Hope You’ve Got a Long Weekend. If Not, You’ve Still Got This Friday Open Thread.

Well, there's sure plenty to talk about this long 4th of July weekend.

As we celebrate (or don't) an always fraught holiday, the city of Minneapolis is making some *extremely Minnesotan voice* interesting choices. Taste of Minnesota returns this weekend, which means "downtown Minneapolis is back" again, etc. But the Stone Arch Bridge will be closed before sundown (a decision made without community input, and apparently not made by the MPRB), signaling that not everyone is welcome to our "revitalized" urban space. And though I've personally never been a big fireworks guy, it's hard to get excited about a big civic laser show on Boom Island.

In short, Independence Day is dumb, the rulers of downtown Minneapolis don't care what you think, and, uh, laser show. On the plus side, a long weekend (if you're fortunate enough to have one) gives you plenty of time to catch up on any Racket stories you missed.

As always, talk about whatever you want in the comments. We'll be back on Wednesday, which seems like ages from now.