🌱 First Avenue Fight Turns Deadly + Hopkins Home Explosion

Good morning! Thanks for checking out the Minneapolis Daily, Patch's five-minute to what's making headlines today in the city.

First, today's weather: Partly sunny and pleasant. High: 82 Low: 61.

Here are the top 5 stories in Minneapolis today:

1. A man was shot and killed Thursday morning near 1st Avenue North and 4th Street North. Minneapolis police said a fight escalated into gunfire around 1:30 a.m., leaving two other people hospitalized. (KARE11)

2. All four officers on the scene of George Floyd’s killing have now been sentenced to federal prison. State trials are still ahead for Tou Thao and Alexander Kueng, who are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. (Patch)

3. More details are emerging about a deadly home explosion which occurred Wednesday in Hopkins. A couple in their 80s were killed in the blast, which neighbors said could be heard as far as 15 blocks away. Fire officials could not yet identify a cause. (KARE11)

4. Minnesota is averaging 1,280 new cases of COVID-19 per day, the state health department reports. More than 9,000 new cases were reported July 20-26, with 46 deaths. (BMTN)

5. The Twins will host 20 home games in August, the most in the Twin Cities since 1977. The team is planning 11 theme nights and select giveaways throughout the month as they hold onto a slim lead in the American League Central. (FOX9)

Today in Minneapolis:

• “The Alice Cocktail Experience” is now open at Stillheart Distillery and Cocktail Lounge. (5 p.m.)
• The Minnesota Orchestra presents “Summer at Orchestra Hall” on Peavey Plaza. (6:30 p.m.)
• John Penny Band performs at Minnehaha Park. (7 p.m.)
• A new Leonard Cohen documentary screens at Landmark Lagoon. (7:10 p.m.)
• See Pulitzer Prize winner “Sweat” at the Guthrie Theater. (7:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• A teen driver was killed in a car crash inside a closed construction zone in Lake Elmo, according to the state patrol. Two teen passengers were also injured. (Patch)
• Players coached by Larry McKenzie are sharing lessons they learned from the longtime Minneapolis basketball coach, who announced his retirement earlier this week. (Paid source: Star Tribune)
• The Loring Park Art Festival kicks off tomorrow, featuring work from 140 artists. (City)
• The Northside Arts Crawl is also underway, letting “north Minneapolis shine with all its creative abundance,” MinnPost reports. (MinnPost)

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Events:

• Twin Cities Water Lantern Festival (July 30)
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That's all for Friday! See you tomorrow for another Daily.

— Georgi Presecky

About me: Georgi is a Chicago-based newsletter writer and partner content curator. She spent five years on the entertainment beat for FF2 Media covering film festivals across the U.S. Her feature articles have been recognized with awards from the Illinois Women's Press Association and National Federation of Press Women. As editor-in-chief of the Lewis University newspaper, she and her staff earned honors from the Associated Collegiate Press and American Scholastic Press Associations. She began working for Patch in 2019.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Minneapolis Daily? Contact me at georgi.presecky@patch.com