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RELEASE THE RIVER
What would happen to the Mississippi River if we removed the Twin Cities locks and dams? Incredibly, MPR News's Kirsti Marohn gets through an entire story on the subject without once referencing this scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers...
It's not the stuff of fiction, though. "Several groups are exploring the pros and cons" of removing two lock and dam structures at Lower St. Anthony Falls and the Ford Dam," Marohn writes, which "are still operational, but not as vital as they once were."
Environmental groups believe letting the Mississippi flow freely again would restore its ecological health (better water quality, restored fish habitat) and create recreational opportunities along the river. (What, you people aren't content with hot-tub boats?) Plus, restoring the river to its natural rushing state could create opportunities to reconnect with sacred Dakota places.
There are potential downsides, too—the possibility of releasing contaminated sediment, for example, and the fact that the University of Minnesota rowing team and other boating clubs would no longer be able to use the calm, deep waters if they were removed.
Friends of the Mississippi River and the Army Corps of Engineers are both studying the potential to remove the locks and dams, but the final decision will be up to Congress and the process will likely take 10–20 years.
An Immigration Tapestry
Maps: Not just the title of a god-tier Yeah Yeah Yeahs song! The New York Times recently published a fascinating interactive feature called "An American Mosaic" that gets incredibly granular with U.S. Census Bureau data, letting you explore the country by region or ethnicity to see where different cultural groups have settled. Type in your address or your ancestry and take a look at how your neighborhood is made up or how your people proliferated throughout the country—it's really cool.
The map is part of a broader story by NYT reporters Albert Sun, Jeff Adelson, and Larry Buchanan, "How a Nation of Immigrants Traces Its Roots," (gift link). In many ways, the piece is a history of immigration told in charts, answering questions about how different cultural groups wound up distributed as they are throughout the country. And because different ancestries are represented by corresponding colors, the maps are also really beautiful. "Melting pot, tapestry, mosaic, kaleidoscope, salad bowl. Every cliché is true," the NYT trio writes.
Keepin' It Cheap
One thing about us here at Racket: We love cheap shit. Whether it's our weekly Freeloader Friday event roundup or our Best Budget Bites series, we're always looking for ways to have fun while spending as little money as possible.
Angela Davis gets it. All week long, the MPR News host has been exploring topics like making your grocery dollars go further and saving money on vacation as part of Cheap Week. Thursday's episode was all about frugal fun and entertainment, a topic Racket's own Jessica Armbruster knows well as the longtime writer of the Freeloader—first at City Pages, and now at Racket. Jessica joined Alex V. Cipolle, senior arts reporter and critic at MPR News, to talk about doing cool stuff without bankrupting yourself. It's a lot of fun!
And let's be clear about one thing: Putting the Freeloader together for you all each week is no easy feat. Jessica regularly compiles 150+ free events, from farmers markets to live music to movie screenings, to help you have a fun weekend cheaply.
"Freeloader Friday is both my nemesis and BFF," she tells me, taking a quick break from editing Keith's movie listings. "It's a beast to produce, but I love shouting out local events and knowing that people enjoy reading it. My goal is to someday hit over 300 for a single weekend. After that, I can finally retire. (I will never retire.)"
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Er, no, sorry, that's "How St. Paul got its July 4 fireworks show back." The Strib's Josie Albertson-Grove has the scoop (gift link) on the return of St. Paul's Fourth of July pyrotechnics; this'll be the first time in over a decade that the city celebrates the occasion with explosions.
“We did not know it would happen for sure,” Carolyn Will of the St. Paul Rotary Club tells the Strib. The Rotary Club had less than five months to pull it all together, but they did, fundraising $125,000 and figuring out security, music, and, crucially, getting the explosives they'd need to bring back the fireworks display in Cathedral Hill Park. More than 300 donors helped make it happen, and Will says most donations were small, between $30 and $50.
“People want to be part of bringing back the fireworks,” she says. We hope you enjoy 'em, St. Paulites!
And with that, a programming note: Racket staffers will be taking off on July 3 for the holiday. Hope you all get to enjoy lots of hot dogs and Top the Tater this weekend while celebrating the good, non-problematic things America has contributed to the world (mostly hot dogs and Top the Tater).
