Do your neighbors turn into pyrotechnicians on the Fourth of July? Twin Cities public safety officials want you to think twice before calling 911.

Why it matters: Fireworks calls have historically made Independence Day one of the busiest holidays in the region's 911 dispatch centers.

• Some of these calls demand an emergency response — but noise complaints tie up dispatchers who need to direct police, fire or EMS to higher-priority calls.

What they're saying: "That delay can keep people from experiencing life-threatening or time-sensitive situations, such as heart attacks, house fires, or violent crimes, from getting the service they need," Minneapolis 911 director Joni Hodne told reporters.

The latest: Minneapolis officials' pleas appear to be getting through.

• In 2025, dispatchers handled roughly 800 fewer 911 calls over the Fourth than in previous years, when the city typically answered 2,200 calls.

📲 What to do: Minneapolis residents can instead use the city's 311 hotline and app to report a noise complaint.

• The fine print: 311 will not be monitored 24/7 over the holiday, though Hodne said city staffers can still respond to complaints the next day.

Zoom out: Many other departments offer similar advice, so have your police department's non-emergency line handy.

• In St. Paul, it's 651-291-1111.
• Yes, but: In Minneapolis, non-emergency calls are still answered by the city's 911 center — so the call wouldn't have priority, but would still tie up a dispatcher.

☎️ When to call: Contact 911 if a fire has started, someone is hurt, fireworks use is putting people or property at risk, or the situation is escalating toward violence, Hodne said.

In recent years, social media-fueled gatherings of young people shooting fireworks and taking over parks have disrupted Independence Day. (In Oakdale, a recent fireworks show was disrupted by a massive teen fight.)

• But last year in Minneapolis, overall levels of violence — including reports of shootings and gunfire — were down or flat on the holiday compared to previous years.

What we're watching: Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said yesterday the department's Criminal Intelligence Division monitors social media for signs of "park takeovers" and uses this intel to direct staffing.

• Several city streets and parkways will again close along with the Stone Arch Bridge, and parking will be limited around Bde Maka Ska and along the Mississippi River — a tactic that Minneapolis Park Police have said was successful in tamping down these takeovers.

Get ready to revel

The surprise Lynx, powered by rookie phenom Olivia Miles, are now the betting favorites to win the WNBA title this fall.

Are you a believer? A new team promotion dares fans to put their money where their mouth is.

• For $250, fans can get upper-level tickets to the last 12 home games of the year.

If the Lynx win the title, those buyers will be given a $250 credit toward season tickets next year.

🏟️ What they're saying: Attendance is up this year, enough so that the team has been opening the upper level to more games, Wolves/Lynx CEO Matt Caldwell told Axios.

• There's so much excitement," he said. "We just want to keep building on the chase for the championship."

By the way: The Lynx announced yesterday Napheesa Collier's returning to practice months after undergoing ankle surgery.

🌾 General Mills announced plans to cut $3 billion in costs by 2030 after reporting a $2 billion net loss in the fourth quarter. (KARE 11)

⚖️ Fourteen of the 15 anti-ICE demonstrators facing federal conspiracy charges pleaded not guilty at their arraignments yesterday. (MPR News)

🦠 University of Minnesota scientists have created manmade cells that have most of the hallmarks of life: They feed, grow, reproduce and compete with one another for food. (New York Times)

🏘️ Residents of Heritage Park held a public meeting to question why the Near North Minneapolis complex — once heralded as model affordable housing — has fallen into dangerous disrepair. (KSTP)

🃏 More than a dozen rare Pokémon cards worth an estimated $25,000+ were stolen from Eagan claw machine arcade DUCK! this week. The business is offering a cash reward, and police are investigating. (Fox 9)

Indígena by Owamni — which began service at the Guthrie Theater last week — is opening on the Fourth of July to offer a different perspective on the holiday.

Driving the news: Chef Sean Sherman's eatery celebrating Indigenous cooking will hold a "Grand Opening Brunch" on Saturday, according to an event listing. $50 per buffet plate

• Sherman will also lead a chef's table experience that's "not a celebration of July 4th," but a conversation about "where our food actually comes from." $250 per person

In other restaurant news…

☕️ Dogwood Coffee Co. is expanding again, announcing on Instagram its plans to open a fourth location in September at Grand and Cleveland avenues, near the University of St. Thomas campus.

🌮 Bussin Birria Tacos — the Mexican spot that launched at Mall of America in 2022 — debuted its second location yesterday: a standalone storefront in Minneapolis' West Maka Ska area, per a release.

🍳 Hope Breakfast Bar will finally open in Maple Grove's "The Grove" shopping center some time this fall after "two years of prayer, dreaming and believing," per a social post.

More: Osseo's new brewery

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Kyle here. As a Minnesotan, this map makes me proud.

Like the Patriot army during the Revolution, Old Dutch faces threats from all sides as a favorite Fourth of July order on Instacart.

• Pringles, Ruffles and Kettle Brand all menacingly prowl on the territorial borders of Minnesota's hometown potato chip.

🫡 And yet The Windmill remains — as unconquered and steadfast as Washington, keeping our sack lunches somewhat interesting as the Heartland succumbs to the banality of Lay's.

Plus: The Roseville-based company has added the Jucy Lucy-inspired Stuffed Cheeseburger flavor for the summer, Racket reports!

• Top that, "Utz!" (If that is your real name.)

The bottom line: Old American chips need some work — but Old Dutch chips? They're the real deal.