Back-to-school shopping is expected to squeeze families' budgets even more than usual this year.

The big picture: Families and teachers across the nation are bracing for bigger bills on everything from backpacks to tech products as inflation drives up prices on consumer goods, our education reporting partners at The 74 write.

• More than half of those back-to-school shoppers are concerned about the costs, Deloitte's 2022 Back-to-School Survey found.

Zoom in: Minnesota parents are expected to spend $700 per child on back-to-school clothes and supplies this year, per the survey.

• That's up 3% from last year, and it's 6% higher than this year's national average of $661.

Driving the spending: Tech products. Deloitte's survey found parents of school-age children expect to fork over $474 on gadgets like computers, smartphones and tablets for their kids.

• Apparel ($343) and actual school supplies ($131) account for much of the rest of the bill.

Yes, and: Minnesota families are projected to spend about $80 on "COVID-19-related items," a category that includes everything from hand sanitizer to furniture for remote learning.

Situational awareness: The bulk of the shopping will happen this month, Deloitte found. That makes sense given that the first day of school for many families is fast approaching.

• Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Anoka-Hennepin students all return to the classroom Sept. 6.

Give back: Torey recently asked Twitter followers for recommendations for local organizations that provide assistance to families who can't afford new backpacks and other essentials.

• If donating is in your budget, you can check out the list of ideas in the responses to her tweet.

📬 Weigh in: Do you have questions or story ideas related to the start of the school year? Reply to this email to send them our way.

Winter is coming, but there's still plenty of time to work up a sweat outdoors before we say goodbye to warmer weather.

Here are a few classes around the metro to try out this month:

🧘 Big River Yoga offers classes at Longfellow's Brackett Park on Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings, while Radiant Life yogis bring their mats to Lake Harriett several days a week.

🏋️‍♀️ Salad chain Crisp & Green hosts a range of free classes outside stores on weekends and Alchemy 365 is running no-cost pop-up sweat sessions at parks this month.

💃 Zumba fans can check out St. Paul's calendar of free summer fitness sessions.

👶 Have a little one? Try Fit4Mom's stroller strides or Blooma Yoga's little kid classes by Lake Nokomis.

🌽 Add "workout" to your shopping list with free yoga classes at the Mill City and Wayzata farmer's markets.

🚨 Reports of violent crimes in Minnesota increased by nearly 22% between 2020 and 2021, according to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's Uniform Crime Report. (MPR News)

⚖️ A hearing to discuss plea negotiations for two former MPD officers facing criminal charges over their alleged roles in George Floyd's killing is scheduled for today. (MPR News)

🛒 Workers at the downtown Minneapolis Trader Joe's voted to become the chain's second unionized store in the nation. (KSTP)

🎡 A judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Minnesota State Fair's gun ban.

• The Minnesota Gun Owners' Caucus is considering an appeal. (Minnesota Reformer)

Fans and teammates honored Sylvia Fowles on Friday, as the former MVP played her last regular-season home game at Target Center.

• Chants of "Who's house? Syl's House" filled the arena during the heartfelt ceremony that followed the game.

The big picture: Fowles, considered one of the WNBA's best players, is retiring after 15 years on the court. She played the last eight seasons with the Lynx.

What's next: Hopes of a final playoff run for Fowles were dashed Sunday when the Lynx lost to the Connecticut Sun in the last game of the regular season.

• Fowles, meanwhile, has been studying mortuary science and plans to become a mortician as a post-basketball career.

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