When the Gophers football team played UCLA at Rose Bowl Stadium last October, more than 12,000 maroon-and-gold fans made a pilgrimage to Pasadena, Calif.

The appeal of Minnesota not having played in the Rose Bowl Game since 1962 and the U having few other marquee road games on that schedule — save for a visit to Michigan’s Big House in late September — brought them out in droves.

This season’s slate of road games, however, is the best, top-to-bottom collection of unique venues and non-traditional opponents in recent memory.

“It’s tremendous,” Gophers deputy Athletics Director Mike Wierzbicki told the Pioneer Press about the road schedule. “Fans are jacked.”

It starts Saturday with a trip to play the California Golden Bears in Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Thousands are expected to make it to the Bay Area for the nonconference game. Cal will make a return trip to Minneapolis in September 2028.

Later this fall, the Gophers will play at Ohio State’s Horseshoe to open October and will close the month at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium, the site of the Hawkeyes’ invalid fair catch signal in 2023 that led to Minnesota ending an eight-game losing streak in the Floyd of Rosedale rivalry with a 12-10 win.

In November, the Gophers will make their first trip to Oregon’s Autzen Stadium in Eugene and the following week will play traditional Big Ten opponent Northwestern at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Wildcats are using the Cubs’ home ballpark part-time while construction is being done on a new $800 million Ryan Field in Evanston.

“Oregon, Cal and Northwestern at Wrigley have kind of a different luster to them,” Wierzbicki said. “… This is nothing against any competition. But even playing Northwestern in November is completely different at Wrigley Field. The energy and excitement.”

The appetizing slate of road games this year will likely mean there won’t be a spike in attendance for any one contest. Before UCLA last year, Gopher fans had turned out in big numbers in Boulder for the Colorado win in 2021, and to a lesser degree, Chapel Hill for the North Carolina loss in 2023.

The Gophers strong nonconference schedule and corresponding ho-hum home slate might have something to do with a dip in season tickets sold.  The U said non-student season ticket numbers have ticked down 23,592 in 2024 to 23,085 as of Sept. 5, according to a Pioneer Press data request. Student tickets nudged down, too, from 8,013 to 7,823.

Minnesota’s schedule of games in Minneapolis features a traditional slate of Big Ten opponents — Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan State, Purdue, Rutgers — and two smaller nonconference games in Buffalo and Northwestern State

The Pioneer Press heard one anecdote about a family of Gophers season-ticket holders who gave up their seats this fall based on the lackluster home schedule and conflicts with kid activities. That family is instead checking off a bucket list trip to a festive environment in the Southeastern Conference. But it still follows the Gophers.

“Everyone’s always got their different reasons, right?” Wierzbicki said. “When we look at that, if someone isn’t going to renew (season tickets), our conversation is always about, ‘Well, why?’ And if the answer is, ‘You know, moving out of town or life circumstances. Or, hey, I’m gonna focus on some road trips.’ (It’s) ‘Hey, we’re happy you’re still engaged.’ If somebody chooses not to renew and then disengages. That’s maybe a little bit more telling for us.”

Bucket list abroad?

When it comes to appealing road games, it’s hard to top a trip to Ireland. That’s where Big Ten teams Nebraska and Northwestern met in 2022, followed by Notre Dame and Navy in 2023, Georgia Tech and Florida State in 2024 and Iowa State and Kansas State this August.

Would the Gophers be interested in heading to Europe for a game? Wierzbicki deferred to AD Mark Coyle and Dusty Clements, the U’s executive deputy athletics director, on a definitive answer, but gave some perspective.

“With the financials of college athletics, you’ve got to find a way that you can maximize and monetize where you can with football,” Wierzbicki said.

Wierzbicki was alluding to the financial crunch of spending $20.5 million annually in revenue sharing to student-athletes. With that new expense, the Gophers have forecast a roughly $9 million budget shortfall for this fiscal year.

