Whether you need advice on tree care, are looking for closet solutions or on the hunt for your next home improvement project, odds are you’ll find inspiration in Apple Valley this weekend.

Hosted by the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce, the city’s 24th Home & Garden Expo takes place Saturday and admission is free, according to an advisory from the chamber.

The event will feature more than 120 vendor booths, grilled food from the Boy Scouts, Culver’s custard, face-painting, inflatables and 10 booths with city officials who will answer questions and hear concerns, according to the chamber.

Bobby Jensen, a local gardening expert and co-host of KARE 11’s “Grow with KARE,” will host a free seminar titled, “These Aren’t Your Grandma’s Hydrangeas,” at noon.

“Apple Valley does it right. A spectacular show and something about their show’s size and timing that everyone is buying,” Jensen said in the release.

The event, which starts at 9 a.m. at Eastview High School, is expected to bring in 6,000 visitors. The expo is the city’s second-largest event, just behind the Fourth of July parade.

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By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel was quietly removed weeks ago as the acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and has been replaced with the Army secretary, three people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

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It was not immediately clear why Patel was replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll to lead the Justice Department agency that’s responsible for enforcing the nation’s gun laws. One person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel move, said Patel was removed at the end of February, just days after he was sworn in.

But that was never publicly announced. Patel remains on the agency’s website and was identified as the acting director in an April 7 press release. Senior ATF leaders were only informed Wednesday of the change, according to another person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the move.

Driscoll will remain secretary of the Army, according to a defense official. Driscoll, 38, of North Carolina, had served as an adviser to Vice President JD Vance, whom he met when both were attending Yale Law School. He served in the Army for less than four years and left at the rank of first lieutenant.

He ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for a North Carolina congressional seat in 2020, getting about 8% of the vote in a crowded field of candidates.

Patel was named acting ATF director in an unusual arrangement in February just days after he was sworn in to lead the FBI, putting him in charge of two separate and sprawling Justice Department agencies.

Justice Department officials have been considering a plan to combine the ATF and the Drug Enforcement Administration into a single agency. The two agencies often work together, along with the FBI, but are both led by separate directors and are tasked with distinctly different missions.

The plan is designed to “achieve efficiencies in resources, case deconfliction, and regulatory efforts,” according to a recent memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The ATF investigates things like violent crime, gun trafficking, arson and bombings. It also provides technical expertise in tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations. The DEA, meanwhile, is in charge of enforcing the nation’s laws around drugs. Its agents are focused on combating criminal drug networks and stemming the illicit flow of fentanyl and other street drugs.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch and his players were measured in their response to Tuesday’s collapse in Milwaukee, during which Minnesota squandered a 24-point, fourth quarter advantage to drop a critical bout versus the Bucks.

The message, in essence: That stunk, move on, get ready for Thursday.

“Everyone in here is (ticked) off,” Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo told reporters. “But just regroup and come back, because we know we have a huge game on Thursday.”

There’s rarely a choice to approach things in any other way in the midst of a regular season that never seems to stop. Players will tell you it’s the beauty of the season — there is always another game.

But, in this instance, the next game is the game.

Minnesota is in Memphis on Thursday in a game that will likely determine the Wolves’ path to the Western Conference playoffs. Minnesota figures to be a 14-plus point favorite in each of its home games over the weekend against Brooklyn and Utah. This is the final result that remains relatively unknown.

As of Wednesday morning, Basketball Reference cited Minnesota’s chances to finish with a top-six seed at 55%, and 45% to finish in the No. 7 or No. 8 spot, so it’s nearly a coin flip. Those odds will have shifted dramatically by late Thursday evening.

A win over the Grizzlies, and Minnesota — assuming no major bungling of the two ensuing layups at Target Center — figures to finish in the top six in the West, thus avoiding the play-in tournament.

But a loss to Memphis, and Minnesota, eighth in the West as of Wednesday afternoon, would suddenly need a heap of help from its surrounding competitors to sneak inside the top six.

