Gleeman: Can the Twins win in 2026? Expectations have plummeted, along with payroll and fan morale My view of the Twins going into this season, on and off the field, is unlocked and free to read: www.nytimes.com/athletic/713...

Easily the most fun ep in RacketCast history. You get the whole Fancy Ray experience.

i sincerely love hooters and i’m sad that the moa location is closing. fellow hooters appreciator @mplsnightmayor.bsky.social and i stopped by to pay our respects earlier this week:

The concerns? Pollution, power and water usage, the aesthetic character of their hometown, and a lack of political transparency. The foe? The second-richest company on Earth, whose early corporate slogan—"Don’t Be Evil"—now reads like a glaring red flag.

I spent some time reporting last week in Hermantown, which could become home to a 1.8 million-square-foot hyperscale Google data center.

My buddy Ian is the funniest writer in town. (This takes place in a different town.)

This is a reference (with a hint of shade) to today's Strib top story:

From the archives:

Parr says he's not welcome back in North Oaks.

One St. Paul native dubbed Mancini’s “the supper club most likely to be chosen for cop retirement parties.” But, this winter, the timeless steakhouse became an unlikely hub of anti-ICE activism.

I wanted to talk with Steve because it's amazing he came out of retirement to publish independently. I had no idea he'd been forced to RELEARN HIS ARTFORM WITH HIS LEFT HAND. Anyway, great guy and a state treasure.

Before launching his Substack, all Steve Sack had to do was re-teach himself how to draw using his left hand.

This is how Minnesota fights back.

Get to know the history of @unicornriot.bsky.social.

listen to me read my poem, if that's what you're into

I'm glad @racketmn.com wrote this. I also think the rise of influencers and streamers has forced local journalists to step up, not only in verifying and providing context to disturbing footage, but to double down on distinctive reporting. You can't focus on anything if you're focused on everything.

The hypervigilant filming of ICE has amazed me over the past couple months. I spoke with independent reporters (national and local) about livestreaming Operation Metro Surge -- why it's important, and why it attracts freaks like Jake Lang.

“Now livestreaming has transformed the media landscape,” @unicornriot.bsky.social co-founder Niko Georgiades observes. “There's right-wing cats that've infiltrated all these places. You see 16-year-old kids with selfie sticks on TikTok. It's the content-creation game; it's the new game of media."

“This is about punishing nonviolent protests and trying to silence us,” Levy Armstrong said. “We're not gonna capitulate or bow down to Donald Trump.” Crowd is now chanting “protect the press.” @minnesotareformer.com

I'm pretty proud of this poem I made out of the euphemisms that companies used to describe the ICE occupation in corporate communications. Also read the whole story: racketmn.com/corporate-co...

We felt comfortable about not getting scooped on this story I came up with last week.

@jayboller.bsky.social this is the story i teased on the racketcast lol

No reason to quit caffeine. Find a real problem. Volunteer at a soup kitchen.

NBC can send all the takedown requests it wants, nothing in the rulebook says you can’t post Olympics Spuds MacKenzie

such a pleasure to be on my favorite local podcast!! thanks for having us @jayboller.bsky.social and @racketmn.com

“I was like, ‘OK, I don’t want something just mean and bleak, because there's a lot of love here,” says artist Stacey Combs. “Everything is rooted in love with us being out here protecting our neighbors and taking care of each other. Our love is gonna melt ICE.” racketmn.com/the-art-of-t...

One reason Minneapolis remains in the world's eye is we have one of the most robust & independent media ecosystems remaining in the country. You all need this...and more! @mprnews.org @startribune.com @sahanjournal.bsky.social @minnesotareformer.com @minnpost.bsky.social @racketmn.com etc.

Here's the latest roundup of news regarding our ongoing federal occupation.

Jeff Bezos/Glen Taylor/etc. would never.

A little-known perk of joining Racket at the highest membership tier is that you get to request a custom cross stitch by @biketrouble.bsky.social. Anyway, here’s our latest Racketeer-level subscriber’s MPLS > ICE laser loon!

"Chanting “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” sure feels more righteous when thugs have overrun the streets of your city than it did in the ’90s, when that chorus was just as likely to seized by fratty malcontents looking for an excuse to collide with each other."

We got the concert we needed at First Ave this afternoon.

SCOOP: 404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, a tool Palantir made for ICE which brings up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address. The full user guide here:

The real "prize" here is an exclusive meet 'n' greet with Racket personality @usefulnoise.bsky.social, if you ask me!

Still happening, unfortunately: racketmn.com/mn-ice-watch...

Minneapolis man @whstancil.bsky.social says all that internet bullshit is secondary to what he is doing now. He’s too busy following feds, for as many as 30 hours per week, as they try to abduct his neighbors.

Another week, another running list of updates on the federal invasion of Minnesota.

Alex Pretti was a colleague at the VA. We hired him to recruit for our trial. He became an ICU nurse- I lover working with him. He was a good kind person who lived to help and these fuckers executed him. White. Hot. Rage.

genuinely stunning image

Solidarity forever.

NO GODS NO MASTERS NO PAYWALL LET'S GET THIS STRIKE GOING

Hi, this is what I've been working on this week.

Adam Platt, tromping from one closed store in Minneapolis to another in double-digit below zero weather on Friday, desperately trying to save capitalism, falling to his knees and crying "I just want to participate in the economy!"

over the weekend, i was like, "maybe we should maintain a list of places that are closing for the strike." after a few days, i was like, "maybe it would be easier to maintain a list of the restaurants that *aren't* closing for the strike."

Email us! Final day to submit your story.

I don’t think people quite understand that the occupation by ICE in the Twin Cities has more or less erased non-white people from public life. They cannot safely exist in any space accessible to the public and moving between private places leaves folks vulnerable to kidnapping by armed masked goons.

Racket wants to hear from you, Minnesota. We want to hear how the ICE occupation has changed your life, and we want the world outside of Minnesota to know as well.

I've been maintaining this now-massive running blog of news, links, commentary, videos, etc. all week. Hopefully readers find it useful:

pow wow grounds, moona moono, briar bar, a bar of their own—i spoke with these folks and many more about their role in this ongoing federal invasion, and about the "overwhelming support" and "massive" scale of donations that are flooding in to support immigrants, organizers, and ICE observers.