Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Cookie-Toting Craig Curries Favor at State Fair's MN GOP Booth
Obama was too late for the lesson, and Biden never learned it: Republicans hate you, they want you to fail, and any quaint notions of back-slapping 20th-century bipartisanship are reserved for ticky-tacky legislation that doesn't meaningfully disrupt balances of power—ya know, Sen. Amy Klobuchar's bread 'n' butter. U.S. Rep. Angie Craig knows all this, but the centrist Minnesota Democrat has never bothered to appeal to her party's base. “At times I watched her ads and asked, ‘Wait a minute, is she a MAGA candidate?’” Steven Schier, professor emeritus of poli-sci at Carleton College, observed to MinnPost last year.
Here's where we tell you about Craig's annoying cookie stunt Saturday at the Minnesota State Fair. As documented by Strib reporter Sydney Kashiwagi, Craig popped into the fair's MN GOP booth with a "peace offering" of Sweet Martha's for the party that's currently declaring martial law in Washington, D.C., transferring wealth to the ultra-rich, rounding up our immigrant neighbors like dogs, and, just today, mulling whether flag burning should be punishable with jail time. It's the party of "neo-fascists," former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich (accurately) told NPR's Fresh Air last week.
“I think she’s at the wrong booth,” one woman said, also accurately, while watching (a likely self-satisfied) Craig embarrass herself near the MN GOP booth's shrine to Alpha News. Why would these people vote for Diet Republicanism when the full-strength option is right there, watching you tote your little cookie bucket, Ang? We'll see if the strategy works as Craig fights against Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and several actual Republicans to replace recent RacketCast guest Tina Smith in the Senate. (Dean Phillips and AIPAC have already backed Team Craig; Flanagan apparently received a standing O at the Indigo Girls/Melissa Etheridge show at the Grandstand last night.)
In conclusion, enjoy this disturbing statue of Trump I catalogued inside the MN GOP booth while stuffing my stupid face last Thursday at the fair. (An exterior signed promised free water, which turned out to be a drinking fountain—my colleague Keith half-jokingly asked if it was segregated.)
Crop Talk
The number of crop art submissions at the Minnesota State Fair has grown (not unlike a crop) to a record-breaking 451 submissions this year, reports MPR's Alex V. Cipolle.
Many of this year's entries honor state Rep. Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and their golden retriever, Gilbert. And of course there are several tributes to Minnesota-made legends (The Great Gatsby, Top the Tater, Rick Rude). You'll also see lots of pieces that reference classic works of art in Ben Hovland's photos, perhaps because this year the Minneapolis Institute of Art is selecting 10 pieces to display in its halls after the fair winds down. Memes and pop-culture references abound, with works celebrating everything from the 50th anniversary of Jaws to TikTok character Chit. (Do it, lady!)
Among those who submitted art this year? Why, Cipolle herself! Elsewhere at MPR, she's recounted, in wonderfully self-deprecating detail, her path to this year's crop art competition. It begins in June, with a Crop Art 101 class at Wet Paint in St. Paul, and ends with Cipolle's Magritte-boosting corn cob pipe piece on display at the Agriculture Horticulture Building. If you thought it looks like a tedious process... well, you're right.
Get Your 21 Bus Tee
We couldn't talk Metro Transit, as we did on RacketCast earlier this month with bus operater Al Chang and GM Lesley Kandaras, without talking about our love for the recently departed 21 bus. The famously slow, recently retired route may have been replaced by faster, more reliable bus rapid transit service, but it remains in the hearts of many; Chang told us it was a favorite among drivers at Metro Transit's Nicollet garage, and Kandaras copped to being a regular 21 rider who's made the switch to the Metro B Line that replaced it.
"Was it mourned properly? Are we mourning it properly?" Jay asked our RacketCast guests at roughly the 49-minute mark. "Is there 21 bus merch that we can get? How can I properly express that I love the 21?" Em pressed, to which the GM replied that they'd have to get back to us.
Well, the folks at Visit Lake Street have taken it upon themselves to make 21 bus merch a reality. ("You asked for it, so here you go!" they joked with Racket on Instagram.) Designed by local illustrator Robin Sheldon, the limited-edition tees are $30, and you can pick yours up right here. "More than just a ride, the 21 was a community on wheels. This shirt is dedicated to the late nights, the early mornings, the dance parties in traffic, and the countless memories made along Lake Street," the shirt description reads. Beautiful stuff. RIP, 21.
New Restaurant Coming to 25th & Lyndale: Dreamstate Cafe
The prominent Minneapolis address that once housed Hi! Flora and, before that, Common Roots Cafe, looks like it's getting a new tenant. A recently launched website for Dreamstate Cafe is advertising a "plant-based, all-day cafe & bar" set to open at 2558 Lyndale Ave. S. "While we don't have a firm opening date, we expect to open this fall," reads the site. The LLC? It's connected to Kirstin Wiegmann, who runs Powderhorn's long-running Reverie Cafe + Bar, a vegan joint. We'll ask for more details ASAP, but now you're armed with (slightly) more knowledge about what's happening across from the CC Club.
