Quick Hits

• Shooting at a west metro homecoming: Eden Prairie High's homecoming football game was evacuated Friday night after a shooting left two people with non-life-threatening injuries, KSTP reports — a jarring reminder for suburban families across Hennepin County.
• Robotaxi fight escalates in Minneapolis: Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed the City Council ordinance requiring a human behind the wheel of driverless cars, one day after it passed on a narrow 7-6 vote (KSTP, KARE 11).
• Sports weekend, shaken up: The Gophers men's hockey season opener at Michigan Tech was postponed by unplayable ice, and the Vikings will be without Justin Jefferson for Sunday's Week 4 game against Miami.
• Early voting is brisk: More than 63,396 ballots were cast statewide in the first two weeks, outpacing 2022, per the Secretary of State's office — Election Day is Nov. 3.
• A gorgeous stretch of October: KSTP's forecast calls for a "really nice" early-October weekend with comfortable temperatures and plenty of dry time.

Golden Valley & West Metro

Nothing city-specific surfaced from Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope or St. Louis Park in today's feed, but local prep sports fans got welcome news: KSTP-TV and 45TV are expanding their high school sports coverage through the newly formed Minnesota Prep Sports Network, a streaming partnership that adds more regular-season games statewide to the KSTP app.

The week's most unsettling suburban story came from Eden Prairie, where Friday night's homecoming game was evacuated after a shooting that left two people injured. Both injuries are non-life-threatening, and Eden Prairie Police Chief Matt Sackett briefed the public Friday evening (KSTP).

Minneapolis

The driverless-car standoff deepened: the City Council passed an ordinance 7-6 on Thursday requiring a human in the driver's seat of robotaxis, and Mayor Jacob Frey promptly vetoed it — the latest flashpoint in an ongoing clash between Frey and council members (KARE 11, KSTP).

Elsewhere in the city:

• Business owners downtown — and in St. Paul — are hoping a jam-packed slate of sporting events draws tens of thousands of visitors this weekend (KARE 11).
• KSTP examines the strain on the state's mental health system after a Zimmerman man was charged this week with killing a man at a mental health facility, raising questions about the availability of mental health beds.
• A MinnPost Community Voices column urges the council, as it reviews the mayor's proposed 2027 budget, to ask "what each public dollar leaves behind" for residents.
• Neighbor-to-neighbor: a friendly red-and-white young female cat — red collar with a tracker tag, no microchip — was found near Lake and Harriet in the LynLake neighborhood, and a roughly 3-4-month-old black kitten turned up in a yard in East St. Paul. Separately, the family of Renee Good has sued Trump officials over her killing by ICE, saying "They took a mother away from her children."

St. Paul

• The circus is in town: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is performing in St. Paul, and a local circus performer stopped by KARE 11 News at Noon to preview it.
• A growing homeless encampment is raising safety concerns among nearby residents as colder weather settles in, KSTP reports.

Local Sports

• Gophers hockey: The men's season opener at Michigan Tech was postponed Friday night due to unplayable ice; the team will have to wait a day to drop the puck on the new season (KSTP).
• Vikings: Justin Jefferson will miss Sunday's Week 4 matchup against the Dolphins as he continues to recover. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw, speaking with KSTP Sports alongside Murphy Jr. and Bartholomew, said he believes the offense "has another level to reach."
• Twins: MinnPost's postmortem calls the 2026 season "a predictable disappointment" — but Pohlad says next year will be different, a message delivered at Tuesday's end-of-season media availability.
• Prep football: In a battle of unbeatens Friday, Champlin Park rolled past Blaine 43-14 behind a 22-7 halftime lead. No. 1 (Class 6A) Moorhead spoiled Maple Grove's night with a 40-21 win, scoring on the opening drive.

Weather

After a rainy morning made for some moody Minneapolis photos on Reddit, the outlook is excellent: KSTP forecaster Chris says Minnesotans are heading into a really nice early-October weekend with comfortable temperatures, plenty of dry time, and great weather for getting outside.

Minnesota Statewide

• Election 2026: KSTP's voter guide has everything you need for the Nov. 3 general election — voting is already underway in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.
• Congressional races: In the 6th District, GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer — winner of six straight elections — faces what KARE 11 calls a test from Democratic nominee Doug Chapin. In the 2nd District, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS hosted a Friday debate between DFL nominee Matt Little and his opponent, covering topics from healthcare to the Iran war.
• Medicaid fraud: The owners of Pristine Health have pleaded guilty following KARE 11 investigations that exposed how the company billed taxpayers while leaving families homeless.
• Courts: Former chief judge Patrick Schiltz, defending himself against a DOJ judicial ethics complaint, says he "did not violate any ethics rules" and is again speaking out about how ICE's Operation Metro Surge threatened the rule of law (KARE 11).
• Washington: The U.S. Senate approved the Protect College Sports Act on a lopsided 77-22 vote, with both of Minnesota's senators in favor, MinnPost's D.C. Memo reports.
• Consumer notes: USPS holiday shipping price hikes take effect this weekend, so mail gifts early. And pet owners take heed — a new investigation found up to 99% of tested cat food products contained heavy metals.