Skip to Content
Opinion

Today Is Racket’s 2nd Birthday and Our Gift to You Is This Friday Open Thread

Where were you on August 18, 2021?

Baby pictures: An archrival screengrab of Racket’s homepage on Day 1.

Happy birthday to us.

Two years ago today, Racket published its first story: "24 Hours in Uptown," for which the four of us fanned out through Minneapolis's most overdiscussed not-a-neighborhood and noted what we saw, heard, and endured over the course of a day.

There was more to come on August 18, 2021. Em wrote a complaint about Tesla owners and a warning to restaurant customers about how the pandemic had changed dining out. Jay tackled the State Fair's laissez-faire Covid protocols. We ran our first poll: "Who Will Racket Disappoint First?" And we published our first Event Horizon,

We've grown a lot since then. Not staff-wise—there's still just the four of us. But in terms of our readership (you!) and the features we offer, we're no longer the squalling, red-faced infant we once were. We are a squalling, red-faced toddler, thank you very much.

But the open thread isn't about us, it's about you. So here's our open thread prompt for today: How has your life and your world changed since 2021?

Of course, feel free to ignore the prompt and talk about what you want. And if you insist on wishing us a happy birthday, we will accept your good wishes with out characteristic graciousness.

Oh, and I almost forgot until I saw Em's comment below, but we're celebrating our birthday IRL at Fair State Brewing Cooperative in NE Minneapolis on Saturday, August 26. We really hope to see bunches of you there.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Racket

Reformer Analyzes 1K Habeas Petitions, Finds Feds Deported 273 Legal MN Workers

Plus welcoming Big Brother, plunging into darkness for fun, and reasons to visit Mpls in today's Flyover news roundup.

MN Street Style: Art-A-Whirl 2026

'I just texted my friends that it’s going to be a coochie out weekend.'

This Week’s Open Thread Asks: Are You Good at Your Job?

As we do every Friday, we're turning Racket over to you, the readers.

Freeloader Friday: 96 Free Things To Do This Weekend

We're going all the way through Monday for this special extended Freeloader.

This Town Was Crawling With Creeps Today

Plus no data centers for now, a happy ending(?) to the Roof Depot saga, and Rondo goes Roblox in today's Flyover news roundup.

On the Big Screen This Week: Righteous Shoplifters and L.A. Rebels

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

See all posts