Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Pitch In, Rock Out
There've been frustratingly few updates on last week's mass shooting at the Nudieland punk house in Minneapolis, which resulted in the death of one person, 35-year-old August Golden, and injuries to six others. Police are searching for two suspects—"young men who didn't appear to be associated with the local punk rock scene," the Strib notes—though they've not updated the public on any potential leads. A fundraiser for the victims is approaching $150,000, while another one intended to help Golden's partner has exceeded $75,000.
And tonight there's yet another way to help out: a benefit concert at Palmer's Bar on Minneapolis's West Bank. Donations will be accepted at the door for a stacked lineup that includes Glass Eyed Brother, Active Measures, the Slow Death, Chris Maddock, New Years Steve, ex-Pink Mink rocker Christy Costello, and the top-notch Springsteen cover band Tramps Like Us. The 21+ night of live music and community healing begins at 7 p.m. If you'd like to celebrate Golden's life in music more directly, blast some tracks from his band Scrounger.
The Negatives of Banning Affirmative Action
What do students at the U of M think of the U.S. Supreme Court recently striking down affirmative action? For the Spokesman-Recorder, Niara Savage headed to campus to find out. Students like rising senior Kristina Yeboah tell Savage that attending the U is "already a little bit overwhelming," given that it's a predominately white institution. “But with this new affirmative action [decision], it’s just gonna be even more tough to build that diversity,” Yeboah says. Savage notes that last year's entering freshman class at the U's Twin Cities campus was the most racially diverse in its history, following a national trend of increased diversity on campuses—in states where affirmative action policies had previously been allowed, that is. In states like California, which ended affirmative action at public universities in 1996, the data tells a different, worse story.
El Jefe Goes Full-Time at Uptown VFW
Since moving into the James Ballentine “Uptown” VFW’s new(ish) kitchen in May, El Jefe Cocina & Bar has been serving up burritos, street-style tacos, and nachos to hungry patrons. Well, fans won’t have to worry about them going anywhere anytime soon, as El Jefe has announced it will be there full time starting August 21. “What does this mean?” the VFW’s emoji-heavy Facebook post asks. “Expanded menu! More Specials AND BRUNCH!!” (Good news for all who love those excellent breakfast burritos!)
The Latin/Mexican fusion restaurant started as a food truck in 2014, adding a brick-'n'-mortar space at 5309 Lyndale Ave. in 2018. Earlier this month, however, they announced that Sunday would be their last day inside the ol' Boulevard Theater. "We decided to close for lunch and then COVID started and that was horrible," chef/owner Miguel Urrutia tells Bring Me the News. "I don't think we were able to fully recover after COVID."
Odd Vintage Honeywell PR Dolls for Sale
Meet Allergy Annie. She's 14 inches tall, soft and cuddly, and appears to be bleeding from her eyeballs. She's the corporate brainchild of longtime Minneapolis company Honeywell, a promotional item intended to goose sales of its electric air cleaners in the '60s and '70s. "Sometimes do you snuff and snuff and sneeze a lot, too?" the doll asked in a 1970 newspaper ad with the screaming header "SEND FOR ME!" "Then tell your daddy there's a new machine that will help clean the air in your house."
That's a roundabout way of saying we discovered a pair genuine, still-sealed Allergy Annies for sale via Facebook Marketplace for $150 each. She's, uh, certainly attention-grabbing. In effort to better know the curious advertising artifact, we asked seller Britt Anderson to tell us a bit more about the distressing dolls.
I'm surprised at the interest in these dolls. In the past seven days they’ve received 2,300 views on Facebook. I am downsizing my life and just found them in a box a couple of weeks ago. I remember playing with an Allergy Annie doll when I was little. In hindsight I should have had nightmares playing with a doll like this! My dad worked for Honeywell when I was young. He must have brought these home from work. I just found some cool animals made out of Honeywell computer chips in another box. Going though these boxes of my and family stuff while downsizing has been fun—and funny!
