Clearly, the money will come in handy, but how do we feel about this … uh… controversial convention being the source of so much community funding?

Gov. Pawlenty is on his way to Thief River Falls.  Hundreds of deer hunters are preparing for Saturday’s opener at the Oakdale Gun Club in Lake Elmo. Nearly 500,000 Minnesotans will exercise their right to bear arms [and kill] this Saturday. And the DNR is already complaining about the rise in deer poaching.

Where will you be?

Whatever you do, keep your eye on the road!

Thirteen-year-old Daniel Hauser, who gained acclaim for running away to avoid chemotherapy treatment earlier this year, is scheduled for his last round of chemo this morning.

The School Nurses of Minnesota association will be honored today at 4:30 at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park for 100 years of professional service in the state.

Joyce Preschool — “an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide children from diverse ethnic, linguistic and economic backgrounds with developmentally and culturally appropriate preparation for success in school and lifelong learning” — just earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Note: Meanwhile, Rybak has also filed paperwork for his gubernatorial run.

Ms. Bono, who attended high school in Olathe, Kansas, lives in Minnesota with her husband, according to the Kansas City Star. Ms. McCarty [her mother] said Bono was on the phone with her husband during the shooting and he heard shots and shouting before the line went dead.

[Editor's Note: Local DP Bo Hakala recently worked on a rune stone documentary that has been airing on the History Channel over the past few months. See the trailer here.]

The phrase actually goes all the way back to 1955 with Elvis’ final appearance on The Louisiana Hayride radio show. The Met concert wasn’t his only Minnesota appearance, either. Elvis also performed a matinee show at the St. Paul Auditorium in May, 1956, before that evening’s performance in Minneapolis.

How ’bout them Gophers? Another crime, another suspended player, or two. Not off to a very good start, are we?

We’ll not say a word about them Yankees. Shhh.

Are we tired of Tom Petters yet? It’s going to be a while (probably another month or two). But whistle-blower Deanna Coleman completed her testimony yesterday, claiming to have written more than $1.2 billion in company checks to her boyfriend and her brother (who, incidentally, are not the same person). Of course, the real story is all about Breath Blasters.

And did you hear that Proctor police had to repost the now-famous “DWI Chair” on eBay after being notified that it was not a La-Z-Boy at all? The bid was up to $10,099.99 at the time of this post, down from $43,000 during the first round of bids.

An NBC affiliate in Duluth aired promotional ads over the weekend for an exclusive interview with Donald Blom, the man convicted of kidnapping and murdering a young Moose Lake woman 10 years ago.

In the ad, audio of Blom professing his innocence accompanied an image of the victim, Katie Poirier.

The ad, aired several times on KBJR-TV, touched a nerve with viewers, and one of them even started a page on the social networking site Facebook to boycott the segment.

It turns out the whole thing was just one big misunderstanding (or one employee’s unethical behavior), but the report points out two items worthy of note (and a bit of irony): 1. The station (much like other news entities) is still trying to adapt to a new age of viewer interaction. 2. TwinCities.com reporter John Brewer can be reached at 651-228-2093.

No?