🌱 Power Outage Affects Thousands + Vikings Hire New GM

Good morning! Here's your five minute guide to what's making news in Minneapolis.

First, today's weather: An a.m. flurry; mostly cloudy. High: 25 Low: -8.

Here are the top 5 stories in Minneapolis today:

1. More than 3,000 people were left without power Wednesday in Minneapolis. Xcel Energy crews were working to restore power Thursday to more than 1,000 customers in the downtown area. (KSTP)

2. A jail inmate on furlough to attend a funeral attempted to flee police custody yesterday in North Minneapolis. Shevirio Kavirion Childs-Young was located at a Brooklyn Center mall and arrested. (KARE11)

3. The Minnesota Vikings hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to be the next general manager, according to multiple sources. He is currently the vice president of football operations for the Cleveland Browns. (Patch)

4. Hy-Vee pharmacies across Minnesota began distributing free N95 masks yesterday. The Biden administration is delivering 400 million masks nationwide in the "largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history." (KSTP)

5. Today is a planning day for Minneapolis Public Schools teachers preparing to return to in-person learning next week. School has been remote since mid-January due to the omicron surge. (CBS)

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Today in Minneapolis:

• The Great Northern Festival kicks across the Twin Cities. (All day)
• Kids of all ages can join the Minneapolis Central Library for a "connect and play" session. (10 a.m.)
• The Hennepin History Museum hosts a virtual guided tour of Home of Memories. (Noon)
• Happy Hour at Spitz Minneapolis. (3 p.m.)
• Irish Diplomacy performs at Finnegans. (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Indeed Brewing Company and Taproom is raising funds for two bartenders who were seriously injured in a car crash. (KARE11)
• The Minneapolis Institute of Art is expecting to resume in-person tours this spring. (MIA)
• Milo Ventimiglia is developing a Minnesota-set TV series about a retired professional hockey player who "reluctantly" coaches a high school hockey team. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Mill City Running will host a free community run tomorrow. (MCR)
• The "new-yet-old-school" supper club The Creekside is now open in South Minneapolis. (Paid source: Star Tribune)

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That's all for today, Minneapolis. See you tomorrow for the Friday edition of the Daily.

— Georgi Presecky