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Minnesota United’s academy is growing, and players to watch are coming to forefront

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

Minnesota United has had one player from its youth academy contribute for the Loons in MLS. Across six-plus season, that’s it.The Loons are trying to change that.The club has committed more resources to the academy, and CEO Shari Ballard has put a bigger emphasis on building a youth development pathway to feed the first team. Amos Magee, who has been with the club since 2016, moved into a new leadership role of youth development last fall. And MNUFC2, the minor-league bridge between the academy and MLS, is off the ground in its second season.“We believe that in the future, as the club continues to evolve, (the academy is) going to be a really important pillar to what we do,” Magee told the Pioneer Press.While the Loons (2-0-2) face St. Louis City (5-0-0) in MLS play on Saturday night, two MNUFC academy teams, Under-15 and U17, will have litmus tests of their own in the Generation adidas (GA) Cup in Bradenton, Fla. Every MLS club will be represented, as well as top academies from aro...

Mounds View’s Micah Burton joins U.S. soccer scene as Austin FC prospect

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

Micah Burton was in Guatemala on Feb. 24, eyeing up a long-range free kick in a U.S. youth national team match against Canada. Meanwhile, the 16-year-old’s family was anxiously watching him back in Minnesota.The standout on the U.S. Under-17 national team couldn’t hear it, but his mother, and roughly 20 relatives, were cheering from a watch party in Mounds View.“Come on, baby,” mother Samie Srey recalled saying. “Make the goal.”Burton delivered a right-footed missile into the upper corner of the net from roughly 25 yards out to help the U.S. advance in the semifinal of the Concacaf U17 Championships. Burton scored three total goals in six tournament matches as the U.S. finished runner up to Mexico and qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru in November.“I think that one was probably the best goal I’ve ever scored,” Burton told the Pioneer Press.But Burton did it as member of Austin FC — not as a representative of Minnesota United.Burton played in the Loons’ youth academy...

Immersive Disney experience now open in Las Vegas, other US cities: 'You're there in person'

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A new interactive experience opened Thursday in Las Vegas, allowing visitors to step into "the magical world of Disney." It's an "Immersive Disney Animation" experience that brings favorite Disney characters to life at The Shops at Crystals on the Las Vegas Strip. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Source: Immersive Disney Animation (Kyle Flubacker)Source: Immersive Disney Animation (Kyle Flubacker)Source: Immersive Disney Animation (Kyle Flubacker)Source: Immersive Disney Animation (Kyle Flubacker)Academy Award-winning producer J. Miles Dale leads the attraction's creative team. “As a filmmaker, I am always seeking out ideas that can engage an audience in new and interesting ways and to show them something that they have never seen before," he said.The experience is "500,000 cubic feet of projection" on just about everything in the space, including the walls, floor and columns, according to Corey Ross, a p...

Habitat for Humanity building 2 houses in Philmont

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

PHILMONT, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Columbia County Habitat for Humanity announced on Thursday that its next building project will take place in the Village of Philmont, with an expected groundbreaking this spring. The group is planning to build two houses at the same time on separate but adjoining lots on Eagle Street. The houses will be the 26th and 27th built or rehabilitated over the last 30 years by Columbia County Habitat. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! “After a pause in new building due to the pandemic, we are excited to be bringing new homeownership opportunities to Columbia County and the Village of Philmont,” says Al Bellenchia, Executive Director and Chief Executive who is marking his second-year anniversary with the organization. “Coming on board during the pandemic and navigating all the restrictions in place was a challenge in itself. Evolving an organization for a successful reboot is familiar territory for me and I ...

The Sugar Fairy Bakes sets opening date for Malta shop

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

MALTA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Sugar Fairy Bakes is officially ready to open its new shop at 2110 Ellsworth Boulevard in Malta. The bakery will be opening on Saturday, April 1. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Owner Stacie Blair announced that she would be opening a second location during the ribbon cutting at the Mechanicville shop’s one year anniversary on December 17, 2022. The new location is a retail bake shop with all the baking being done in Mechanicville. The baked goods will be delivered fresh to Malta each morning."Please be patient and keep in mind this is a soft opening," said Blair in a Facebook post. "There is no instruction book and it will take time for us to navigate what works and what doesn’t for our second space." Allie B’s opening second location on Albany’s South End The Malta bakery will have custom cake decorating and a window where visitors can see the artists decorating the cakes. This new location w...

