Good morning, Minnesota. Happy Thursday and Happy Juneteenth!

Here's the latest news from across the state to start your day.

But first, a look at some celebrations happening across Minnesota Thursday and into the weekend to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday.

Thursday

West Broadway Block Party – Minneapolis
Juneteenth at the Fort – Fort Snelling, St. Paul
Soul of the Southside Festival – South Minneapolis
51st Annual Juneteenth Jamboree – Duluth
Juneteenth Jubilee Breakfast – Rochester
Moorhead Juneteenth Celebration – Moorhead
Greater Mankato Juneteenth Celebration – Mankato
Maple Grove Juneteenth Celebration – Maple Grove
Juneteenth Celebration – Marshall
2025 Juneteenth Celebration – Rondo Center of Diverse Expressions
Winona Juneteenth Celebration – Winona
Juneteenth 2025 – St. Cloud

Saturday

Juneteenth – A Family Celebration – St. Paul
4th Annual Juneteenth Celebration – Brooklyn Park
Celebrate Juneteenth with Sounds of Blackness – Minnetonka
Juneteenth Pop-up Celebration – Richfield

WEATHER

⛈️ Central and southern Minnesota will see sunshine while a few storms are possible in northeast Minnesota. More widespread thunder chances are possible Thursday and Friday nights.

Get the latest weather news on Updraft.

Candlelight vigil attended by hundreds offers communal chance to grieve killing of Hortmans

A quiet tribute to Melissa and Mark Hortman was the first in a series of public remembrances to the couple killed in an attack on Saturday. Rep. Melissa Hortman served as a DFL leader, including as House speaker, for several years.

NEWS ROUNDUP

🚓 Brooklyn Park police investigating break-in at Hortmans' home. Police said there was an overnight break-in at the residence, which had previously been processed by investigators and boarded up.

⚖️ Court denies nonprofit’s bid to rejoin fraud-addled food program. At a March hearing at the Minnesota Court of Appeals, an attorney for Partners in Quality Care argued that the Department of Education illegally cut off PIQC from the Child and Adult Care Food Program and disqualified its leaders from future participation.

🏀 Minnesota’s own Paige Bueckers gets custom Gatorade flavor in her honor. Minnesotan Paige Bueckers debuted her new limited-edition Gatorade flavor Tuesday night following the Dallas Wings win over the Golden State Valkyries.

🛒 Cub grocery store closes Uptown location in Minneapolis. A notice on the front door of the store said, “We have closed Cub Uptown as it undergoes some needed repairs and other proactive measures."

🏛️ Minnesota gender-affirming care law unchanged after Supreme Court ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents under the age of 18. The ruling does not have an impact on Minnesota law. Gender-affirming care remains legal and protected in the state.

MUST LISTEN

🎧 Sen. Murphy speaks about political violence and security in wake of shootings. Murphy joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition Wednesday to share what each brought to the caucus and address the unprecedented level of political violence.

🎧 Job Interview: Court sketch artist captures Minnesota’s most prominent criminal proceedings. When camera’s aren’t allowed in a courtroom, an illustrator will be asked to step in. Cedric Hohnstadt has been Minnesota’s go-to courtroom sketch artist for nearly 30 years.

🎧 Dealing with traumatic grief after Minnesota’s recent political violence. MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Stacy Remke. She’s a clinical social worker, a teaching specialist at the University of Minnesota, and the author of the book, “The Insider’s Guide to Grief.”

🎧 Listen to today's headlines on our Minnesota Today podcast.