The Savannah Bananas will swing by Minneapolis on their 2026 Banana Ball World Tour, playing at Target Field from Aug. 7-9 while the Twins are in Milwaukee.

The Bananas will take on the Loco Beach Coconuts in the three-game series.

While the Party Animals and Texas Tailgaters visited CHS Field last season as part of the Banana Ball World Tour, this will be the Bananas’ first trip to Minnesota.

The baseball equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters, Banana Ball has taken off in recent years. It’s a high-energy, fan-focused brand of baseball featuring dance routines and other on-field antics.

Tickets for the games are lottery-based and fans can visit bananaball.com/tickets from now until the end of October to register for a chance to buy tickets. The Twins will also have a limited priority pre-sale for 2026 MyTwins Members.

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ST. LOUIS – As opening nights go, this one was worthy of a standing ovation.

The high hopes of Minnesota Wild fans, and the high-priced investments they made in long-term contracts, were realized, emphatically in game one, as Ryan Hartman scored a pair of goals in a convincing 5-0 win over the Blues in St. Louis.

Goalie Filip Gustavsson, signed to a five-year contract extension earlier this week, was flawless, giving the home crowd at Enterprise Center no reason to get excited, with 27 saves. It was the second time in the past three years that he opened the season with a shutout.

Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marco Rossi added goals for the Wild, who were dominated for long stretches in the second period, but gave the Blues’ offense nothing to record on the scoreboard.

Hartman seemingly picked up right where he left off last spring. After an up and down regular season — which included an eight-game suspension handed down by the NHL — a year ago, Hartman was like a new player late in the season. He averaged a point per game in the playoffs, and returned to Minnesota earlier than normal this summer, determined to have a solid training camp.

After a back and forth first 15 minutes which saw St. Louis kill a pair of Wild power plays, Minnesota’s offense got cranking with two goals 96 seconds apart.

First Hartman settled a bouncing puck with his hand and cut to the Blues net, tucking the puck between the knees of St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington for Minnesota’s first goal of the season.

Two shifts later, in a scene Wild fans hope to see much of in the forthcoming 81 games, Kirill Kaprizov set up in the right faceoff circle and zipped a centering pass to Boldy, for a deft re-direction and a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.

The worst news to come out of the first period happened in the final seconds, when Minnesota winger Marcus Foligno blocked a Dylan Holloway slap shot. The puck appeared to glance off Foligno’s hand, and the Wild veteran dropped his stick and skated to the tunnel. He returned for the start of the second period and appeared no worse for wear.

The Blues had all of the second period momentum, out-shooting Minnesota 14-5 for the frame, and getting a pair of power plays, but emerged in an even deeper hole on the scoreboard. The Wild’s first shot on goal of the period, more than 12 minutes in, went in the net when Eriksson Ek cleaned up a mess in front of the Blues net with a power play goal.

Late in the period Hartman slapped a low shot between Binnington’s skates, and St. Louis skated off after 40 minutes to the sound of boos from the home crowd.

By the time Rossi’s close-range wrist shot made it 5-0 with 12:33 to play, a fair amount of the audience had already headed out into the chilly Missouri night. Kaprizov, signed last month to the richest contract in NHL history, assisted on three of the Wild’s goals.

Binnington finished with 16 saves for St. Louis.

It was the NHL debut for Hunter Haight, the 21-year-old from Ontario who was Minnesota’s second round draft pick in 2022. Haight spent all of last season with the Iowa Wild and was second on the team with 20 goals. He was the first one on the ice Thursday, skating the traditional rookie solo lap before the rest of the Wild came out for warmups.

The Wild return to St. Paul for their home opener on Saturday, hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 7 p.m. first faceoff at Grand Casino Arena.

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ST. LOUIS – As opening nights go, this one was worthy of a standing ovation.

The high hopes of Minnesota Wild fans, and the high-priced investments they made in long-term contracts, were realized, emphatically in game one, as Ryan Hartman scored a pair of goals in a convincing 5-0 win over the Blues in St. Louis.

Goalie Filip Gustavsson, signed to a five-year contract extension earlier this week, was flawless, giving the home crowd at Enterprise Center no reason to get excited, with 27 saves. It was the second time in the past three years that he opened the season with a shutout.

Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marco Rossi added goals for the Wild, who were dominated for long stretches in the second period, but gave the Blues’ offense nothing to record on the scoreboard.

Hartman seemingly picked up right where he left off last spring. After an up and down regular season — which included an eight-game suspension handed down by the NHL — a year ago, Hartman was like a new player late in the season. He averaged a point per game in the playoffs, and returned to Minnesota earlier than normal this summer, determined to have a solid training camp.

After a back and forth first 15 minutes which saw St. Louis kill a pair of Wild power plays, Minnesota’s offense got cranking with two goals 96 seconds apart.

