The Gophers men’s basketball team have had two in-state commitments in the 2026 recruiting class, and on Thursday, the U landed a pledge in a big man from Congo by way of California.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound center Chadrack Mpoyi gave a verbal commitment to Minnesota after a campus visit to Minneapolis in late August. He is from Likasi, Democratic Republic of Congo and has been playing for Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine Calif.

“Next chapter,” Mpoyi wrote on social media.

Considered a bruising player, Mpoyi is the 151st ranked recruit in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports composite list. He had offers and visits to Oregon State, Utah State and California-Santa Barbara over the last month. He also has reported offers from California, Utah, Loyola Marymount and East Carolina.

“Chadrack has only scratched the surface of what he can become,” Crean head coach Austin Loeb said in a statement to OC Sports Zone. “His size, athleticism and natural gifts make him a special player, but what excites me most is his willingness to work, learn and grow. Even more importantly, his faith in Christ shapes who he is and how he carries himself.”

The Gophers’ two local recruits are Nolen Anderson (Wayzata) and Cedric Tomes (East Ridge). Anderson is considered a four-star prospect, while Mpoyi and Tomes have received three stars from 247Sports.

You never would’ve known that the Wild are mired in a contract dispute with the best player in franchise history based on the way everybody was acting on Thursday morning at TRIA Rink in St. Paul.

After general manager Bill Guerin spoke to reporters, declining to go into detail about the ongoing contract negotiations, superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov spoke to reporters, as well, smiling big, cracking jokes, and declaring his love for Minnesota.

No barbs being thrown back and forth. No contention to be found. No sign that that Kaprizov and his agent Paul Theofanous reportedly turned down what would’ve been the richest deal in NHL history last week.

All was well as the Wild took the ice for training camp.

It will be hard for to keep the good vibes rolling unless Kaprizov puts pen to paper in short order.

You can only put on a happy face for so long now that everybody is back together in the same locker room.

This will become a distraction for the Wild sooner rather than later if they’re unable to resolve the contract dispute.

It already has to some degree.

Never mind that Guerin tried to drive the conversation toward the Wild and their pursuit of the Stanley Cup during the 30 minutes he spoke on the record. He was forced to answer questions about the contract negotiations.

Never mind that Kaprizov made it clear that he was focused on playing hockey above everything else during the 15 minutes he spoke on the record. He was forced to answer questions about the contract negotiations.

That will be a recurring theme the longer it takes for this process to play itself out. This isn’t going away anytime soon. Not with how much the Wild are banking on Kaprizov to be the straw that stirs the drink for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, the fan base has been freaking out ever since news broke about Kaprizov, and for good reason, especially considering the precedent set once upon a time by former superstar winger Marian Gaborik.

It was hard not to go down the rabbit and think about when the Wild were unable to work something out with Gaborik and they ended up losing him for nothing in the end.

That should serve as a cautionary tale.

As much as the Wild want to work something out with Kaprizov, if that doesn’t come to fruition in the near future, Guerin might have to at least consider entertaining the idea of trading him to the highest bidder to make sure he gets something for him.

As the contract negotiations wear on, more questions continue to pop up, all of which need answers.

Is this Kaprizov not wanting to lock himself into a certain dollar figure while the salary cap continues to rise? Is this Theofanous simply trying to squeeze every dollar out of the Wild before finally making a deal? Is this going to be in the rearview mirror when the Wild play the St. Louis Blues in the opener in a few weeks?

The fact that nobody knows the answer to any of those question is proof this has already become a distraction for the Wild. This going hang over the heads of everybody involved until there’s a resolution.

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Minnesota employers added 5,900 jobs in August, and the state unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.6%, according to data from the Department of Employment and Economic Development released Thursday.

Minnesota’s growth equated to a 0.2% increase in jobs in August, compared to effectively flat employment for the United States as a whole.

