Our 20 Favorite Racket Stories of 2023
Each staffer picked five faves that they reported/wrote in '23.
Thanks for reading during our second full year of existence! If you're happy to see these types of stories in the Twin Cities, please help support our worker-owned, reader-funded independent newsroom.
My Bleak Day at the Star-Studded, Get-Rich-Quick Jesus Jamboree
Around 4,000 Christians flocked to a suburban megachurch to hear from Tim Tebow, a 'Duck Dynasty' guy, and a parade of godly salesmen.
Why Do We Still Pretend That the Replacements Should Have Become Real Rock Stars?
If you're not careful, an exciting new mix of 1985's 'Tim' will fill you with regret.
How Minneapolis’s Sign Painters Keep the City’s Spirit Alive
As the city evolves—for better and worse—its hand-painted signs remain a colorful celebration of small businesses.
There’s a Massive, Hidden Lake of Mining Residue Above the North Shore. It Might Grow.
A plan to expand Milepost 7 by 650 acres is working through the permitting process.
‘Passion for the Hole’: The Uptown Sinkhole Has Become a Social Hotspot
A gaping Minneapolis sinkhole emerged over the weekend. It's already bringing gawkers and partyers together.
Is Touring Even Worth It?
A half-dozen Twin Cities musicians break down the harsh economics of touring—and explain why they still hit the road anyway.
It’s Time for Twin Cities Chefs to Embrace Spam
Spam is beloved throughout the world, created and produced right here in Minnesota, and, thanks to celeb chefs and social media, more popular than ever. Why don’t more local restaurants appreciate it?
Northern Pyre Wants to Bring Open-Air Cremation to Minnesota
It's what our Viking ancestors would have wanted.
‘It’s Your Job to Keep It Moving’: A 30th Anniversary Oral History of Radio K
The best radio station in town launched on October 1, 1993.
Why Are So Many of the Twin Cities’ Newest Restaurants Growing So Fast?
From Slice Brothers to Bebe Zito to Boludo, independent restaurants are expanding at an unprecedented clip.
What Killed the Twin Cities Music Festivals?
Festivals popped up throughout the greater metro area for two decades. They've mostly vanished.
This Twin Cities Artist Makes Adorable Tiny Food You Can Wear
Tiny waffles? Pffft. How about tiny bags of marinating chicken?
I Saw 30 Concerts in 30 Days
From the most fledgling indie upstarts to the biggest pop stars, from the tiny Jazz Central to the gargantuan U.S. Bank Stadium, here's what I heard and where I heard it.
How Did Covid Change Twin Cities Restaurants? We’re Still Finding Out.
Disappearing happy hours, higher food costs and menu prices, enduring labor shortages. Three years after the pandemic halted indoor dining, here’s what’s changed for restaurants and the people who love them.
My Teen Niece Helps Explain the Taylor Swift Show I Saw on Saturday
We discuss a bout with 'Taylor Swift amnesia,' why it is not OK to propose at a Taylor Swift concert, and how not even Taylor Swift can get teenage girls to listen to the National.
‘Muralism Is up, and People Are Paying Attention’: Chroma Zone Fest Returns
How one mural project is redefining the look of a neighborhood, and who gets to design it.
So Many Gecs, So Little Time
Auto-Tune, guitar shredding, booming beats, a very sweet song about a frog—the hyperpop duo had the smartest kind of dumb fun at the Armory.
Let’s Take a Ride with a Minneapolis Bike Bus
A fun, community-building way to get to class might also be the future of school transportation.
Native Photographers Control the Narrative in Mia’s ‘In Our Hands’ Exhibit
'Native people are and have always been more than capable of telling our own stories,' says co-curator/artist Jaida Grey Eagle.
A Vampiric Hedge Fund Is Eating the Pioneer Press Alive
Alden Global Capital became involved with the PiPress 17 years ago. Minnesota's oldest newspaper has shrunk by over 80% since.
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