Talking about expectations for the Vikings last week, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah likened the team’s current trajectory to a popular table game in Las Vegas.
“It’s a collection of players at different points in their career,” he said. “You’re trying to hit that magical craps roll where a lot of things happen together at once.”
Essentially, the Vikings are sitting at the craps table with known commodities, like star receiver Justin Jefferson, that give them a baseline of competitiveness, plus unknown commodities, like veteran, mostly untested quarterback Sam Darnold, that could make or break the next few months.
The presumed ascension of a handful of players is the roll of the dice for the Vikings. That ultimately will determine if they get on a heater or if they crap out.
Here are five players (ranked in order of importance) who need to step up for the Vikings this season:
1. Sam Darnold
Nobody will have a bigger impact on this Vikings season than Darnold as he attempts to resurrect his career. The arm talent has been on display throughout training camp at TCO Performance Center. It’s not hard to see why he was the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The issue has always been his tendency to turn the ball over. It’s something head coach Kevin O’Connell will try to fix as he hitches his wagon to Darnold in the interim. If the Vikings can get consistent play from Darnold, they could find themselves flirting with the playoffs.
2. Stephon Gilmore
The inclusion of veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore on this list is almost exclusively because he’s getting up there in age. He turns 34 years old this month, and while the depth chart certainly looks much better on paper with Gilmore slotting in as the top cornerback, it’s unclear how effective he will be with the Vikings. The good news is Gilmore hasn’t showed any signs that drop off is on the horizon. Though he’s no longer the Defensive Player of the Year that he once was, he was solid while starting for the Cowboys last season. That’s exactly what the Vikings need this season.
3. Aaron Jones
It’s no secret that the Vikings have struggled to run the ball as of late. They haven’t gotten consistent play out of the backfield since former star running back Dalvin Cook was in his prime. That could change with the addition of veteran Aaron Jones. He shined down the stretch with the Packers last season, proving that he still has something left in the tank. He will turn 30 years old this season, so the potential for a decline is a part of the calculus. That said, the Vikings are betting on Jones being a dynamic part of their offense.
4. Dallas Turner
The talent is palpable when watching rookie edge rusher Dallas Turner compete. He has a unique combination of speed and quickness for his size that allows him to win with regularity when pressuring the passer. The only question is whether Turner will be strong enough to not get washed out in the trenches. He needs to put on some muscle so he doesn’t get overpowered in close quarters. It should help that Turner will get to play situationally alongside fellow edge rushers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. That trio could end up being a menace for opposing teams.
5. Jalen Nailor
There is no doubt that Jefferson and fellow receiver Jordan Addison will be the lifeblood of the passing attack. Especially with star tight end T.J. Hockenson not available for the first month. The rise of speedy receiver Jalen Nailor could offer an added dimension that could take the offense to the next level. His emergence was a storyline in the summer, and it could generate even more attention if he can keep it going in the fall. They key for Nailor will be staying healthy. He has struggled with that in the past.
Kraus-Anderson project superintendent Chris Larkin, left, and St. Paul Public Schools project manager Angie Otteson talk about the planned new entrance at Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. A $43 million renovation project will feature a full interior remodel, including new mechanical and electrical systems, an addition to create a new main entrance and an addition that will expand the kitchen, loading dock, and mechanical room. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. The remodel design calls for the original building’s east-facing wall to remain. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
The archway leading into the old media center and future main entrance at Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Kraus-Anderson project superintendent Chris Larkin talks about the remodel of Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Some lockers, windows and doorways remain in the main hallway on the first floor durinig a remodel of Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
St. Paul Public Schools project manager Angie Otteson explains how stairs to the lower level media room will replace the cafeteria stage at Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
All the interior walls on the third floor of Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul have been removed to make way for the complete remodel, seen Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Exterior preparation are readied for the planned new main entrance at Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Kraus-Anderson project superintendent Chris Larkin talks about a geothermal heating and cooling system planned for in the renovation of Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Construction of an expansion at Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Undated courtesy architectural rendering, circa Aug. 2024, of the planned exterior of the century-old Hidden River Middle School in the St. Paul school district. The $43 million renovation project will feature a full interior remodel, including new mechanical and electrical systems, an addition to create a new main entrance and an addition that will expand the kitchen, loading dock, and mechanical room. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2025. (Courtesy of DLR Group)
