Skip to Content
Opinion

Friday Open Thread: Better Knowing Our Twin Cities

TGIF. Let's chat.

10:13 AM CDT on August 11, 2023

Did you know there’s a massive Hindu temple in Sisqó’s hometown of Maple Grove? Did I just type history’s most interesting sentence?

|Woolennium via Flickr

Howdy, Racket subscribers! Jay here, filling in for Friday Open Thread prompt duties since Keith selfishly took a vacation.

So we have a certified hit on our hands with Ian Ringgenberg's loving travelogue from St. Paul. The story has amassed 15,000+ views and counting, which, based on my napkin arithmetic, amounts to roughly 5% of the capital city's population. We love to see it, folks.

In the spirit of discovering new pockets of our backyard, I'll ask you: What are some other parts of the greater Twin Cities metro that summon your curiosity?

Personally, I may have become White Bear Lake-pilled last weekend! I found WBL's old downtown quite charming, and immediately dialed up Zillow to browse the (very limited) selection of pre-war houses. (It's important for readers to know I've never lived outside of Minneapolis proper; the farthest I've lived from my childhood home is eight miles—aka the Eminem special.)

Share your questions, observations, and/or neato factoids about other under-discussed places in the country's 16th largest constellation of cities.

Or don't!

It's Friday Open Thread, meaning you can gab about whatever the hell you'd like. Even the very fun new song from Olivia Rodrigo:

More Stories

Proposed MPS Closures: ‘An Assault on our Students’ Sense of Security’

Plus lead water pipes still common in MN, weird Jesse Ventura gossip, and the Mats and Ducks celebrate anniversaries in today's Flyover news roundup.

2026 Minnesota Lynx Postmortem: How’d the WNBA’s Best Team Implode in the Playoffs?

Making sense of this week's postseason collapse in New York—and what comes next.

October 2, 2026

You Must Rank the Seasons in This Week’s Open Thread

As we do every Friday, we're turning Racket over to you, the readers.

October 2, 2026

Freeloader Friday: 127 Free Things To Do This Weekend

Fall fests, Oktoberfests, and a party in Hamline Midway.

Watch Becca Good Speak Publicly for the First Time About ICE Killing Her Partner Renee Good

Plus multiple St. Paul dramas, student test score databases, and new LGBTQ+ mags in today's Flyover news roundup.

October 1, 2026