Today in History: August 22, first America’s Cup trophy

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Today is Thursday, Aug. 22, the 235th day of 2024. There are 131 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 22, 1851, the schooner America outraced more than a dozen British vessels off the English coast to win a trophy that came to be known as the America’s Cup.

Also on this date:

In 1791, the Haitian Revolution began as enslaved people of Saint-Domingue rose up against French colonizers.

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In 1910, Japan annexed Korea, which remained under Japanese control until the end of World War II.

In 1922, Irish revolutionary Michael Collins was shot to death, apparently by Irish Republican Army members opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty that Collins had co-signed.

In 1965, a fourteen-minute brawl ensued between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers after Giants pitcher Juan Marichal stuck Dodgers catcher John Roseboro in the head with a baseball bat. (Marichal and Roseboro would later reconcile and become lifelong friends.)

In 1968, Pope Paul VI arrived in Bogota, Colombia, for the start of the first papal visit to South America.

In 1972, John Wojtowicz (WAHT’-uh-witz) and Salvatore Naturile took seven employees hostage at a Chase Manhattan Bank branch in Brooklyn, New York, during a botched robbery; the siege, which ended with Wojtowicz’s arrest and Naturile’s killing by the FBI, inspired the 1975 movie “Dog Day Afternoon.”

In 1989, Black Panthers co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death in Oakland, California.

In 1992, on the second day of the Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho, an FBI sharpshooter killed Vicki Weaver, the wife of white separatist Randy Weaver.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed welfare legislation that ended guaranteed cash payments to the poor and demanded work from recipients.

In 2003, Alabama’s chief justice, Roy Moore, was suspended for his refusal to obey a federal court order to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of his courthouse.

In 2007, A Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Iraq, killing all 14 U.S. soldiers aboard.

Today’s Birthdays:

Author Annie Proulx (proo) is 89.
Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski is 85.
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells is 83.
Writer-producer David Chase is 79.
CBS newsman Steve Kroft is 79.
International Swimming Hall of Famer Diana Nyad is 75.
Baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor is 68.
Rock guitarist Vernon Reid is 66.
Country singer Collin Raye is 64.
Rock singer Roland Orzabal (Tears For Fears) is 63.
Singer Tori Amos is 61.
International Tennis Hall of Famer Mats Wilander (VEE’-luhn-dur) is 60.
Rapper GZA (JIHZ’-ah)/The Genius is 58.
Actor Ty Burrell is 57.
Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis is 54.
Actor Rick Yune is 53.
Singer Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys) is 51.
Comedian-actor Kristen Wiig is 51.
Talk show host James Corden is 46.
Pop singer Dua Lipa is 29.

St. Paul Saints end 10-game losing streak with massive comeback

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The St. Paul Saints were well on their way to extending their franchise-record losing streak to 11 games. Instead, they ended that skid in unimaginable fashion.

The Saints trailed the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders by five runs after six innings but came all the way back for a 7-6 win in 10 innings at CHS Field, with Anthony Prato capping the comeback with a game-winning single.

In the bottom of the 10th, Chris Williams led off against RailRiders reliever Joey Gerber with a sacrifice bunt that moved automatic runner Jair Camargo to third base. Rylan Bannon was intentionally walked, and Prato followed with a line drive to right field that gave the Saints their first win since Aug. 7.

Louie Varland started for the Saints and gave up runs in four of the five innings he pitched. He allowed four runs on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Josh Winder followed and gave up two runs on three hits in his inning of work.

Hobie Harris and Caleb Baragar each pitched two scoreless innings, allowing the Saints to mount a rally.

The comeback started with Diego A. Castillo’s grand slam in the seventh inning that cut the RailRiders’ lead to 6-5.

In the eighth, Bannon led off with a single on a soft ground ball to pitcher Anthony Misiewicz, moved to second on Prato’s sacrifice bunt and reached third on Payton Eeles’ groundout. Castillo then struck out, but a passed ball by catcher Carlos Narvaez allowed Bannon to score the tying and Castillo to reach first base.

Scorching shooting night lifts Lynx to win over Las Vegas Aces

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Courtney Williams almost couldn’t miss with her mid-range jumper late Wednesday, and she ran the offense, especially the pick and roll, with aplomb.

With the Lynx for less than 36 hours, Myisha Hines-Allen made quite a first impression, too.

Shooting a season-high 59.4% from the field, including 57.9% on 3-pointers, Minnesota won 98-87 at Las Vegas in a game featuring the top two teams in the Western Conference.

The teams meet again at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Target Center.

