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Readers and writers: A beleaguered professor makes a welcome return, plus mystery and sports

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

A comic academic novel and a northern Minnesota mystery by two award-wining writers, plus books about Minnesota sports offer cool reads on these hot days.“The English Experience”: by Julie Schumacher (Doubleday, $27)(Courtesy of the author)Here were the provost’s carefully vetted undergrads, among them a claustrophobe from a juvenile detention center; a student who erroneously believed he was headed for the Caribbean; a pair of unreconciled lovers; a set of undifferentiated twins; and one person who had never been away from her cat before. –– from “The English Experience”Jay Fitger did not want to chaperone Payne University students on Experience: England class abroad. He didn’t like London. When he was there years earlier with his then-wife Janet, he remembers “a sodden cylinder of blood pudding, an evening of poorly timed sex, and rain.” But the provost had asked everyone else on he faculty to lead the group, and they all...

The last time a Winter Carnival queen departed during her reign was 1957 — and she was getting married

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

As a child, Joe Gallagher loved paging through the memory book his mother, Eva Wicker Gallagher, created of her reign as Aurora, Queen of the Snows of the 1957 St. Paul Winter Carnival.“Every day on the front page of your paper, it was Queen Eva,” he recalls.The Jan. 30, 1957 edition of the St. Paul Pioneer Press documents the coronation of Eva Wicker as Queen of the Snows for the 1957 St. Paul Winter Carnival. (Pioneer Press files)It was like a fairy tale; better than a fairy tale, actually.“My first time I saw ‘Cinderella,’ I thought that it couldn’t compare to my mom, who was the true Cinderella,” he says.Hers was a Cinderella story: Wicker, then 18, was plucked from her clerical job at the Pioneer Press/Dispatch and, sponsored by the newspaper, entered as a candidate and won the title of Queen of the Snows. Thousands attended her coronation; the publisher sent her a telegram of congratulations; the city celebrated her.“It was unbel...

Safety questions arise as unidentified man drowns at familiar scene

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- This is the same scene where that unidentified man drowned August 13 on Saturday afternoon. As a family mourns the death of a loved one, authorities are investigating whether those newly implemented safety measures were in place at the time of this incident.The call for response came in around 3:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Rescue crews report that when they arrived at Rockford Beach, they were informed that a man had been seen floating in the water but then disappeared.Multiple boats and sonar equipment were deployed to search, and they recovered the body about an hour later. He was found eight feet deep in the water near a strong current. Authorities say that this water can be the most dangerous.This incident comes about a month after a 41-year-old individual also drowned after jumping off the bluff. Safety questions arise as unidentified man drowns at familiar scene Safety issues plague the park due to overcrowding as well as reckless behavior, which only adds to t...

Double trouble: two rounds of storms to sweep over next 24 hours

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Two rounds of rain and storms are expected over the next 24 hours. Storms have developed in the plains and will spread eastward today. Cloud cover ahead of these storms will limit instability, but we'll keep an eye out for a few stronger storms this afternoon, mainly across our southwest and southern counties. In St. Louis today, expect showers and a few weaker storms, mainly after about 1 PM. Clouds and rain will keep temperatures below normal, in the lower 80s.The second round of storms looks to carry a higher potential for severe weather and will impact the area sometime after about 8 p.m. through 4 a.m. This round of storms appears to be strongest south of I-70 and brings the threat of damaging winds, large hail, locally heavy rain, and a few tornadoes that can't be ruled out. Overnight temperatures will fall to around 70. Any lingering rain and storms will exit to the southeast on Monday, and then we'll see gradual clearing throughout the day. Gusty winds and tempe...

Top-ranked players and Colorado golfers to watch at 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

The U.S. Amateur Championship is just days away from teeing off in the Denver metro. The tournament runs Monday through Sunday at Cherry Hills Country Club, with Colorado Golf Club also a co-host site for stroke-play rounds the first two days.Here’s a look at top-ranked players and locals to watch. There are 41 states and 24 countries represented in the tournament, with the average age 22.67.Top-ranked playersGordon Sargent of the United States plays his shot from the sixth tee during the second round of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run on July 07, 2023 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Gordon Sargent, 20Hometown: Birmingham, Ala.The top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking has four wins this season, and 21 Top 10 finishes in 36 events. He’s on the USA Walker Cup Team, made the cut at this year’s U.S. Open to earn low-amateur honors, and is the reigning the SEC player of the year at Vanderbilt. He also won the 2022 NCAA in...

