Lynx guard Courtney Williams has been voted a reserve for the WNBA All-Star Game by WNBA head coaches. This will be the first time Williams has been selected as an All-Star as a member of the Lynx, and the second time in her career.

The All-Star Game is scheduled for July 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and will be televised by ABC.

Williams joins Lynx teammate Napheesa Collier as a 2025 All-Star and becomes the 14th player in franchise history to play in an All-Star Game. All-Star Captains Collier and Indianapolis guard Caitlin Clark will draft their rosters for the game, with results released July 8.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve will coach Team Clark.

Playing her 10th WNBA season, Williams is averaging 12.9 points and a team-high 5.9 assists in 18 games. She was an all-star while playing for Atlanta in 2021.

The other reserves chosen by coaches are: Golden State’s Kayla Thornton, Seattle’s Gabby Williams and Skylar Diggins, Washington’s Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell, Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas’ Jackie Young and Chicago’s Angel Reese.

Briefly

Alanna Smith scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in Saturday’s victory over Golden State before leaving with a knee injury. It’s unclear whether she will be available for today’s 6 p.m. tip against the Chicago Sky at Target Center.

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ORGANIZATIONS

Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas

Better Business Bureau Serving Minnesota and North Dakota announced the appointment of New Brighton Mayor Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas as its next president and CEO, effective June 30. Niedfeldt-Thomas succeeds Susan Adams Loyd, who will be relocating to the greater Boston area. Niedfeldt-Thomas also most recently served as managing director and chief operating officer of Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose.

ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING

MSR Design, a Minneapolis architecture firm, announced it won an American Institute of Architects Architecture Award for its work on RIDC’s Mill 19 adaptive reuse project in Pittsburgh. … Golden Valley-based engineering and consulting firm WSB announced the following promotions: Sarah Rohne to senior director, Talent Planning & Partnerships, and Caitlin Austin to director, talent performance & development. … NewStudio Architecture, St. Paul, announced the retirement of founder, CEO and President Sean M. Wagner, effective June 30. He is succeeded by Adam Jarvi as part of a longtime succession plan; Jarvi has worked as an associate principal since the founding of the firm in 2011.

CO-WORKING

The Coven, a Minneapolis-based network of co-working spaces focused on historically underserved communities, announced the opening of a seventh location, at Nordøst Exchange, 2125 E Hennepin Ave, Suite 200, Minneapolis.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Bloomington accounting firm BGM announced the hire of Dyanne Ross-Hanson to lead a new Succession & Exit Planning unit, helping business owners navigate the process of transitoning their business. … Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, St. Paul, announced the opening of a branch at 1118 Mainstreet, Suite No. 2, Hopkins. … LoCorr Funds, an Excelsior-based investment company, announced the hiring of John A. Norris to its national accounts team. Norris previously served as director of investor relations for Crowd Street Capital. In addition, LoCorr said it has added internal wholesalers Drew Dean and Brody Munger.

HEALTH CARE

Accra, a Minnetonka-based provider of homecare services to people with disabilities and older adults, announced the appointment of Colin Raymond as chief executive officer. He succeeds John Dahm, who will become executive chairman and serve in an advisory role. Raymond most recently served as regional vice president at U.S. Renal Care.

LAW

Fredrikson, Minneapolis, announced that attorney Nicholas Smith has joined the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group and that attorney Steven F. Mikel has joined the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity groups. … Maslon, Minneapolis, announced the addition of former federal prosecutor Samantha Bates to its investigations team, representing corporations facing government inquiries, enforcement actions, and litigation. … National law firm Spencer Fane announced the addition of Shlomo Hahn to the firm’s Minneapolis office as an associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group.

