Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Fed Court: Let 20-Year-Olds Carry Guns
“The Second Amendment's plain text does not have an age limit." With those words from U.S. Circuit Judge Duane Benton on Tuesday, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down as unconstitutional a 2003 Minnesota law that limited permits to carry a handgun to adults 21 years old or older. Why had the law stood unsuccessfully challenged for two decades before that? Benton said the law did not meet the requirements of a new test established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 which held that gun laws must be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."
The St. Louis-based 8th Circuit’s decision was not much of a surprise, given the, shall we say, evolving federal jurisprudence regarding guns, and the fact that a federal district court had issued the same ruling in March 2023. However, this decision does seem… unusual? Newsworthy? Ironic? Kinda, given the fact that a 20-year-old shot a former president over the weekend (albeit with a rifle, not a handgun). Guess that’s just the price of freedom.
Libraries, After Hours
A library all to yourself? For some of us antisocial weirdos, it’s a dream come true. And, as H. Jiahong Pan reports for MinnPost, it’s becoming a reality at some south metro libraries. Fourteen libraries in Dakota and Scott County are currently accessible to pre-registered patrons during non-operating hours, with two more libraries to join the program later this year.
The program started in Scott County when patrons wanted to use the library meeting rooms after hours. Soon the libraries figured, hell, why not let folks use the whole dang building? All you need is a card from a Minnesota regional library system, and you can register on the same day. We are, of course, fans of libraries at Racket, and we’re happy to see that they remain the last public institutions that function effectively in our nation.
Icehouse: Not Dead After All
When news broke in April that Northpond Partners was suing its tenant Icehouse for $85,000 in unpaid rent, many were concerned about the future of the 12-year-old Minneapolis club at 2550 Nicollet Ave. Owner Brian Liebeck, however, insisted that Icehouse would survive, citing "a positive working relationship" with the landlords. And today, club ownership announced that it is once more on stable financial footing. Following a settlement with Northpond, the details of which has not been made public, Icehouse has restructured its business, adding John Higgins, the director of Minneapolis-based biotechnology tools company Biotechne and a Walker Art Center trustee, as the new majority owner and executive leader. Liebeck “will continue to be active in club operations,” and prominent local musician JT Bates is joining management to handle programming inside the brick building that dates back to 1868.
Let’s Look at Some Old Schools
Schools! They’re just like the rest of us! (In that they get old and often abandoned.) Over at MPR News, Andrew Krueger has shared a few snaps of some schools he’s visited in his wanderings around the state, and like a lot of community architecture they’re fun to look at. My personal favorite is the 1906 public school in Darfur, with its distinctive gabled look, though I also appreciate the somewhat imposing school in Avoca, built in 1894. Semi-related: Who could forget this old Racket story about a rural Minnesota town rallying together to turn its old schoolhouse into a bustling Airbnb?
