Black Friday

"Santa Claus"-like Bemidji man gives away his business, gets national attention

Bemidji may be the town worried about beaver sculptures painted like genitalia and profanity in Newsweek, but it's also the town of small business owners with hearts of gold.Joe Lueken, a 70-year-old soon-to-be-retiree and 46-year grocery store veteran, offers an antidote to Black Friday corporate m ... More >>

Target's decision to open Thanksgiving evening sparks renewed "save Thanksgiving" petitions

Last Thanksgiving, Target held off on opening its doors until the clock struck midnight and Black Friday began. Nonetheless, more than 200,000 people supported a petition asking Target to remain closed until later in the morning on Black Friday so workers could enjoy Thanksgiving with their families ... More >>

Feds fold the cards on the online poker industry

Sites go dark while players lose their livelihood

Vilification Tennis: F**k 2001

Festival of the Last Minute

Keith Ellison condemns Lowe's for pulling ads from Muslim reality TV show

CMG0220Lowe's: Let's boycott something together.​Rep. Keith Ellison has joined the outcry against home-improvement giant Lowe's after the retailer announced that it is pulling its advertising from a reality TV show called "All-American Muslim." The show, which was intended as a portrait of everyd ... More >>

No one is buying Michele Bachmann's book

Bore of pure fiction.​Michele Bachmann's new book has been on shelves for two weeks now, and that's apparently where it's staying. "Core of Conviction" is a 224-page memoir and political manifesto, filled with half-truths and 109 exclamation points. Bachmann's been on a book tour since its releas ... More >>

Oh Dier comes to No Coast Craft-o-Rama

​Has Black Friday and Cyber Monday failed you? Do you still need some good stocking stuffers? There's no need to get your Santa hat in a twist. This weekend, No Coast Craft-o-Rama is arrives at Midtown Global Market with thousands of amazing gifts on sale. The free, two-day event will feature ... More >>

Exhausted Target worker's Black Friday crash defies Star Tribune's bizarre "be happy you have a job" editorial

​An exhausted Target worker in Palm Beach, Florida, crashed her car into a canal at 7:46 a.m. after working the midnight shift on Black Friday.The accident is notable because it shows the potential danger for workers forced to work the midnight shift after Target decided to open its doors earlier ... More >>

Black Friday Record Store Day: A guide to special sales and events in the Cities

Black Friday. Potentially the single most terrifying phrase in the English language, those two little words are a retailer's curse and a shopper's pipe dream come true. This year, if you somehow missed pitching your tent in the Best Buy parking lot in preparation for the sales, not to worry--there i ... More >>

Thanksgiving weekend: Freeloader Friday

​ Thanksgiving weekend is upon us. And while most folks will have family obligations that involve eating huge amounts of carbs then watching football on the couch like a beached whale, that doesn't mean that you can't get out of the house for a little bit of fun.This week in Freeloader is expandin ... More >>

Shop local this season at these special events [UPDATED]

​ Has Black Friday jumped the shark? Now that hundreds of stores are opening for Christmas shopping at the witching hour of midnight, it almost feels as if the consumer holiday has reached the point of parody. But then, when you stop and think of last year's shopping deaths and even this year's pe ... More >>

Harty Boys save the holidays, again

​Since their debut at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Levi Weinhagen's and Joshua English Scrimshaw's Harty Boys have attracted an audience looking for bright fun with a satiric edge. The two -- who are also the brains behind Comedy Suitcase -- will bring back their clueless teen detectives for a s ... More >>

Food Pyramid and Deep Earth drop split 7" in time for Black Friday

​With Record Store Day's Black Friday sales just around the corner, Moon Glyph is issuing a new split 7" from labelmates Food Pyramid and Deep Earth, Kollider / Kontraband, which marks the first time Food Pyramid have ventured away from the cassette for a vinyl release. (Does a transition from tap ... More >>

Northfield Target employee to deliver "Save Thanksgiving" petition to CEO Gregg Steinhafel

Target: no sight for tired worker's eyes.​The rage has come home to roost. On Monday afternoon, Seth Coleman,  a seasonal Target employee in Northfield, will deliver a hard copy version of the "Save Thanksgiving" petition to the retailer's headquarters on Nicollet Mall. "My choice is stay ... More >>

Target employees petition retailer to "save Thanksgiving"

This is not the super Thanksgiving employees had in mind.​Target is facing a backlash from its own employees as the clock ticks down to the craziest shopping day of the year: Black Friday. In the escalating arms race to get as many crazed shoppers in the door as possible, Target announced it wou ... More >>

Craig Finn solo tour coming to the Triple Rock on February 4

Photo by Stacy Schwartz​With a release date pinned down for his first solo album (due out January 24), Craig Finn is embarking on a short solo tour this winter -- including a stop in Minneapolis at the Triple Rock on February 4.

Craig Finn solo album out early 2012, with 7" single coming in November

Photo by Stacy Schwartz​We already knew Craig Finn was laying down some solo tracks, and now we've learned more about when we'll be able to hear some of them: Finn will debut his first solo single, "Honolulu Blues," on November 25, and the only way to get your paws on a physical copy is to head to ... More >>

Target online president leaves company after website crashes

"Woof!" said the dog. "Find another job," said Gregg Steinhafel.​Target Corporation is hiring, but not just stockers and swipers for Black Friday: Now, they also need someone who knows how to keep Target.com from crashing.Yesterday, Target announced that online president Steve Eastman was leaving ... More >>

Crazed Menards Black Friday shopper set for TV fame [VIDEO]

Menards mayhem: Great TV.​The woman caught on tape going ballistic at a Wisconsin Menards on Black Friday is going to be a TV star. It also sounds like she's a person of interest to Grand Chute police, who expect to make an arrest in the case pretty soon. They haven't released her name.

Guante and Big Cats! drop new music video for Black Friday

Photo by Tony Nelson​With the Electric Fetus offering "Record Store Day" limited edition releases and Fifth Element bringing in Rhymesayers recording artists to run the registers today, Black Friday is in full swing in our local music community. To celebrate this sacred day of splurging, rapper Gu ... More >>

Metro's Mary O'Regan doesn't believe in starving for fashion

Mary O'Regan will judge your elastic pants​With less than 24 hours before Black Friday blows up, it seems like the perfect time to have a food-and-fashion chat with Mary O'Regan, fashion editor with Metro magazine, editor of Minnesota Bride, and fashionista-about-town at her blog Art of Wore. ... More >>

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Guide: Everything you need

We've got all your Thanksgiving resources right here.​D-I-Y Thanksgiving Already complaining about how much meal prep you have to do? Then read about how Florence and Dave Minar of Cedar Summit Dairy have churned butter, killed a turkey, and grown their own wheat in preparation for Thursday's ... More >>

Blue Plate offers free breakfast on Black Friday

Before you spend, get a free breakfast. ​Hardcore holiday shoppers know they're going to be dropping the big bucks on Black Friday. But if they want to fuel up first, they can hit up a Blue Plate restaurant, where the early bird gets the free breakfast.