Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
MN Might 'Chart Its Own Path' with Crisis Pregnancy Centers
That's according to this new ProPublica deep-dive into the future of crisis pregnancies centers in Minnesota. With its trifecta lock on power, the DFL could defund the grants funneling cash to the controversial anti-abortion faux-clinics as other states have, Jessica Lussenhop writes, though Democrats could instead opt for a half-measure: Keep the $3.4 million Positive Alternatives Grant Program alive, but strip funding if the centers don't explicitly reveal their pro-life agendas.
Rep. Liz Olson (DFL-Duluth) proposes rerouting those dollars into the rebranded Positive Pregnancies statute, which would allow Minnesota's 33 crisis pregnancy centers who accept state money to continue services like free ultrasounds and STD testing, provided they do so with “evidence-based, accurate information." Gov. Tim Walz is open to the idea, ProPublica reports. All of this is especially pressing, Lussenhop notes, considering Minnesota has become a regional sanctuary for reproductive rights in the wake of Roe v. Wade's repeal. Read the whole damn story; there's too much going on for a humble blurb-based recap. And click here to explore Racket's map of crisis pregnancy centers—fake abortion clinics, in our verbiage—around the state; you'll notice they greatly outnumber facilities that provide abortions and other essential healthcare.
Around the Twin Cities in 50 Restaurants
"It's actually a pretty fucking great list," one Racket staffer remarked upon scanning Mpls. St. Paul Mag's "50 Restaurants That Changed the Way We Eat," perhaps the highest praise we've ever given a local food and drink list that wasn't written by one of our own. Stephanie March takes readers on a mouthwatering, nostalgia-heavy trip down memory lane, from long-gone icons (Charlie’s Cafe Exceptionale, The Lincoln Del) to recently departed Restaurant Heaven residents (Lucia’s, Fuji Ya) to present-day icons (Quang, El Burrito Mercado). It's just about a definitive portrait of the places that revolutionized MN dining, and put Minneapolis and St. Paul on the culinary map in the process. Matt's Bar, J. Selby's, Mickey's Diner... we were hard-pressed to find fault with just about the whole darn thing.
RIP to The Fighting Loaf
Last summer the Star Tribune’s Rachel Hutton introduced readers to Betsy Graca, a Minneapolis writer who, two years earlier at age 34, had been diagnosed with a rare, terminal cancer called metastatic cholangiocarcinoma. The feature focused on how Graca turned to the internet—Twitter, her website— to share her journey with humor, heart, openness, and tenacity. "I want to fight this," said the woman who was nicknamed “The Fighting Loaf” by a friend mid-cancer. "The fact that my case is such an anomaly gives me hope that maybe my outcome will be an anomaly." On Tuesday, that fight ended in a draw. That’s the language, paraphrased from the great Norm McDonald, that Graca chose to use, according to an update this morning notifying friends and followers of her death. Our condolences to the many Racket readers who knew and loved Betsy. Here’s Graca’s best friend, Kirsten Chepeus, to Hutton last year: “Her story will be there for other people who may have been diagnosed at around her age and just feel lost. They could always go back and see how Betsy did it.”
New at the Fair: MILF Enthusiast Yung Gravy, New CEO Renee Alexander
The Minnesota State Fair is 176 days away, but we’ve been getting updates on it almost daily this week. Grandstand show announcements are trickling in, and the latest addition to the lineup is Rochester-raised Soundcloud rapper Yung Gravy. You might know him from his hits “Mr. Clean" or “Betty (Get Money),” the latter of which he's getting sued by Rick Astley over. (Gravy on Rochester: “Shit man, I had a good childhood. Just a skater kid. Played lacrosse in high school. Used to sell weed.”) Other Grandstand acts already announced include The Chicks (formerly of Dixie) and Duran Duran, which will headline a ‘70s-, ‘80s-, and, uh, ‘10s-tastic evening with Chic and Bastille. In more corporate news, Renee Alexander, currently the Fair’s deputy general manager, has been named CEO. She’s worked for the Great Minnesota Get-Together for 20 years, and has held her current position for 13. She’ll succeed Jerry Hammer, who is retiring as CEO after 53 years.
