T-Wolves Co-Owner Sucks

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

A-Rod at the White House

Two days after Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent on the streets of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Timberwolves held a moment of silence for what coach Chris Finch called an "unspeakable tragedy." Two weeks later, on the day Alex Pretti was killed, the Wolves postponed their game against the Golden State Warriors; when that game was played the next day, they held another moment of silence for the slain ICU nurse.

Anyway, here's their grinning d-bag co-owner pictured with the man whose invasion of Minnesota led to their deaths:

Hard to overstate how much this sucks. A-Rod went to the White House Thursday for an event honoring soccer star Lionel Messi and his club Inter Miami, according to the Strib, which surely he could just... not have done? I mean, you couldn't pay me to sit down and play nice with the guy who once called me “the biggest sports embarrassment of all time,” but I guess some of us are spineless, infamously dishonest little rats.

Gotta love this kicker from the Strib's Chris Hine, though...

Trump referenced potentially involving Rodriguez in some government action or policy involving Cuba during his remarks. Rodriguez, who grew up in Miami and still lives there, is of Dominican descent.

“What’s happening in Cuba is amazing and we think that we want to fix, finish this one first but that will be just a question of time before you and a lot of unbelievable people are going to be going back to Cuba,” Trump said.

In other Trump news from Friday: The Justice Department just posted three FBI interviews with a woman who claims the president sexually assaulted her when she was a young teen; Jeffrey Epstein allegedly introduced them.

Oi! Oi! On-the-move! Extreme Noise Records Relocating.

Back in 2024, we checked in with longtime Extreme Noise volunteer Phil Schwarz ahead of his punk rock record shop's 30th anniversary.

"As long as we have a dedicated volunteer base, we'll be able to keep moving forward," he said when asked about the financials, adding that the resurgence of physical media like vinyl and cassette tapes has Extreme Noise in a "pretty good" spot. "We've been able to grow our stock, and I think we have some of the best selections in the entire country if not the world." 

Fast-forward to Friday, and we've learned that Extreme Noise will relocate for the first time in 26 years. Once it packs up at Lyn-Lake, the Minneapolis store will reopen for business on May 1 at 3535 E. Lake St.—aka the ol' Nostalgia Zone Comics. (Time Bomb and Nostalgia Zone expanded into the neighboring Prairie Woodworking space last month, Longfellow Whatever reports.)

"This decision didn’t come lightly," reads an announcement on Extreme Noise's Instagram. "But for the purpose of longevity and to be close to many like minded small businesses like Cloudland, Nostalgia Zone, and Time Bomb Vintage, we are excited about this new opportunity."

Hours and operations at the soon-to-be-former Extreme Noise address will continue as normal, the Insta post continues, before "this new chapter" opens three miles down Lake Street. May it be as noisy and fun as the previous ones.

Breaking: Beer and Food Coming to South Minneapolis

We’ve got a twofer of fun news for folks in south Minneapolis. First up, something called Bill’s Bait Shop is coming to the former Chicago Taste Authority location at 3101 42nd St. E. Named after owner Jami Olson’s grandpa, a press release promises a blend of “Northwoods cabin charm with the familiarity of a classic neighborhood dive bar.”

Personally, I (Jessica) am expecting cheap beer, a solid old fashioned, and live worms. J.D. Duggan writes at Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal that the menu will include “burgers, oysters, smoked trout dip, tinned fish, bagel sandwiches, walleye po’boy and a ‘killer hot dog.’” Sounds legit, based on Bill’s first (and only) Instagram post.

Olson’s other spots include Bina’s, Everywhen Burger Bar, Hippo Pockets, Vivir, and Centro, all of which are under the growing Centro Restaurant Group umbrella. Bill’s is aiming to open in June.

Meanwhile, the always excellent Longfellow Whatever newsletter has a scoop on a new business moving into the former One on One Bike Shop space at the corner of 45th & Minnehaha. Mixed Culture will be part coffee shop, part brewery, and, possibly, part bike shop. Owners Qiuxia and Kevin Welch, founders of Boom Island Brewing, say they’ll feature Belgium-style brews as well as other varieties on tap. There’s also potential for a huge beer garden. They hope to open sometime later this year.

What’s Our Mayor Been Up To?

We’re so consistently mean to Mayor Jacob Frey around here, sometimes we wonder if we’re being unfair. Sure, we don’t agree with the guy all the time, but maybe we could be more civil in our appraisal of his efforts. Maybe he’s doing the best he can. 

But nah. While council members are out in the streets protecting their constituents, and an ordinance to pause evictions awaits his signature, Frey is out there doing centrist podcasts. This time Frey chatted with Steve Schmidt of the “Save America Movement.” as part of something called “The Fighting Democrat Series.” 

Schmidt is a co-founder of the anti-Trump Republican group the Lincoln Project. But while he’s putatively now on “our side,” the Karl Rove protegee who served as point man for the Bush Administration’s drive to put Sam Alito on the Supreme Court has a lot to atone for. And even though Schmidt’s now a registered Dem, he says, he belongs to the same wing of the party as union-busting Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, whose potential presidential campaign he advised.

I’m not gonna listen to the whole thing (it’s Friday, for crissakes) but dipping in here and there I hear Frey making the sort of statements he always does on the national stage. It’s the sort of performance that makes him sound like a noble warrior to people who don’t live here. 

The reviews are certainly on his side. “He clearly loves his city and has done right by the people there,” one commenter raves. As they say on Wikipedia, [citation needed].