Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
A St. Paul City Council Scandal, Told via Emails
Something potentially weird is going on over in St. Paul, and this story has got it all: mishandled money, romance rumors, and a dude who may or may not have done something shady. Intriguing!
Earlier this year, St. Paul Council Member Anika Bowie was on the hunt for a legislative aide. So fellow Council Member Cheniqua Johnson suggested Jon Berry, a friend with a background in marketing. Berry was hired, and, according to this thorough paper trail reconstruction from Frederick Melo at the Pioneer Press, he was fired about five months later.
“Jon was involved in unauthorized spending… specifically regarding a work trip,” Bowie emailed the city attorney’s office at the time. “During the trip, I attended all the scheduled events and did not see him present at any of the conference panels, tours, or events… he was expected to attend.”
But you can’t keep a marketing dude down. A few weeks later Berry discovered that he had been hired for a City Hall executive assistant gig… this time by Johnson, the CM who had previously vouched for him. Once again, Bowie took to email with a letter of concern. “These allegations, while not confirmed, raised significant concerns about his ability to maintain professional objectivity and integrity,” she wrote in a section titled “Rumors of Intimate Relationships.”
Melo notes that an investigation is pending.
T-Wolves and Lynx A/V Crews Go Union
It’s official: The in-house audio-visual crews for both of Minnesota’s pro basketball teams voted Tuesday to join IATSE Local 745, the country's largest broadcast union with over 200 members. This is the A/V crew’s second attempt at unionization, the first being in 2016 after management classified the unit as independent contractors—a classic move. "After four raises in 35 years, this crew understood that it was time for an IATSE contract," says IATSE Local 745 Business Representative Charlie Cushing via release.
Just last month, reports emerged that Glen Taylor, the Republican billionaire owner of both pro teams, was engaging in "union busting" tactics. Welp, didn't work! This move will make the T-Wolves and Lynx the second and third teams to have unionized in-house crews. Minnesota United FC was the first to do so in 2022.
At Last! The Dylan Biopic Review Embargo Has Lifted!
Last week, the Twin Cities was in full Chalamania mode after Hollywood superstar Timothee Chalamet came to town to promote A Complete Unknown, where he plays noted Minnesotan Bob Dylan.
The movie is less of a full-blown biopic and more of a slice in time, following the folk singer’s arrival in NYC’s Greenwich Village in 1961 and ending on his 1965 “Dylan goes electric” concert at the Newport Folk Festival. This week, local film critics get to weigh in on the final product and the reviews suggest that... it's a pretty OK movie!
“It’s hard not to wish that a biopic of an enigmatic, unconventional performer weren’t so utterly conventional,” writes Chris Hewitt at the Star Tribune, who also notes that Chalamet “is sensational as Dylan.”
Ross Raihala at the Pioneer Press also praises Chalamet’s performance, though he does make fun of him some, too: “Fans will adore the 28-year-old movie star’s intensely focused performance that seemingly came from the ABS—Always Be Smoking—school of method acting.” But ultimately the run-time drags, according to Raihala: “The back end gets particularly tedious with a number of repetitive scenes of uptight folkies clutching their pearls at the thought of Dylan playing rock music.”
“Where A Complete Unknown falls short is in connecting the dots between Dylan's artistic career and his personal life,” writes Jay Gabler of the Duluth News Tribune, going on to ponder if the Cuban Missile Crisis really needed “to be introduced as a plot point in Dylan's romantic history?” (There is a sneaky CMC-Duluth angle, however, as we've previously reported.)
As for Racket’s review, you’ll have till after the next screening on the 17th. (Though we did sorta review the first trailer when it dropped.) While we were invited to last week’s red carpet event/Q&A, and our own Em Cassel was featured on Chalamet’s Insta feed, we weren’t invited to the actual screening. Such is the life as an itty-bitty news org.
Wanna Buy This Historic Queen Anne Home?
No, I’m not coming for my colleague Jay's Wanna Buy? beat. But this gorgeous 19th century Queen Anne-style home is the kind of thing online real estate rubbernecking was made for.
Built in 1887, the five-bedroom, four-bathroom beauty just hit the market for $599,900—notice how they’re using the ol’ round-down-to-$.99 sales trick. Located in the Elliot Park neighborhood at 1601 Park Ave., the 3,200-square-foot home has “been altered little cosmetically from the original look since it was originally built,” according to the listing, "and boasts views of the Viking Stadium, the city skyline, and is within walking distance to the Convention Center.” You’ll also be, uh, about a block from I-94.
The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Legg House, originally home of Minnesota jewelry store owners Harry and Dora Legg. It’s one of 14 protected Queen Anne-style homes in Minneapolis; just last year this Queen Anne home, also owned by local jewelry store owners, went up for sale as well.
