Today is Tuesday, April 15, the 105th day of 2025. There are 260 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland just over two and a half hours after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage. Over 1,500 people died; 710 survived.

Also on this date:

In 1865, Abraham Lincoln died after being shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater the previous evening; Andrew Johnson was sworn in as the 17th president hours later.

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In 1947, Jackie Robinson, baseball’s first Black major league player of the modern era, made his official debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day at Ebbets Field. (The Dodgers defeated the Boston Braves, 5-3.)

In 1955, Ray Kroc opened the first franchised McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois.

In 1974, members of the Symbionese Liberation Army held up a branch of the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco; a member of the group was SLA kidnap victim Patricia Hearst. (Hearst later said she had been forced to participate in the robbery.)

In 1989, a crush of soccer fans at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, caused 97 deaths and over 760 injuries.

In 2013, two bombs made from pressure cookers exploded at the Boston Marathon finish line, killing two women and an 8-year-old boy and injuring more than 260.

In 2019, fire swept across the top of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral during renovation work on the landmark structure; the blaze collapsed the cathedral’s spire and spread to one of its iconic rectangular towers. (The cathedral was restored and reopened to the public in December 2024.)

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Claudia Cardinale is 87.
Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Cooper is 69.
Olympic track & field gold medalist Evelyn Ashford is 68.
Actor-screenwriter Emma Thompson is 66.
Singer Samantha Fox is 59.
Olympic swimming gold medalist Dara Torres is 58.
Singer Luis Fonsi is 47.
Country singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton is 47.
Actor Luke Evans is 46.
Actor-writer Seth Rogen is 43.
Actor Alice Braga is 42.
Singer-songwriter Margo Price is 42.
Actor Samira Wiley is 38.
Actor Emma Watson is 35.
Actor Maisie Williams is 28.

Minnesota farmers are bracing themselves while planning for the 2025 crop year after experiencing declining net farm incomes in 2024.

According to new data from the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State, the median net farm income for Minnesota farms statewide dropped to $21,964 in 2024 — the lowest level this century. Farm incomes have dropped significantly since 2022, leaving many farmers in a challenging financial position.

“We saw not only challenged prices, but also challenged yields given a very wet planting season and then just the challenges that then developed during the year with some drier conditions towards the end of the year,” said Pauline Van Nurden, economist at the University of Minnesota Extension’s Center for Farm Financial Management.

Van Nurden said the hope is that crops can get planted on time this spring, without abnormally high rainfall or floods keeping farmers from planting.

“Hopefully, we’ll see a more normal spring where crops can get planted in a timely fashion,” she said. “There certainly is uncertainty out there, and there’s just a lot of factors at play that feed into that. I think farmers are pushing the pencil to their own personal numbers and trying to make the right decisions for their farming operation.”

Crop producers experienced some of the most financial difficulties in 2024, according to the report. The median net farm income for crop producers was nearly at zero dollars. They lost about 25% of working capital last year and dipped into cash reserves to make loan payments.

Cash crop sale prices reduced 20% or more for major crops in Minnesota. The outlook for 2025 doesn’t look much better, with many producers facing negative margins and challenges in securing yearly financing.

Livestock, dairy and beef producers had a better financial year, though. Livestock producers saw improved profitability across all types of livestock operations in the state due to lower feed costs and higher livestock commodity pricing.

Dairy and beef producers also experienced improved profitability. Diversified farms fared better financially than specialized crop farms in 2024.

The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Income Forecast predicts an increase in net cash farm income for this year, and relief is expected from supplemental and ad hoc disaster relief government program assistance.

Despite this, farm profitability in 2025 in Minnesota is still uncertain with tariffs, high interest rates and general economic conditions.

Van Nurden said many growers and producers are preparing for the cyclical nature of profitability on their farming operations and are navigating the agricultural landscape the best they can, though the stress isn’t easy on them. She adds it’s important that there are options available and that it’s not all “doom and gloom.”

“I always like to remind people of some of the options and some things that growers and farmers can do to manage through situations like this,” she said. “So digging into the cost of production for their specific farming operation, the crops, the livestock they’re growing, looking at opportunities to trim expenses just even a little bit can make a difference. Taking advantage of marketing opportunities, and just having a plan, and monitoring that plan throughout the year, and then just adjusting as needed.”