“For Minnesota, it’s fair to say, those types of destination games are great, but do you really want to give up a home game?” Wierzbicki said in reference to the revenue that is generated from those events. “Is there a way that you could try to do it without giving up a home game? Maximize revenue and create unique opportunities? I think those are win-wins across the board. For anyone looking at it, thinking, ‘Hey, we’d end up losing a home game at Huntington Bank Stadium.’ I think that’s just a harder conversation to have, both from a fan-base perspective, as well as the economics of it.”

Iowa State declined to give up a home game in Ames, but Kansas State was willing to do it, according to The Athletic.

Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck, whose team is 3-0 in West Coast games at the U, didn’t jump at the possibility last week.

“There would have to be a lot of things that line up,” Fleck said on his KFAN radio show on Sept. 2. “There are a lot of people that want to do that. I’m not saying we wouldn’t, but that is something that I would probably rather do to enjoy (on a vacation). (Teams) go out there like two days before. It’s great for all of you (fans), but to take players that far …  if you are getting out there like a week early and you are treating it like a bowl game, that is a little different.”

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The Board of Elections opted not to strike four housing and land use proposals from November’s general election ballot after the City Council claimed they were misleading voters.

The first day of early voting for New York City’s primary elections last June. In November, voters will be asked to choose their next mayor as well as weigh in on a series of housing-related Charter changes. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

Four ballot measures aimed at speeding up affordable housing construction and eroding the City Council’s powers over land use will be on the ballot in November after they survived a Board of Elections vote that could have stripped them off the ballot.

After the City Council claimed that the questions were written to mislead voters about how the ballot measures would limit legislative authority on land use decisions, the Board of Elections voted unanimously Tuesday to keep the questions.

The ballot measures, which would alter the City’s Charter, include:

A “fast track” for affordable housing that skips Council review for projects in the 12 New York City neighborhoods building the least housing.

A review board made up of the mayor, Council speaker, and borough president that can override Council decisions on land use.

Cutting out City Council review of smaller housing projects across the city

Creating a centralized city map

It would have been an unprecedented move for the Board of Elections to disapprove a ballot measure on those grounds, though the City Council claimed that the 12-person body had the authority to do so.

The vote was a win for “Yes in My Backyard” YIMBY groups in the city, who cheered the ballot measures. They argue that making it easier to build housing will chip away at the city’s severe housing shortage, where just 1.4 percent of units are vacant. Several prominent politicians, like Comptroller Brad Lander and other housing experts, came out in support of the proposals.

Opponents in the City Council decried the Board’s Decision, calling attention to the Council’s work to approve more housing through rezonings in recent years: “To be crystal clear, our opposition is about preserving the public’s power to make development better, and housing more affordable, for everyday New Yorkers,” Speaker Adrienne Adams said in a statement.

Here’s what else happened in housing this week—

ICYMI, from City Limits:

Fewer than a third of the low-income New Yorkers facing eviction who qualify for free legal representation in housing court under the city’s landmark Right to Counsel program are actually getting those services, an Independent Budget Office analysis found—reigniting calls for lawmakers to better fund the initiative.

“The number one thing is we have to stick together as a people, right?” housing advocate and activist Charisma White said on the latest episode of the Hear our Voices podcast, which shares stories and resources about family homelessness. “If we don’t stick together, we won’t make it anywhere.”

Why are so many “affordable” apartments in New York City still so costly? That’s thanks to “a little-discussed federal bureaucratic mechanism called the High Housing Cost Adjustment,” argues architect and researcher Eddie Palka, who says the formula ends up “systematically excluding working New Yorkers from programs designed to help them.”

ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:

The City Council passed a bill that will require the city to regularly publish the number of vacant units in its supportive housing network, Gothamist reports.

City Council members are negotiating details of a plan to rezone downtown Jamaica, Queens, for more housing, as the proposal heads to a final vote soon, according to the Queens Daily Eagle.

Public hearings took place this week on casino plans pitched for Brooklyn and Queens, The City reports.

