Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Hero Saint Bernard Saved From Mud by Hero Bachelor Party Canoeists
It's the perfect local news story: This weekend, a group of guys traveling down the Minnesota River by canoe found a Saint Bernard buried up to his neck in thick mud—and they saved him! Groom Mitch White and the other members of his paddling bachelor party heard the pup, Ed, when he let out a bark. "We were trying to figure out what to do, and I was like, my fiancée, Kelly, probably won't marry me if we don't get this dog out of here," White tells WCCO's David Schuman. The guys gave him some food and water and started digging, and they called for help from first responders. Together, the group freed Ed, whose owner George Niskanen says he'd gone about a day when he got a call from the Carver County Sheriff's Office that his dog had been found. Niskanen says he's home safe and regaining his strength.
Café Meow is Leaving Uptown. Is Uptown Dead?
After eight years of serving up coffee (to consume) and cats (to pet and not consume) in Minneapolis, Café Meow announced via Facebook post that it is moving from 2323 Hennepin Ave. S. location to bigger digs in Roseville. “The backing shown throughout the pandemic made it possible for us to be here today,” the owners write, “and when Garfield escaped, you all helped find him!” Oh, Garfield! Owner Jessica Burge is a noted warrior in the local small-biz army that fights for parking spaces, having previously threatened to close if the city removed 'em, though she says Cafe Meow simply "outgrew" its Uptown spot. (Last year businesses successfully pressured Mayor Jacob Frey to veto plans for 24-hour bus lanes that would've impacted precious Hennepin Avenue parking.)
When the shop—which is half coffee hangout, half cat playroom—opened in 2018, it was the first of its kind in Minnesota. All of the cats come from no-kill shelters, and are adoptable. The Uptown location will be open through August 27 before heading to 1718A Lexington Ave. N. in Roseville. This won’t be their first move to the ‘burbs; Café Meow also has a location in New Hope.
Minneapolis Parks Want Buskers to Pay Up
Busking is one of the most spontaneous art forms out there, with no set times, locations, or any guarantee that you’ll make money doing it. So it’s kinda petty and punitive that the Minneapolis Park & Rec Board is now requiring street performers to pay $40 annually for a busking permit that allows musicians to jam out at 10 pre-approved locations. Designated areas include spots in Loring Park, Boom Island, The Commons in downtown, and Father Hennepin Bluffs Park. But, how is that going to work when buskers are often nomads on a tight budget? "[Street performing] often arises out of need," Myra Burnette of Miss Myra & the Moonshiners tells Susan Du at the Strib. "If you're homeless and without access to an internet connection, you're not going to be able to apply for this permit, much less pay that $40 when you're literally just busking to make money for food." While the city of Minneapolis doesn’t require a permit to busk outside of parks, St. Paul charges $32 for that privilege citywide, and Duluth charges $40.
Jesse Ventura Can Be Bought
Last year, Racket reached out to a bunch of “notable Minnesotans” and asked about their favorite places in the state. One person we did not get an answer from was Jesse Ventura. As the former guv’s people told us, “Jesse does not do anything gratis. If there is a monetary offer, please feel free to make an offer?” Because we are principled journalists (and poor) we did not make an offer, but were we to write that story today, we at least now we know how much we would have to shell out: $140. That’s what The Mind is charging for a message on Cameo, KARE 11 reports. So far, Jesse has not disappointed his customers: He has received only five-star reviews. An example of the wisdom for sale? He responds to someone who asked, in Jesse's words, about "the laws of attraction and manifesting or whatever-all" with a simple "You gotta figure out something every day that you like to do." You got that?