Sean Payton, first NFL coach to sign Jordan Brand deal, knows his sneaker collection is better than everyone else’s: “Every day he’s showing off new shoes”

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

Sean Payton is the first NFL head coach to sign with Jordan Brand, and let’s just say he carries the title with pride.One day during the Broncos’ training camp, he walked around in purple low-top Air Jordan 1s. Another day, he was rocking all-white Air Jordan 11s. He rarely wears the same pair twice.Payton occasionally sports Jordan Brand shoes his players have never seen before. And he isn’t shy about letting them know about it.“(Payton) brags about it a little bit, (saying) ‘You haven’t seen these in stores yet,’” cornerback Pat Surtain II told The Post. “Every day he’s showing off new shoes.”Payton’s deal with the Jordan Brand started after the GOAT himself, Michael Jordan, noticed the veteran coach wearing his sneakers during New Orleans Saints games. In 2020, the six-time NBA champion saw an opportunity to grow his brand’s roster and reached out.Payton recalled an invitation to visit Jordan’s private golf course in Jupiter, Florida. Although he’d never m...

How two Colorado basketball players emerged as the faces, and future, of revived SlamBall

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

A few months ago, Gage Smith had a job mowing grass at a golf course in Nebraska, and Ty McGee was working in marketing in Denver. For the former college basketball players, a normal life, and reality and bills, had arrived.Then SlamBall called, changing the trajectories of two Coloradans who are now the faces of a pro league on national TV.“I was the under-the-radar guy, always, so I saw SlamBall as a great opportunity coming out of college,” Smith said. “After the tryout, I truly believed this is the sport I was supposed to do from the beginning. I love basketball, but SlamBall’s my sport. I want to make this into a career, and I think it could be big for me and my family.”McGee’s all-in as well. He found out about the tryout a week beforehand, and “took a leap of faith” by quitting his job to move to Las Vegas and attempt to be one of the 56 draftees among approximately 200 prospects.Both players bet on themselves, and it’s pa...

Broncos analysis: What we’ve learned through three weeks of training camp

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Broncos’ regular-season opener is still a month away, but coach Sean Payton said Friday night it’s time for his team to lace up its running shoes.“Regardless of whether it is a preseason game or a regular-season game, you can’t stand losing. Especially in that fashion,” he said moments after Arizona mounted a game-winning touchdown drive that finished with two seconds left on the clock. “We’ll look at the tape (Sunday) and there will be a number of things that we’ll be excited about and there will be a number of things that we have to clean up.“We are in a race to do that now that we have an opponent on film against us. We start from there.”Denver goes back to full training camp Monday armed with a fresh trove of data from the desert and four days of practice before heading to the Bay Area to take on San Francisco.Here are five things we’ve learned so far this month:1. The starting lineups are relatively stableAssuming good health, there is really only on...

Walters: California’s economic outlook remains muddy and mediocre

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

Late last month, the Federal Reserve announced the latest incremental raise in its key interest rate, pushing it to the highest level in 22 years, as it continues to battle what it calls persistent inflation.The increase, a quarter of 1%, renewed the debate among economists and politicians over whether the Federal Reserve’s anti-inflation actions will slow the economy into what’s termed a “soft landing,” or ignite a recession.The recession that many economists thought would have happened by now hasn’t raised its ugly head, leading to I-Told-You-So’s from the ones who hadn’t seen a downturn on the horizon.“Much to the chagrin of those who have been predicting otherwise, the U.S. economy has stubbornly continued to grow and 2023 is shaping up to be a better year than 2022,” one of the optimists, California economist Christopher Thornberg wrote recently.“This isn’t to say that we don’t recognize signs of stress in the economy driven by higher interest rates and the recent bout of infla...

49ers at Raiders: 10 players to watch in NFL preseason opener

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:50:54 GMT

LAS VEGAS – Singling out players to watch in a NFL preseason opener only makes for more daunting viewership.Instead, let your eyes drift to position groups and cast an eye on not just one but a pairing in the 49ers’ opener Sunday at the Las Vegas Raiders.Just don’t expect to see household names and All-Pro starters in uniform. This is the preseason. This is a team that has designs on returning to town for the Super Bowl on Feb. 11.“We mostly worry about being in Vegas in February,” new 49ers defensive end Clelin Ferrell said. “That’s the biggest goal.”These are the duos to watch when the 49ers and Raiders kick off their preseasons at 1 p.m. at Allegiant Stadium:WIDE RECEIVERSRonnie Bell, Isaiah WinsteadThese two come recommended by Brandon Aiyuk, and it’s easy to see why. Bell, a seventh-round pick from Michigan, has come on strong the past week, and his ability to return punts also will be tested as the 49ers seek fill-ins for Ray-Ray McCloud (wrist surgery). Winstead is the 6-foot...