A new Political Action Committee plans to spend $3 million convincing New Yorkers to support the aforementioned housing ballot measures up for a vote this fall, according to the New York Times.

A residential building boom is underway in Downtown Brooklyn, the New York Post reports.

To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org. Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post Land Use Will Be On the Ballot This Fall, and What Else Happened This Week in Housing appeared first on City Limits.

Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights is back in action. The 2025 edition of the after-hours fright fest remains intense and just may have gotten ickier.

Among the trends spotted on Friday, opening night, were a resurgence of puppetry, the returns of a lagoon show and chainsaw-driven walkaround characters, more in-house screen use than ever (mostly positive), plus splattering effects that we’ll continue to cope with by reassuring ourselves that was only water. It’s only make-believe. Repeat, repeat.

Thanks to an R.I.P. Tour provided by Universal Orlando, the Sentinel wandered through all 10 haunted house mazes on night one. Here are quick, not-too-spoilery impressions.

Dolls: Let’s Play Dead

What we saw: It’s the tried-and-true theme park scheme of being shrunken down to the size of deformed dolls. This is the handiwork of a creative/twisted young girl who may grow up to be a makeup artist. Oh, hey, was that Woody? (There are also buttons for visitors to push for extra effects.)

Why we screamed: That one big baby, that one big baby head and that one baby with three heads.

A gargoyle soars over the heads of Horror Nights visitors inside the El Artista: A Spanish Haunting house. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

El Artista: A Spanish Haunting

What we saw: The home and architectural splendor of (fictional) Spanish artist Sergio Navarro is pretty to look at and plays well into the conservatory through-line of this year’s HHN. There are scares high and low, including a flying gargoyle.

Why we screamed: One extremely well-camouflaged vine-based character, and we were faked out/afraid of some of the statues that weren’t really scare actors after all.

Fallout

What we saw: That retro futuristic feel of the “Fallout” video game and TV series. You know, bunkers, Earth and its surviving habitants in upheaval. It wasn’t very populated during our tour, which may have been due to a shift change of scare actors.

A Horror Nights scare actor reacts inside the “Fallout” house at Halloween Horror Nights, which runs through Nov. 2. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Why we screamed: There was classic misdirection caused by robots, fork-the-eye makeup that prompted a simultaneous “OUCH” from our group and the prospects of an unnerving mirrored room.

Five Nights at Freddy’s

What we saw: The most in-demand house on opening night, based on posted wait times, features animatronic-inspired looks, and they lurk throughout the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza place. This was achieved by working with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. It’s not truly a comedy house, but it has funny situations.

Why we screamed: The 150-minute wait time, though not an all-time record, is scary enough.

Mythical beasts come to life in the Gálkn: Monsters of the North house during Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Gálkn: Monsters of the North

What we saw: A cool, very un-Florida setting, the kind of northern village where you see fjords and Norse mythology. But there’s fire and ice, too, and a young girl in distress (not the first of the evening). They got momma and poppa, she cried. This space had multiple horned beings (Monsters? Demons? Both?) with impressive headpieces. Beastly ending also effective.

Why we screamed (and laughed hard): One scare actor got us good, three times, back-to-back-to-back. And then there was follow-up by others in a transition scene. (Co-worker: “I did my scared dance.”)

Grave of Flesh

What we saw: This is this year’s house with lots of skulls, skeletons and intestines. The space, not for the claustrophobic amongst us, is dirty and littered with decomposition punctuated by assorted underground creatures

Why we screamed: The creatures in the black-light stretch were effective, although members of our tour group placed this in the “interesting concept” category (Kind of odd for, you know, flesh eaters, but it was toward the end of the night.)

Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters

What we saw: More horned beings, but in an Old West setting where rootin’-tootin’ torture is common among the humans. There’s a wide variety of characters and settings, including a prison, bank and graveyard. Meanwhile, the portal known as Hell’s Well wins the HHN34 “fun to say” prize.

Why we screamed: That fireplace scene early on gave the icks.

