Severe storms are rolling through central Minnesota including the Twin Cities

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The Minnesota Vikings are making an early appearance at TCF Bank Stadium -- or at least general manager Rick Spielman is. The Vikings executive is the keynote speaker at "The Bank"  for a St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon on June 6th. He's scheduled to talk about the new Vikings stadium design and "other Vikings developments."

UPDATE: The Vikings say team vice president Lester Bagley, not Spielman, will offer an update on the stadium.

Allied Charities of Minnesota has set the dates and locations for its 

. It'll start June 10 in Bemidji and wrap up in Fridley at the end of the month. The trade group will have demo equipment available, talk to manufacturers and see how the games are doing. The Vikings are donating a 12-person suite for the team's Sept. 22 home opener as a prize for attendees.

Supporters are hoping to win over charitable gambling operators who aren't convinced of the viability of the games, as they've come up far short of initial revenue and geographic projections.

The meetings run from 5 to 8 p.m., and are at the following locations and dates: June 10, American Legion, Bemidji; June 11, Dry Dock Bar, Duluth; June 12, Eagles Aerie 269, Mankato; June 13, Eagles Club, Rochester; June 17, VFW Post 612, Fergus Falls; June 18, Americal Legion, Willmar; June 19, American Legion, Marshall; June 20, Eagles Aerie 622, St. Cloud; June 24, American Legion, Fridley.

Just days after the Strib and Ryan Cos. announce a 

big deal for the paper's land near the Metrodome

, the Strib's Rochelle Olson is reporting that Hennepin County and the Twins are 

close to reaching a deal on the "Interchange

." That's the working name for a transit and cultural hub planned just outside the northwest corner of Target Field. The deal also involves 

, the real estate developer owned by the Pohlad family -- the owners of the Twins baseball club.

The hub would join the Green and Blue light rail lines, as well as Northstar Commuter Rail. Eventually the Southwest and Bottineau lines could also extend from the junction.

Birders, stadium authority meet this week

Representatives of the Audubon Society in Minnesota will be meeting with the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority on Thursday to talk over the group's concerns about the 

potential for lethal bird strikes at the glassy new Vikings stadium

. Responses to the Environmental Impact Statement are scheduled to be wrapped up next week.

Tim Nelson

Author

The Minnesota Vikings are making an early appearance at TCF Bank Stadium — or at least general manager Rick Spielman is. The Vikings executive is the keynote speaker at “The Bank”  for a St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon on June 6th. He’s scheduled to talk about the new Vikings stadium design and “other Vikings…

Roundup: Vikings at TCF next week, charitable gambling road show set

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