Brian Geihl is no stranger to working through changes. He has been passionate about creating art and drawing all his life, but when he started at St. Cloud State University, he wasn’t in the studio right away. Following his love for the outdoors, he decided to pursue a degree in meteorology. But, after taking several … [ Read more]
The Flavor of Facebook: Discovering the wide world of home-cooked food on Facebook Marketplace
April 3, 2020 by
Facebook: It’s our daily dose of anxiety, immediately followed by “the 10 cutest dogs that will just make your day” on a loop. But amid the panic (and the distraction from the panic), we ignore the small four-paneled upper-right corner, where a whole world is teeming. It’s called Facebook Marketplace, and for enterprising users, … [ Read more]
Artist Profile: Capturing the chaos of taproom debates with comic artist Will Dinski
January 21, 2020 by
Will Dinski is framed by a wall of ramen spoons. He slurps a mouthful of crispy chicken ramen and looks around the Nicollet Avenue Ichiddo Ramen thoughtfully. “This would be really fun to draw.” Food has taken center stage in the Minneapolis-based comic artist’s work and his personal life in recent years. Dinski is currently … [ Read more]
From Zero to 629.4: Surviving the North Star Bicycle Race — Part 3
November 29, 2019 by
I thought I knew what pain was. I was wrong. Just outside of Two Harbors, I was facing wind gusts of 20–35 mph as I moved one painstaking mile marker at a time. Everything I owned was wet, and my ass felt like ground beef. I had cried in a Kwik Trip that morning, almost … [ Read more]
Artist Profile: Carving out space with designer Leslie Olson
November 26, 2019 by
Leslie Olson likes her space. In her art, she visualizes pictures and carves them out of negative space. In her free time, she rock climbs and boulders, literally hanging off into empty space. But, in every aspect of her life, her style is her own. “People tell me I have a very linear approach to … [ Read more]
Bite of the Week: Pho’s heartier, lesser-known cousin, Bún bò Huế, at Co Tu
October 23, 2019 by
Co Tu is refreshingly simple. Tucked in a Bloomington strip mall with a leather shop and a liquor store, they don’t pull you in with gimmicks—they just make good food. With an intoxicating aroma and only a handful of tables, eating here feels like you have discovered a secret treasure, because you have. Bún bò … [ Read more]
Artist Profile: Luis Fitch’s art is at the intersection of graphic design, fine art, and vandalism
September 30, 2019 by
You may not know who Luis Fitch is, but you have probably seen his art. From T-shirts to taco shops, Fitch has been consistently using a combination of gallery openings, street art, and branding opportunities to make himself a recognizable symbol wherever he goes. Other artists might think he is selling out, but he doesn’t … [ Read more]
Artist Profile: The Natural and Vivid Watercolors of Xee Reiter
August 29, 2019 by
Xee Reiter’s backyard is bursting with life, with three gardens, a hen house, an in-progress worm farm, and a beehive. Some may think it looks chaotic, but to Reiter, who grew up with fresh produce from a garden and helped butcher the chickens her family raised, it looks like an organic canvas. “I grew up … [ Read more]
Artist Profile: Lisa Friedrich’s explosive gunpowder art
August 1, 2019 by
Lisa Friedrich has perfected the art of playing with fire. While some artists prefer the more traditional media of pencils and paintbrushes, Friedrich reaches for gunpowder. “There was no research on how I could make my own gunpowder art. So I asked my school to fund me a grant to study gunpowder and they went … [ Read more]
Mistaken Minnesota: The mapmaking errors that shaped our state’s landscape
July 2, 2019 by
It’s not hard to find Minnesota on a map. Drag your finger as far north as the continental United States goes. We are the one that looks like a bizarre “K.” So how is it that we live in a country with states that are tidy rectangles and squares, and then states that look like … [ Read more]
From Zero to 629.4: Tackling the North Star Bicycle Race — Part 2
June 19, 2019 by
When we last checked in, I was still training in the storage room staring at drywall, and we still had snow on the ground. Our weather has come a long way, and with the first days of summer under our belts, it’s time for another check up on training for the North Star Bicycle Race, … [ Read more]
5 Most Extreme Outdoor Activities to do in the Midwest
May 28, 2019 by
This article is a part of The Growler’s Outdoor Guide. Find more tips for outdoor adventure and dining here. Thrill-seeking has become a traveling sport, with adrenaline junkies posting online from states out west and far-flung destinations across the world. While those places look incredible, why go through the hassle and expense of travel when … [ Read more]
Game On: Virtual reality parlors transform the once-insular activity into a social experience
April 17, 2019 by
When most people think about virtual reality, they likely picture someone with a cardboard apparatus over their face and a phone hanging from the end. Or maybe a dark room where someone sits, alone, completely immersed in their video game experience. This is indeed VR, but only a very small sliver of it. But because … [ Read more]
From Zero to 629.4: Tackling the North Star Bicycle Race — Part 1
March 22, 2019 by
When I announced to my family in February that I intended to participate in an unsupported, 629.4-mile bike race this September, they started planning my funeral. When I get up in the morning and look in the mirror, I see an oft-unemployed 25-year-old man, roughly 40 pounds overweight, balding and out of breath from climbing up … [ Read more]