Jason Voorhees is a frequent scary sight at Halloween Horror Nights. This year he pops up a lot inside the Jason Universe house. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Jason Universe

What we saw: It’s the house of a jillion Jasons, presented rapid-fire with the trademark “Friday the 13th” slashing sound effect. Just when you get into the beat of the scares, you know, just strolling along through the woods near Camp Crystal Lake, the pace gets frantic. JU also has an unusual indoor-outdoor floor plan. Kills are largely implied and there’s less blood than one might expect (See Terrifier house below).

Why we screamed: Distracted by one fake Jason only to be jump-scared by live one just inches to the left.

Terrifier

What we saw: Two words — bloody and stinky. Or maybe wet and dry. This place was dripping in it, and, fans say, true to the three films featuring Art the Clown, who also shows up unannounced in the HHN street program this year. There are, indeed, two options at the end, one dry, one wet and, in story, bloody. (There are signs to guide, but they’re kind of high. Know before you go). People have posted that they got “pretty wet,” but our party thought it was no biggie. The dry route was lonely and scary in that way. Both routes quickly arrive up at the same exit.

Art the Clown of ‘Terrifier’ fame can be spotted inside a haunted house and on the streets of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights this year. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Why we screamed: Universal is selling ponchos in the queue.

WWE Presents: The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks

What we saw: It’s a long and winding house featuring menacing wrestlers in the flesh and on screens. There’s Uncle Howdy and a lot of Huskus the Pig, it seemed, and others. Wrestling fans probably spot Easter eggs, but all can watch for the signature lantern of Bray Wyatt, who died (real life alert) in 2023.

Why we screamed: There’s a startle on the stoop, but then we were lulled early, only to be “got” by one of the loud drop-down windows and later by the just-after-relaxing finale that causes fists to rise in the air.

Halloween Horror Nights runs at Universal Studios theme parks on select nights through Nov. 2. It requires a separate ticket from regular theme park admission. For more information, go to universalorlando.com.

Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters.

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — West Nile virus infections are intense so far this year, with case counts running 40% higher than normal, health officials say.

More than 770 cases, including about 490 severe cases, were reported as of early September, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted this week. About 550 cases — 350 of them severe — are usually reported by this time of year.

Health officials are ramping up warnings to the public, because most cases of the mosquito-borne disease are reported in August and September.

“West Nile virus can be a very serious disease and its presence in mosquitoes remains high right now in Massachusetts,” said the state’s public health commissioner, Dr. Robbie Goldstein, in a statement last week.

People can protect themselves by wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants when possible, and using an EPA-registered insect repellent when spending time outdoors, health officials say.

West Nile virus was first reported in the United States in 1999 in New York, and then gradually spread across the country. It peaked in 2003, when nearly 10,000 cases were reported.

Scientists say many people — perhaps tens of thousands each year — are infected but don’t know it because they have no symptoms, or only mild ones such as headaches, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea and rashes.

In severe cases, damage to the central nervous system causes inflammation of the brain or spinal cord, and even death.

In the last decade, health officials have fielded reports of 2,000 cases annually on average, including 1,200 life-threatening neurological illnesses and approximately 120 deaths. Deaths are on pace to be higher this year, CDC officials said, but they declined to discuss specifics, saying mortality statistics are too preliminary.

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The problem is not that there are more mosquitoes this year, but rather that a higher proportion of the bugs are carrying the virus, CDC officials said. Mosquito infection rates can be affected by such factors as temperature, rainfall, the amount of insect control going on, and how many nearby birds are infected.

Colorado, which tends to see more West Nile virus, has reported about 150 of the nation’s cases — more than double what other states are reporting.

Fort Collins is a hot spot. Monitoring last month in an area in the southwest part of the city found that 35 out of every 1,000 female mosquitoes were infected — far higher than the 8 per 1,000 that would be expected for that time of year — said Roxanne Connelly, a CDC entomologist who lives there.

It’s not clear why, but she noted it’s been a wet and warm year.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.