Skip to Content
Opinion

Start Your Labor Day Weekend Off Right With This Friday Open Thread

Let's talk about work! Or let's not!

How we put Racket together every day

|Arron Choi via Unsplash

We're taking Labor Day off here at Racket and we hope you've got the opportunity to do the same. But before we all go our separate ways, we wanted to use this week's open thread to talk about (sorry!) work.

So this week's prompt is labor related. What was your first job? Your worst job? Your weirdest? What do you do now?

Since it's only fair that I answer those questions myself, here goes. I was a paper boy as a kid, but my first regular job was at a Roy Rogers, a fast food chain I don't think they have out here. My worst? I left my job as music editor at City Pages in 2001 to edit the review section for the new music mag Blender in New York—and got canned after a month. My weirdest was probably working in a warehouse using a labeling machine to seal bags of potpourri.

And this, of course, is what I do now.

Anyway, feel free to chat about any of this, your Labor Day plans, or anything else that crosses your mind. And see ya next Tuesday.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Racket

Bet On It: MN First State to Ban Prediction Markets

Plus possibly cursed 'Guys and Dolls' production, housing trends, and Metro Transit's new lost and found lockers in today's Flyover news roundup.

How Is It Memorial Day Weekend Already? Your Complete Concert Calendar: May 19-25

Pretty much all the music you can catch in the Twin Cities this week.

May 19, 2026

Stillwater Is a Riverfront Parking Lot With Some Nice Restaurants Attached

Stillwater thrives on 19-century bones and a beautiful river setting, but stubbornly car-first planning is squandering its potential. Just 3 changes would transform the town.

Wait, So What Happened With the MN Lege?

Plus fraud reveals, NFL draft victories, and a very large trout in today's Flyover news roundup.

UtePaLooza, a Mini State Fair, Twin Cities Taqueria: This Week’s Best Events

Plus rooftop mini golf, lots of weird stuff, and a tribute to Conrad Sverkerson.

May 18, 2026

Racket Spring Member Drive + Raffle 2026

It's our biggest sale/raffle ever. Deal runs through June 1. Let's make like Zack Snyder and hit 300!

See all posts