Avery Muellner struck out seven batters in a complete-game victory as Forest Lake topped White Bear Lake 7-2 in the Class 4A third-place game Thursday in North Mankato, capping a season the junior ace dubbed “a dream.”

The St. Thomas commit and 2025 East Metro Softball Player of the Year went 18-2 in the circle with a sub-0.9 earned-run average for a Rangers team that sat atop the state rankings throughout the spring.

It was a stellar campaign for anyone, let alone a hurler whose pitching future was at one point in question.

Muellner has been a star in the circle for Forest Lake dating back to her seventh grade season. But her sophomore pitching season was largely taken away by a small tear in her unlnar collateral ligament. The initial prognosis was that surgery was required. Then another route was presented, one flush with physical therapy.

That was the path for which Muellner opted. Countless appointments and therapy sessions followed. Muellner conceded with a laugh that the experience wasn’t always “fun,” but she maintained a trust in the process and herself.

“I was surrounded by really good people that wanted the best for me,” the junior said. “I think what kept me going is that I needed to fight for myself so I was able to pitch again.”

After helping the Rangers have another stellar season last spring, in no small part because of her efforts in the field and at the plate, Muellner was back dabbling on the rubber by the end of the campaign. She pitched in the club season and, this year — with former primary pitching mate Hannah Tong off to college — was the arm upon which Forest Lake relied this spring.

The results were sensational.

“This season was one of a kind. We were 21-1 going into the state tournament. That’s something that’s pretty hard to do. I just lean on all my teammates. We’re all close, so it’s a good time,” Muellner said. “Although it didn’t work out our way (Forest Lake fell 3-2 to Bloomington Jefferson in the semifinals), I’m still so proud of everyone.”

She’s excited for what’s to come, noting the Rangers have a young core of talent. Muellner has one more year of high school softball before playing collegiately in St. Paul alongside her dear friend, Forest Lake teammate Bella Dowdall.

Only now does Muellner feel like she’s truly starting to hit her “groove” — a scary thought for opposing batters. Because all the dominant physical tools are meshing with a mind freed by sheer opportunity.

“I feel more grateful every time I’m out there because you never know when things can happen,” Muellner said. “It made me stronger. If someone gets a hit, it’s just whatever. They’re going to get hits. It’s just how you fight back and respond.”

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By JOSH FUNK, Associated Press

A fuel leak and several improperly installed parts were found inside the engine of an American Airlines plane that caught fire after the plane landed in Denver in March, according to a new report released Thursday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said one part inside the right engine of the Boeing 737-800 was loose and had been installed in an incorrect direction and that fuel was leaking from the fitting of another part that was incorrectly fastened.

The preliminary findings don’t identify the cause of the fire because the NTSB won’t reach that conclusion until after it completes its investigation sometime next year.

FILE – In this image taken from video provided by Justus Rainey, passengers move away from a plane as smoke surrounded the aircraft, in Denver, March 13, 2025. (Justus Rainey via AP, File)

But former NTSB and FAA investigator Jeff Guzzetti said the problems investigators found in the engine appear to be the source of the fuel that caught fire.

“To me, it looks like improper maintenance in the right engine leading to a fuel leak,” Guzzetti said after reading the NTSB report.

Photos and videos posted online showed billowing smoke and passengers standing on the plane’s wing after it taxied to a gate at Denver International Airport. Twelve people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The plane carried 172 passengers and six crew. The NTSB said gate workers extinguished the fire within a minute even before firefighters arrived and doused lingering hot spots on the plane.

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Pictures included in the NTSB report show streaks on the outside of the engine from the leaking fuel, and airport video showed a trail of fluid leaking from under the right engine as the airplane taxied into the gate.

Guzzetti said he believes those streaks were probably made while the plane was flying. After it landed, he said, the fuel likely pooled inside the engine and caught fire.

The American Airlines flight had left Colorado Springs Airport and was bound for Dallas Fort Worth when it diverted to Denver on March 13 after the crew reported high engine vibrations. The plane’s right engine caught fire after it arrived at the gate.

Passengers started yelling “fire” and “smoke” shortly after the plane pulled up to the gate, and flight attendants saw smoke start to fill the cabin, according to the NTSB report.

The flight attendants tried calling the flight crew and knocking on the cockpit door, but didn’t get an answer. So the report said the flight attendants initiated the evacuation.

Passengers were able to use the jetway at the front left door and the escape slide at the right rear door as well as the left over-wing doors to evacuate. But the left rear door wouldn’t open, and maintenance personnel discovered afterward that the escape slide jammed in the door.

The faulty slide was sent to the manufacturer for further investigation.

The country has seen a recent spate of aviation disasters and close calls stoking fears about air travel, though flying remains a very safe mode of transportation.

By BERNARD CONDON, Associated Press

Shares of Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker fell sharply Thursday as investors feared his dispute with President Donald Trump will hurt the company.

Tesla closed down more than 14% as a disagreement over the U.S. president’s budget bill turned nasty. After Musk said that Trump wouldn’t haven’t gotten elected without his help, Trump implied that he may turn the federal government against his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.

