13 Aug 2024

Twins gain some breathing room with 8-3 victory over Royals

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After splitting a four-game series against the team ahead of them in the American League Central Division standings, the Twins started a three-game set against the division rival breathing down their necks.

And created a little space.

Willi Castro and Royce Lewis hit home runs in a six-run second inning off Kansas City starter Brady Singer, and Pablo Lopez gave Minnesota a quality start for the fourth time in five appearances as the Twins beat the Royals, 8-3, in front of 22,173 on Monday night at Target Field.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez throws to the Kansas City Royals in the second inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

With the victory, the Twins remained 3½ games behind first-place Cleveland and moved 1½ games ahead of Kansas City for the second AL wild card spot with 44 regular-season games to go.

Castro tied his career high with his ninth home run, a three-run shot off of Singer with two out in the second. After Trevor Larnach drew a walk, Lewis hit his 15th homer of the season, a rocket off the ribbon board in left, to make it 6-2.

Lopez (11-8) was charged with three runs, two earned, on six hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five.

Austin Martin and Matt Wallner added run-scoring singles, and Manny Margot — who replaced Byron Buxton in center field in the sixth inning, hit a sacrifice fly off reliever Carlos Hernandez to make it 8-3 in the seventh.

Buxton left with what the Twins were calling right hip discomfort and is considered day to day.

The Royals jumped to an early lead on Bobby Witt Jr.’s one-out solo home run off Lopez in the first, and took a 2-0 lead when Kyle Isbel hit a two-out single to right that scored Adam Frazier, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, in the second.

The Twins, however, roared back in their half of the inning. After Buxton lined out to left, and Max Kepler struck out swinging, the Twins sent six straight players to the plate against Singer (8-8).

Carlos Santana walked, and Ryan Jeffers singled him to second. Austin Martin’s single to right scored Santana, and leadoff hitter Castro followed with his three-run shot into the home run porch in right to make it 4-2.

Larnach followed with a single up the middle, and Lewis finished an eight-pitch at-bat with a two-run home run for a 6-2 lead.

After that offensive outburst, Lopez settled down, retiring nine of the next 11 batters he faced, allowing Isbel’s one-out double and then hitting Witt Jr. in the triceps with two out in the fifth.

Singer was charged with six earned runs on eight hits and two walks. He fanned nine.

The Royals got one back in the top of the sixth. MJ Melendez doubled to center with one out and scored on Frazier’s two-out single to right to cut Minnesota’s lead to 6-3.

The Twins added two runs in the eighth off Carlos Hernandez. Larnach walked to start the inning and scored on Wallner’s single. Lewis, who reached on an error by Witt Jr., scored from third on Margot’s sac fly.

Scott Blewett pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for Minnesota.

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13 Aug 2024

North Dakota voters to weigh in again on marijuana legalization

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BISMARCK, N.D. — A ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota has qualified for the November election, the state’s top election official said Monday. That sets up another vote on the issue in the conservative state after voters and lawmakers rejected previous efforts in recent years.

North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe said nearly 19,000 signatures were accepted after his office’s review, several thousand more than was needed to earn placement on the ballot. The group that sponsored the measure, New Economic Frontier, had submitted more than 22,000 signatures in early July.

Measure leader Steve Bakken, a Burleigh County commissioner and former Bismarck mayor, said law enforcement resources would be better directed at opioids and fentanyl than marijuana. The initiative also is an effort to head off any out-of-state measure that might have unmanageable results, he said.

The 20-page statutory measure would legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older to use at their homes and, if permitted, on others’ private property. The measure also outlines numerous production and processing regulations, prohibited uses — such as in public or in vehicles — and would allow home cultivation of plants.

The measure would set maximum purchase and possession amounts of 1 ounce of dried leaves or flowers, 4 grams of a cannabinoid concentrate, 1,500 milligrams of total THC in the form of a cannabis product and 300 milligrams of an edible product. It would allow cannabis solutions, capsules, transdermal patches, concentrates, topical and edible products.

