Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
More Like Jesse "The Body HIGH" Ventura
Enough tortured puns for ya? Great, let's get to the meat of the matter: Former Gov. Jesse Ventura claims current Gov. Tim Walz told him that full cannabis legalization is coming soon to Minnesota. The Body/Mind said as much Wednesday on his Governor's Office Clubhouse show, which he co-hosts with his son Tyrell. "The governor reassured me that one of the first items that will be passed Minnesota, get ready, cannabis is going to have its prohibition lifted," said Ventura, a longtime weed-backer and recent Walz-backer. If/when the governor signs a bill into law, Ventura might be by his side; "this started with you so you deserve to be there," Walz told Ventura—per Ventura.
This past 4/20, Walz pledged his support for legalization and the expungement of THC-related criminal convictions. Such a move became possible Tuesday, when the DFL seized the state government power trifecta for the first time since 2014, thus allowing the fast-tracking of all sorts of crazy laws. Certain edibles and drinkables were accidentally legalized this past summer by Republicans, as you learned all about during Racket's recent Weed Week slate of crispy, crunchy journalism.
Target Says It Plans to Build Bigger Targets, Pretends That Super Targets Don't Exist
Forget the elections: Local news has been making much ado today over what Target Corp. calls its “next evolution.” Much like a Pokémon, the Minneapolis-based retail giant hopes to grow into a more powerful being. That means less attention to bespoke “baby” Targets like the one in Uptown, focusing instead on building a new breed of Target, one that is ever-so-slightly bigger than a normal Target store. According to Target’s press release, these new locations will be around 150,000 square feet, which is about 20,000 square feet above the average regular store size. “Guests and team members tell us they come to Target because they feel inspired, connected, and welcomed,” Executive VP John Mulligan says of people who surely exist. “With our reimagined store design and larger store footprint… we can build on our commitment to sustainability, community, and helping all families discover the joy of everyday life.”
But wait a minute. Doesn’t this sound familiar? Target already has a giant version of its store. It’s called… a “Super Target.” There are about 239 of these things in the U.S., and their “footprint” is typically between 175,000-200,000 square feet. However, although these behemoths still exist, Target retired the “Super” term in 2015 when it decided that smaller, curated Targets were the wave of the future. So is this actually a de-evolution? Guess that’s what you gotta do to compete with the nimbleness of Amazon.
They're Taking the Hobbits to TC Con!
This morning, Twin Cities Con announced two big names are joining them at the Minneapolis Convention Center this year: Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, aka The Lord of the Rings' Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee! Wow, this is the biggest reunion for these two since Sam's wife died in year 61 of the Fourth Age and he left Bag End to sail across the sea and be with Frodo in the Undying Lands.
...anyway! Twin Cities Con runs from November 11-13, and the lineup also includes a handful of wrestlers (Mick Foley, Britt Baker, Jungle Boy), cast members from Power Rangers and Apex Legends, and sci-fi and comic book writers including Timothy Zahn and Larry Hama. (Wood and Astin will appear on November 12 and 13.) You can find all the info, along with tickets and whatnot, here.
Who Let the Hogs Out?
A runaway pet pig became a cult hero, of s(n)orts, Tuesday in St. Paul's Mac Groveland neighborhood. The sneaky swine was "very quickly" returned to its proper owner, Animal Control officials tell WCCO. Aww. Click here for inside-baseball intrigue regarding our pals at Bring Me the News, who feared X-rated readings of their hog headline.
