Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Wolve$ $tack $ucce$$
The two big Dallas Mavericks stars, Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić, did terrible things to the Timberwolves last night, taking turns tormenting the hometown squad en route to a 108-105 game one victory in the Western Conference Finals. But there's one thing that Flat Earther and that, um, Slovenian can't take from Minnesota: Our team's increasing financial solvency! That's according to Adam Platt at Twin Cities Business, who reports that this season's protracted playoff success is lining franchise coffers like never before. We're talkin' boosted season ticket sales. We're talkin' better sponsorship opportunities. We're talkin' majorly moving merch. “If you make the playoffs you’re going to get into the black,” retired NBA exec Bill Sutton said of our historically hard-luck team. “For that season, and it’s a launchpad for the next season, and the season after that.” Now, considering owner Glen Taylor's obscene wealth is ostensibly infinite, none of this really matters. But hey, still fun to talk about the dollars and cents behind the X's & O's.
Speaking of Wolves-related finances: Stribbers (can we say that?) Emma Nelson and Brooks Johnson performed the dutiful work of measuring the team's impact on downtown Minneapolis amid this postseason run. As always, we hear from the heads of booster orgs Meet Minneapolis and the Downtown Council, as well as hoteliers and restaurateurs. They're all, more or less, reporting the same thing: Business is as sky-high as Rudy Gobert on stilts. "Fingers crossed the Timberwolves make it into the final, and we're playing here in June, and it will definitely make our month for June," says Daniel DeDecker, GM of the hotel Royal Sonesta. At the same time, he adds: "It certainly isn't Taylor Swift." And unlike the Super Bowl or the Final Four, it doesn't cost the city any extra to host events like playoff Wolves games, Nelson and Johnson write. Mercifully, the word "crime" doesn't appear anywhere in their copy; we're avoiding the comment section like Kyrie avoids globes.
Another Reason to Love Libraries
Back in March, our own Keith Harris reported and wrote this sweet little love letter to Twin Cities libraries. "What can't they do?" he asked. Apparently their utility extends to helping care for our distressed neighbors. That's the gist of this localized New Yorker piece, which dives extremely deep into the history, old and recent, of Minneapolis libraries providing social services. Over thousands of words, journalist Paige Williams uses Minneapolis Central Library as the central character of her story, introducing readers to Andrea Hansen-Miller, a social worker who keeps drop-in hours at Central. Also utilizing the library's public space: The zAmya Theater Project, a nonprofit troupe for unhoused actors; new immigrants; those suffering from addiction; and, of course, families that just don't have anywhere else to go. Williams doesn't shy away from the ugly tensions that arise—fighting, masturbating, etc.—but does a commendable job showcasing the heroic work these library workers perform, work that shouldn't be necessary in a society this rich with a social-safety net this frayed. “Whatever’s happening out in the world walks through our doors," observes Hennepin County Library Director Scott Duimstra.
RIP "Bring Ya Ass," 2024-2024
Cue the Homer-beating-the-Hamburglar-to-death meme! It's over. Done. Stop it. Now! In a hyper-accelerated internet lifespan, Wolves star Anthony Edwards telling TNT broadcaster/hoops legend Charles Barkley to "bring ya ass" to Minneapolis went from beloved viral sensation (Sunday) to agonizingly played out (Thursday) with dizzying speed. In the past day or so, the following brand accounts have helped suck the life out of a beautiful thing: The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, the New York Times (who, interestingly, are allowed to say "ass" unlike the Strib), the Wedge Co-op, and the Linden Hills Farmers Market. Did we miss any other lame, leachy stabs at virality? Oh, 100%. Those are just some egregious examples. We had fun while it lasted! In other Barkley-related eating news: Justine Jones of Eater Twin Cities is tracking the Round Mound of Rebound's culinary adventures as he chows his way through town. Here's hoping the Wolves (0-1) feast on the Mavericks (1-0) this Friday at Target Center, evening things up before the Western Conference Finals head to Dallas.
Wanna Gawk at Kirk Cousins's Recently Sold Home?
To conclude this jocktastic edition of the Flyover, we present you with the home that once belonged to Kirk Cousins, the ex-Vikings/current-Falcons QB. The financially savvy signal-caller made a tidy profit on the Inver Grove Heights property, reports William Bornhoft at Patch, having purchased it in 2018 for $738,500 before unloading it this month for $1.25 million. Cousins, who's famously normcore to the core, wasn't exactly living lavishly in the house that hosted his tube of death rocks: 10389 Andrea Trail is (relatively) modest in size, greige in color, and, design-wise, as '00-era new construction as it gets. Cousins, 35, signed a 4-year, $180-million contract with the Falcons in March. We're confident he'll have his pick of the nondescript suburban housing market outside of Atlanta.