Marijuana use by people under 21 is a low-level misdemeanor in North Dakota. Recreational use by anyone older is not a crime — but possessing it is, with penalties varying from an infraction to misdemeanors depending on the amount of marijuana. Delivery of any amount of marijuana is a felony, which can be elevated depending on certain factors, such as if the offense was within 300 feet (91 meters) of a school.

In 2023, 4,451 people statewide were charged with use or possession of marijuana, according to North Dakota Courts data requested by The Associated Press.

North Dakota voters approved medical marijuana in 2016 but rejected recreational initiatives in 2018 and 2022. In 2021, the Republican-led state House of Representatives passed bills to legalize and tax recreational marijuana, which the GOP-majority Senate defeated.

Republican state Rep. Matt Ruby, who was a member of the sponsoring committee, said in a statement that the priority now will be to tell voters about the economic growth opportunities, the more effective approach to regulation and easier access to medical marijuana.

“Our goal now is to educate voters on why we believe this to be a great step forward for our state,” he said.

The Brighter Future Alliance, an organization opposed to the measure, said in a statement that the supporters “won’t take no for an answer” after multiple defeats.

“The people of North Dakota soundly rejected the idea of recreational marijuana in 2018 and 2022, but here they are again,” said Patrick Finken, the group’s chair.

Burleigh County Sheriff Kelly Leben pointed to “detrimental impacts” in states where recreational marijuana is legal, saying, “Legalized marijuana increases crime, increases DUIs and increases illegal drug trafficking of harder drugs. In fact, with more users, illegal sales increase, not decrease.”

Twenty-four states have legalized recreational marijuana for adults. Ohio did so most recently, by initiative in November 2023. Measures will be on the ballot in Florida and South Dakota in November.

In May, the federal government began a process to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

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13 Aug 2024

Hastings man dies in single-vehicle crash on St. Paul’s U.S. 61

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A driver died after his vehicle went off a highway, into a center median ditch and struck a tree in St. Paul, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

The 53-year-old from Hastings was heading north on U.S. 61 near Lower Afton Road when the crash happened about 4:30 a.m. Monday. The man was not wearing a seatbelt, the State Patrol said. He died at the scene.

The State Patrol plans to release the man’s name in the coming days.

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13 Aug 2024

Who’s in? Who’s out? Here’s our initial 53-man roster projection for the Vikings

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There’s still a lot of time for players to make a name for themselves over the next couple of weeks. That said, the Vikings are slowly starting to piece together their team, with the recent exhibition game against the Las Vegas Raiders serving as a good measuring stick.

There were a number of standout performances on Saturday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium, including J.J. McCarthy balling out in his first game, Trishton Jackson hauling in a long touchdown, and Bo Richter wreaking havoc in the backfield to put himself on the map.

Now the Vikings will shift their focus ahead to joint practices with the Cleveland Browns this week.

Here’s our initial 53-man roster projection. The Pioneer Press will make updates to this list after the preseason games against the Browns and Philadelphia Eagles.

Quarterback (3)

In: Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy, Nick Mullens

Out: Jaren Hall

Analysis: It was a good showing by Darnold in his only series over the weekend. It was an even better showing by McCarthy as he exemplified all the traits needed to succeed at the highest level. It seems like Mullens will be kept around for insurance purposes, so that leaves Hall as the odd man out.

Running Back (3)

In: Aaron Jones, Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu

Out: Myles Gaskin, DeWayne McBride

Analysis: The backfield seems set in stone at this point with the combination of Jones and Chandler in line for most of the work. As for Nwangwu, his best quality is his elite speed, and he could potentially work himself into more touches down the road.

Fullback (1)

In: C.J. Ham

Out: N/A

Analysis: There’s no other fullback on the roster, paving the way for Ham to play a key role once again.

