Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Epstein-Duluth Connections, Revealed
If you're anything like me, you've wondered to yourself: Why haven't any Minnesota data reporters dug into the recently released Epstein files in pursuit of local angles? (This nifty Gmail clone, JMail, makes searching 'em a breeze; my own lazy mining for Minnesota connections revealed an associate once recommended A Serious Man to Epstein—a Coen brothers bombshell!)
Well, thankfully we've got an enterprising data reporter up in Duluth, former Fox 21 anchor Nikki Davidson, who dove deep through the infamous sex offender's correspondence with the elites. She discovered a suspicious connection to Minnesota's North Shore. Here's Davidson, writing for her own indie news outlet, The Watch...
While Epstein was living in New York as a registered sex offender, subject to the highest risk level and most rigorous monitoring, his staff was simultaneously shuttling in girls from Minnesota and other states to spend time with him. A review of files the FBI has released suggest at least five to six young women with direct ties to Minnesota were involved in Epstein’s operations during this time period. Emails, airline bookings and daily schedules reveal a “revolving door” of travel for young women between 2010 and 2015. While some interactions appear fleeting, others span years. Individuals were flown from Minnesota to New York, and Epstein’s private island.
We meet some of the women (The Model, The Employee), see screengrabs of FBI-released exchanges between them and Epstein, and get ample context from Davidson throughout. A strategic romantic tryst with Elon Musk's brother, Kimbal, even bubbles up.
From the look of it, Davidson is doing lots of excellent reporting from the Twin Ports. Give her Substack a follow.
And the Unfortunate Wolves-ICE Connection, Also Revealed
Bad news, Wolves fans. Are you aware of Blue Owl Capital? As this story from Eyeblack reports, the New York City investment firm is a minority owner in the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Why does this matter to you, the ethical hoops fan? Because Blue Owl is reportedly profiting off the Trump administration’s drive to create a national network of concentration camps—a fund that it managed sold a 1.3 million-square-foot vacant warehouse in Tremont, Pennsylvania, to DHS for about $120 million. “We know nothing about it,” an NBA spokesperson tells Eyeblack.
Damn, this is starting to make shoveling fraud A-Rod, or hell, even gorgeous Republican billionaire Glen Taylor, look like comparatively decent guys. In other A-Rod news, the newish Timberwolves co-owner said Tuesday at the U of M's McNamara Alumni Center that it's "a necessity" for the team to get a new Minneapolis arena ASAP.
Music Scene Cooked? Or Just Different? Possibly Same as it Ever Was?
Every few years we get a State of the Twin Cities Music Scene Report, and I'm happy to, er, report that Erik Tormoen of TC Biz did a bang-up job with this economically themed one. His trifold premise? Covid wreaked havoc, City Pages died, and drinking rates plummeted: Where does that leave the once-booming landscape of live music? (To that middle point, may I direct you to the weekly music coverage published by the ex-CPers at Racket?)
Tormoen reported the hell out of the story, which includes several choice quotes and figures. “Great music lived here, not lives here,” according to musician/promoter/journalist Taylor Carik, who calls time of death around 2005-2010. First Avenue CEO Dayna Frank says that, “With social media, everything is really fatty these days... Everyone wants to go to the same shows.” And local consultant Carl Atiya Swanson (who we enjoyed chatting with after last fall's killer Rilo Kiley reunion show) identifies the villain in the room, the corporate behemoth that's making life harder at every rung below the tippy-top: “That’s absolutely Live Nation’s strategy in other markets," he says, "to buy up any number of venues at any bunch of different sizes, so that Live Nation controls essentially the entire ecosystem in a place.”
Dig in—there's a lot here. Tormoen even includes a dollars/cents breakdown that explains why Carik's band cleared just $65 at a 2024 Turf Club gig.
How to Help: Pride Cultural Arts Center
Since mid-January, Pride Cultural Center has been focused on responding to the destabilizing impact ICE has had on the queer community, helping LGBTQ+ folks make ends meet via a pop-up pantry. Now that Operation Metro Surge is (supposedly) slowing down, the community space, located at 1201 Harmon Place in Loring Park, reports that donations are too.
But that doesn’t mean that people need supplies any less, so PCAC is encouraging folks to bring supplies during open hours this week. Requested items include canned goods, infant items like diapers and baby food, toiletries, and household items. You can read the full list on Facebook, donate to this general pantry sustainability fund, or even shop for items directly via their Amazon wishlist (yes, yes, Amazon is evil).
