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Warehouse District 2: Electric Boogaloo
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, I revisited a timeless piece of writing from former MinnPoster Jessica Lee, "From WeDo to East Town, why so many neighborhood branding efforts in Minneapolis go up in smoke."
What, pray tell, made me think of this seven-year-old story? Well, earlier this week, we received a press release from the city of Minneapolis touting the "Warehouse District's new look/vision." The Minneapolis Renaissance Coalition and local strategic agency Shinebox are behind the rebrand, which will be unveiled at a Wednesday evening launch event.
Now, here's where I must confess that I'm confused about this... whole thing. Meet Minneapolis, the city's own tourism arm, says of the North Loop and the Warehouse District, "The two terms are used interchangeably in reference to pretty much everything north and west of 1st Avenue North." The North Loop, famously, is one of the city's most successful rebranding efforts. So... what's being rebranded, here?
You know what? I was prepared to rip on this, but maybe Minneapolis needs this new look/vision after all; we can start by clearing up all this geographical and nomenclature confusion. For reference, the city of Minneapolis government website lists the district as being "roughly bounded by 1st Avenue North, 1st Street North, 10th Avenue North, and 6th Street North."
The good news is that there's no ham-fisted new moniker in the works à la WeDo or SoPHI: The Warehouse District will continue to be known by its existing name, though some of the new branding does drop "warehouse" for "The District." And, per the renderings above and below, the rollout also includes a new park and skatepark, a giant "W" statue, and, possibly, streets paved in a more fashionable fashion near Target Center.
One thing is for certain: "Visitors will also see the new WD identity on lamppost banners, neighborhood signage, construction fence wraps and barricade graphics during building developments, and across the neighborhood promoting the area’s rich and varied entertainment options," according to the release. OK!
Our Shifting Wildfire Season
Historically, Minnesota's wildfire season has been "bimodal," meaning fires start each year in the spring, then die off during the summer before reemerging in the fall. But since the '90s, that trend has changed; summer wildfires, like the one currently burning in the Boundary Waters, have become a lot more prevalent.
That's according to an investigation (gift link) from the Star Tribune's Kristoffer Tigue and Yuqing Liu, who dug into more than three decades of state and federal data to figure out what's going on with wildfire activity. They found that while the number of fires is increasing overall—the average number springtime fires nearly tripled between 1992 and 2025—those figures are even more staggering in the summer and fall, which have seen fire totals increase tenfold during that same timeframe.
The severity of fires is getting worse, as is the length of the season, with the National Weather Service issuing the state's first 2026 “red flag day” on February 18. And all this means more money to fight fires: Those figures doubled from $21 million in 2010 to $40.3 million in 2025.
If there's one thing the Star Tribune does wonderfully, it's present horrifying facts with extremely lovely data viz!
What's That Cell?
The University of Minnesota: It's so much more than just the place where we buy hyperlocal meat and cheese products. The U's genius scientists make all kinds of non-dairy discoveries—and we're not talkin' about oat milk.
For the Minnesota Daily, Kyra Deters writes that U researches have created the world's first-ever synthetic cell. Dubbed "SpudCell," the creation made entirely of non-living chemical components can perform a complete life cycle, something scientists around the world have been trying to do for years. (The name? It's a riff on Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, as well as a nod to the cell's tater-like shape.)
Of course, while this is a very cool breakthrough, the science never stops.
“We’d like to be able to have it undergo growth a little bit better, have the process be a little bit more controlled and [have the cells] synthesize their own ribosomes,” Aaron Engelhart, an associate professor in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, tells the Daily. “There’s definitely areas in which we’re excited to see where the field and our labs take it over the next coming years.”
Like a Dog in Heat (Not That Way)
I don't like being outside in this heat. You don't like being outside in this heat. And our pets? They don't like being outside in this heat, either.
Not naming names here, but to my neighbors who've been walking their dogs in the afternoon, when it's 95 degrees out? Stop doing that! As Feven Gerezgiher reports for MPR News, asphalt streets can be up to 60 degrees hotter than the air temperature. If you wouldn't put your bare paws on it, neither should your pup!
That's just one of Gerezgiher's notes for keeping your furry family members safe during extreme heat. You should also know the signs of heat stroke (from excessive panting up to lethargy and nonresponsiveness), and for the love of dog, don't ever leave your pets in a hot car—not for just a few minutes, not with the windows cracked.
Plus: I like a frozen treat. You like a frozen treat. And our pets? They like a frozen treat, too.
