The Gophers football program picked up a commitment from Janesville, Wis., offensive lineman Gavin Meier on Wednesday.

The top-ranked prospect in Wisconsin had scholarship offers from Wisconsin, Auburn, Indiana, Northwestern and others. The three-star prospect listed at 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds was on the U campus this week after being in Madison earlier this month and Auburn in February.

“I can’t wait to step onto the field at Huntington Bank Stadium for the first time with my future teammates and rep the ‘M’ on the front of my jersey,” Meier wrote on social media. “I will give everything I’ve got to help this program succeed.”

Minnesota now has six commitments in its 2025 class.

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An inspection uncovered corrosion on several of the railcars used on the new Amtrak Borealis line from downtown St. Paul to Chicago, leading to the decision to remove them from service on Wednesday and shuttle passengers by bus in both directions. It’s unclear when Amtrak will resume rail trips.

Amtrak officials issued a statement Wednesday indicating they worked with the manufacturer of the Horizon railcars and “decided to remove the equipment from service after learning of additional areas of concern from intensive inspections of multiple cars.”

The decision impacts service on multiple Amtrak lines to varying degrees, including the Downeaster, Hiawatha, Borealis and Amtrak Cascades. Some trains, such as the Downeaster, will operate with fewer cars, while “other services will be provided substitute transportation until a long-term plan is developed,” reads the statement.

The Borealis runs round-trips daily between Chicago and St. Paul through Milwaukee, and Hiawatha operates daily with multiple trips between Chicago and Milwaukee. On Wednesday, about half of the Hiawatha departures were replaced by chartered buses as substitute transportation, as were departures in both directions for the Borealis.

The Empire Builder service that stops in St. Paul as its travels from Seattle or Portland, Ore. to Chicago was not impacted. An Amtrak spokesperson on Wednesday said no other information was available.

After years of clamoring for a second daily round-trip from Minnesota’s capital city to Chicago, the Borealis launched last May.

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In a perfect world for the Vikings, unproven quarterback J.J. McCarthy will earn the right to be the starter next season.

That much was made clear talking to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Wednesday afternoon at TCO Performance Center.

“That’s the outcome we want,” Adofo-Mensah said. “That’s the outcome we’re heading towards.”

It’s logical to think that McCarthy will be able to separate himself once the Vikings get back on the field considering he was the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft, and his only competition at the moment is journeyman quarterback Brett Rypien.

As committed as the Vikings seem to be to McCarthy at this point, however, Adofo-Mensah wouldn’t completely rule out the possibility of future hall of fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers reemerging as a potential option down the road.

“For me, to sit here and say that anything is 100 percent forever, that’s just not the job,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We’re responding to scenarios and different information as it comes.”

Though multiple reports came out last week saying the Vikings were moving forward with McCarthy at the forefront, Adofo-Mensah confirmed that head coach Kevin O’Connell has been in touch Rodgers.

“He’s got a great relationship with him,” Adofo-Mensah said. “They’ve had a lot of conversations.”

None of those conversations have resulted in the Vikings agreeing to terms with Rodgers, and while the door appears to be closed in the present, the only way the noise is going to go away is if he signs with, say, the Pittsburgh Steelers in the near future.

“We didn’t think it was the right move at this time,” Adofo-Mensah said. “It’s his decision whether he signs with another team.”

The rumors linking Rodgers to the Vikings really started to pick up after veteran quarterback Sam Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks and backup Daniel Jones signed with the Indianapolis Colts.

Though the Vikings still have interest in adding a veteran presence to pair with McCarthy, Adofo-Mensah hinted they might wait until next month when free agents no longer impact the formula used to determine compensatory picks.

“We’re looking at all our options,” Adofo-Mensah said. “There’s a lot of good players out there.”

As for McCarthy, the Vikings have remained steadfast in their belief in him, and they seem ready to roll with him moving forward.

“He has passed every test with flying colors,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We’re excited about where he is in his development, and we’ll keep learning the information we get as it comes.”

This is a 2024 photo of JJ McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings NFL football team. This image reflects the Minnesota Vikings active roster as of Thursday, May 9, 2024 when this image was taken. (AP Photo)
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on the sidelines before the start of a NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

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“Sister Act,” “The Addams Family” and “SIX” are among the musicals in the Ordway Center for the Arts’ newly announced 2025-2026 Broadway at the Ordway season.

“We’re thrilled to share this new Broadway series which offers a beautiful mix of humor, heart and hope during the Ordway’s 40th anniversary,” said Ordway president and CEO Chris Harrington in a news release. “These seven powerhouse musicals tell incredible stories of relatable family dynamics and remarkable transformations — they’ll have audiences laughing, dancing, and creating lasting memories.”

Season subscriptions for all seven musicals start at $280 and are on sale now via ordway.org. Individual show tickets will go on sale later this spring.

The season includes:

“The Addams Family” (Sept. 30-Oct. 5): Cartoonist Charles Addams created this fictional family, who originally appeared in a series of cartoons that debuted in 1938. ABC made a two-season show based on the strips in 1964, which inspired a pair of movies in the early ’90s and the current Netflix series “Wednesday.” Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth starred in the original cast of the 2010 Broadway musical, which ran 722 performances.

“The Notebook” (Nov. 18-30): Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 debut novel was a hit out of the gate and spurred a 2004 film as well as this musical take. Indie singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson (“The Way I Am,” “Girls Chase Boys”) wrote the music and lyrics, which Variety called “tender and often lilting with introspective lyrics.”

“Sister Act” (Dec. 9-Jan. 4): Based on the 1992 film starring Whoopie Goldberg, this musical broke a record grossing more than $1 million at its original venue, the Pasadena (Calif.) Playhouse. It went on to find success at both the West End in London and on Broadway, where it earned five Tony nominations, including best musical and best original score for Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

“Kimberly Akimbo” (Feb. 24-Mar. 1): Written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori, this acclaimed musical tells the story of a teenage girl suffering from a condition that causes her to age rapidly, giving her the appearance of an elderly woman. The Broadway production won five Tony Awards, including best musical, book of a musical, original score and two acting nods.

“Mrs. Doubtfire” (Mar. 17-22, 2026): The 1993 film gave Robin Williams one of his most fondly remembered roles, playing a voice actor who poses as a British nanny in order to spend more time with his kids and, he hopes, win back his wife in the process. Rob McClure earned a Tony nomination for best performance by a leading actor in a musical.

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“Spamalot” (Jun. 10-14, 2026): “Spamalot,” which debuted on Broadway in 2005, features a book and lyrics by Eric Idle and music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle. The original Broadway production was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and won three, including best musical. Songs include “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” “The Song That Goes Like This” and “Find Your Grail.”

“SIX” (Jun. 17-28, 2026): This tale of the six wives of Henry the VIII first hit the Ordway in 2019 and opened on Broadway two years later, where it earned eight Tony nominations and wins for best original score and best costume design in a musical. Writing in the Pioneer Press, Rob Hubbard said the show is “quite attuned to the current high-stimulation zeitgeist, rocking, rapping and dancing its way through an exhilarating 80 minutes ideal for the short-attention-span set. And it’s unrelentingly fun.”