U of M Conducts ‘Groundbreaking’ MOA Haunted House Study. Also Handcuffs Journalist.

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.

UMPD Detains MN Daily Reporters

Earlier this week, several hundred protestors, led by Students for a Democratic Society, showed up to Morrill Hall to demand that the University of Minnesota divest from businesses and organizations with ties to Israel. Windows were papered with fliers, doors were blocked with outdoor furniture, and signs were held high. In the end, UMPD and Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called in and 11 arrests were made.

What hasn’t been reported as widely is that during this incident four reporters, three from the Minnesota Daily reporters and one from the Star Tribune, were detained by police for three hours in the building’s basement, despite all wearing vests emblazoned with “PRESS” in giant letters. According to Spencer White at the Daily, fellow reporter Tyler Church was handcuffed while cops “confiscated Church’s backpack, which contains his laptop, schoolwork, and reporting notes.” Yesterday, Church was told by Officer Josh Betts his stuff was being held in “safe keeping,” with no clarification on when it would be “safe” to retrieve them. White reported moments ago that Church has been reunited with his belongings.

Report: MOA’s Haunted House Can Take Your Relationship to the Next Level

In other U of M news: The Mall of America PR team revealed that the school has been doing some “groundbreaking research” at the mall’s Onionhead’s Revenge Haunted House. For the project, researchers interviewed nearly 300 participants both before and after making their way through the attraction. The data shows that, like many other social activities, people felt closer to each other by the end of the experience. Yes, doing things together is good for friendship!

According to their findings, “73% of participants reported feeling more satisfied with their relationships after experiencing the haunted house together.” Hey, that’s (kinda) about on par with couple’s therapy; this NIH study found that 70-80% of individuals felt better off after treatment. “Onionhead’s Revenge might just be the key to strengthening your relationships!” the press release scientifically concludes. Sounds legit! 

Mall of America also reports that many expressed “amazement and awe at conquering their fears.” What the research doesn’t seem to delve into are the folks who left feeling un-scared. “Some rooms were incredibly detailed and moved the story along while being legitimately creepy,” wrote Joel Swenson for Racket of last year’s Onionhead thing. “Others were just black rooms with glow-in-the-dark paint on the walls and a spooky guy in the corner. That inconsistency made the experience feel pretty disjointed.” Still, he gave it three out five onions—not bad! (“It would be two and a half, but that hard Mountain Dew selection [at the bar] is definitely worth half a star.”)

This 1990 MTV News Report on First Avenue Has Everything

What is First Avenue? Who likes playing there? And what does Prince get up to when he’s there? Those questions are more are answered in this delightfully dated feature on the iconic downtown club from 1990, narrated by John Norris. Interviews include Bob Mould, Soul Asylum, and Paul Westerberg, who recalls his Replacements bandmate Bob Stinson vomiting onstage a few times. Neato!

Click here to watch.

Rat City!

And, finally, Minneapolis just ranked as the 11st most rat invested city in the U.S., according to an annual tally from the rat catchers at Orkin. Watch out, No. 1 ranked Chicago: We love topping lists 'round these parts, and we're guessing our metro vermin do, too. L.A. came in 2nd, where the rat numbers presumably rival the weasel Hollywood agent numbers, and New York City, home to celebrity rodent Pizza Rat, finished 3rd.