The report includes data representing about 13% of the state’s farms with gross incomes over $250,000 annually, with 2,198 participants in the Minnesota State Farm Business Management programs and 115 members of the Southwest Farm Business Management Association.

Farmers who are struggling with stress, anxiety and depression are also encouraged to contact the Minnesota Agricultural Mental Health Specialists who offer free mental health services. The Minnesota Farm & Rural Helpline provides free, confidential counseling 24/7 at 833-600-2670 or by texting FARMSTRESS to 898211.

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The early part of the Twins’ season has been marred by poor defense — particularly from team pitchers — and a slow offensive start up and down the lineup.

Monday, in a 5-1 loss to the New York Mets at Target Field, the Twins showed off both. The Twins finished the day with just one more hit — three — then errors — two — both of which came from relievers on throws to first base.

They were unable to fully capitalize on their best opportunity — a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the fifth inning produced just one run, which scored on a Christian Vázquez sacrifice fly — and had few other chances against reliever-turned-starter Clay Holmes and the Mets’ bullpen.

Holmes, previously an all-star closer with the New York Yankees, begin his day by striking out the side in the bottom of the first. He allowed a single to Trevor Larnach and a Matt Wallner triple, but the Twins were otherwise unable to muster anything else against him in his five innings of work.

Even in the fifth when he gifted them an opportunity, walking two and hitting a batter, the Twins couldn’t take advantage.

And yet, that one run they scored took them into the middle innings of the game tied thanks to their own starter, Joe Ryan, matching his effort.

Ryan went five solid innings, surrendering just one run on three hits while striking out eight. It wasn’t until after his departure that the Mets were able to pull away, the go-ahead run scoring after Mark Vientos doubled to right, scoring Pete Alonso, who had singled off Justin Topa to lead off the sixth.

Topa, later in the inning, fielded a slow tapper and sailed a throw well over first baseman Ty France’s outstretched glove. Instead of ending the half inning down just a run, another run scored, widening their deficit.

An inning later, Jorge Alcala’s low throw on a Luisangel Acuña bunt allowed the speedy runner to get to second. He would later score on a Juan Soto home run, one that put the Twins in a four-run hole.

All told, Twins pitchers have now committed six errors through the team’s first 17 games.

And to make matters worse on a tough night at Target Field for the home team, Vázquez took a foul tip to his right hand late in the game, forcing him to exit early.

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After conducting a flurry of business before the WNBA draft even got started, the Minnesota Lynx then selected a trio of players in the second and third rounds Monday night.

The team was scheduled to pick No. 11 overall in the first round, but the Lynx traded that selection to the Chicago Sky on Sunday in exchange for Chicago’s first-round pick in 2026.

The Lynx then dealt their own first-round pick in the 2026 draft to the Washington Mystics on Monday in exchange for 6-foot forward Karlie Samuelson, who averaged a career-best 8.4 points per game last season.

That meant Minnesota did not pick until the third selection in the second round (15th overall) when it tabbed 19-year-old Russian small forward Anastasiia Kosu, who has been playing for Russian professional team UMMC Ekaterinburg and was named the Russian Women’s Premier League’s player of the year for the 2023–24 season.

At age 14, she represented Russia at the 2019 FIBA U16 Women’s European Championship, where she averaged 18 points and 15 rebounds per game. The 6-1 Kosu played two professional seasons with the Dynamo Kursk before Russian clubs were suspended from 2021–22 EuroLeague Women play after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Lynx then used their second pick in the second round (24th overall) to select 6-4 Washington forward Dalayah Daniels, who averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for the Huskies this past season.

That included 29 points and 15 rebounds in her team’s two wins over Minnesota — Feb. 26 at Williams Arena (14 points, 10 rebounds) and March 5 in the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis (15 points, 5 rebounds).

Her efforts helped lead Washington to its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2017. The All-Big Ten honorable mention pick played her first two seasons at California before playing three seasons for the Huskies.

Minnesota closed out the draft by picking 6-1 Connecticut guard/forward Aubrey Griffin in the third round with the 37th pick overall. Griffin averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16 games (1 start) as the Huskies captured a national title this past season.

The teammate of Hopkins graduate and UConn star Paige Bueckers, who was selected with the top overall pick by the Dallas Wings on Monday, averaged nine points and six rebounds per game in 14 matchups (5 starts) in 2023-24.

She missed the 2021-22 season due to injury, but returned in 2022-23 to average 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds in 35 games (30 starts).