Latest news with #NorthStarState
Forbes
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Josh Duhamel Says Living Off The Grid Prepped Him For New Tech Thriller
Josh Duhamel in "Off the Grid." Ransom Canyon star Josh Duhamel didn't have a rough time getting to know the set of his new film Off the Grid because the actor lives off the grid in real-life. Off the grid for Duhamel — a Minot, N.D. native — is the deep woods of Northern Minnesota, a state the acclaimed Transformers and Shotgun Wedding star and his family call their adopted home. Being in Minnesota also allows Duhamel to catch games of his pro sports favorites, including NFL's Minnesota Vikings and MLB's Minnesota Twins, each of which he's been cheering on for years. In return, Minnesota has embraced Duhamel, awarding him, for example, the 2024 North Star Award from the Twin Cities Film Fest, an honor reserved for actors who hail from the North Star state. Opening in select theaters and arriving on digital streaming via video on demand on Friday, Off the Grid is directed by Johnny Martin and written by Jim Agnew. In the film, Duhamel plays Guy, a brilliant scientist who is forced to go on the run after the unscrupulous company he is working for wants to use a groundbreaking mini cold fusion reactor for nefarious purposes. However, when company owner Belcor (Peter Stormare) and Guy's former mentor, Ranish (Greg Kinnear), locate Guy's whereabouts and send a strike team after him, the scientist has to spring into action. Using his technical wherewithal and survival skills of living off the grid, guy takes on his adversaries in ways they won't see coming. Josh Duhamel Is Unplugged But Locked And Loaded In 'Off The Grid' One benefit that Josh Duhamel didn't exactly expect was that living off the grid in Minnesota would come in quite handy while filming Off the Grid the movie. 'That's one of the reasons why I wanted to do it,' Duhamel said in a recent Zoom conversation, fittingly, from his home in the Northern Minnesota woods. 'I just felt really connected to this idea that Guy was forced to do this because he took his invention of cold fusion technology, which was intended to be free energy to the world, but the government wanted to weaponize it.' As such, Duhamel put his real-life experience of living a simple life far away from the rat race to good use. Thanks to a great tax rebate, Duhamel and director Johnny Martin found their ideal off the grid shooting location in Mississippi. 'Guy had to [embrace] the idea able to build this little life out of the way and unplugged from everything,' Duhamel explained. 'He finds peace in it but also a lot of loneliness and yearning for human connection and all those things. I think that if you're alone, doing this would be really tough. But that's what really drew me to this.' Another bonus is, that Duhamel gets to channel a bit of the character that Minnesota native Richard Dean Anderson made famous for seven seasons on ABC-TV from 1985 to 1992. '[I loved Guy's] innovation and ability MacGyver all these different gadgets. It was really fun,' Duhamel enthused. 'I love that I just thought that it was a great hook for the movie. So, I just love this world. I thought, 'What a great sort of contrast between this simple life and the industrial complex doing everything they can to use to find this guy, but run into a total David versus Goliath sort of situation.' NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 12: Josh Duhamel attends the Men's Health Lab hosted by Hearst Magazines ... More at Hearst Tower on June 12, 2025 in New York City. (Photo byfor Hearst Magazines) On top of utilitizing some MacGyver-type skills, Duhamel brings a bit of Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo to his character in Off the Grid in the way he faces off against the bad guys, even if wasn't intentional. 'I guess there's maybe a little bit [of Rambo in there], but I'm never gonna pretend that I'm Sylvester Stallone. That guy's a badass,' Duhamel said with a smile. 'He is more like a former Green Beret out there in Rambo: First Blood [Part II]." It was just an amazing movie. I guess I never really thought about it [with my character in Off the Grid]. From that point of view, I can see the similarities.' Duhamel, of course, lives a more peaceful existence off the grid away from acting and he hopes to visit his wooded getaway in Minnesota as often as he can. In the meantime, Duhamel is prepping his return to the Netflix hit Ransom Canyon, which was renewed for a second season this week and going into production in September. In the meantime, audiences can see Josh Duhamel in Off the Grid — which also stars María Elisa Camargo, Michael Zapesotsky, Ricky Russert and Michael Papajohn — which opens in select theaters on Friday and is available on Video on Demand.
