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Justice for That MGM Snow Thing
As you may have noticed, my horrible colleagues have—for two days in a row—greeted a recent arrival to Minneapolis with nothing but ridicule and fear. I’m speaking of course, of the ancient snow creature that the Midtown Global Market has asked us to name. Jay called this rare magical being “gangly,” “pasty,” and “terrifying.” Em, not even trying to conceal her distaste, called our lovable wintry visitor an “abominable albino monstrosity,” and, in a staff email, wrote “I HATE ALL OF THIS” (all caps in original). Anyway, I needed to take this space to point out that not all Racket staffers are that close-minded. I love the snow creature unconditionally, and as for its name, I would do the polite thing and just ask it what it likes to be called. As for the scorn heaped upon our seasonal guest—well, somebody here is acting abominably, and it’s not our poor, friendly snow creature.
Lake Superior Is Hotter Than Ever!
Unfortunately, I don’t mean more popular. WCCO reports that our very own Great Lake is in fact among the fastest-warming bodies of water in the world, heating up one degree per decade since the 1980s. That’s great news if you like swimming in Lake Superior, I suppose. However, that’s bad news for people who plan to live on Earth for any reasonable amount of time, and for the lake’s delicate ecosystem. In the past 100 years, Superior has lost 15 inches of ice cover, and according to a recent study, if greenhouse gas emission remains constant, Superior will not freeze at all after the 2060s. According to its official X account, the lake itself is heartbroken by the news.
A Bar of Their Own Finds a Home of Its Own
Back in September, Racket reported that Jillian Hiscock had plans for A Bar of Their Own, a spot where you could kick back and watch women’s sports exclusively. “The details are sparse,” we noted at the time, with the space itself “TBD.” Well, let me tell you, a space has B D'd: A Bar of Their Own is moving into the building that Tracy’s Saloon vacated on East Franklin at the end of September. (That softens the blow of losing Tracy’s a tiny bit.) “We cannot contain our excitement about joining the Seward neighborhood in Minneapolis!” the bar posted on Instagram today. No word yet on whether ABOTO, as I have just now decided it should be known, will accept any leftover wooden nickels from the bar’s former occupant.
Support Voiced for Camp Nenookaasi at City Council
Minneapolis City Council passed a $1.8 billion budget last night that has a lot of goodies (money for Open Streets, funding for a pilot public snow removal program) while shutting out Mayor Frey’s wish for police recruitment bonuses. Equally newsworthy is the number of people who showed up to last night’s council meeting to support Camp Nenookaasi, whose residents the city plans to evict. Camp organizer Nicole Mason said that 187 people now live at the camp, which uses Native practices, and volunteers there have helped house 74 people in less than four months. While some council members also spoke in support of the camp, the council as a whole does not have the power to stop the eviction.