Undated courtesy architectural rendering, circa Aug. 2024, of the proposed cafeteria, part of a $43 million renovation underway at the century-old Hidden River Middle School in the St. Paul school district. The project will feature a full interior remodel, including new mechanical and electrical systems, an addition to create a new main entrance and an addition that will expand the kitchen, loading dock, and mechanical room. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2025. (Courtesy of DLR Group)
Undated courtesy architectural rendering, circa Aug. 2024, of the proposed entry stair, part of a $43 million renovation underway at the century-old Hidden River Middle School in the St. Paul school district. The project will feature a full interior remodel, including new mechanical and electrical systems, an addition to create a new main entrance and an addition that will expand the kitchen, loading dock, and mechanical room. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2025. (Courtesy of DLR Group)
Undated courtesy architectural rendering, circa Aug. 2024, of the proposed media center, part of a $43 million renovation underway at the century-old Hidden River Middle School in the St. Paul school district. The project will feature a full interior remodel, including new mechanical and electrical systems, an addition to create a new main entrance and an addition that will expand the kitchen, loading dock, and mechanical room. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2025. (Courtesy of DLR Group)
Undated courtesy architectural rendering, circa Aug. 2024, of the proposed lower level corridor and learning commons, part of a $43 million renovation underway at the century-old Hidden River Middle School in the St. Paul school district. The project will feature a full interior remodel, including new mechanical and electrical systems, an addition to create a new main entrance and an addition that will expand the kitchen, loading dock, and mechanical room. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2025. (Courtesy of DLR Group)
Undated courtesy architectural rendering, circa Aug. 2024, of the proposed second level corridor and locker bay, part of a $43 million renovation underway at the century-old Hidden River Middle School in the St. Paul school district. The project will feature a full interior remodel, including new mechanical and electrical systems, an addition to create a new main entrance and an addition that will expand the kitchen, loading dock, and mechanical room. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2025. (Courtesy of DLR Group)
Undated courtesy architectural rendering, circa Aug. 2024, of the planned exterior of the century-old Hidden River Middle School in the St. Paul school district. The $43 million renovation project will feature a full interior remodel, including new mechanical and electrical systems, an addition to create a new main entrance and an addition that will expand the kitchen, loading dock, and mechanical room. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2025. (Courtesy of DLR Group)
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Kraus-Anderson project superintendent Chris Larkin, left, and St. Paul Public Schools project manager Angie Otteson talk about the planned new entrance at Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. A $43 million renovation project will feature a full interior remodel, including new mechanical and electrical systems, an addition to create a new main entrance and an addition that will expand the kitchen, loading dock, and mechanical room. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
As Hidden River Middle School in St. Paul’s Mac-Groveland neighborhood undergoes an estimated $43 million renovation that will introduce sustainable features and update the 1920s building, students and administrators will begin this school year in the nearby Wilson building.
By having students in Wilson, located at 631 Albert St. N., during the remodeling process, construction time on Hidden River will be reduced by two years, said Jackie Turner, St. Paul Public Schools executive chief of administration and operations, during a July 16 St. Paul school board meeting. That time reduction is estimated to save the school district somewhere between $3 million to $4 million, said Jonathan Pettigrew, St. Paul Public Schools manager of facility programming.
Students are expected to move back to Hidden River Middle School, formerly Ramsey Middle School and located at 1700 Summit Ave., for the 2025 to 2026 school year once construction is completed in fall 2025.
Groundbreaking on the project took place in late May. The forecasted cost is $43 million against its original approved budget of $54 million, according to St. Paul Public Schools officials. The $43 million is subject to change in the event of unforeseen construction issues, according to SPPS officials.
Where is the $43 million going?
Designed by DLR Group and contracted with Kraus-Anderson, the project will add 10,800 square feet of additions to the building’s more than 98,000 square-feet, according to Angie Otteson, St. Paul Public Schools Facilities Department project manager, and include a full interior remodel. The renovation will include a new main entrance at the northeast corner of the building and administrative and mechanical additions, as well as community spaces students can use to work outside of the classroom and environmental upgrades.
Plans include retaining the east façade on Cambridge Street which includes Collegiate Gothic and Art Deco architectural styles and is part of the original 1926 portion of the building. The Hidden River building is not classified as historic, but is within the West Summit Avenue Heritage Preservation District. The Summit Avenue district’s period of significance is 1885 to 1938, according to a St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission application for the school from April. The Hidden River Middle School building was built in the 1920s. Further additions to the building in the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s were made outside of the district’s period of historical significance.
Interior alterations made to the building are outside the scope of HPC review, according to the application. New construction was designed to be secondary to the historic section of the building.
“The materials and colors used in the new addition either reflect the existing building through clear glass or connect to the light and dark brown tones of the existing brick and stone façade,” according to the application. SPPS received a Heritage Application Certificate on April 22 after the commission approved the exterior design for the project.
According to the St. Paul Public Schools Facilities Master Plan, 60 percent of the district’s buildings are more than 60 years old, “designed in an era not suited to 21st century teaching and learning.”
District officials have referred to buildings that are temporarily used during construction periods — such as Wilson — as “swing space” and have discussed that use for other buildings, including JJ Hill Montessori.
Going into 2025, other major renovation projects for the district include American Indian Magnet with a budget of $53.3 million, Barack and Michelle Obama Elementary School at $72.3 million, Bruce Vento at $89.9 million and Highland Park Middle School at $49.5 million. Construction is expected to be complete for Bruce Vento, Barack and Michelle Obama Elementary and Hidden River in fall 2025.
Environmental, other upgrades
A heating and cooling system using Hidden River’s natural aquifer which lies beneath school grounds will be one of the sustainable features of the remodel. It also will involve sustainable building materials and native and drought-resistant landscaping.
Otteson said the project team will utilize a federal tax credit available through the Inflation Reduction Act for the project.
There also will be a video screen in the entry building to allow students to see data on energy consumption in the school, Otteson said.
“So it’s not just ‘it’s happening in the background,’ it’s a part of the school. It’s represented in the entryway and it’s communicated to everybody that walks in,” she said.
Other features will include renovated and reconfigured classrooms and kitchen, grade-specific levels, community hubs, a secure-entry vestibule, new administrative offices, inclusive restrooms, and updated electrical and HVAC features.
About 30 percent of the project’s budget is dedicated to the school’s new building-wide mechanical system, as well as its aquifer-based heating and cooling system, according to Otteson; 20 percent is dedicated to structure, such as windows and doors; 20 percent is dedicated to interior finishes and built-ins, including equipment, and 10 percent is dedicated to lighting, power and security, with smaller percentages going to site improvements, demolition, furniture and audio-visual classroom equipment.
“We also know that middle schoolers are very social and really striving to figure out how to connect, how to belong, who they’re going to become, and that happens more easily when students are able to connect, and so creating spaces for our grade-level teams and small group work to happen more naturally is the goal of some of the facilities changes that are happening at 1700 Summit Avenue,” said Hidden River Middle School principal Teresa Vibar.
Former Wilson Junior High to house students
Wilson held around 150 high school students in the Limited English Achievement Program until 2023 when they moved to John A. Johnson Elementary, leaving the Wilson building empty. Hidden River Middle School has a student population of around 600, according to Vibar.
Hidden River Middle School, which includes grades 6th through 8th, had 675 students enrolled for the 2014 to 2015 school year, according to district data. 593 students were enrolled for the 2019 to 2020 school year and 588 students were enrolled for the 2023 to 2024 school year.
Interior renovations on Wilson to prepare for the temporary relocation of Hidden River students included adjusting classroom sizes and converting a locker room into an expanded cafeteria. Parents also received maps on pickup and drop-off locations and bike parking for students in back-to-school packets and have been invited to tour Wilson during an Aug. 28 open house for students and families.
Residents in the area will also continue to be updated on traffic and other transition changes, Otteson said. More information on Hidden River and district projects is available at hiddenriver.spps.org and spps.org/builds.
While the change may be hard, families and students of Hidden River Middle School are resilient, Vibar said.
According to the St. Paul Public Schools website, district facilities are considered “to receive improvements based on the District’s criteria for prioritization and an impact score based on need. Projects are subsequently scheduled for improvements based on these metrics as well as other considerations.”
Hidden River, which was built in the 1920s, met all the criteria needed to put it at the top of the list for projects like this, said Kathy Wallace, St. Paul Public Schools interim director of facilities.
Two Minnesota-grown turkeys will travel to the White House in November, but they will not be on the first family’s Thanksgiving dinner table. Instead, President Joe Biden will grant the birds pardons from serving as main entrees and the duo will eventually find a home near Waseca.
After the ceremony, the fowl will be brought to Farmamerica, said a press release from Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council.
This is the second consecutive year a flock from the state has been picked for the annual promotion for the turkey industry and American agriculture.
The to-be-pardoned pair will be selected from a presidential turkey flock being raised by Northfield farmer John Zimmerman.
Zimmerman, who serves as chairman of the National Turkey Federation, will talk about his turkeys during a noon presentation Saturday in the Miracle of Birth Center at the Minnesota State Fair. A representative from Farmamerica will be on hand to discuss the organization’s mission and share how the turkeys will be cared for in their new rural Waseca home.
The tradition of the National Turkey Federation presenting a turkey to the U.S. president at Thanksgiving began in 1947 with Harry Truman. George H.W. Bush was the first president to officially “pardon” the turkey in 1989.
Minnesota is ranked first for turkey production in the U.S. with its 450 turkey farmers raising an estimated 40 million turkeys annually, according to the release.
Andersen Corp., a Bayport-based maker of windows and doors for residential construction, announced George Bandy has joined the company as vice president and chief sustainability officer. Bandy previously held sustainability leadership roles at Amazon and Mohawk Industries and most recently as chief sustainability officer at Darling Fibers, a polyester chip and fiber manufacturer.
ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING
Golden Valley-based engineering and consulting firm WSB announced the hire of Brian Hotovy as controller. Hotovy is a CPA specializing in the architecture, engineering and construction fields.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, announced that Arijit Roy, who leads the company’s Consumer and Business Banking product division, will join the Managing Committee, a group of 16 executives responsible for the company’s revenue lines, enabling functions and independent risk teams.
HONORS
Malco Tools, an Annandale, Minn.-based maker of professional hand tools for workers in the HVAC, construction and automotive trades, announced that it has earned two of the state’s top safety recognitions: Minnesota STAR (MNSTAR) certification from the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the 2024 Governor’s Safety Award, awarded by the Minnesota Safety Council. … The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, announced it has named Jon Hendrickson of Forest Lake as its 2024 hall of fame inductee. Hendrickson has served as a senior hydraulic engineer and regional technical specialist for ecosystem and water quality for the Mississippi Valley Division.
LAW
The Minnesota Judicial Branch announced that State Court Administrator Jeff Shorba has received the Mary McQueen Award for exemplary service to justice. The award is given jointly by the Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, the National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers, and the National Association for Court Management. Shorba has served as the state court administrator since 2012. … Fredrikson, Minneapolis, announced that Emily Pontius and Ben Tozer were reelected to the board of directors for the Fredrikson & Byron Foundation. They join current Foundation board members Lisa Agrimonti, Leah Huyser and John Parzych, as well as Foundation administrator Julie Snow-Samanant. … Robins Kaplan, Minneapolis, announced that Logan Drew has been named chair of its National Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation Group. Drew succeeds Christopher Larus, who will join Roman Silberfeld in leading the firm’s trial practice as as National Trial Chair.
MANUFACTURING
Winnebago Industries, an Eden Prairie-based maker of large recreational vehicles, motorhomes and watercraft, announced Chris West has been named president of Winnebago brand products, succeeding Huw Bower. West previously was senior vice president of Winnebago Industries enterprise operations and its Barletta Boats line. The company also announced that Barletta Boats President Jeff Haradine will join the Winnebago Industries executive leadership team.
NONPROFITS
The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, a Minneapolis-based organization focused on funding and advocating for women, girls and gender-expansive people, announced that Briana Joyner has joined as executive vice president of People & Culture. Joyner previously served as interim executive director of the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, an African American institution in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood, and was chief human resources and inclusion officer with the Minnesota Historical Society.
SERVICES
Waytek Inc., a Chanhassen-based distributor of electrical components for industry, announced that CEO and Board Chair Charlie Kanan plans to retire as CEO in the first quarter of 2025 and as board chair at the end of 2026. Kanan has led the company since 2012. … The National Court Reporters Foundation announced it has presented a New Professional Reporter Grant in the amount of $2,000 to Karli Pikala, an official court reporter in Minneapolis.
SPONSORSHIPS
The Minnesota Timberwolves NBA franchise announced a multi-year partnership with Sezzle, a Minneapolis-based consumer payments platform, to be the “Official Jersey Patch Partner of the Minnesota Timberwolves.” The agreement also includes WNBA franchise Minnesota Lynx.
