For This Week’s Open Thread, We’re Talkin’ ‘Bout Traffic

As we do every time this week, we're turning Racket over to you, the readers.

9:37 AM CDT on April 18, 2025

Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash

Let's talk traffic jams—and I don't mean the kind Steve Winwood's jazzy '70s prog rock band used to play!

Every outlet in town has covered the fact that summer road construction season is upon us, so why shouldn't we? The big hassle this year will be shutdowns on I-94, and we're hearing from folks who live in far-flung, exotic locales like Lake Elmo that it's ruining their commute.

So, how will you adjust your driving in the summer ahead? Do you drive on city streets to avoid the congestion or does that just make it worse? Will you take mass transit more?

As always, feel free to ignore this prompt and talk about whatever you want. This is your Open Thread after all.

Take us out, Jimi!

Keith Harris

@usefulnoise.bsky.social

Oldest living Racket co-owner and editor.

open thread

Stay in touch

More from Racket

Music

Who Says Festivals Are Only for Summer? Not Your Complete Concert Calendar: Sept. 16-22.

Pretty much all the music you can catch in the Twin Cities this week.

1Comments

Keith Harris

September 16, 2025

News

RIP Marilyn Hagerty, Great and Humble Chronicler of Upper Midwestern Eats

Plus south Minneapolis mass shootings, DJ calls for Saloon boycott, and a Robert Redford local angle in today's Flyover news roundup.

17Comments

Em Cassel

September 16, 2025

Today's stories are presented by Minneapolis Cultural Districts:

Minneapolis Cultural Districts: Get Drawn In

Some of Minneapolis’s best art shows up on sidewalks, building facades, and in parks. The seven Minneapolis Cultural Districts are living galleries, filled with murals, mosaics, sculptures, and community-made work that tells the story of each neighborhood. On West Broadway, Juxtaposition Arts brings color and energy with its mural and community skate park. East Lake Street is lined with some of the most vibrant murals in the city, while Cedar, Central, and 38th Street showcase their own visual surprises. Every corner is an invitation to slow down, look up, and notice.

Books

U of M Professor Explains Science Behind Sci-Fi in ‘The Physics of Superheroes Goes Hollywood’

James Kakalios, an 'acclaimed physics professor and superhero nerd' from the University of Minnesota, tackles quantum chemistry, multiverse theory, and A.I. through pop culture in his new book.

1Comments