Receiver (6)

In: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, Brandon Powell, Trent Sherfield, Trishton Jackson

Out: Lucky Jackson, Thayer Thomas, Malik Knowles, Jeshaun Jones, Ty James

Analysis: The competition behind Jefferson and Addison for the No. 3 receiver spot is Nailor’s to lose at this point. There’s also more than likely a place reserved for Powell. That leaves a handful of players to battle for an unknown number of spots. After the way they performed over the weekend, Sherfield and Jackson are in pretty good shape.

Tight End (3)

In: T.J. Hockenson (IR), Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse

Out: Robert Tonyan, Trey Knox, Sammis Reyes

Analysis: Though he’s ahead of schedule in the recovery process, Hockenson will likely start on injured reserve. That will create opportunity for some of his peers with Oliver and Mundt expected to fill the void. The emergence of Muse over the past few weeks has been promising. The fact that Tonyan has recently missed some time doesn’t bode well for him.

Offensive Line (10)

In: Christian Darrisaw (LT), Blake Brandel (LG), Garrett Bradbury (C), Ed Ingram (RG), Brian O’Neill (RT), David Quessenberry (OT), Dalton Risner (OG), Dan Feeney (C/OG), Walter Rouse (OT), Michael Jurgens (C/OG)

Out: Tyrese Robinson (OG), Henry Byrd (OG), Jeremy Flax (OG), Doug Nester (OG), Spencer Rolland (OG),

Analysis: Not only has the starting offensive line remained intact, so has the rotation of some of the key reserves. That only leaves room for a couple of players, and Rouse and Jurgens make the cut as recent draft picks.

Defensive Line (5)

In: Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, Jerry Tillery, Jonah Williams, Levi Drake Rodriguez

Out: James Lynch, Jaquelin Roy, Jalen Redmond, Tyler Manoa, Taki Taimani

Analysis: There are reliable players up front led by Phillips as the man in the middle. Still, this group could use an injection of youth, which is why Rodriguez gets the nod over some of his peers.

Edge Rusher (5)

In: Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, Jihad Ward, Pat Jones II

Out: Andre Carter II, Gabe Murphy, Bo Richter, Owen Porter

Analysis: The fringe players are the most intriguing here. It appeared that Murphy had the inside track a few days ago, for example, then he missed the Raiders game and Richter made a big splash. There might be room for another player in addition to Greenard, Van Ginkel, Turner, Ward, and Jones.

Linebackers (4)

In: Blake Cashman, Ivan Pace Jr., Kamu Grugier-Hill, Brian Asamoah

Out: Jabril Cox, Dallas Gant

Analysis: The starters will be Cashman and Pace. The reserves will be Grugier-Hill and Asamoah. Not much room for debate about anybody else.

Cornerback (6)

In: Byron Murphy Jr., Shaq Griffin, Akayleb Evans, Fabian Moreau, Jay Ward, NaJee Thompson

Out: Duke Shelley, Jaylin Williams, Dwight McGlothern, Nahshon Wright, A.J. Green III, Jacobi Francis

Analysis: This is the most difficult position to figure out largely because of the reports that veteran Stephon Gilmore is visiting Minnesota. As of right now, Murphy, Griffin, Evans, and Moreau seem like locks. Everybody else will be waiting to see if Gilmore signs.

Safety (4)

In: Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson

Out: Lewis Cine, Bobby McCain

Analysis: The only argument here is that McCain’s versatility might be enough for him to crack the roster. He would be a good addition to a deep group that includes Smith, Bynum, Metellus, and Jackson.

Specialists (3)

In: Will Reichard (K), Ryan Wright (P), Andrew DePaola (LS)

Out: Seth Vernon (P)

Analysis: The punting competition was fun while it lasted. That said, Wright vastly outperformed Vernon over the weekend, and that should be enough to win him the job.

J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings passes the ball in the second quarter of the preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium on Aug. 10, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Dan Feeney #69 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates with Kene Nwangwu #26 after he scored a rushing touchdown in the second quarter of the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium on Aug. 10, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)