Colorado wilfdfire burning on 1,088 acres near Florissant; 100 homes evacuated

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

A wind-whipped wildfire west of Colorado Springs, spreading from Park County into Teller County south of Florissant, had burned across more than 1,088 acres Friday morning, forcing evacuations of about 100 homes.A Lake George Fire Protection District dispatcher said the U.S. Forest Service took over efforts to manage the fire early Friday morning. Helicopters dropped water on flames Thursday, the dispatcher said.Firefighters worked through the night trying to contain flames burning in rough terrain, but heavy wind, gusting at speeds up to 40 miles per hour, complicated fire suppression.The authorities classified the fire as “human-caused,” saying it started on private land along Park County Road 403, southwest of the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, and then spread into Teller County.Most of the evacuated homes are located along the front edge of the fire near Divide, dispatchers said Friday morning. No buildings had burned, they said, and no injuries were repor...

Loveland parents furious after teachers leave during school threat investigation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

LOVELAND, Colo. — Loveland parents are furious after they say they weren’t told about a possible school safety threat until after police investigated and the district canceled classes.“When you drop your kid off, like we do every day, we trust that they’re okay, and it turns out like this. How safe are our kids?” said Steven Johnson, a parent of two sophomores at Loveland High School.He and his wife, Amber, were heading to work after drop-off Wednesday morning, until they got a set of troubling text messages from their son. He had gotten to his classroom door, and it was locked with no one inside.“A message came in at 9:46 a.m. from my son, and it says, ‘There was no teacher in my first class. So they told us to sit in the lunchroom,'” Amber read from her phone, “Then [her son] says, ‘There is a threat to the school about a school shooting.’ That was at 9:57 a.m.”Read more at our partner, Denver7.

Denver weather: Blustery mostly sunny blue skies and extreme red flag fire danger

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

Sunny blue skies and wind, with dry ground and grass, combined to create favorable conditions for fire, which looms as a threat Friday and into the weekend for residents of Denver and other Front Range cities.The high temperature in Denver will hit 53 degrees Friday, increasing to 65 degrees on Saturday and 68 degrees on Sunday under mostly sunny skies, according to the National Weather Service.Around Colorado, the weather service Friday morning issued an air quality alert for areas west of Colorado Springs where a wildfire burning near Lake George in Park and Teller counties was kicking up smoke.Humidity as low as 10% across the high plains means any outdoor burning or sparks could ignite fire. Weather service officials issued a red flag fire danger warning covering Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and the southeastern quarter of the state.Fire weather watch for Saturday afternoon across the Palmer Divide due to increasingly dry and windy conditions. Be sure to avoid any o...

CHP officer shoots man at homeless encampment along 405 Freeway

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

Northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway in Hawthorne were closed Thursday evening after a California Highway Patrol officer shot a man while responding to a fire at a homeless encampment, authorities said.The incident unfolded just before 8 p.m. when the officer received a call reporting a fire near the on-ramp to the 405 at Rosecrans Avenue. When the officer arrived, they encountered a person who became uncooperative and began throwing bricks at them, a CHP spokesperson said.That’s when the officer opened fire, striking the man, authorities said. He suffered non-life-threatening wounds.Sky5 images show traffic was backed up for over a mile as officers shut down northbound lanes to investigate.The California Highway Patrol shut down 405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne after a shooting involving CHP officers on March 30, 2023. (KTLA)The California Highway Patrol shut down 405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne after a shooting involving CHP officers on March 30, 2023. (KTLA)The California Highwa...

Los Angeles County COVID-19 emergency declaration ends Friday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

The end of March is bringing with it a milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles: the end of the county's emergency declaration.The March 31 expiration brings with it the end of COVID-related renter protections, a measure the Board of Supervisors declined to extend in a meeting last week. Another change is masking in health care facilities. Employees will still be required to wear masks around patients, but patients and visitors will not.The emergency order that allowed restaurants to create outdoor seating on public walkways and parking lots is ending as well, though restaurants with an existing outdoor dining permit can continue to operate.