Williams led the Lynx with a season-high 22 points, tied a season-high with 10 assists and added seven rebounds as Minnesota showcased its depth.

Minnesota had five players in double figures, led by 23 from Napheesa Collier. She also had eight defensive deflections and seven rebounds.

Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith (8) shoots around Las Vegas Aces center Megan Gustafson (17) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bridget Carleton had 12 points, Kayla McBride 11 and Alanna Smith overcame early foul trouble to finish with 10 points. The Lynx had 28 assists on its season-high 38 makes.

“People got their opportunities and they made shots,” said coach Cheryl Reeve.

Down 11 early in the fourth quarter, a pair of baskets by Tiffany Hayes got the Aces within six, but out of a timeout, Minnesota (20-8) scored the next eight points to unofficially secure the win.

Collier hit a jumper, McBride scored on a feed from Williams, Collier hit another jumper and then Williams sank one to make it 88-74. After an Aces basket, Williams fed Collier for a 3-pointer.

“Our biggest thing was just making sure we answered their runs, and that’s exactly what we did,” Williams said.

Las Vegas (17-10) got within eight with 1:37 left, but Williams calmly stroked a 3-point dagger.

Smith, the starting center, picked up three fouls in the first quarter, which could have been an early game-turning moment.

Enter Hines-Allen, who joined the Lynx in a Tuesday trade with Washington. She finished with eight points and four rebounds in 13 minutes, 42 seconds, but her inside presence is something Minnesota has missed at times this season.

“She was just playing basketball. It was not complicated. We gave her a few things,” Reeve said. “… I thought her teammates really talked her through some situations.”

Jackie Young led Las Vegas with 26 points and Kelsey Plum added 20, but A’ja Wilson, the league’s leading scorer, finished with just 15 points, unable to consistently take over on the offensive end.

The first quarter was unofficially a shooting clinic with Minnesota making 66.7% of its shots for a 26-25 lead. Las Vegas shot 62.5%.

Minnesota shot 62.5% in quarter two and, bolstered by a 10-0 mid-quarter run, led 54-46 at the break. The Lynx, the league’s top 3-point shooting team, made five of seven.

71st Princess Kay of the Milky Way crowned

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A 19-year-old college student from McCleod County was crowned the 71st Princess Kay of the Milky Way during a coronation ceremony on Wednesday night, the eve of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair.

19-year-old college student from McCleod County Rachel Visser was crowned the 71st Princess Kay of the Milky Way during a coronation ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, the eve of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair. (Courtesy photo)

Rachel Visser is the daughter of Barry and Shannon Visser, of Hutchinson, and attends the University of Minnesota.

For the next year, Visser will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for nearly 1,800 Minnesota dairy farm families.

Nine county dairy princesses from throughout Minnesota competed for the Princess Kay title at the State Fairgrounds in Falcon Heights.

Katie Ketchum of Altura, representing Winona County, and Grace Woitalla of Avon, representing Stearns County, were selected as runners-up.

Visser, Ketchum and Woitalla were also named scholarship winners.

Mackenzie Moline of St. Peter, representing Nicollet County, was named Miss Congeniality.

Princess Kay candidates are judged on their knowledge of the dairy industry, communication skills and enthusiasm. Midwest Dairy and its farmer members sponsor the pageant program.

Visser’s first official duty as Princess Kay will be to sit in a rotating cooler in the Dairy Building for nearly eight hours to have her likeness sculpted in a 90-pound block of butter on the first two days of the State Fair, which begins Thursday.

Litchfield artist and butter sculptor Gerry Kulzer will be carving Princess Kay and the finalists.

The other 2024 finalists are scheduled to have their likenesses sculpted as follows:

Saturday, Aug. 24: Miranda Schroeder, Caledonia, representing Houston County
Sunday, Aug. 25: Grace Woitalla, Avon, representing Stearns County
Monday, Aug. 26: McKenna Wright, Hutchinson, representing McLeod County
Wednesday, Aug. 28: Selena Corona, Saint Joseph, representing Stearns County
Thursday, Aug. 29: Katie Ketchum, Altura, representing Winona County
Friday, Aug. 30: Katelyn Welgraven, Ruthton, representing Pipestone County
Saturday, Aug. 31: Mackenzie Moline, Saint Peter, representing Nicollet County
Sunday, Sept. 1: Afton Nelson, Owatonna, representing Steele County

Princess Kay and the other finalists will make appearances throughout the State Fair near the butter sculpture booth in the Dairy Building.

The Princess Kay Facebook and Instagram accounts will provide regular updates and photos of each completed butter sculpture.

The State Fair concludes on Labor Day, Sept. 2.

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