First Hartman settled a bouncing puck with his hand and cut to the Blues net, tucking the puck between the knees of St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington for Minnesota’s first goal of the season.

Two shifts later, in a scene Wild fans hope to see much of in the forthcoming 81 games, Kirill Kaprizov set up in the right faceoff circle and zipped a centering pass to Boldy, for a deft re-direction and a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.

The worst news to come out of the first period happened in the final seconds, when Minnesota winger Marcus Foligno blocked a Dylan Holloway slap shot. The puck appeared to glance off Foligno’s hand, and the Wild veteran dropped his stick and skated to the tunnel. He returned for the start of the second period and appeared no worse for wear.

The Blues had all of the second period momentum, out-shooting Minnesota 14-5 for the frame, and getting a pair of power plays, but emerged in an even deeper hole on the scoreboard. The Wild’s first shot on goal of the period, more than 12 minutes in, went in the net when Eriksson Ek cleaned up a mess in front of the Blues net with a power play goal.

Late in the period Hartman slapped a low shot between Binnington’s skates, and St. Louis skated off after 40 minutes to the sound of boos from the home crowd.

By the time Rossi’s close-range wrist shot made it 5-0 with 12:33 to play, a fair amount of the audience had already headed out into the chilly Missouri night. Kaprizov, signed last month to the richest contract in NHL history, assisted on three of the Wild’s goals.

Binnington finished with 16 saves for St. Louis.

It was the NHL debut for Hunter Haight, the 21-year-old from Ontario who was Minnesota’s second round draft pick in 2022. Haight spent all of last season with the Iowa Wild and was second on the team with 20 goals. He was the first one on the ice Thursday, skating the traditional rookie solo lap before the rest of the Wild came out for warmups.

The Wild return to St. Paul for their home opener on Saturday, hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 7 p.m. first faceoff at Grand Casino Arena.

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An Oklahoma-based cannabis retailer is one step closer to setting up shop in Oak Park Heights.

The Oak Park Heights Planning Commission voted Thursday night to recommend a conditional-use permit for a retail cannabis business to open in the space currently occupied by Joseph’s restaurant.

Mango Cannabis, as the business would be known, is expected to occupy the entire building at 14608 60th St. N. and Joseph’s is expected to move to a different location in the area, according to a staff memo.

“The location has not been identified yet that I am aware of,” City Planner Scott Richards said of the restaurant’s move on Thursday night. Representatives from Mango Cannabis said the restaurant’s owners have other real estate holdings and are working on a relocation.

The planning commission approved the recommendation 3-1 with Commissioner Jennifer Van Dyke casting the sole vote against. Commissioner Blake Van Denburgh was not in attendance.

“This is going to impact our community, it’s going to make it worse and it’s going to cost us money,” Van Dyke said. “People are going to come over the border (of Wisconsin); our community is already a drive-through,” she said.

Oak Park Heights is located on the St. Croix River, which is the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. Wisconsin has not legalized recreational cannabis. The highway bridge which spans the river passes through the suburb.

The only resident who spoke during the public comment period Thursday was opposed to the dispensary’s proposed location and expressed concerns about substance abuse, an increase in police presence and increased loitering.

Joseph’s

Joe Kohler first opened Joseph’s 1981. A beloved local eatery, the restaurant is known for serving old-fashioned favorites and an assortment of pies.

In 2022, Kohler announced his retirement and local restaurateurs, the Leon family, took over.

Joseph’s owner Sam Leon did not return a Pioneer Press request for comment.

Mango Cannabis

Minnesota would be the fifth state for Mango Cannabis, which started in Oklahoma. Other locations can be found in New York, Michigan and New Mexico.

The application for a conditional-use permit to operate Mango Cannabis was submitted by Kevin Pattah, of ABJKM Holdings, and Boundary Waters Capital.

The property, which is zoned B-2 General Business District, allows cannabis retailers under a conditional-use permit.

Buffer requirements for a cannabis shop include a setback of 1,000 feet from a school property line and 500 feet from a daycare building, residential treatment facility or an attraction within a public park that is regularly used by minors, per the city’s zoning ordinance.

The property meets these requirements, according to city documents.

Boundary Waters Capital has received preapproval from the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management for a microbusiness license, which allows for the sale of cannabis products.

While Thursday’s meeting cleared another hurdle for Mango Cannabis, final approval is needed from the city council, which is expected to discuss the dispensary Oct. 28.

Other dispensaries

The city ordinance for Oak Park Heights currently allows up to four cannabis retailers, said City Administrator Jacob Rife.

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In July, the Oak Park Heights City Council approved plans for the city’s first retail cannabis business, Oak Park Heights Canna.

That business, located at 14729 60th St. N. near Carbone’s Pizzeria & Pub, is currently working with architects and contractors to prepare the space for build out, Rife said. Oak Park Heights Canna is expected to open sometime next year.

As of Thursday, the city had no other applications for cannabis retail, Rife said.