Statewide Blog

80 mph winds rip through northern Minn.

Bemidji Pioneer: "A fast-moving thunderstorm tore through Bemidji shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, leaving a wide swath of debris, downed trees and much of the city without power. The storm produced 80 mph straight-line winds, Dave Kellenbenz, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, N.D., said. Beltrami County Sheriff Phil Hodapp said that while the department didn't immediately know the extent of the damage, he had crews out checking every street for downed power lines."

The storm also caused damage further east in Grand Rapids.

Severe storm damage throughout Grand Rapids, Itasca County

Grand Rapids Herald-Review: "Widespread and severe damage is being reported throughout Grand Rapids and Itasca County after a severe storm hit the area after 8 p.m. Monday evening."

Meteorologist Craig Edwards on Morning Edition said it appeared the strongest wind occurred just to the south and east of Grand Rapids in Itasca County. Edwards said the storm fizzled out before hitting Duluth.

The storm hit the Twin Cities in a weaker state, but thousands of homes lost power. Crews scrambled to restore power as temperatures inched upwards.

Xcel Energy says outages now just over 8,300 in Twin Cities, down by nearly half from pre-dawn outages. #mnstorms

— Tim Nelson (@timnelson_mpr) July 3, 2012

Major storm just passed thru #BemidjiMN. Trees & powerlines down. twitter.com/BemidjiRita/st...

— Rita Albrecht (@BemidjiRita) July 3, 2012

Sunset after the storm ended. #OneMinuteTornado #NextMinuteCalm twitter.com/ChannynKJohnso...

— Channyn Johnson (@ChannynKJohnson) July 3, 2012

Also on MN Today

Stearns County day-care provider loses license

Star Tribune: "The suspension in Stearns County came after a boy died, the year's seventh death at an in-home child-care center in Minnesota."

St. Cloud ties heat record at 95 degrees

St Cloud Times: "St. Cloud tied the record high this afternoon when the temperature reached 95 degrees.This equals the mark set in 1921."

Summer season a washout for Jay Cooke Park

Duluth News Tribune: "Jay Cooke State Park probably will be closed for the remainder of the summer in the wake of flood-related washouts along Minnesota Highway 210, park manager Gary Hoeft said."

Black bears get aggressive along Gunflint Trail

Duluth News Tribune: "Dana Austin didn't at first think much about the banging on her door last week. Her husband, Tim, had been repairing a screen door earlier in the evening, and the door had been opening and closing."

Two little girls explain the worst haircut ever

Looking forward to an interesting week with chances of #nopower #mnstorms #minnesotainstagr.am/p/Mnc8u2oyEz/

— Megan Nyberg (@MNMeditations) July 3, 2012