Jesse Ventura Hopes You Got Time to Read

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.

Die First Then Subscribe

What’s former Minnesota governor/former professional wrestler/former Navy SEAL/former podcaster/former MSNBC host/former truTV host/former Russian state-television show host/former defamation litigant Jesse Ventura up to these days? Well, like every other person who gets shut out by the mainstream media for habitually saying things that may or may not be true, he’s headed to Substack, the newsletter publishing platform that's become the last refuge for the disaffected huckster. (Here's mine, by the way. Don't subscribe: I'm too busy over here to keep it going.) I’m not entirely sure that the written word is Mr. The Body’s ideal medium, but Die First Then Quit will also likely offer more entertaining videos like this, where he calls out “Democrips and Rebloodlicans” and leaves you wondering whether he’s a true-blue nutball or an absolute master of his schtick. And I’m guessing we’ll hear less about Jesse’s more reasonable positions—marijuana legalization, concerns about the TSA, fears over the military-industrial complex—and more along the lines of his dubious contention that the U.S. government had plans to launch a biological was against "dissidents" and round up the survivors in FEMA camps. Racket looks forward to his future as a former newsletter publisher.

Not to Kick a Guy When He’s Down But…

Dozens of Minnesotans were crushed to learn yesterday that Cory Hepola will not be their next governor. Hepola, who’d hoped to represent Andrew Yang’s largely imaginary “Forward Party” in the upcoming election, was running on a platform of… well, he never quite got around to that part. It had something to do with polarization being bad, and purple being good, and, um, blockchain maybe? While some reports say Hepola “withdrew” from the race, it seems more likely that he didn’t get enough signatures to get on the ballot: Last week, a campaign worker on Reddit said they had 570 of the 2,000 signatures required. And if 2,000 people don’t think you should even run for governor, it’s obviously time to make other plans. (Unless you’re a serial campaigner like Richard Painter. Then you just move on to the next doomed race.) Ever notice how these guys who want to change politics never run for a smaller office that they can win, where they could make a difference? Hepola politely declined an exit interview with Racket.

That's A Mara 

Hey, did you know that Gavin Kaysen's new Four Seasons Hotel restaurant opens tonight? If you follow the Star Tribune's food coverage, you sure do—they've written about it thrice during the last week. Is it that big of a deal? For you, probably not. "DREAMED OF BY MANY, TASTED BY FEW," the Four Seasons cuisine website boasts, and due to certain socioeconomic factors, we'd bet most Racket readers (certainly all four Racket staffers) are the "many" in that equation. "After the last couple years—with the pandemic holding on, inflation hammering families, war in Europe and turmoil at home, and Minneapolis still in recovery mode—five-star hotel dining under Murano glass chandeliers in a gleaming downtown tower is out of reach for many Minnesotans. Yet for others, it's a refuge," per the Strib's coverage. Oh, thank goodness.

It is a big deal for Kaysen, though, and for Mara, the first of two restaurants he'll open at the brand-new downtown hotel, and, to a larger extent, for Minneapolis, which is still clawing its way into "respectable food town" territory. Four Seasons restaurants have 25 Michelin stars among them and a certain cache that will confuse those who've spent more stays in Super 8s and Days Inns. Though Minneapolis and St. Paul don't make the Michelin guide (likely due to a failure of bribery), being in their company elevates Kaysen's industry status and the station of his Soigné Hospitality group (Demi, Spoon and Stable, Bellecour Bakery). And Mara will certainly be a lovely place, for those who can reach it. It opens tonight. 

Plant Man Playfully Terrorizes Bridge Crossers

How often have you been crossing the Stone Arch Bridge and thinking, “I wish a person disguised as a plant would startle me?” More than you can count, I’m sure! Well, you shoulda been there yesterday. This plant guy would have surprised you, and then you’d both have had a good laugh about it. Thanks for tweetin’, Melanie Walby!