Maryland

The Happy Gnome goes gonzo with Flying Dog Brewery for Hunter S. Thompson birthday extravaganza

Hold on to your seats fellow Twin Citians and get ready for an event of Thompsonesque proportions. On Thursday, July 18, Maryland's Flying Dog Brewery will be heading on over to St. Paul's The Happy Gnome to throw a party in honor of one of their most revered patrons, the late "Dr." Hunter S. Thomps ... More >>

Caribou Coffee shutters 80 stores, rebrands 88 others

In an announcement made yesterday, Caribou Coffee Company, Inc., based in Minneapolis, has made the decision to close 80 of its lower-performing stores across the country, including at least two in the metro area. In addition to the store closings, Caribou will rebrand another 88 locations ... More >>

53 percent of Minnesotans own a pet, putting us in the bottom ten nationally

All those dogs running around Lake Calhoun in the warmer months are deceiving: Relative to the rest of the country, not that many Minnesotans own a pet.See Also:- Internet Cat Video Film Festival purrs into Minnesota- Lily the black bear gives birth to two cubs live on webcam [VIDEO]- Minnesota's la ... More >>

The best reissues of 2012

By Tony Rettman As I sit and watch the year-end lists of best reissues virtually pile up on the laptop, I can't help but be reminded of something my Uncle Lech once said to me many X-Masses ago when we were down in his basement jamming to some Bobby Vinton. As his light-up speakers twinkled and pul ... More >>

Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo are GQ's "Honorary Gays of the Year"

Vikings punter Chris Kluwe isn't gay, but now he's the next best thing: An honorary gay.SEE ALSO: Chris Kluwe is Salon's Sexiest Man of 2012Kluwe and his fellow NFL-playing gay-marriage crusader, Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, have been named GQ's "Honorary Gays of the Year."

Critics' Picks: Kreayshawn, the Tragically Hip, Patrick Watson, and more

Kreayshawn/Rye Rye

Chris Kluwe receives official citation in Maryland

This must be a little awkward for Emmett Burns Jr. Earlier today, Chris Kluwe received an "official citation" in the mail from the Maryland General Assembly, honoring the Vikings punter for his "work in standing up for the equality of all." See Also: Chris Kluwe 'Lustful Cockmonster' T-shirts for ... More >>

Chris Kluwe playing bass at Music for Marriage Equality benefit tonight

Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe will be joining singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke on stage for at least one song at the Dakota Jazz Theater tonight for the Music For Marriage Equality benefit concert.See Also:The Dakota to host Music For Marriage Equality benefit Chris Kluwe sticks up for gay m ... More >>

Peeps store opens at Mall of America

​Minnesota residents no longer have to take a trek out to National Harbor, Maryland, to visit a Peeps & Company retail store: a new location has opened right in the Mall of America.

Zen Box Izakaya hones in on Japanese pub grub

Washington Avenue location expands Zen beyond the skyway

30 years of MTV: A personal chronology

​Straight up: I love MTV, and I hate MTV, but mostly I can't believe that MTV is still alive and kicking at 30, i.e. the age when it's definitely time to quit wearing sports jerseys, settle into a semi-permanent career, and move out of mom and dad's crib. Wags have been predicting the station's de ... More >>

Should Minnesota have a state dessert?

​The Wisconsin legislature is circulating a proposal to make the cream puff their state dessert, which got me to thinking: Why doesn't Minnesota have a state dessert? Our state fruit (the Honeycrisp apple), state grain (wild rice), and state mushroom (the morel) all seem to be relevant sourc ... More >>

200 Wisconsin cows were killed by moldy potatoes

Martin CathraeTwo hundred cows dropped dead on a Wisconsin farm.​First we thought that maybe some weird biblical prophesy accounted for 200 cows dropping dead in Wisconsin. Then we considered a chupacabra. And a vet pinned the die-off on a nasty lung disease. All wrong. Turns out, the cows ate mo ... More >>