MANUFACTURING

The Central Minnesota Manufacturers Association announced Two Rivers Enterprises, Holdingford, Minn., as its 2024 Manufacturer of the Year. TRE specializes in stainless steel equipment for the foodservice and industrial sectors; the organization also named Les Engel as the 2024 Collaborator of the Year. Engel currently serves as CMMA president and board member for the Midwest Manufacturing Association.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

SynerFuse, an Eden Prairie-based medical device company focused on the treatment of back pain associated with spinal fusion surgery, announced the appointment of Dr. Michael Park as chief technology officer. Park is a former principal investigator for the SynerFuse proof-of-concept study and primary inventor of SynerFuse technology. He also is a board-certified neurosurgeon and associate professor and director of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery and Neurology at the University of Minnesota.

OPENINGS

Ross Stores, a national off-price retail apparel chain, announced the planned openings of locations at 8268 Tamarack Village, Woodbury; and 14375 State Hwy. 13 S., Savage.

SPONSORSHIPS

The Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association announced Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank will be its presenting sponsor for the 2025 Walk to End Alzheimer’s-Twin Cities, held at Target Field on Sept. 27.

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EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Flash floods in Texas killed dozens and left an unknown number of July Fourth visitors and campers missing, including many girls attending Camp Mystic. The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions.

Here’s what to know about the deadly flooding, the colossal weather system that drove it in and around Kerr County, Texas, and ongoing efforts to identify victims.

Massive rain hit at just the wrong time, in a flood-prone place

The floods grew to their worst at the midpoint of a long holiday weekend when many people were asleep.

The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday’s flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.

After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 a.m., some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.

Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain

At least 59 people in Kerr County, and eight elsewhere in central Texas were confirmed dead as of Sunday morning.

In Kerr County, 38 of the victims dead were adults and 21 were children, including 16 girls recovered from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river. Eleven more girls were still unaccounted for.

For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.

Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.

“We don’t even want to begin to estimate at this time,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said Saturday, citing the likely influx of visitors during the July Fourth holiday.

Officials face scrutiny over flash flood warnings

Survivors have described the floods as a “pitch black wall of death” and said they received no emergency warnings.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said Saturday that “ nobody saw this coming.” Various officials have referred to it as a “100-year-flood,” meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.

And records behind those statistics don’t always account for human-caused climate change. Though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.

Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4 a.m. or told to evacuate.

Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.

Kerr county officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.

On Sunday, officials walked out of a news briefing after reporters asked them again about delays in alerts and evacuations.

Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort

The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.

“It’s going to be a long time before we’re ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it,” Kelly said Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.

Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.

AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction, and one of Texas’ largest rescue and recover efforts.

Rededicate ourselves to our founding principles

This Fourth of July prompts serious questions about our nation and how it so radically differs from a proud and historic past.

Is the great American experiment born in enlightenment, freedoms and hope gone? Would the Founders be proud of the country we’ve become?  A majority of the country chose to reject the Founders’ America in the last election. We chose a president without principles who believes he’s above the law and the Constitution, a president who would be king. We weren’t duped, we knew exactly who and what Donald Trump is. There is no place for truth, character and morals in his America nor interest in a unity of states or the common good. Trump’s America is solely for those who pass his loyalty tests. Disagreement makes one an enemy, scum, unpatriotic.

His re-election further illustrated the decay in a nation that’s lost its ideals, for which we all bear responsibility, and also lost is the better part of ourselves. What would the Founders think of a citizenry that embraces rule by billionaires and corporations? What would they think of a citizenry that would allow a Christian minority to rewrite history and establish theirs as a state religion? Any claim we may have to exceptionalism is due to our founding in enlightenment. The American Revolution was not fought to establish a Christian nation nor was the nation founded on acts of conservatism.

If there’s anything left of the nation of our Founders, if there’s still any meaning in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, it is our duty to re-discover the hope and promise of America and re-dedicate ourselves to the principles upon which this nation was founded.

Thomas L. Lenczowski, Mendota Heights

 

Try to respect people

After reading the article on Thom Higgins in Sunday’s paper, I must say I am almost at a loss for words — but not totally. I am not sure why we needed to read about Thom; a mention that he coined the phrase “gay pride” might have been enough. He somehow thought that “pieing” is not violent. Really? Why is OK to interrupt someone to push a pie in their face?Anita Bryant was using her voice and fame to put forth her ideas — just like Thom wanted his views to be known. But Higgins decided it was perfectly fine to physically assault someone.

