What's making news in Minneapolis:

Firm tied to 35W bridge still getting city contracts: Last week, the Minneapolis City Council authorized city staffers to negotiate a contract worth up to $1.2 million with URS Corp. The California-based firm will study the feasibility of running streetcars versus other transit options on Nicollet and Central Avenues in Minneapolis. Earlier this month, a Dayton spokeswoman said the governor had "very strong concerns about the state doing business with URS" as the company seeks a contract worth up to $100 million related to the Southwest Light Rail line. (Eric Roper)

Heart of the Beast Theatre to host Walker Church: In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, well known in the Twin Cities for its giant puppets and street theater, will become the temporary home for the Walker Community United Methodist Church, whose historic south Minneapolis building was destroyed by fire on Sunday night. (Randy Furst)

Artist sheds his plan to fight city nudity law: Twin Cities performance artist Patrick Scully, who planned to take a ticket for skinny-dipping to trial using personal expression as a defense, pleaded guilty Wednesday. (Abby Simons)

Boots in fashion this week along rising Mississippi River: Three lock and dams along the Mississippi in Minneapolis were closed to commercial traffic on Tuesday night because of increasingly high water flow, officials said Wednesday. It's the third such closure in 10 years. (Bill McAuliffe)

Obituary: Speed, with skill, was mechanic Larry Liu's calling (Paul Walsh)

Headlines from the Twin Cities Daily Planet:

Hollywood Theater in Northeast is ready and waiting for new owner to restore its luster (Mary Treacy, Neighborhood Notes)

Little Earth of United Tribes breaks ground on new affordable housing (John Kunesh, TC Daily Planet)