Articles by Travis Kriens

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, whose dulcet tones provided the soundtrack of summer while entertaining and informing Dodgers fans in Brooklyn and Los Angeles for 67 years, died Tuesday night. [Read More…]

Crews battling Nebraska fire hope for rain, fear lightning

GERING, Neb. (AP) — Fire crews battling a western Nebraska wildfire that has destroyed some homes looked Tuesday to the skies with hope and trepidation as weather forecasters warned of thunderstorms. The National Weather Service [Read More…]

Tigers top Twins 5-3 after Minnesota’s flurry of trade deals

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Riley Greene had two hits and two RBIs as the Detroit Tigers spoiled Minnesota’s big trade deadline day, beating the Twins 5-3 on Tuesday night. Minnesota made big moves to bolster its hopes [Read More…]

Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr. has thumb surgery, aims for opener

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. will miss the remainder of the preseason after having surgery on his injured thumb. Coach Kevin O’Connell announced that Smith had the procedure done [Read More…]

Padres obtain Juan Soto from Nationals in blockbuster deal

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres acquired superstar outfielder Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals on Tuesday in one of baseball’s biggest deals at the trade deadline, vaulting their postseason chances by adding [Read More…]

Twins stock staff with O’s closer López, Reds starter Mahle

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins stocked up their sputtering pitching staff ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline by acquiring All-Star closer Jorge López in a deal with the Baltimore Orioles and starter Tyler Mahle in [Read More…]

Biden declares South Dakota disaster for June storms

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday granted South Dakota’s request for a presidential disaster declaration to aid the recovery from June storms that included tornadoes and strong winds. Gov. Kristi Noem [Read More…]

Lost dog reappears after 29 days in northern woods

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A dog that spent nearly a month lost in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area has been reunited with its owners. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Luigi, a black Labrador retriever mix, disappeared [Read More…]

Minnesota man charged in deadly Wisconsin river attack

HUDSON, Wis. (AP) — A 52-year-old Minnesota man was charged Monday with killing a teenager and stabbing four other people in a dispute that allegedly began with a lost cellphone during a weekend tubing excursion [Read More…]

Vikings’ Dantzler determined to shine in late friend’s honor

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Cameron Dantzler was the most obvious party to perhaps the lowest moment of last season for the Minnesota Vikings, when he backpedaled too deep in the end zone in Detroit and let the [Read More…]

Urshela hits 2-run HR in 10th, Twins rally past Tigers 5-3

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gio Urshela went right back to work after his wife delivered their new daughter and gave the Minnesota Twins a critical comeback victory with the first game-ending home run of his career. [Read More…]

Montas to Yankees, Mancini to Astros ahead of trade deadline

NEW YORK (AP) — The trade market got busy ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, with the New York Yankees acquiring pitcher Frankie Montas from Oakland for four prospects. As contenders bulked up ahead of stretch runs and possible [Read More…]

Norman says Tiger Woods turned down $700-800M Saudi offer

Tiger Woods turned down an offer that Greg Norman says was “somewhere in that neighborhood” of $700 million to $800 million to take part in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series. During an appearance on Fox [Read More…]

Union Pacific to spend $1B to upgrade 600 older locomotives

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific will spend more than $1 billion to upgrade 600 of its old diesel locomotives over the next three years and make them more efficient, but regulators still want it [Read More…]

North Dakota murderer kills himself in prison

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A man who was serving life sentences for killing four people at a North Dakota business in what authorities say was one of the state’s most gruesome crimes has killed himself in prison, [Read More…]

Iowa basketball league to settle youth exploitation lawsuit

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa-based youth basketball league agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by former players whose coach secretly recorded them undressing or obtained nude photos of them and is now [Read More…]

Winning lottery jackpot is lucky for some, tragic for others

Dave and Erica Harrig stayed true to their values when they won a lottery jackpot of more than $61 million in 2013. It made all the difference. The couple from Gretna, Nebraska, a community on [Read More…]

South Dakota AG clears Rapid City officer in May shooting

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — An investigation found that a Rapid City police officer was justified in shooting at a woman seven times as she backed her car into a police squad car during a [Read More…]

Bill Russell, NBA star and civil rights pioneer, dies at 88

BOSTON (AP) — Bill Russell redefined how basketball is played, and then he changed the way sports are viewed in a racially divided country. The most prolific winner in NBA history, Russell marched with Martin [Read More…]

Browns QB Deshaun Watson suspended for 6 games