NEW YORK — Randy Dobnak announced his long-awaited return to the big leagues like another sporting legend: with a statement that said just two simple words.

“I’m back,” it read, mirroring the statement that Michael Jordan put out when he returned to the NBA after testing his abilities as a baseball player.

Dobnak posted the statement to his social media account Tuesday morning after being recalled to the major leagues for the first time since the 2021 season.

“It’s been a lot of fun the last few years, but a lot of adversity,” Dobnak said. “A lot of adapting to being a different kind of pitcher than I used to be. A lot of injuries. But it’s good to be back.”

It’s been a long path back for the pitcher, who burst onto the scene in 2019 after being signed out of independent ball and even started a playoff game at Yankee Stadium. Dobnak signed a five-year extension with the Twins ahead of the 2021 season, but much of that season ended up being derailed by finger issues.

He spent most of the next year rehabbing as well and said he had issues with it until after the 2022 season. He then spent the past couple of years remaking himself as a pitcher.

“When my finger was still hurting in 22, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever play again,’ ” Dobnak said. “It got to the point where like, I was playing catch, and I could feel myself flexing my finger like, ‘What is going on with this thing?’ … Once the finger got healthy, I knew it was just a matter of time for me to kind of find myself. My new self, I guess you could say. But everything works out for a reason.”

Dobnak, who last pitched in the majors on Sept. 3, 2021, has been particularly effective in Triple-A of late. Over his last eight games, he has posted a 1.70 earned-run average, giving up just eight runs in 42 1/3 innings.

The 29-year-old has been starting for the Saints, though the Twins have used him as a reliever in the past and plan to do so this time around, as well.

“I think a lot of people around here are really happy to see Randy Dobnak here,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s an exciting thing when you see a guy actually improve himself, come back, meet a challenge and then go pitch great and do his job. That kind of pumps everybody up.”

He takes the roster spot of reliever Josh Staumont, who was designated for assignment to create space on the roster for newly-acquired reliever Trevor Richards, who is expected to join the Twins in New York for the final game of the series.

To create another spot on the 40-man roster, the Twins transferred Alex Kirilloff (back) to the 60-day injured list.

The Twins will need to make a 26-man roster move on Wednesday to add Richards. That is expected to be reliever Brock Stewart, who is once again dealing with a shoulder issue. Stewart returned after nearly three months dealing with shoulder tendinitis on July 24 but felt his shoulder bother him again in Monday’s game.

A semi driver crashed into a railroad bridge in Cottage Grove on Tuesday morning, temporarily disrupting the flow of traffic to and from Grey Cloud Island, police say.

A semi driver struck a railroad bridge on 103rd Street South in Cottage Grove on July 30, 2024. (Courtesy of Cottage Grove Public Safety Department)

The crash occurred about 9 a.m. when the trucker attempted to drive under the bridge on 103rd Street South near Grey Cloud Trail, but his semi was too tall to make it, according to Cottage Grove police.

A post on the Cottage Grove Public Safety Department’s Facebook page reported that the driver “was unfamiliar with Cottage Grove and got lost trying to make a delivery” to the nearby business park.

No one was injured in the crash, and the road had reopened by 6 p.m.

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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is asking a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision to allow 18- to 20-year-olds to publicly carry a firearm in the state.

The attorney general on Tuesday asked for the entire Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the case after a three-judge panel unanimously ruled against the state of Minnesota on July 16.

“The public safety benefits to banning open carry by people under 21 years of age are clear,” Ellison said in a Tuesday news release announcing his office had filed the petition.

If the court doesn’t grant a rehearing, adults under 21 could start applying for a Minnesota permit to carry seven days after the denial. But there are other routes Ellison could take that push that back, including taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, one of the gun-rights groups in the lawsuit, called the appeal “a further delay that deprives 18-20 year old adults from exercising their right to bear arms.”

An Eighth Circuit decision could come sometime in August.

While the Eighth Circuit panel said the state can’t enforce the law anymore, Ellison’s office said the law remains in effect as a lower court ruling stayed the law’s overturning until the appeals process is complete. Tuesday’s petition extends the process.

The case

In 2021, a group of gun-rights groups and people under 21 challenged Minnesota’s age limit for permits to carry, arguing it violated the constitutional rights of people legally considered adults.

One of the plaintiffs, Kristin Worth of Mille Lacs County, said she wanted to carry a handgun for self-defense over concerns about crime and fears about walking alone to her car after closing down the grocery store where she worked.

Last year, a Minnesota District Court found the state’s age limit of 21 to carry a gun in public unconstitutional. The state appealed the case, but a few weeks ago the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision.

Those groups prevailed under a new precedent set by a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, which called for a new judicial test that expanded the scope of the Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms.

“Ordinary, law-abiding 18 to 20-year-old Minnesotans are unambiguously members of the people,” wrote Judge William Duane Benton in the court’s opinion, joined by Judges Lavenski R. Smith and David R. Stras. “Because the plain text of the Second Amendment covers the plaintiffs and their conduct, it is presumptively constitutionally protected.”

Ellison asked the appeals court to revisit its decision in light of another landmark U.S. Supreme Court gun ruling in June, United States v. Rahimi. Since the Supreme Court gave new guidance for evaluating gun law challenges in that case, which upheld a prohibition on domestic abusers possessing guns, the case should be revisited, the attorney general argues.

The Eighth Circuit was the first appeals court to overturn a state law restricting possession to people 21 and older, Ellison’s office noted.

Permit-to-carry law

Minnesota enacted its permit-to-carry law in 2003.

Applicants must take an approved firearms training course and apply at their local sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office then investigates the applicant’s background before deciding whether to issue a permit.

Minnesota’s permit-to-carry law allows for the concealed and open carrying of firearms. Other states, such as Wisconsin and North Dakota, allow for open carrying of firearms under certain circumstances without a permit.

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Residents in 19 Minnesota counties affected by this summer’s record rainfall are now eligible for individual assistance programs following the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s approval of the funds.

Across the state, torrential rains led to flooding mainly focused in the northeastern and southern areas of the state. Homes and businesses suffered what is likely millions of dollars in damage from the flooding. South of Mankato, an aging hydroelectric dam partially failed as the raging Blue Earth River washed around one side of the structure.

“That individual relief is going to help people in a big way with their individual repairs,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said during a Tuesday press conference.

In June, 22 counties were declared eligible for funding to repair public infrastructure from the FEMA Public Assistance program following a bipartisan push from Minnesota’s delegation.

That same push has now granted possible funds to individuals in the following counties: Blue Earth, Cook, Cottonwood, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue, Itasca, Jackson, Lake, Le Sueur, Mower, Nicollet, Nobles, Rice, Rock, St. Louis, Steele, Waseca and Watonwan.

“This is going to be a game-changer for so many people that have lost their water heaters or lost their basements,” Klobuchar said.

Those affected are eligible for up to $42,500 for housing assistance, which includes the cost of temporary housing, and $42,500 for other personal property that has been damaged.

“Minnesotans are still struggling with the aftermath of the severe flooding in June, and I appreciate the swift declaration from President Biden following our request for aid,” said Klobuchar’s counterpart, Sen. Tina Smith, in a news release. “Minnesota continues to need help, and the federal government is answering. These expanded resources for individuals in more counties in Minnesota will make a huge difference as communities work to rebuild.”

Damage assessments are still ongoing and more counties may become eligible for funds at a later date.

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