Is Minnesota in Danger of Flipping Red?

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.

Could Blue Wave Skip MN?

If you've been within 100 feet of a TV, radio, newspaper, or computer during the past six months, you've no doubt identified the issue Minnesota Republicans view as a unique and dangerous Minnesota Democrat vulnerability: fraud.

New Republic reporter Ana Marie Cox has a new piece out headlined, "Weirdly, There’s One Blue State the Blue Wave Might Not Reach," and—surprise!—fraud is reportedly the thing that could hamstring Minnesota Dems on Tuesday. Here's the nut graf, though we encourage you to spike your election eve anxiety by reading the whole thing:

Sealed in the national consciousness as the center of resistance to Trump’s brutal immigration policies, Minnesota has crept under the radar as a place where the blue wave could fizzle or even fail. Republicans sense a once-in-a-generation chance to flip at least one statewide seat and perhaps make gains in the precariously balanced legislature. Their spending reflects that optimism: For the first time in recent memory, they’ve spent more than the Democrats in the state, even pouring millions into relatively obscure downballot races. They’ve pinned their hopes on voters wanting to punish Democrats for failing to contain a multimillion-dollar federal welfare scam that is still producing arrests and prosecutions. And their hopes are Democrats’ concerns. “It’s a real problem that [they’re] hitting on,” one senior Democratic staffer told me. Worse, the story lines up with preexisting liberal stereotypes: “It’s proving the Republicans right.”

In related news: The Strib recently interviewed 100 swing district voters about whether they're convinced DFLers will halt fraud (gift link), and relentless Republican messaging on the issue is proving persuasive. On the other hand, new polling from KSTP/SurveyUSA has Democrats leading in every statewide race, with the ratios inching leftward as election day looms. Minnesota Republicans haven't notched a statewide W in 20 years—famous last words?

Sandwiches, Burgers Ranked by Local Media

When a Minnesota media outlet picks the state's 25 best sandwiches, as the Star Tribune did Monday (gift link), you know we must discuss. My initial quibble? The supremely hacky headline of "25 Minnesota sandwiches that are the best thing since sliced bread"—cut the cutesy, Cretaceous-era clichés like, well, a slicer through bread!

Moving right along, the Strib team did a nice job with this sprawling, beautifully shot listicle. I've had the the spicy chicken from Khue’s Kitchen (out of this world), the banh mi from Mi-Sant (top notch), the Cajun Finn from Northern Waters Smokehaus (local legend), the grilled beef banh mi from Banh Mi House (killer new spot), the roast beef from Clancey’s (bread's too tough but I get it), the Raffi Luigi from Marty’s Deli (amore mio!), the Eddie from Little Bird Delicatessen (love that bread), and I'm dying to try every other entry. (Racket's Em Cassel has also previously gushed about the Daisy Melt from Shepherds Table.) Sandwiches, in my humble opinion, rock.

And ya know something? So do burgers. Privy to that is the Pioneer Press, who each year assemble a best-of burger breakdown. Published late last month, this installment features 65 burgs broken into four categories—off the beaten path, neighborhood spots, paired with a drink, and "cheffy." (I'd share gift links, but the cursed PiPress site barely functions; you can score a year-long sub right now for $1 to explore for yourself.) Newish Racket subjects Burger Daddies, Angry Line Cook, Wells Roadside, Bill's Bait Shop, and Station No. 6 all made the cut, as did classics like Lion's Tap and Bull's Horn. I'd say there's "a lot to chew on here," but what am I, a Strib headline writer?

Mayor Frey is Fighting YOU... Developers

On the left it's always fashionable to attack center-left mayors as lapdogs to capital, visionless grovelers who exist only to obsequiously grease wheels for business interests. And sometimes those mayors say the quiet part aloud.

Consider, for instance, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaking to a room filled with hundreds of developers at last week's RE Journal Downtown Minneapolis Summit. Taking "a desperate tone," per Nick Halter of Axios Twin Cities, Frey and Council Member Michael Rainville attempted to woo their real estate pro audience with promises of tax-increment financing to help convert office towers into apartments.

"If you don't ask and therefore you don't get the thing approved and therefore you didn't get the investment, don't come crying to me because you didn't ask to begin with," Frey scolded/pleaded. "We want to help you."

"Don't give up on downtown," Rainville added. "We're here to help you with your investment—to make you rich, to help you prosper."

Have these guys ever sounded this committed, on any issue, to constituents who don't drive BMWs? (And let's be real, these suits vote for the mayor of Dellwood.) Halter points out under the helpful Axios "Reality check" prompt that state and federal tax breaks are already historically generous, and that hard-to-get loans, construction costs, and low rents are stalling development.

Hermantown Data Center Advances

Earlier this year I spent time reporting in Hermantown, Minnesota, the 10,221-resident Duluth suburb where Google wants to build a 1.7 million-square-foot hyperscale data center. My story focused on the fight to stop it, with homeowner Bob Kohlmeier telling me, “We’re just a little ol’ David vs. Goliath, but we’re gonna fight. This is our home and we will fight. And I think we’re gonna win.”

Late Friday night, after multiple delays caused by "vehement local opposition," the Hermantown City Council unanimously approved Google's plan for the 200-acre project, Dan Kraker reports for MPR News. (Independent reporter Nikki Davidson compiled this "warp-speed" video detailing the heated lead up to the vote.) Attendance at the meeting was restricted to 85 people, much to the chagrin of grassroots org Stop the Hermantown Data Center. “You've changed as little as possible to legally say that you listened,” local man Richard Hilton told council members. “We are angry that our local city council is representing a corporation instead of the citizens that they are supposed to."

Kraker notes that the project will consume 500 megawatts of electricity, roughly the same amount required to power the combined homes of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, and Rochester. Cool! The resolutions passed Friday represent "the last major local" hurdle Google needed to clear, though three lawsuits, zoning minutia, land ownership issues, and approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission remain obstacles the tech giant must clear before powering AI slop seven miles from Lake Superior.

SEVEN (!) Moose Spotted Together in Grand Marais

In this rare fifth Flyover entry, I present you super-cool footage taken this fall by photographer/Fisherman's Daughter co-owner Katie Slanga. Enjoy!