Donny Schatz in victory lane. Photo credit: Paul Arch/Oskaloosa News
Donny Schatz won his 10th Knoxville Nationals title on Saturday. That makes ten victories in the past twelve years, and the eighth driving Tony Stewart Racing #15.
Kyle Larson, who made a strong move at the end, came up short in the third turn on the final lap, to take second.
Kyle Larson
The South Fork Salcha Fire as seen from Quartz Lake
Fairbanks hit 90 degrees on Friday, which broke the record of 87 set in 1957. It was also the second earliest date, Fairbanks has seen the temperature reach 90. That record is 28 May, which was set in 1947. 90 degrees, is just too damn hot for Alaska, and those temps can stay in Texas. Luckily, temps are dropping down to a more Alaskan-like 75 for Saturday.
Lightning caused the South Fork Salcha fire, which has closed the Richardson Highway tonight near Birch Lake. The lightning strike occurred Thursday morning, and by Friday evening, the fire had reached 3600 acres. I noticed the scent of burning black spruce Friday morning, as I drove to the jobsite.
Summer has reached the Interior.
Saint Cloud, Minnesota
I went to a youth soccer game in St Cloud, and was surprised to find the field behind a 20″ granite wall. The entrances were all gated with wrought iron, leaving the field looking like it was inside the grounds of an old prison.
In addition to the youth soccer fields, Selke Field is also home to the SCSU Husky softball team.
The land was donated to St Cloud State University in 1931, and it became home to the university’s football team. Construction was started on the 35,000 foot wall around the 17 acres in 1934, as a WPA program during the Great Depression. The pink granite is called “reformatory pink”, because it was quarried from inside the St Cloud prison. Five masons spent three years building the granite wall, block by block.
At its height, Selke Field held the football stadium, a baseball diamond, four softball fields, a dozen tennis courts, a cinder track, practice golf tee, an archery range and badminton.
After World War II, with the success of the GI Bill, housing was needed for the veterans attending SCSU. As many as 25 barracks were built at one end of the field to meet that need.
