Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Minneapolis's Shame Is New York's Hero
The bar is so low. In the never-ending centrist quest to find the least worst Republican, the New York Times Editorial Board lavishes praise on enemy-of-our-enemy Liz Cheney for taking one reasonable stance in her career. (Remember when Minnesota Democrat Dean Phillips was actually campaigning for her? And I’m sure she’ll return the favor, lol.) But buried in the editorial “Why Political Bravery Is in Such Short Supply in America” is this locally angled anecdote: “When Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis refused to commit to defunding the police amid a crowd of protesters after the murder of George Floyd, he was booed away, leaving to jeers of ‘Shame! Shame!’”
Yes, bravery is getting booed for supporting the most mainstream policy position available, weaseling out of communicating what you actually intend to do about a problem, and raking in the financial support of the city establishment. (Here’s a clip of Mayor Profile in Courage’s statement to protesters.) Seems like there’s another Minnesota elected official worth mentioning who often bucks her party line, except from the left—but being a progressive outlier is never brave, just senseless, I guess.
You Can Finally Stream the Wolves, Wild
Bally Sports, the exclusive-rights holder to Wolves, Wild, and Twins games, answered roaring consumer demand Wednesday by announcing a standalone streamer that'll allow cable-less sports fans to root, root, root for the home team(s). Two major Bally Sports+ drawbacks became immediately evident: The cost ($20 per month or $190 annually—or FOUR Racket subscriptions), and the glaring omission (Twins games). As Michael Rand notes in the Strib, including 162 Twins games would do a whole lot to justify that premium price tag. As it stands, the only way to access Bally Sports North without an exorbitant cable package is paying DirecTV Stream an (exorbitant) monthly fee of $90. Bally Sports+ will debut on Sept. 26; read the company's FAQ page here.
PSA: Don't Open Up Manholes, Unless You Have the City's Consent
It’s after midnight on a weekday and you’re looking for an adventure. Maybe something that will include EMTs and the fire department? What do you do? You grab a friend, go outside, and open up a manhole cover, of course. Maybe you gaze down, in hopes of seeing a Ninja Turtle or Pennywise or something kinda cool...
Look, we have no idea why you would actually do this (maybe if you're an urban explorer?), but a young woman and her friend opened up a manhole cover on a St. Paul sidewalk last night at West Fifth and Washington streets near Rice Park, and, somehow, the woman fell 25 feet into the sewer. A rescue team was called at around 1 a.m., and it took about an hour to lift her out. Thankfully, she went to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, but hey, she made the news and (hopefully) learned a valuable lesson.
$1.5 Million Is a Lot of Change
How about a little good news to close things out? Appetite for Change, the nonprofit that works on expanding healthy food options in north Minneapolis, announced its biggest donation yet, an anonymous drop of $1.5 million. “We have spent the last year really focusing on building infrastructure throughout the organization so the timing is perfect,” Tasha Powell, the org’s co-founder and president said in a statement. AFC’s projects include the West Broadway Farmers Market, Breaking Bread Cafe & Catering, youth training, multiple community gardens, and community meal deliveries. You can find a whole bunch more about them at the link above.
