Stepping off the light-rail train at Minneapolis’ Midtown/Lake Street station, you’re surrounded by a menagerie of pastel glass panes, seemingly hovering in midair on the elevated platform. For a tiny second, it feels as though you’re exiting the famed El in Chicago, though this station is newer and tidier than any stop on the Loop—the … Read more
It’s hard to explain—it was just something I slid into,” said Andy Rempel. He was describing his job as a fashion stylist, which is akin to defining style itself. After all, what is style? Rempel offered an explanation. “I think of it as playing with ideas of what’s appropriate and expected,” he said. “You twist … Read more
The autumn moon looks too far away, an amber porch bulb draped in a tattered shroud of moths, all but a handful of stars faded into the weave. Buoyed up on the breath of the lake, frail whispers of wood smoke foretell the winter. Out on Superior the lights of a freighter ride the horizon. … Read more
Minnesota’s climate may not be conducive to driving Vespas, Stellas, Lambredas, and the like, but the local affection for geek-chic certainly is. That’s why Scooter Du, the annual parade and convention for vintage scooter enthusiasts, is such a happening affair. We crashed the party to get pointers on cultivating the look, and found inspiration in … Read more
"Log cabins are a dime a dozen,” said Richard Olson, lighting up yet another Marlboro. “We looked at some of those. They were junk. They were put together by amateurs. Some of the logs had separated; you could see right through them. All these trees here, tip some of them on the side, and you’ve … Read more
The long, pointed whisker stands out sharply from the undulating mass of curious bees beneath the Plexiglas. Next emerges a lonely ear. And finally the whole, unmistakable outline of the tiny skull: a common field mouse. It is completely lacquered in something dark, sticky, and resinous. Just three days earlier, this little skull—not much bigger … Read more
The moment flickered past while I realized that the last of them was gone, the last of the sixties counterculture iconoclasts, those world shakers and rainbow revolutionaries: Lenny Bruce, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, John Lennon, Abbie Hoffman, Edward Abbey, Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey, Hunter Thompson—all gone, the last by his own hand. I … Read more
Minneapolis gets high marks for its “quality of life,” but the home addresses of its cops tell a different story. According to police insiders, less than ten percent of Minneapolis’ police force lives within city limits. Mayor R.T. Rybak and would-be mayor Hennepin County Commish Peter McLaughlin both claim they want more cops living in … Read more
We thinks the Ivey Awards made a peculiar choice in having Justin Kirk co-host its first annual awards party later this month. Although Kirk just wrapped up a summer run of Entertaining Mr. Sloane at the Jungle Theater, he appears more frequently on the large and small screens these days. (You can catch him on … Read more
Cyd Gillett, Daniel Sadoff, Abe Sadoff (15), Lydia Sadoff (9). We just completed an Alaska family vacation and, of course, we took The Rake along. We landed on Ruth, a glacier named after the daughter of a man, Frederick Cook, who falsely claimed to have both been the first person to scale Denali (Mt. McKinley) … Read more