Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Largest Encampment in Minneapolis Demolished
Until Wednesday morning, the encampment at Cedar-Riverside had more than 80 tents and was equipped with portable toilets. But that didn’t slow down state employees and contractors sent to demolish the site, while about a hundred state patrol troopers looked on, Grace Birnstengel of MPR News reports. The fatal shooting of 27-year-old Adnan Mohamed Ali last week motivated the state and county to target the encampment. “Anywhere you go, there’s gonna be problems and violence. Are they gonna keep moving us around every time something happens?” an encampment resident named Eric told MPR News. “You got people who ain’t got nothing to do with none of that. They jeopardizing them and making them leave, like me.” Presumably the folks at this encampment will set up another somewhere until the city and state tear that one down. Real good system, A+ way to address the problem.
Stadium’s Hideousness Confirmed by Science
It’s official: U.S. Bank Stadium is the 12th ugliest building in the world. That’s what Bring Me the News discovered on a British site called BuildWorld, which recently ranked “global eyesores.” The site’s methodology isn’t exactly bulletproof—it counts the number of tweets complaining about a building—but hey, democracy can be a messy business. And at least one of those tweets was mine (Keith’s). Our bird-killing tomb of broken dreams also ranks seventh in the U.S.—it’s not as ugly as Trump Tower but it’s uglier than Chicago’s Thompson Center. Oh well, at least it cost a ridiculous amount of money and needed repairs less than four years after opening. No wonder more and more people (OK, just Jay) are saying we should bring back the Metrodome.
Closing Time: Lawless Distilling, Bad Waitress Headed to Restaurant Heaven
It’s been almost two years since Minnesota lifted lockdown restrictions on bars and restaurants, but apparently the pandemic is still wreaking financial havoc on that industry. Just look at Lawless Distilling, the excellent Seward cocktail room that announced its impending closure earlier today. “Unfortunately, the wear and tear of the pandemic has taken its toll and we’re unable to continue forward,” reads a post on the Lawless Insta account. “We are so very appreciative of our amazing staff and all the incredible work they have done. We thank you all!!” Fans are encouraged to patronize the place through the closing date of January 28. (FWIW: Lawless collected $186,600 in forgiven PPP loans.)
Elsewhere on the closure beat: Bad Waitress, an Eat Street brunch staple for almost two decades. “With great sadness, we announce that The Bad Waitress will close indefinitely after bunch on Saturday, January 29, 2023," reads a post from Wednesday on the Bad Waitress Facebook page. "Being a part of Eat Street and Whittier neighborhood and beyond these past 18 years has been an honor." Fans are encouraged to grab one last “lunch date, boozy brunch, [or] mid-morning coffee” before it’s too late. (FWIW: Bad Waitress owner Andy Cohen, a former Regis Corp. exec, “benefitted from PPP money” to the tune of $216,877.)
Get a Real Job! Drive a Real Bus!
No notes on Metro Transit’s lede: “Come to our big hiring event! Test drive a real bus!” At Saturday’s 9 a.m. to noon job extravaganza, applicants can interview and, crucially, drive a 40-foot bus. The pay is great ($26.16/hr starting pay; hiring bonus of “up to $5,000"), plus folks’ll guide you through obtaining your commercial driver’s license (you’ve gotta already have a standard license). The event truly is an event with: coloring table and yard games; light refreshments; and an appearance from Skip, the curious Metro Transit mascot we interviewed last month. Click here for complete info. Here’s where things get tricky, and I hope to not get in trouble with Metro Transit cops like disgraced Sheriff Hutch… What if you just just want to drive the bus? Could you charade your way through the application/interview process, with no intention of ever working but every intention of driving that cool-ass bus? That’s between you, your god, and possibly Skip.