Minnesota also added nearly 1,100 workers to its labor force, which accounts for the rise in the unemployment rate despite the addition of more jobs. The state’s labor force participation rate was 68.1% compared with 62.3% nationally. This measures the percentage of people either working or actively seeking work, and is used to calculate the headline unemployment rate. As more people enter the work force, the unemployment rate rises eve as jobs are added.

The state’s unemployment rate in August compares with 4.3% nationally.

Over the year, Minnesota gained 39,255 jobs, up 1.3%, DEED said in its news release. The private sector gained 37,692 jobs, up 1.4%. Both figures outpaced national statistics: U.S. employment grew 0.8% over the year with the private sector up 0.9%.

“Minnesota’s labor market had a strong month in August, adding thousands of jobs and people looking for work,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek in the release. “We continue to monitor our economy for signs that federal disruptions are affecting Minnesota employers. But in August, we outpaced national trends.”

August represented a turnaround from July, for which the state now reports a net loss of 500 jobs compared with June. Those data were revised upward by 3,900 jobs from the initially reported net loss of 4,400 jobs. Varilek at the time attributed that to “mass federal layoffs and funding interruptions, erratic tariffs and shrinking immigration.”

Government employers shed 2,400 jobs, or 0.5%, in August, mostly at the local level.

Construction gained 1,900 jobs, or 1.3%, in August, the third consecutive month of growth, and Education and Health Services rose 4,300 jobs, or 0.7%. Manufacturing lost 900 jobs in August, down 0.3%.

On Sept. 9, the national Bureau of Labor Statistics announced preliminary revisions for national-level job estimates over the past year through March 2025. Minnesota’s annual data will be updated after national revisions are finalized in February.

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By LISEBERTH GUILLAUME

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral is unveiling a massive new mural that honors the city’s immigrants.

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Spanning the sides to the Manhattan landmark’s entryway, the 25-foot-tall artwork of everyday immigrants and notable historical figures comes amid a federal crackdown on immigration that has divided many communities across the country.

The piece was not intended as a political message, according to the Rev. Enrique Salvo, the Roman Catholic church’s rector, but nevertheless sends a message.

“We want anyone that comes in to feel loved and welcomed,” said Salvo, who is himself an immigrant from Nicaragua. “It’s a reminder that it doesn’t matter what’s happening … politically. We have to treat everyone with love and respect.”

The work, titled “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding,” also just brightens up the space for the 6 million visitors that come into the church every year, said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York who commissioned the piece.

A 25-foot-high mural by artist Adam Cvijanovic, the largest artwork ever commissioned for St. Patrick’s Cathedral, is shown during a media preview, in New York, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

“It was very drab,” Dolan told reporters Thursday of the old entryway ahead of the mural’s official unveiling at Sunday Mass. “So, we thought at least we need to spark it up and get some illumination.”

The mural, by local artist Adam Cvijanovic, in part honors Irish immigrants who contributed to the cathedral’s construction. One section depicts the Apparition at Knock, in which, according to Catholic lore, the saints Mary, Joseph and John the Evangelist appeared to locals in the Irish village in 1879 — the same year, Dolan noted, the cathedral opened its doors. Elsewhere, Irish immigrants are seen arriving on a ship.

Artist Adam Cvijanovic poses for a photo during the media preview his 25-foot-high mural, the largest artwork ever commissioned for St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in New York, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Other scenes show modern-day migrants alongside famous local figures, including journalist and social activist Dorothy Day, Pierre Toussaint, a former slave from Haiti who became a major philanthropist in the city, and former New York Gov. Alfred E. Smith, the first Roman Catholic to receive a major-party nomination for president.

Cvijanovic said it was also important to him to represent Native Americans in the piece, which features St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint.

Artist Adam Cvijanovic, left, listens as Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks during a media preview of the 25-foot-high mural, the largest artwork ever commissioned for St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in New York, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Dolan praised the painter for creating what he described as “an effusive ode to the greatness of this city and those who came here, and those who have turned into their leaders.”