Skip to Content
Opinion

Friday Open Thread: Better Knowing Our Twin Cities

TGIF. Let's chat.

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:

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Racket

If This Flag Offends You, We’ll Help You Pack

Plus skinny fish, rockin' plates, and daring fashion in today's Flyover news roundup.

For This Week’s Open Thread, It’s Your Turn to Remember Some Dead Restaurants

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

‘Minnesota Hardcore’ Producer David Roth Is the Ken Burns of Twin Cities Punk

No one is documenting Minnesota's music history like the comics artist turned filmmaker.

April 24, 2026

Freeloader Friday: 75 Free Things To Do This Weekend

Indie Bookstore Day! Smash burgers! Plant and clothing shops!

April 24, 2026

Is Terrorizing/Abducting Children BAD? It Happened at Least 70 Times During Operation Metro Surge.

Plus MPD's bungled investigations, bye-bye Basilica, and Walz on Kimmel in today's Flyover news roundup.

See all posts