Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Defense Official: Hegseth Rant Could Have Been an Email
The U.S. defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, is a meathead at heart. "It was clear from the beginning which parts of the job Hegseth most enjoyed: working out, posting about working out, and discussing the imminent removal of trans servicemembers," New York Magazine's Kerry Howley wrote in June of his early days at the Pentagon.
So it kinda makes sense that when Hegseth called an unprecedented military summit for hundreds of elite commanders this Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, the Minnesota native went full angry CrossFit trainer mode, calling our troops “fat.” (You can watch his full presentation here; I don't recommend it.)
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations—and frankly any formations—and see fat troops,” he said onstage, announcing new twice-yearly “male level” fitness tests for combat forces. “It’s unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon, and leading all around the world.”
His speech also included rants against DEI policies, “identity months,” and trans people in general in the military, encouraging folks who didn’t agree with him to resign—a questionable sales pitch considering the military has struggled to meet recruitment goals over the past few years, going so far as to even lower standards.
"You kill people and break things for a living. You are not politically correct and don’t necessarily belong always in polite society. You are warriors," he said, before concluding with a prayer for troops’ safety.
Meanwhile, the Daily Beast is reporting that Hegseth “is crawling out of his skin” with anxiety these days. "There’s a manic quality about him. Or let me rephrase, an even more manic quality, which is really saying something,” an insider tells the outlet.
Lynx’s Napheesa Collier Goes Nuclear on WNBA Leadership
Basketball megastar Napheesa Collier alleges that there is even more drama going on behind the scenes at the WNBA—and there’s already a lot happening on the scene. The WNBA has the “worst leadership in the world,” the Minnesota Lynx forward said at a press conference today. Collier is currently recovering from a season-ending injury, suffered during a play that many believe should have elicited a foul. (Coach Cheryl Reeve was ejected from the game and fined for arguing with the ref; other coaches have publicly spoken out in support of her.)
There’s also the issue of money. The WNBA is currently negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, and Collier alleges hostility between players and management. When Collier asked WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert why major athletes like Caitlin Clark made so little money (her salary this year was $78,066), she responded, per Collier, that “without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.”
“I think it’s time that people know what is happening, the way that the league is not valuing us the way that we need to be valued,” Collier says.
Town Hall Is the Last Bar Standing at Seven Corners in Minneapolis?
Kinda! At Seven Corners proper Republic is long gone, Bullwinkle’s was condemned, and Corner Bar was pushed out by new building owners. Down the street Palmer’s just closed, though there’s still hard-luck Acadia Cafe and the Red Sea, where you can enjoy a variety of Ethiopian beers among the Summits and Surly on tap. Triple Rock, Nomad, Viking Bar, and 400 Bar? All West Bank history.
And then there’s Town Hall Brewery, which has been at the once-busy Seven Corners intersection for nearly 25 years. But for how much longer? Owner Pete Rifakes tells Nick Halter at Axios that business is down 40% since 2019, and that the area has safety issues—something that Palmer’s employees said they struggled with as well. "I don't want to say that the city doesn't care about the neighborhood, but they seem to throw money and attention to other areas of the city, which they don't do here," he says, adding that business is good at the brewery's other outposts—Town Hall Tap and Town Hall Lanes.
Sad Health Reports Emerge on First Ave’s Conrad Sverkerson
Many of us have never known a First Avenue without Conrad Sverkerson. He started working as First Ave's stage manager in 1990, and even has his own star on the side of the building.
"I look at it more as being like a babysitter," Sverkerson told 89.3 the Current's Andrea Swensson of his job in this really sweet interview from 2012. "It's fun, because every day is different. I generally ride my bicycle to work, and I'm, a lot of of times, going 'what the heck is going to happen today?'"
The details are sparse right now, but a CaringBridge has been set up for Sverkerson, and folks on Facebook and other socials have been inviting friends and colleagues to send warm messages his way. "Go tell Conrad you love him while you still can," Damon Barna, First Ave's director of operations, writes. (Messages sent through CaringBridge will be read to him, but Barna notes that donations don’t go to Conrad.)
