Jessica Armbruster, editor at Racket

What I Saw at This Weekend’s Minnesota MAHA Fest Scared the Hell out of Me - Racket Over 1,000 Christian opponents of modern medicine descended on Alexandria, MN, to testify that drugs, doctors, and Satan were making us all sick at the 7th annual Freedom Summit.

While I spent the weekend celebrating my b-day my colleague Keith spent his in hell with measels enthusiasts:

'Call It the Clown Car': An Oral History of Minneapolis's 35-Candidate 2013 Mayoral Election - Racket Thirty-five candidates. Three dozen debates. Two unrelated pirate-centric elements. The first real test of ranked-choiced voting and, finally, a new mayor.

a while ago i became obsessed with the 2013 mayoral race in mpls: 35 candidates, yes, but also the city’s first real test of ranked-choice voting, + the race set up our current political landscape in both predictable and surprising ways.

jay & i interviewed lots of people about it—here’s a 🎁 link!

Doin’ Minnesota State Fair Beers 2025: The Best and Worst of the Year’s New Beers - Racket Including this year’s big talker—Pryes’ Royal Raspberry soft serve.

All the beers! Our beer expert @nissamitchell.com drank ALL the new beers!

Change Is Good, and So Is the Pita Bread at the Vegan(ish) Matriarch in Uptown - Racket Yes, the rooftop is open again.

I ate some food and photographed it.

Racket’s Year in Review: August 2024-July 2025 - Racket And just like that… a fourth year of Racket is in the books.

Wanna get into the nitty gritty of Racket's financials?

18 Hours at the Minnesota Fringe Festival - Racket What I saw, what I would see again, and what I wish I hadn’t.

I spent a weekend at the THE-A-TER:

Thank you! I am adding a few places this week, including this one.

Minnesota’s Mighty Maker Spaces - Racket Need a cement mixer? A 3D printer? A pottery wheel? A laser cutting station? Yeah, these places have got you covered.

I had such a fun time chatting with and touring these really cool maker spaces/resources. Now I know where to go if I ever need a power washer or cement mixer or steel cutting machine or pottery wheel or welding tools. And, if you read this, you will too!

I asked for someone mildly fancy and got The Freehouse...

Wells Fargo: "Have you considered traveling through time to get your bill earlier?"

I never thought a modern version of Clippy, the paperclip from Word, would become my nemesis.

i’m here at lake and bloomington where a group of protesters have gathered. officers with DEA and ICE patches have surrounded las cuatro milpas. video slow to upload, apologies.

Also not a dumb Q!

The main diff (tho there are exceptions and overlap): galleries are privately owned, sell art, and don't have a permanent collection while museums are nonprofit or run by an org, have a permanent collection, and don't sell the art they showcase.

A Guide to Minneapolis Art Galleries for Beginners - Racket You don’t need a monocle and a million dollars to experience the local scene.

I love local art galleries and you should too.

Two kids got off the bus today outside my place carrying a heavy-looking deck chair and singing "Hi Ho" from 'Snow White.' Stay weird, children.

Weed Weview Wewards 2025 - Racket Looking back on a year of weed.

It's the biggest night in local THC reviews. racketmn.com/weed-weview-...

University of Minnesota to Faculty: Shut Up About Palestine, Please. Also Anything Else. - Racket Lately, U of M leaders seem determined to snuff out free expression and academic inquiry, writes one faculty member.

A U of M English prof on how his bosses are silencing faculty.

In 2025, we take the laughs wherever we can.

Ghanian Highlife, British-Caribbean Jazz, and Bill Murray: It's Your Complete Concert Calendar: April 8-15 - Racket Pretty much all the music you can catch in the Twin Cities this week.

This week's music calendar? We got it here:

Freeloader Friday: 89 Free Things To Do This Weekend - Racket Protests, open studios, movies, and more.

Now more than ever: TGIF.

Chuck Tingle, always coming through when we need him.

Weed Weviews: 4 Things I Tried in January - Racket Weed tea, gummies, artsy cans, and more.

The drugs of January: racketmn.com/weed-weviews...

I shared some thoughts with @hamatron3000.bsky.social about how things are going re: legal cannabis in Minnesota and what to pay attention to in the near future, along with some other very knowledgeable local folks. Good read!

Weed in MN: What's Really Going On? - Racket We spoke to journalists, business owners, and advocates about where THC bubbly, flower, and the law is headed toward in 2025.

For this week's feature I asked lawyers, journalists, and biz owners what went wrong, what went right, and what's next on the weed horizon in MN.

Introducing Brunch Buds, a Recurring Column in Which 2 Buds Go to Brunch - Racket Our first installment, Khâluna, is on the fancy side, but we have no regrets.

WE ARE BRUNCH BUDS

😮

Went about two hours with Google Gemini at work before we figured out how to turn it off. Humanity has defeated the robots... for now.

I thought my stomach was growling until I realized the sound was a TikTok of howling wolves playing in the background.

Weed Weviews: 4 Things I Tried in December - Racket Punches, crispie treats, gummies, and more!

The THCs of December: