The Minnesota State Fair Grandstand season drew to a close Monday afternoon with a spirited performance from Kidz Bop.

What, you might ask, is Kidz Bop? It’s an ingenious concept launched by the indie record label Razor and Tie in 2001 that takes pop hits, edits out any objectionable lyrics and has kidz — sorry, kids — sing the songs. It started out as a series of CDs that sold remarkably well and, in 2007, the live touring version launched at Target Center in Minneapolis. (More on that in a bit.)

Even as streaming replaced CDs and music got much more diverse, Kidz Bop has soldiered on with 21 million albums sold and more than 4.5 billion songs streamed. I don’t have kids, but I understand the appeal to parents who may grow tired of some of the more inane original music targeted toward the youth market. Some 4,545 people showed up Monday.

I happened to see that first show in 2007 and Monday’s performance looked and sounded a bit different. The live band of adults has been replaced by a DJ and the number of kids on stage reduced from six to four. And the song selection has grown to include hip-hop (Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby,” Paul Russell’s “Lil Boo Thing”), Latin pop (Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin’s “Ritmo,” Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola”) and even reggaeton (Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo’s “Savage Love”).

Also, back in 2007, the kids felt a lot more like actual kids who sometimes sang off key and messed up dance steps. The four kids on stage Monday were much more polished, which maybe isn’t too much of a surprise as the franchise has helped launch the career of some professional singers and actors, including Becky G (who coincidentally opened this year’s Grandstand series), Kiana Brown, Olivia Holt, Ross Lynch and Zendaya.

For an hour and 45 minutes, with a 20-minute intermission during which Kidz Bop covers blasted over the loudspeakers, a barrage of current and recent songs played nearly nonstop, many in shortened versions. Part of the fun for adults was listening to the lyrics to figure out how the producers sanitized numbers like Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” and Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.”

The kids in the audience probably did more dancing than singing along, but many looked to be having a blast, particularly those who took advantage of the empty space at the top of the Grandstand to spread out and sway along to the tunes. And, really, some of the selections made perfect sense for children’s voices, including Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” Harry Styles’ “As It Was” and Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”

At one point the Kidz Bop Kids invited four dads (in hats and/or sunglasses) for a Daddy Dance-Off that saw them do the worm, moonwalk and robot, among other moves. The guy who pulled off some rudimentary breakdancing won the audience’s vote along with a pair of Kidz Bop pompoms. It was also cute when the foursome taught the crowd the dance for Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and then encouraged them to dance to the song itself.

The concert ended with the audience’s pick of their favorite song, Walk the Moon’s 2014 hit “Shut Up and Dance.” I’m guessing it’ll be a while until some of the kids in the crowd shut up about how much fun they had.

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ST. PETERSBURG — The Twins’ bullpen has been reshaped in recent weeks, as they look to find the best group of arms to push them towards the playoffs.

But for much of the year, Jorge Alcala, Cole Sands, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran have formed the core of the bullpen, serving as reliable pieces near the end of games.

That group, plus Ronny Henriquez, helped the Twins capture their second straight win, this one a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night at Tropicana Field, after it was pressed into duty early.

Starter Simeon Woods Richardson’s night ended early — after just 3 2/3 innings — at which point Alcala entered to extract him from a jam with a runner in scoring position.

Woods Richardson gave up three runs in his short start on six hits, allowing the Rays to take the lead in the first inning after the Twins had jumped out to a lead of their own in the top half of the inning on a Royce Lewis RBI double.

Two innings later, Woods Richardson gave up another run, cutting into the Twins’ lead, which they retook in the second inning on Trevor Larnach’s line drive home run to right field, which came off the bat at 112.5 miles per hour.

While the Rays pulled back within a run, Larnach’s home run wound up giving the Twins a lead that the bullpen would successfully protect for the rest of the game.

Alcala (4-3) wound up throwing 1 1/3 innings, working around some trouble of his own in the fifth inning. Henriquez threw a clean sixth inning and Jax struck out two facing the heart of the order in the seventh inning.

Sands handled the eighth inning, giving up a home run to Jonny DeLuca, the only run the group gave up in its collective 5 1/3 innings pitched, before Duran nailed down his 21st save of the season.

The group got slightly more breathing room in the top of eighth inning when switch-hitting rookie Brooks Lee, back from the injured list a day earlier, hit the first right-handed home run of his career. It was the Twins’ first run since the second inning.

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Center field was the center of attention on Monday afternoon at CHS Field, with players representing the present and the future of the Twins joining the Saints.

Byron Buxton, on a rehab assignment from the Twins, manned the position against the Iowa Cubs, while 21-year-old Emmanuel Rodriguez made his Triple-A debut as the Saints’ designated hitter.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Rodriguez is rated the No. 3 prospect in the Twins organization (behind outfielder Walker Jenkins and infielder Brooks Lee) by MLB Pipeline. The Twins signed Rodriguez out of the Dominican Republic during the 2019-20 international signing period for $2.5 million.

Buxton, who has been sidelined since August 12 due to right hip inflammation, played seven innings in the Saints’ 11-8 loss. He went 1 for 3 at the plate with a walk.

The left-handed-hitting Rodriguez drove in a run in his first at-bat on a fielder’s choice. He also walked twice and struck out twice. Using teammate Diego Castillo as an interpreter, Rodriguez said he felt proud after making his Triple-A debut.

“I like being here; it’s a big step for me,” he said through Castillo. “I’m going to take advantage of playing with experienced players like Diego Castillo and I’m going to enjoy this time.”

Count Saints manager Toby Gardenhire among those eager to see what Rodriguez can do in Triple-A.

“It’s fun,” Gardenhire said. “He’s one of the big prospects. He’s had some injury stuff. Otherwise, he probably would have been up here earlier.”

Rodriguez sustained a right thumb sprain in May that sidelined him for three months. He appeared in 37 games for Double-A Wichita, hitting .298 with eight home runs. He does not consider the injury to be something that has stalled his development.

“I bet on myself; I know I can do this,” Rodriguez said. “I feel comfortable, and I know I’m going to do a good job.”

Asked if he set a goal of making it to Triple-A this season, Rodriguez said, “For sure, I was thinking about it when I was in Double-A.”

After getting word of the call-up, Rodriguez said he shared the news with his parents, wife and young son back in the Dominican.

Along with his power, Rodriguez is know for a good sense of the strike zone.

“That’s natural to me,” he said. “Since I was a kid I’ve been able to recognize balls and strikes. And I practiced a lot with my brother. With my experience in the minor leagues I’ve kept working on it.”

As for the remainder of the season, Rodriguez said his main focus the remainder of the season is to learn as much as he can. And he’ll always remember that he made his debut with Buxton as a teammate.

“It was great,” he said. “To be honest, I played a couple games with him in spring training. But if feels so good hitting behind him and watching him from the on-deck circle. It was really nice.”

Briefly

Iowa hit three home runs and scored seven runs in the third inning to take an 8-1 lead on Monday. The Saints scored two runs in each of the sixth and eighth innings, and added three more in the ninth before the rally fell short.

Left-handed pitcher Brent Headrick, who has been on the injured list since April 8 due to a left forearm strain, is back with the team and is expected to be activated within a few days. Headrick, who has been used as a starter and a reliever, likely will pitch out of the bullpen.

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There was a hypothetical question recently circulating among the Vikings inside the locker room at TCO Performance Center.

How much money would it take to stop playing football right now?

As some of his teammates offered up certain dollar amounts, veteran running back Aaron Jones was steadfast in his response. There was no amount of money that would suffice. Not a chance.

“I feel like I have a lot left in the tank,” Jones said. “I feel like I could play eight more years.”

Though that might be a little bit of a stretch considering Jones turns 30 years old in a few months, it’s hard to argue with the fact that he still looks the part of an elite player at his position.

After battling injuries during the early portion of last season, Jones got healthy down the stretch and started dominating. He impressively eclipsed the century mark in each of his final five games, helping the Packers go on a playoff run that ended on the precipice of them reaching the NFC Championship game. In total, Jones recorded 102 carries for 584 yards in that span, serving as a catalyst for the offense out of the backfield.

“I was able to show what I could really do,” Jones said. “I felt like I was just about to start entering my prime and then kind of got hurt.”

Now, there’s extra motivation for Jones this season as he attempts to prove that he’s indeed in his prime. He was released by Packers before free agency in a move designed to save some money against the salary cap. He signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the Vikings roughly 24 hours later.

“I remember when we got him, I didn’t believe it,” safety Josh Metellus said. “I was like, ‘There ain’t no way this is real.’ They’re crazy for letting us get him. I know he’s excited and I’m worried for everybody who’s got to play us because he’s going to be running hard.”

As the Vikings search for solutions in the running game, the hope is that Jones can do for them what he’s been doing against them throughout his career. The splits speak for themselves as Jones has 149 carries for 847 yards in 11 games against the Vikings.

“He’s been doing it for a long time at a very high level and from everything I’ve seen, he hasn’t slowed down even a little bit,” fullback C.J. Ham said. “I’ve competed against him for so long. We’ve had that mutual respect after every game dapping each other up and telling each other to keep going. Now, to be on the same team with him, I think the sky is the limit.”

It’s safe to say Jones has already made a good impression on his teammates. He’s looked explosive in training camp and it’s not hard to envision him making a big impact if he gets some blocking in front of him.

“He’s special,” left tackle Christian Darrisaw said. “It’s a blessing to have a running back like that. He can make anybody miss whether it’s the first level, second level, or third level. We know if we do our job, he’s going to bust it and make a big play.”

The key for Jones will be staying healthy. His struggles with injuries last season has motivated him to take a more proactive approach ahead of this season, and he can already feel it paying off.

“This is the best I’ve felt,’ Jones said. “I’m ready to have the best year of my career.”

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