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

After the ICE Invasion, We Must Invest in Public Schools

The priorities of Mayor Jacob Frey and MPD reveal 'a kind of moral rot that must be addressed head on.'

March 31, 2026

Police Report: Reps. Engen, Hudson Had Booze Bottle in Baby Seat, Gun Inside Car

Plus funeral bread, more on the horrors of Whipple, and let's admire Chicago's Abolish ICE plow in today's Flyover news roundup.

Every Smoothie at Parcelle, Ranked

Because if you're gonna get a spendy smoothie, you've gotta know which one's the best.

Sorry, Rep. Engen’s Apparent DUI Arrest Is Hilarious for at Least 5 Reasons

Plus Craig loves crypto, an update on immigrant rights, and the return of How to Help in today's Flyover news roundup.

See all posts