Today in History: August 1, America gets its MTV

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Today is Friday, Aug. 1, the 213th day of 2025. There are 152 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On August 1, 1981, MTV began its American broadcast; the first music video aired on the new cable TV network was “Video Killed the Radio Star,” by The Buggles.

Also on this date:

In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state in the Union, less than a month after the US Centennial (earning it the nickname “the Centennial State”).

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In 1907, a week-long boys’ camping event began on Brownsea Island in southern England, organized by Robert Baden-Powell; the event is now marked as the beginning of the Scout Movement.

In 1936, Adolf Hitler presided over the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Berlin .

In 1944, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation; the revolt lasted two months before collapsing.

In 1957, the United States and Canada announced they had agreed to create the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

In 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, went on an armed rampage at the University of Texas in Austin that killed 14 people, most of whom were shot by Whitman while he was perched in the clock tower of the main campus building.

In 1971, The Concert for Bangladesh, an all-star benefit organized by George Harrison of The Beatles and sitar player Ravi Shankar, was held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

In 2001, Pro Bowl tackle Korey Stringer, 27, died of heat stroke, a day after collapsing at the Minnesota Vikings’ training camp on the hottest day of the year.

In 2004, the Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire in Asuncion, Paraguay killed more than 400 people.

In 2007, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.

In 2014, a medical examiner ruled that a New York City police officer’s chokehold caused the death of Eric Garner, whose videotaped arrest and final pleas of “I can’t breathe!” had sparked outrage.

In 2023, former President Donald Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and obstruction charges related to his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Giancarlo Giannini is 83.
Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is 75.
Blues musician Robert Cray is 72.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum is 69.
Rock singer Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) is 66.
Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy) is 65.
Actor John Carroll Lynch is 62.
Rock singer Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) is 61.
Film director Sam Mendes is 60.
Actor Tempestt Bledsoe is 52.
Football Hall of Famer Edgerrin James is 47.
Actor Jason Momoa is 46.

Fringe review: Post-apocalyptic ‘Neon Breeze’ is quite choppy

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Could Be Worse

Somewhere in the not-too-distant future, two young friends — or perhaps cuddle buddies or lovers — accomplish missions throughout an underground metropolis savaged by capitalism to make ever-elusive rent, while facing flaky clients, bandits and low credit scores.

“Neon Breeze” conveys a semblance of a post-apocalyptic scene well, owing to it being played at the cavernous Southern Theater. Otherwise, the show is hard to understand. Perhaps it’s because of the drawn-out dialogue between the action scenes. Perhaps it’s also because I don’t understand German, or how different people experience love.

Presented by The House In The Woods at the Southern Theater; 1:00 p.m. Aug. 2, 7:00 p.m. Aug. 7, 10:00 p.m. Aug. 8, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 10

Still trying to decide what to see? Check out all the 2025 Fringe reviews at twincities.com/tag/fringe-festival, with each show rated on a scale of Must See, Worth Considering, Could Be Worse or You Can Skip It.

The Minnesota Fringe Festival is presenting nearly 100 hourlong stage acts from July 31 through Aug. 10 around Minneapolis. Visit MinnesotaFringe.org for ticket and show information.

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Fringe review: ‘A Good Cancer to Have’ is witty, self-aware triumph

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Must See

Whenever actor Sam Sweere’s monologue about his recent lymphoma treatment — cheekily titled “A Good Cancer to Have” — gets too depressing, his stage partner and real-life wife, Leah, rings a bell. The lights go green, and 25-year-old Sweere delivers a quippy nonsequitur from the journal he kept while hopped up on meds. That’s this show in a nutshell: Simultaneously spiritually revelatory and laugh-out-loud funny, from a talented performer with consistently spot-on comedic timing. The script is still a little rough around the edges, which Sweere is well aware of and deftly leans into onstage. The almost Nathan Fielder-esque twist ending is vulnerable and touching and delightfully unexpected.

Presented by Theatre on the Rocks at Mixed Blood; 2:30 p.m. Aug. 3, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 4, 10 p.m. Aug. 7, 5:30 p.m. Aug. 10

Still trying to decide what to see? Check out all the 2025 Fringe reviews at twincities.com/tag/fringe-festival, with each show rated on a scale of Must See, Worth Considering, Could Be Worse or You Can Skip It.

The Minnesota Fringe Festival is presenting nearly 100 hourlong stage acts from July 31 through Aug. 10 around Minneapolis. Visit MinnesotaFringe.org for ticket and show information.

Fringe review: ‘The Abortion Chronicles’ tells powerful true stories, mostly well

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Worth considering

The stories that compose “The Abortion Chronicles,” an anthology of 12 vignettes and monologues, are all true. The show argues that preserving safe abortion access is increasingly vital amid today’s politics, and most of the 11 performers bring nuance and firepower to portraying the gritty, painful, lifesaving realities of abortion.

The stage blocking is half-baked at best — performers constantly stride across the stage quite determinedly but for no apparent purpose — and the script occasionally comes off overwritten, as if actors are reciting words the writer thought would be read, not spoken aloud. Still, the show’s raw and provocative emotionality is worth sitting with.

Presented by Mermaid Productions at Rarig Kilburn Theatre; 2:30 p.m. Aug. 2, 7 p.m. Aug. 5, 10 p.m. Aug. 8, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 9

Still trying to decide what to see? Check out all the 2025 Fringe reviews at twincities.com/tag/fringe-festival, with each show rated on a scale of Must See, Worth Considering, Could Be Worse or You Can Skip It.

The Minnesota Fringe Festival is presenting nearly 100 hourlong stage acts from July 31 through Aug. 10 around Minneapolis. Visit MinnesotaFringe.org for ticket and show information.