Today is Saturday, Aug. 30, the 242nd day of 2025. There are 123 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 30, 1916, on his fourth attempt, explorer Ernest Shackelton successfully returned to Elephant Island in Antarctica to rescue 22 of his stranded crew members, who had survived on the barren island for four and a half months after the sinking of their ship, the Endurance.

Also on this date:

In 1941, during World War II, German forces approaching Leningrad cut off the remaining rail line out of the city.

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In 1945, U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan to set up Allied occupation headquarters.

In 1963, the “Hot Line” communications link between Washington and Moscow went into operation.

In 1967, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2005, a day after Hurricane Katrina hit, floods covered 80 percent of New Orleans, looting continued to spread and rescuers in helicopters and boats picked up hundreds of stranded people.

In 2021, the United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war with the Taliban back in power, as Air Force transport planes carried a remaining contingent of troops from Kabul airport. After watching the last U.S. planes disappear into the sky over Afghanistan, Taliban fighters fired their guns into the air, celebrating victory after a 20-year insurgency.

In 2022, Mikhail Gorbachev, who was the last leader of the Soviet Union, and waged a losing battle to salvage a crumbling empire but produced extraordinary reforms that led to the end of the Cold War, died at age 91.

Today’s Birthdays:

Investor and philanthropist Warren Buffet is 95.
Actor Elizabeth Ashley is 86.
Actor John Kani is 83.
Cartoonist Robert Crumb is 82.
Olympic gold medal skier Jean-Claude Killy is 82.
Comedian Lewis Black is 77.
Basketball Hall of Famer Robert Parish is 72.
U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is 65.
Actor Michael Chiklis is 62.
Actor Cameron Diaz is 53.
TV personality/journalist Lisa Ling is 52.
Former MLB pitcher Adam Wainwright is 44.
Former professional tennis player Andy Roddick is 43.
Singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha is 36.

Rock and roll history is filled with bands that have to be heard live to be truly appreciated. Such has often been said of such legendary ensembles as the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. And I’ll add another act to the conversation: The Avett Brothers.

Friday night’s gig at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand was the third time I’ve heard the sibling-led group from North Carolina, and, on each occasion, I’ve come away feeling this to be a band to which studio recordings don’t remotely do justice. Having followed the unusual path from rock to bluegrass to a kind of thunderous rock-flavored folk all their own, Scott and Seth Avett and the rest of their seven-piece mostly acoustic band are explosively energetic and deeply committed to their material.

They’re not only enormously entertaining, but are fascinating songwriters, as well. And Friday’s 24-song, almost-two-hour set was expertly assembled to send the 6,602 in attendance on an emotional roller coaster ride.

While the concept of a rock or pop act interrupting their set for a few intimate acoustic numbers has become a cliche of the concert industry — usually delivered from a small second stage — the Avett Brothers intersperse such numbers throughout their set, coaxing listeners inward with captivating story songs filled with clever turns of phrase and arresting imagery.

And just when they’ve calmed the waters, they roil them with as much rock and roll rage as can be mustered from a banjo, fiddle, cello and acoustic guitar, the brothers bouncing about as if gravity can’t contain their passion.

Urgency is a key element in an Avetts show, and there was plenty of it to be found in the bluegrass-flavored opener, “Country Kid,” the sway-and-sing anthem, “Down With the Shine,” and an epic and involving “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise.”

But some of the most memorable moments came when the brothers traded solo acoustic numbers, Seth spinning a beautiful “The Ballad of Love and Hate” and Scott countering with a wistful “Murder in the City.” Yet the rock and roll energy couldn’t be bottled up for long, erupting on a Grandstand-shaking “Talk on Indolence.”

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before these brothers decided that acoustic instruments couldn’t sufficiently express their sense of urgency. Hence, the two strapped on electric guitars and sent solos wailing into the night on “Slight Figure of Speech” and an encore of “Kick Drum Heart.” And it worked, seeming like the logical next step for artists who seem always intent upon raising the intensity.

Speaking of bands that are better live, Everlys-esque acoustic duo the Milk Carton Kids delivered an opening set that was far more exhilarating than their recorded output, their resonant songwriting skills coming through quiet and clear.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.

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Mahtomedi 21, Mankato West 19: A three-win team a year ago, the Zephyrs are already setting a different tone this fall with a season-opening win over a perennial power.

Jacob Reubish, Gavin Kruse and Mark Graff all tallied rushing scores, with Kruse taking his 81 yards to the house to put Mahtomedi up 14-0 in the second quarter.

Osborne Lorenz threw three touchdown passes for Mankato West, two of which went to Ayden Betts.

Johnson 57, St. Agnes 30: Johnson has some of the most explosive offensive firepower in the metro with quarterback Ali Farfan and receiver Justice Moody.

The Governors’ put their big-play ability on full display Friday in St. Paul, scoring 24 second-quarter points en route to the Week 1 win. They scored 54 points over the first three frames alone.

If Johnson can stay healthy, it could make some serious noise in the cities this season.

Apple Valley 35, Rochester John Marshall 29: Trailing 14-7 at the break, Tylan Ward returned the opening kick of the second half 80 yards for the game-tying touchdown to spark the come-from-behind victory.

Eagles quarterback Quieris Barnslater, a North Dakota State commit, gave the Rochester John Marshall defense fits throughout the evening with his elusiveness and playmaking ability. His five-yard rushing touchdown with six minutes to play put the Eagles up multiple scores, effectively putting the game on ice.

South St. Paul 43, Minneapolis Camden 0: The Packers expect to contend for titles this fall and, well, their opening statement backed up those aspirations.

The 43-point victory marks the Packers’ biggest margin of victory since the 2015 playoffs.

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A Lakeville man who went missing while climbing a Wyoming mountain in July was found deceased this week, and officials believe he died from a “tragic accident.”

Grant Gardner 38, was last heard from on the evening of July 29. He texted his wife to let her know that he reached the top of Cloud Peak — at an elevation of more than 13,000 feet — in a rugged wilderness area in north-central Wyoming.

Gardner said the climb was more taxing than he expected, and that he was planning to head to a lower elevation for the night. He never returned.

Despite an extensive air and ground search for Gardner, he was not found and officials last week said they were heartbroken to shift the search from a rescue to a recovery operation.

Gardner’s body was found Wednesday after a professional climbing team from North Carolina summited Cloud Peak on Tuesday and while making camp for the night spotted a slight reflection a few hundred feet above them under a ledge, according to a post on the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

The climbers told officials via satellite phone that they were confident the item was a backpack, but because the sun was setting it would be too dangerous to investigate that night.

Authorities asked the climbers to wait to descend until a search-and-rescue team arrived at daylight, the post said.

Search teams prepared during the night and saw that the forecast showed a “very narrow window” before an impending weather system moved in.

Searchers found Gardner’s remains near the backpack. They said it was a difficult and dangerous recovery operation.

The Big Horn County Coroner’s Office is investigating when and how he died, but officials said in the post they “believe Gardner succumbed to a tragic accident as we all have surmised.”

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