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These Colors (Blue and White) Don't Run
When Minnesota unfurled its new state flag in 2024, not everyone was quick to salute the new design. Among the doubters was Kate Beane, a Dakota tribal member who served on the commission to select the finalist. But as Beane tells MinnPost’s Bill Lindeke, events have changed her response to the new flag.
“I realized over time, especially over the last four months, that the flag was used as a unifying force here in the Twin Cities,” Beane says. “I love it now.”
It’s hard not to concur. Even if you were lukewarm on the new design, seeing the flag arise as a symbol of freedom and neighborly spirit as Minnesota resisted the ICE incursion is likely to change how you feel.
Then again, if you’re an asshole, it’s possible these events made you dislike the new flag more. Egged on by dead-enders in the state GOP, municipalities like Elk River, Champlin, and North Branch have chosen to continue to fly the old, racist (and, let's face it, hideous) state flag as a symbol of... hmm.
“Flying the old Minnesota flag now is akin to flaunting the confederate banner well after the end of the Civil War—always a racist, retrograde gesture,” says Lindeke. And yep, that about sums it up.
Oh, Great, There's a "Zombie" Lake Trout Outbreak In Lake Superior
Lake trout, in their natural state, are big beautiful queens with bellies that bulge majestically as they go about their fishy days 1,300 feet below Lake Superior. But recently off the shores of Michigan scientists discovered lake trout so emaciated that they've been dubbed "zombie fish," Dan Kraker reports for MPR News.
Sea for yourself (hate the ailment; love the splashy font):
Michigan Department of Natural Resources biologist Shawn Sitar says the fish appear starved, and that the condition is impacting four sub-species that live in especially deep waters, down where fatty physiques are key to survival. “We saw 50 percent of our catch in deep water looking like these zombies,” Sitar says of one netful his team pulled up last year. “Something was wrong in deep water areas."
Or is anything wrong? Researchers aren't sure what's causing the gaunt critters, and whether or not they'll present long-term issues to the lake's ecosystem. They'll try to determine what's causing the skinny fish, “and then, if something is necessary, what we can do to prevent that from being a problem,” Greg McClinchey of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission says.
Can we be certain this isn't a matter of the trout using GLP-1 drugs for cosmetic and health purposes? Wisely, Kraker didn't ask.
No Gun Control, but Lawmakers Pass Rockin' New License Plates
On Friday the Star Tribune's Nathaniel Minor assembled a nice rundown of all the heavy, contentious issues the narrowly divided Minnesota Legislature must iron out before the current session ends May 18—anti-fraud bills, billions in bonding requests, the small matter of keeping HCMC alive.
Earlier this week at Axios, meanwhile, Torey Van Oot flagged one bill that soared through the Senate on a 48-18 bipartisan vote: We're getting a new specialty license plate design intended to celebrate our state parks and it'll feature Minnesota's official State Gem, the Lake Superior Agate. "If there is an anti-agate faction, it has so far remained quiet," the Strib reported last month as the legislation skipped, rock-like, across the Capitol.
"This bill rocks, quite literally, but more importantly it brings people together around something uniquely Minnesotan," Sen. Grant Hauschild (DFL-Hermantown) says. Tell that to fellow shoreline enjoyers Canada, Michigan, and Wisconsin, buddy! Just kidding, please don't, we anticipate the new design will look neat, but sadly no renderings were available at press time.
Man In Dan Flashes-Esque Goosebumps Shirt Wins $260K Treasure Island Jackpot
Nobody, far as we can tell, really reads Racket for casino news.
But Friday morning we received a press release from Welch, Minnesota's Treasure Island Resort & Casino that grabbed our attention not for the subject matter (man wins major jackpot), but rather... what that big winner was wearing when he became a quarter-millionaire. On Wednesday night Eric P. from Tukwila, Washington, did indeed score a $259,644.10 progressive blackjack jackpot, the second-highest table games total ever doled out by The Island. In our estimation, however, the real headline news comes via the handout photo below.
Have a spookily winning weekend, everybody.
