Americana trio the Wood Brothers will perform live at the Recreation Outdoor Center in St. Louis Park on July 15.

Tickets are $32, or $75 for VIP, and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Etix.

The concert will introduce “a new era of live, nationally touring acts to the community space,” according to promoters Sue McLean and Associates. The multi-use outdoor recreational facility hosts events year-round, including winter and summer sports, a spring egg hunt, the Minnesota Wild’s free outdoor hockey practices, the annual Juneteenth celebration, art fairs and home and garden shows.

Brothers Chris (upright bass) and Oliver (acoustic and electric guitar) Wood grew up steeped in American roots music, including folk, gospel, blues and jazz.

Oliver Wood went on to land a spot in Tinsley Ellis’s touring band, while his brother co-founded the jazz fusion group Medeski Martin and Wood. After spending 15 years pursuing their own careers, the brothers performed together for the first time in 2001 and realized they should make that pairing permanent. Multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix joined the group prior to the release of their fourth album, 2013’s “The Muse.” The Wood Brothers released their ninth studio album, “Heart is the Hero,” in April 2023.

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A Lakeville dance teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a teen student in 2022.

Timothy Mark Olson Jr., 35, has been charged with felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct for acts that authorities say took place with a teenage girl at his Lakeville home from June 2022 through the end of that year.

Olson was charged by summons this week and had not been booked into the county jail as of Thursday. Olson is scheduled to make a first court appearance on the charge April 23, according to court records, which do not list an attorney for him. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

According to the criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Dakota County District Court:

Lakeville police on Nov. 25 received a report regarding a sexual relationship between a student and a dance teacher, who was identified as Olson. The victim reported that Olson was her instructor at a dance studio beginning when she was in ninth grade.

The victim’s parents began paying Olson to teach her individual lessons when she was an 11th-grader. Olson started contacting the girl through Instagram messages, which “started out innocuous but progressed to asking Victim to come to his residence in Lakeville,” the complaint says. “(Olson) threatened suicide if Victim did not come over or respond quickly enough.”

Olson also showed up at the girl’s work several times, and texted her that “she was almost eighteen and asked how she would feel if something happened between them,” the complaint says.

The victim told police that Olson sexually assaulted her at his home approximately five to eight times in the summer and fall of 2022, while she was under the age of 18.

Officers spoke to Olson, who acknowledged being her dance teacher. When asked about the nature of their relationship, Olson said “he never forced or raped anyone,” the complaint says.

Olson mumbled during the entire interview and kept covering his face with his hands or shirt. He told police he “wouldn’t be able to tell the truth because he knew he would get in trouble,” the complaint says. When asked if he had sex with the victim, Olson said, “Yeah.”

Court records show Olson has one criminal conviction: gross misdemeanor DWI in November 2022 out of Hennepin County. He was sentenced to two years of probation.

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Minnesota’s unemployment rate remained 2.7% in February and the state saw minimal job growth, 100 jobs added, in the month, the state Department of Employment and Economic Development said Thursday. This compares with a U.S. unemployment rate of 3.9% in February.

But DEED also noted that the private sector shed 1,600 jobs in the month, with the difference made up by government hiring, 1,700 jobs. Minnesota added more than 1,000 people to its labor force, bringing the labor force participation rate  to 67.9%. This measures the percentage of the population that is working or actively seeking work, and is used to measure the state’s benchmark unemployment rate.

“Job growth held steady in February, part of a larger trend after the dramatic gains early in the pandemic recession recovery,” said DEED Deputy Commissioner Kevin McKinnon in a news release. “There are many job openings in the state and we’re focused on connecting people who need work with openings that match their skills. Job growth only happens when there are workers to fill open jobs.”

By sector, Professional & Business Services gained 1,200 jobs and Manufacturing gained 800 jobs; this was offset by losses in Construction, 3,000 jobs, Trade, Transportation & Utilities, 600 jobs and Financial Activities, which lost 500 jobs.

By ethnicity, the state said Black unemployment was 3.2%; Hispanic, 4.4% in February; white Minnesotans, 2.8%, and Asian 1.9% in February.

A broader alternative measure of unemployment, called the U-6, logged in at 5.5%, up from 5.4% in January. This data factor in people who have left the labor force voluntarily and are no longer looking for work, and also people who are minimally or under-employed.

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Multi-platinum hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion will kick off her first-ever headlining tour May 14 at Minneapolis’ Target Center.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster. Neither the venue nor the promoter announced prices. Memphis rapper GloRilla (“Tomorrow,” “Yeah Glo!”) opens.

Born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, she first gained attention through videos of her rapping that went viral on Instagram. That led to a record deal in 2018 and her breakthrough 2019 hits “Hot Girl Summer” (featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Nicki Minaj) and “Cash S—” (featuring DaBaby).

Her 2020 debut album “Good News” spawned the No. 1 hit “Savage” as well as “Girls in the Hood,” “Don’t Stop,” “Body” and “Cry Baby.” Her 2022 follow-up “Traumazine” found similar success with “Sweetest Pie,” “Plan B,” “Pressurelicious” and “Her.” She’s perhaps best known for guesting on Cardi B’s notoriously explicit 2020 smash “WAP,” which topped the charts around the world.

“Hiss,” her most recent single, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also became the first-ever solo female rap song to debut No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200, giving Megan the record for the biggest first week for a solo female rap song in history.

Previously, the rapper opened for Meek Mill and Future in 2019 and Dua Lipa in 2022 and has played numerous festivals, including Coachella, Austin City Limits, Outside Lands, Rock in Rio and the Reading and Glastonbury fests.

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