the arrest of the man who murdered our parents. We especially would like to thank the officers who were first on the scene to our parents’ home and their heroic attempts to rescue our mom and dad.”

The siblings said that their parents had touched many lives.

“They leave behind an incredible legacy of dedication to their community that will live on in us, their friends, their colleagues and co-workers, and every single person who knew and loved them.

If people want to honor the couple’s memory, they could consider doing some of the following, the siblings said:

Plant a tree.
Visit a local park and make use of their amenities, especially a bike trail.
Pet a dog. A golden retriever is ideal, but any will do.
Tell your loved ones a cheesy dad joke and laugh about it.
Bake something — bread for Mark or a cake for Melissa, and share it with someone.
Try a new hobby and enjoy learning something.
Stand up for what you believe in, especially if that thing is justice and peace.

“Hope and resilience are the enemy of fear. Our parents lived their lives with immense dedication to their fellow humans. This tragedy must become a moment for us to come together. Hold your loved ones a little closer. Love your neighbors. Treat each other with kindness and respect. The best way to honor our parents’ memory is to do something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else.”

A GoFundMe account (tinyurl.com/5eynjbnv) that has been set up for the siblings has raised more than $60,000 as of Monday evening.

The organizer wrote: “I created this gofundme to raise funds to help Colin and Sophie repair the home, car and garage, help cover the costs of the funeral, and the associated costs of laying their parents to rest. I greatly miss my sister Melissa and brother-in-law Mark and want to help my niece and nephew through this difficult time and help cover the expenses this tragedy has incurred.”

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