200 cows drop dead on Wisconsin farm

Martin CathraeWhy did 200 cows drop dead on a Wisconsin farm?​Add this to the list of spooky animal deaths this month: 200 cows have up and died of causes unknown in Stockton, Wis. There's also no explanation yet as to why thousands of blackbirds fell dead out of the sky in Arkansas on New Year's ... More >>

Minnesota schools merely average in new Education Week survey

Minnesota schools earn a "C" grade.​Minnesota earned a "C" grade and was ranked 36th overall by Education Week in its latest state-by-state survey of K-12 public schools, "Quality Counts." That's no better than the national average. So we're that kid that everyone says could get better grades ... More >>

State Sen. Chuck Wiger wants to ban cell phone chat in cars

Chuck Wiger wants you to hang up and drive.​It's already illegal in Minnesota to drive and access the web or text using your smart phone. If state Sen. Chuck Wigel has his druthers, it's going to be against the law to talk on a cell phone and drive, too -- even if you're using a hands-free device. ... More >>

Top 5 seasonal drive-ins to visit ASAP

Time to start building up the winter layer of fat. For warmth.​The end of the State Fair and last week's unseasonably chilly weather have led us to acknowledge the painful fact that summer is on the way out--and along with the exit of evening daylight and flip-flops comes the closing of our fa ... More >>

Visanthe Shiancoe up close and personal

Vikings tight end is ready for the Saints

Minnesota highways rated lower than ever in U.S.

Photo: Miss ColleenCaption​If your commute to work or your car-pool to the soccer field feels more and more like a forced march over battle-scarred terrain, you're not imagining things. A new study says our highways are in worse condition than ever. More and more drivers are crammed onto them ... More >>

Robert Richard Thurner calls kilo of cocaine his personal stash

Credit: Heart of OakRobert Richard Thurner and his brother face conspiracy to possess charges.​You could suck a kilo of coke up your snout over the course of a lifetime; the question is, would you really want to? Robert Richard Thurner insists that's his intention. Of course, the fact that he ... More >>

Khat shipment for Minneapolis intercepted at O'Hare

Photo: DEA via WikipediaHere, chew on this​A 37-year-old Maryland man was arrested over the weekend at Chicago's O'Hare Airport after luggage inspectors discovered he was trying to smuggle about 80 pounds of khat that he later told interrogators was destined for the Somali community in Minneap ... More >>

Minnesota ranks No. 28 in U.S. penis size. The good news? We're ahead of Wisconsin

We're going to avoid cliches here folks. We are not going to talk, for example, about the stiff competition.

How I Learned to Drive

Kosher salt backlash: who knew?

Rabbi says Christian salt reflects, at best, ignorance.

City Pages story a national finalist in GLAAD Media Awards

Jon Stewart: Hey Minnesota, how hard is it to count to 3 million?

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart took his own shot at Minnesota, at least sort of complimenting us as being one of the "smart state ... More >>

Minneapolis City Council totally not down with torture

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Gopher coach Tubby Smith's nephew a "fun loving kid"

RNC Schedule: The Outside Scoop!

Fear the turtle

Minnesota Roller Girls

2/26 Morning Communiqué

McCain and Pawlenty, sittin' in a tree?

Exit poll buzz: something to confuse everyone

10/23 Morning Communiqué

10/16 Morning Communiqué

The Left: Jesus Loves the Left

3/14: Morning Communique

Blessed are the Beasts

The Animal Collective evolves

This Year's Next-to-Last Buck the Idiot Picks

Red Lake: Two grim takes

Food for Animals: Scavengers

You Have Neither The Wits Nor The Patience To Read This Book

John Barth's Excruciatingly Self-Conscious Novel Finds Metafiction Slipping Into Monstrosity

Off Beat

Get Witch Quick Scheme

Blair Witch 2 gives up the ghost

Jeffrey Little: The Hotel Sterno

Menarche

A journey with our daughters

They Know What You Watched Last Summer

The Blair Witch Project's co-directors scare up interest in their horror film by terrorizing conventions

The Raw and the Cooked