The same is largely true for Memphis, who entered Wednesday’s NBA slate in a four-way tie for fourth. But the Grizzlies aren’t in a favorable spot regarding tiebreakers, so they were seeded seventh.

Memphis, now down two rotation players after rookie standout wing Jaylen Wells broke his wrist in a scary fall Tuesday, likely can’t lose Thursday and still finish in the top six.

So, Thursday is for, well, a lot. Minnesota has grown accustomed to high-stake duels in the final week of the regular season. In Game 82 of the 2022-23 campaign, the Wolves beat New Orleans in a game that was the difference between Minnesota being the No. 7 seed and the No. 9.

Last year, Minnesota fell to Denver in a game that went a long way toward determining the No. 1 seed.

And now this.

Not only will Thursday’s bout have cataclysmic ramifications in the West standings, it’s also important for Minnesota to prove itself. While the Wolves are 14-4 over their past 18 games, they’re just 3-3 in that span against teams who are above .500 on the season.

Can they bounce back? Can they again rise to a big occasion? Can they punch against a similar caliber foe? Can they avoid playing in their third play-in tournament in the last four seasons?

The answers to those questions will largely be answered in Memphis.

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In addition to all of the comings and goings in the locker room and on the ice for the Minnesota Wild, the franchise suffered an unexpected loss away from the rink on Wednesday. The team announced that Ray Shero, 62, who served as a senior advisor to general manager Bill Guerin, has died.

Born in St. Paul, Ray was the son of legendary coach Fred Shero, who coached the Philadelphia Flyers to multiple Stanley Cups in the 1970s.

“Ray Shero’s smile and personality lit up every room he walked into and brightened the day of everyone he met,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement from the league. “Widely respected throughout hockey for his team-building acumen and eye for talent, he was even more beloved for how he treated everyone fortunate enough to have known him.”

After playing college hockey at St. Lawrence, Ray found his calling in the front office, serving as an assistant general manager in Ottawa and Nashville, then as general manager in Pittsburgh from 2006 to 2014. His time with the Penguins included winning the 2009 Stanley Cup and being named the NHL’s general manager of the year in 2013.

After five seasons as general manager of the New Jersey Devils, Shero joined the Wild organization in 2021.

“Our hearts go out to his family and friends and the countless people he impacted in the hockey community throughout his successful career,” the Wild said in a statement. “Ray was the best. He will be greatly missed by all of us.”

The Shero family, which includes Ray’s wife Karen and two sons, has asked for privacy at this time.

Fleury is Wild’s Masterton nominee

Sometime in the coming weeks, Marc-Andre Fleury will officially retire from the NHL as the game’s second-winningest goalie of all time. He has three Stanley Cups to his credit, and is a shoo-in for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

And on his way out the door, Fleury has been given one more honor.

On Wednesday the Minnesota chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association officially nominated Fleury, 40, for the Bill Masterton Memorial Award, given annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

In a small gathering with reporters this week, Fleury — who has been nominated for the award twice previously — said it means a great deal to him.

“I think I’ve had lots of ups and downs in my career, and I think that perseverance helped me try to bounce back after the tough moments,” he said. “I love the game. I’ve loved hockey since I’m a kid. I still do. Always feel very fortunate to be where I am today.”

Fleury, expected to start Wednesday night’s game versus the Sharks, had made 23 previous appearances for the Wild this season with a 12-9-1 record.

The award is named after former Minnesota North Stars player Bill Masterton, who in January 1968 was the only NHL player to die as a result of an injury suffered in a game.

Playing in for the North Stars at Met Center in Bloomington, in an era where most players did not wear helmets, Masterton’s head struck the ice after a collision with two opponents. He never regained consciousness from the hit, and died two days later at age 29 at an Edina hospital.

Two Wild goalies have won the Masterton previously, Josh Harding in 2013 and Devan Dubnyk in 2015.

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