Good morning, St. Cloud.

Deb Diggins, the mother of Olympic skier Jessie Diggins, will speak at the Nordic Ski Club of Central Minnesota's fall meeting on Oct.

25 at Sartell Middle School at 6:30 p.m. The free event offers local inspiration to youth and families.

The Johanna Kiln at St. John's University in Collegeville will be lit tomorrow at 4:00 p.m., starting a 10-day firing process that will transform works by 27 artists.

The lighting ceremony will include a performance by musician John McCuthcheon and honor key figures in the kiln’s history.

St. Cloud has a busy weekend of creative events with Parktoberfest hayrides and a free library book sale, craft shows at Crossroads and River’s Edge Centers, a wrestling rumble at Eagles Club, and a Halloween printmaking class at B-Side Indie Music Café (registration required, $40 fee).

Jason Schommer and Michael Shynes will perform comedy and music at Great River Arts in Little Falls on Saturday, Oct.

24. Comedian Sam Bondhus will join the duo to bring fresh laughs to the local venue—tickets cost $25.

Enrollment in Minnesota’s state system reached 172,879 students for the 2026-2027 academic year, with colleges up 1.5 percent + universities down 2.1 percent.

St. Cloud State saw a decrease of 504 students amid shifting numbers across the 33 public schools.

St. Cloud State University and CentraCare will launch a healthcare-focused MBA in Healthcare System Leadership in January to train working professionals for hospital and clinic management.

The program covers finance, information systems, operations, policy and ethics, and a second cohort may begin in fall if enrollment grows.

City officials marked off deteriorating areas around manholes on University Bridge with construction barrels + closed shoulders for safety while keeping travel lanes open, and said a rehabilitation project is scheduled for 2027.

School break begins as a local third grader names five favorite play spots.

Families can try Airmaxx Trampoline Park with its new games, Great River Children's Museum for science exhibits, Blacklight Adventures and Skatin' Place for laser tag and arcade games, and Sartell Community Center for play areas.

St. Cloud's Division Place Shopping Center is undergoing an exterior upgrade with blue tarps masking part of the building while stores remain open.

The facelift is set to improve the complex and attract new quality retailers in the area.

The undefeated Granite City Lumberjacks will play the Warhawks at 7:10 p.m. Friday in Willmar and return home Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to face the second-place Minnesota Vulcans at the Miller Buick GMC Rink.

The Sartell-St. Stephen girls soccer team won 9-0 against Willmar in their Section 8AA quarterfinal Tuesday night and will host the St. Cloud Crush at 7 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals to keep their state tournament hopes alive.

Cathedral boys soccer defeated Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 4-1 in the Section 8A playoffs on Tuesday.

All five first-half goals came from Santi Blumke (with two) plus additional scores by Sasha Heikkila and Sam Oliver.