New Foo Fighters drummer with roots in Minnesota

Happening today 

☀️ Clouds and some sun this morning with more clouds this afternoon. High temperatures in the mid-70s. He ended up playing his favorite instrument for President Richard Nixon at the White House before becoming the first full time band director at Disney World and then Disney Land in the 1970s.

⚽ The Minnesota Aurora FC opens its highly anticipated season at home. The Aurora will host Rochester FC, with kickoff at 7 p.m. at TCO Stadium in Eagan. You can watch the game for free, over the air on FOX 9+ and streaming online on the FOX 9 YouTube page and fox9.com.

 🚨 Hennepin EMS (HEMS) will cut the ribbon on its first-ever remote base, located in Minnetonka. The base is part of a solution to address the record-breaking call volumes and universal EMS staff shortages. The new base will allow Hennepin EMS crews to respond to calls in the western suburbs more efficiently and quickly restock their supplies there, in addition to responding to calls out of its primary location in Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.

🍃 The Saint Paul Parks Conservancy and Saint Paul Parks and Recreation will host the 174th birthday of Saint Paul Parks at Rice Park from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will also celebrate Saint Paul’s national ranking as a top urban park system on Trust for Public Land’s annual ParkScore Index.

Minnesota legislative session recap

• The Minnesota Legislature passed 75 bills this session. That’s more than double the 31 from the 2021 session that was minimized by COVID, but also fewer than the Republican-controlled House and Senate passed in 2017, and about half what the Democrats passed when they had a trifecta previously in 2013.
• The Legislature also came in with a $17.5 billion surplus and delivered the state’s biggest ever budget at $71.5 billion. 
• Several key priorities were tackled by Minnesota lawmakers this legislative session, including state project investments, tax rebates, paid leave, and abortion rights. FOX 9 spoke to several people along the Mississippi River, about a mile from the Capitol dome, and many said the standout issue this year was the legalization of marijuana.

Along the Mississippi River, the Capitol dome is about a mile away, but to some folks the legislative process feels much further.

“I didn’t pay attention to it,” said Gabe Ripley. “I’m not into politics and all that much. Family man. Don’t have time for it.”

The work of the House and Senate did get some attention after their almost four months in session.

“Quite frankly just the sheer amount of legislation that they passed,” said Rebecca Nelson.

She was enthusiastic about legislation she said sets Minnesota apart from some of its neighbors.

“Women’s rights and LGBTQ rights have been under attack in many places,” she said. “We’ve become an oasis in the Midwest.”