“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump wrote on his social messaging service Truth Social. “I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”

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The drop on Thursday wiped out nearly $150 billion from Tesla’s market value, partially reversing a big runup in the eight weeks since Musk confirmed that Tesla would testing an autonomous, driverless “robotaxi” service in Austin, Texas, this month.

Investors fear Trump might not be in such a rush to usher in a future of self-driving cars in the U.S., and that could slam Tesla because so much of its future business depends on that.

“There is a fear that Trump is not going to play Mr. Nice Guy when in come to autonomous,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. “The whole goal of robotaxis is to have them 20 or 25 cities next year. If you start to heighten the regulatory environment, that could delay that path.”

Trump’s threat to cut government contracts seem targeted more to another of Musk’s businesses, SpaceX, his privately held rocket company that received billions of dollars to send astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, provide launches and do other work for NASA. The company is currently racing to develop a mega rocket for the space agency to sent astronauts to moon next year.

A subsidiary of SpaceX, the satellite internet company Starlink, appears to also have benefited from Musk’s once-close relationship with the president.

On a trip with Trump to the Middle East last month, Musk announced that Saudi Arabia had approved his satellite service for aviation and maritime use. Though its not clear how much politics has played a role, a string of other recent deals for the company in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and elsewhere has come as Trump has threatened tariffs and sent diplomats scrambling to please the president.

One measure of SpaceX’s success: A private financing round followed by a private sale of shares recently reportedly valued it at $350 billion, up from an estimated $210 billion just a year ago. Tesla shares initially got a lift from his support of Trump. In the weeks after Trump was elected, Tesla shares soared, hitting an all-time high on Dec. 17. But they gave back those gains during Musk’s time as head of a government cost-cutting group as Tesla’s reputation took a hit. They’ve recently popped higher again after Musk vowed to focus much more on Tesla and its upcoming launch of driverless taxis.

Minnesota legislative leaders said earlier this week that they’re inching toward the finish line as they work to draft bills and secure enough votes to pass budget bills.

If lawmakers don’t finish their work by July 1, the state could go into a partial government shutdown. A first round of layoff notices was sent to state employees on June 1, warning of the shutdown possibility. Gov. Tim Walz said the second round, affecting 28,000 employees, go out June 9, but he’s hoping to finish work before then.

Gov. Tim Walz.

“That causes great uncertainty for folks. I think it adds unnecessary chaos,” he said. “It’s still my desire, and this is a negotiated issue … that that be a one-day (special) session. So it means once we come out of this room … we got a day to do it. So I would tell you, it’s my desire that this thing be buttoned up so I don’t have to send out those notes.”

Walz and DFL House Leader Melissa Hortman, DFL–Brooklyn Park, said a special session could happen soon — possibly Saturday. Speaker of the House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, did not commit to a specific date, but said a special session “should be called soon.”

House Speaker Lisa Demuth (Courtesy photo)

All leaders said significant work remains, and agreed that the budget bills for Health and Human Services, Transportation and Taxes are currently the biggest holdups. A bonding bill is still up in the air.

Concerns over budget agreement

The transportation bill is under scrutiny after the Dakota County Board of Commissioners wrote to lawmakers Wednesday, claiming the budget agreement — reached last month by state leaders — would divert $93 million in regional sales tax revenue for the Metropolitan Council.

The tax bill is up in the air after the chairs of the Tax Committees in the Senate and House, Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, and Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, spoke out on Monday against the tax bill agreement that leadership released over the weekend. Davids said he would have liked to see more relief for data centers, as well as some proposals that leadership left out, such as a sustainable aviation fuel tax credit.

House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman.

The Human Services budget bill comprises the second largest part of the state’s budget, at $24 billion, and also will be subject to the most net cuts out of any budget bill this year — $300 million. Hortman said the delay in the Health and Human Services bills is mostly due to the time-consuming process for the Office of Revisors of Statutes in drafting such a large and complex bill.

It’s still unclear whether the issue of repealing MinnesotaCare for undocumented adults — a contingency in the budget deal struck by Walz and leaders — will travel in the Health budget bill or as a stand-alone bill during the special session.

State leaders didn’t confirm whether they have the votes from their caucuses to pass all of the budget bills. Hortman said the process of caucusing and securing each vote takes time — especially when drafts are still in progress.

“I signed an agreement that committed my caucus to deliver votes to pass bills … But we’re not at the point where we have caucused every single bill,” she said. “You can’t ask people will you vote for a bill until the bill is done being drafted.”

Missed deadline

As lawmakers work to wrap up business, most of it is behind closed doors, as public meetings are few and far between.

Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy.

Beyond the regular session May 19 deadline, leaders have missed several self-imposed deadlines for finishing their work: May 26, May 29 and June 4. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said Wednesday that lawmakers are “making progress — it is as slow as molasses, but molasses is good.”

The budget is looking to be $66 billion to $67 billion, roughly $5 billion less than 2023’s budget. Cuts are coming in heavy for the 2026-2027 budget after a February forecast showed the state could be headed toward a $6 billion deficit in 2028-2029.

“We have the closest split in any Legislature maybe ever for the tie in the House and one vote of the Senate, which means the details matter, “ Walz said Wednesday. “We’ve been saying all along this needs to get done. We have already blown through some of the gates that needed to be accomplished, and those become much more serious as we move closer towards July 1.”

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