Life & Style | Prince’s estate will operate studio complex Paisley Park

Prince’s estate will take over management of the late rock star’s studio complex near Minneapolis.

Graceland Holdings, which runs Elvis Presley’s tourist attraction in Memphis, Tennessee, had been operating Prince’s Paisley Park in Chanhassen as a museum since October 2016.

Prince’s oldest sibling, Sharon Nelson, says the family will manage Paisley Park because the contract expires at the end of September. She says the family is not unhappy with Graceland Holdings or making the decision because of economic reasons.

The Star Tribune reports Nelson says there are differences of opinions among the heirs, so the estate’s administrator, Comerica, will be making the final decisions on how to operate the landmark.

Prince died at age 57 of an accidental overdose of fentanyl at Paisley Park April 21, 2016.

Missy Elliott honored at MTV VMAs

The incomparable career of Missy Elliott, the rapper-singer-songwriter- producer-dancer whose music videos have moved the needle over the last two decades, was honored at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, where Taylor Swift also took center stage with her gay pride anthem, “You Need to Calm Down.”

Elliott earned the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award and brought her colorful, eccentric and groundbreaking music videos to life, from “Work It” to “Lose Control,” on Monday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

She even sported the inflated trash bag she wore with confidence and charisma in the video for “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” in 1997 during the performance.

“I’ve worked diligently for over two decades and I never thought I would be standing up here receiving this award,” Elliott said.

The 48-year-old game-changer also dedicated her award to the dance community and said her music video inspirations included Janet Jackson, Madonna, Peter Gabriel and Busta Rhymes.

Panda pregnant at Berlin’s zoo, birth expected soon

Berlin’s zoo is hoping to hear the patter of tiny panda paws soon.

The zoo yesterday released a few seconds of footage from an ultrasound scan of its 6-year-old panda Meng Meng, which it said shows “a mini-panda with its heart beating fast.”

It said that the birth isn’t far off, but didn’t specify when.

Meng Meng mated for the first time with 9-year-old partner Jiao Qing in April, and was also artificially inseminated to increase the likelihood of pregnancy. Experts working with the zoo said in mid-August that they were about 85% sure Meng Meng was expecting. Panda pregnancies typically last four to six months.

The zoo said keepers used a few pieces of apple, panda cookies and honey water to persuade Meng Meng to lie on her back for a few minutes Tuesday for the scan. It said that pandas typically deliver one, two or occasionally even three cubs, and although only one was discovered during the scan it’s still possible that there are more.

Meng Meng and Jiao Qing arrived from China in June 2017.