New York Times
14-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How to watch Sparks at Lynx: Minnesota looks to bounce back after first loss of 2025
The Minnesota Lynx are no longer undefeated, but they are very much still the team to beat in the West. The Western Conference reigning champs look to bounce back after their first loss of 2025 when they fell to the Seattle Storm 94-84 on Wednesday. The Lynx are home favorites on Saturday in their matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks. Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier and LA guard Kelsey Plum are first and second in the league, respectively, in points per game through the opening quarter of the season. Advertisement CBS is also available over the air with a broadcast antenna. Minnesota jumped out to a 9-0 start, and all but one of those wins were by multiple possessions. Then came Wednesday's tilt with the Storm, who hit the Lynx with tossed salad and scrambled eggs in Seattle. Cheryl Reeve's squad was up by one at halftime and wound up losing by 10. That result could sway the Commissioner's Cup, as Minnesota and Seattle are now tied atop the West with 3-1 in-season tournament marks. Only one team from each conference advances to the July 1 finale. Still, good vibes abound in the North Star State. Collier is the early favorite for league MVP, absolutely balling, with 50.6/40.6/92.6 shooting splits on career-high volume. The incumbent Defensive Player of the Year scored player of the month honors in May, and she leads all players in win shares so far. Elsewhere on the Lynx, Kayla McBride is intergalactic from long range, with more made 3s than missed ones on a full seven tries per game. Courtney Williams feeds (not feasts, though she does that too) with 6.4 assists per game this season. The team ranks in the top three in offensive and defensive ratings, and they are blowing the doors off opponents at home. If there's one thing that Minnesota is not at the top of, though, it's pace. The Lynx play with the slowest pace in the W, maximizing possessions and moving off the ball with patience. The Sparks will try to increase the tempo on Saturday, which will start with Plum (at point guard). The All-WNBA playmaker arrives at this matchup carrying the highest scoring average and usage rate of her eight pro seasons. Los Angeles is third in points per game but 10th in points allowed. The crafty and versatile Dearica Hamby will challenge Collier around the block, and Rickea Jackson will try to reroute a turbulent sophomore year with another focused effort Saturday. She had her best line of 2025 last time out — a career-high 30 points, which included four made 3s Wednesday in Las Vegas. But her numbers are still down across the board, and stout Minnesota is a challenging place to generate momentum. Best player to wear both jerseys: Seimone Augustus. The Hall of Famer was drafted first overall by the Lynx in 2006. After a decorated 14-year run in Minnesota, she took a last dance in Los Angeles in 2020. Streaming, betting and ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Napheesa Collier: Ellen Schmidt / Getty Images)
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Simone Biles rails against ‘sore loser' conservative activist over trans athletes
Olympian gymnast Simone Biles on Friday night clashed with conservative activist Riley Gaines over a transgender athlete's participation on a Minnesota high school's softball team. Gaines railed against a post on social platform X from the Minnesota State High School League that celebrated Champlin Park High School's first softball state championship win. 'Comments off lol,' Gaines wrote, referencing MSHSL's X settings. 'To be expected when your star player is a boy.' The pitcher on Champlin Park's team identifies as transgender and pitched a shutout, delivering a 6-0 win over Bloomington Jefferson High School on Friday. 'You're truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race,' Biles responded to Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer, calling her a 'bully' and a 'straight up sore loser.' Gaines, a student athlete turned political pundit, has become a vocal critic against the participation of transgender athletes in girls and women's sports. Her rise on the right came after tying for fifth place in the 2022 NCAA Championships with transgender swimmer and LGBTQ advocate Lia Thomas. 'You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sport,' Biles continued in her thread on Friday. 'Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! Earlier this year, Gaines joined President Trump at the White House when he signed an executive order barring the participation of trans athletes in sports that align with their gender identity. This order prompted an investigation into the Minnesota high school sports governing body and the state's federal funding, which the North Star State is fighting in court. The former University of Kentucky swimmer responded to the 11-time Olympic medalist's defense of the young athlete, calling her remarks 'disappointing.' 'It's not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces,' Gaines wrote on X. 'You can uplift men stealing championships in women's sports with YOUR platform.' 'Men don't belong in women's sports and I say that with my full chest,' she added. Last month, a conservative group on behalf of three softball players sued the North Star State over its 2015 transgender athlete policy, local outlets reported. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
07-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Simone Biles rails against ‘sore loser' conservative activist over trans athletes
Olympian gymnast Simone Biles on Friday night clashed with conservative activist Riley Gaines over a transgender athlete's participation on a Minnesota high school's softball team. Gaines railed against a post on social platform X from the Minnesota State High School League that celebrated Champlin Park High School's first softball state championship win. 'Comments off lol,' Gaines wrote, referencing MSHSL's X settings. 'To be expected when your star player is a boy.' The pitcher on Champlin Park's team identifies as transgender and pitched a shutout, delivering a 6-0 win over Bloomington Jefferson High School on Friday. 'You're truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race,' Biles responded to Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer, calling her a 'bully' and a 'straight up sore loser.' Gaines, a student athlete turned political pundit, has become a vocal critic against the participation of transgender athletes in girls and women's sports. Her rise on the right came after tying for fifth place in the 2022 NCAA Championships with transgender swimmer and LGBTQ advocate Lia Thomas. 'You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sport,' Biles continued in her thread on Friday. 'Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! Earlier this year, Gaines joined President Trump at the White House when he signed an executive order barring the participation of trans athletes in sports that align with their gender identity. This order prompted an investigation into the Minnesota high school sports governing body and the state's federal funding, which the North Star State is fighting in court. The former University of Kentucky swimmer responded to the 11-time Olympic medalist's defense of the young athlete, calling her remarks 'disappointing.' 'It's not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces,' Gaines wrote on X. 'You can uplift men stealing championships in women's sports with YOUR platform.' 'Men don't belong in women's sports and I say that with my full chest,' she added. Last month, a conservative group on behalf of three softball players sued the North Star State over its 2015 transgender athlete policy, local outlets reported.
