Daily Planet Originals

If you thought the polar bears were cool, Como Park Zoo and Conservatory’s latest $11 million exhibit redesign is just in time to welcome in the summer. Yesterday was the grand opening of Gorilla Forest, the largest all-mesh gorilla enclosure in North America. Six of the seven gorillas are new to Como Zoo. Schroeder, Alice, Nne, Dara, Jabir, Virgil, and Samson are being introduced to the public for the first time.

With graduation season in full swing, the Education Research Center's Diplomas Count reports that more young adults are graduating from high school than at any time since 1973. The national graduation rate has risen by eight points during the past ten years, to 74.7 percent. "At the current pace of improvement," Education Week reports, "the portion of students earning a diploma could surpass the historical high of 77.1 percent within the next few years."

Even gifted artists sometimes work harder on their way up to stardom than they do when they get there. Jamie Foxx used to do killer comedy on the groundbreaking show In Living Color, but after he become a name himself, he did stand-up that phoned it in.  Even the wonderful Wanda Sykes, as generally engaging and entertaining as she was last year headlining the Orpheum Theatre, was, several seasons ago, so strong opening for Tommie Davidson that her performance was worth the ticket price while his was weak as diet water.  The talented Aziz Ansari, who a while back was hilarious opening for Kathy Griffin at the State Theatre, on April 6 at the same venue simply was not the same comic.

On June 6, the McKnight Foundation announced that the revered actress, director and teacher Wendy Lehr will receive the 2013 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award. The award, now in its 16th year, includes a $50,000 cash award and is meant to “recognize individual Minnesota artists who have made significant contributions to the quality of the state’s cultural life,” according to a press release.