Five Things You Should Know Today: July 1

The heat continues today, with a chance of thunderstorms – and shutdown notwithstanding, you can head to the Minnesota Zoo to see, appropriately enough, the Monkees.

Posted Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 5:07 am CT|Updated Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 5:09 am CT

The National Weather Service predicts a high near 93 today, with heat index values as high as 102 and the possibility of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. and hot southwest winds between 6 and 11 mph.
Hey, hey, it’s the Monkees – or at least three of them – performing tonight and tomorrow night at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. (Although the zoo is officially closed as of midnight, the scheduled summer concert series will go on.) Check for available tickets at Ticketmaster.
And speaking of zoos: On this day in 1874, the first zoo in the United States opened in Philadelphia. More than 3,000 visitors paid a quarter for adults or a dime for children to see 1,000 animals in the Philadelphia Zoological Society.
On this day in 1974, the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota opens. The facility, which has gained national recognition, treats injured birds of prey and helps rehabilitate them to be re-released into the wild.
And today marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of Lady Diana Spencer, who married England’s Prince Charles in 1981 to become Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997.

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