This type of behavior has gone on way too long.I think destroying people’s property is wrong — flags should not be destroyed because you don’t agree. Treat people the way you want to be treated. It is time to try to respect people.

Joan Barrett, St. Paul

 

For the people or for himself?

President Trump has made hundreds of millions (possibly over 1 billion) dollars selling himself as a presidential candidate and now as president.  Yet, his presidential campaign refuses to reimburse the city of St. Cloud for about $209,000 in expenses incurred for security,  IT services, and changing a road construction project for his July 27, 2024, campaign rally at St. Cloud State University.  Is Trump for the people, or just for himself?

Chris Lyons, St. Paul

 

A much larger debate

Arguing about the execution of bombing Iranian nuclear sites is moot; however, the consequences are worthy of a much larger debate. Have we made more enemies, further alienated our allies, and reinforced opposition alliances?

Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump call for “peace through strength.” Does that mean threaten and bomb your enemies into submission? On the other hand, President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Roosevelt championed a strong military but cautioned against using it to antagonize other nations. His policy was to resolve conflicts by finding mutually agreeable solutions.

On the World Stage or kindergarten playground, those forced into submission find ways to retaliate. We had a nuclear arms agreement with Iran. Trump withdrew it. Lack of a nuclear arms agreement continues to plague US-Iran relations. Weapons of greater devastation will be made. We may have won the battle but lost the war.

Sarah Koper, St. Paul

 

These masked abductions

Last weekend Narciso Barranco was working as a landscaper at an IHOP in Santa Ana, California, when masked agents wearing full tactical gear and wielding guns chased him down and took him to the ground. These masked men can be seen repeatedly striking him in the head and neck and forcing him into an unmarked vehicle with truncheons at his neck. One of the agents is brandishing his handgun sideways at passing vehicles like he is in a Rambo movie. To be clear, Mr. Barranco is undocumented, but he has worked as a laborer in the U.S. for 30 years without any criminal record. Mr. Barranco loved and respected this country so much that the values he instilled in his family inspired his three sons to join the U.S. Marines where they currently serve.

To counter what we can all clearly see in the video, a Homeland Security statement says: “the illegal alien ran and turned and swung a weed whacker at an agents face and resisted arrest”. If these seven 200-plus-pound tough guys in their tactical armor and guns drawn were so afraid of a pot-bellied old man with a weed whip, they should take off their masks, identify themselves, and face the cameras to tell us their story of why they just had to force their knees into his back and beat him in the face so we can all see the cowards that they really are. If they can do this without identifying themselves legally in America to anyone, illegal alien or not, we should all be afraid.

If these “agents” are so proud and justified in what they are doing, why the masks and very unclear identification of who they really are or who they represent? In Minnesota we were just traumatized with the slaying of Melissa Hortman and her husband by a man “dressed up” as a police officer, so we are a little wary of unidentified authorities with guns. Also, this administration claims these arrests are all rapist and murderers or MS-13 members. If this were true, we would be seeing their RAP sheets with all the crimes they have committed. Instead, what we are really witnessing is good hard-working people who are seeking a better life, like my Norwegian grandparents, getting brutally rounded up and hidden away. These masked abductions can only be seen as terror tactics as well as a national disgrace.

Greg Kvaal, Mendota Heights

 

Sainted

To all who prepared and planned the funeral at the Basilica last Saturday: it was a beautiful and reverent send-off for the Hortmans.

The music, the choir, the sermon, the intentions, and the rite of the Mass — every detail was thoughtfully executed. It was a moving presentation of the Catholic Church, capturing both the intention of the Mass and the deeper story of our Catholic faith.

Thank you for such a meaningful tribute.

Leah Shiely Swenson, Lilydale