Few places on earth are more synonymous with beer than Wisconsin. Names like Pabst, Schlitz, and Miller spread the fame of the state worldwide while many amazing beers were seldom available beyond a 50-mile radius of the brewery. Ranking the most important beers in Wisconsin history is only slightly less controversial than ranking its “best” … [ Read more]
Crist Ballas, The Mad Scientist of St. Paul
February 24, 2020 by
By the stairs leading down to Crist Ballas’ lower level hangs an old, beaten to hell movie poster for “Frankenstein.” Crist’s boots thud down the stairs before me, with soles so thick he could stomp a truck tire flat. His boots are the only intimidating thing about Crist. He is a peach of a man … [ Read more]
38 Days of Mays: On his last stop before the big leagues, the Say Hey Kid spent five legendary weeks as a Minneapolis Miller
February 24, 2020 by
Taft ‘Taffy’ Wright ripped a line drive into deep right-center field at Nicollet Park in Minneapolis on a brisk May afternoon in 1951. It was a typical blast from the Louisville Colonels’ hard-hitting slugger. A towering shot with extra-bases written all over it, the ball practically at war with gravity, begging to leave the ballpark. … [ Read more]
“The Lake Monster” – A Short Story
February 24, 2020 by
There was a recent sighting of the Lake Monster so Christina and I drove to Pepin and rented a boat to see if we could find it. “Log, log, another log,” Christina says, her eyes up to his binoculars, scanning the water. “So many stupid goddamn logs that kind of look like lake monsters.” Last … [ Read more]
Wine Time: Heroes Get Remembered, But Legends Never Die
February 24, 2020 by
There are some wines that are famous even to the driest of teetotalers. These wines are spoken about with reverence, passed between wealthy hands at auctions for high price tags, and only on rarified occasions opened and sipped as though they are the elixir of life. These wines—like Cheval Blanc, Pomerol, vintage Dom Perignon, and … [ Read more]
Up From Slavery: How early settler James Thompson became a pillar of St. Paul
February 24, 2020 by
In 1849, James Thompson, a citizen of St. Paul, donated the lumber and shingles necessary to construct the city’s first Methodist church. The small brick structure, erected on Market Street, near Rice Park—then little more than a cow pasture—symbolized the stability and sobriety that residents hoped would someday flourish in their community, the newly designated … [ Read more]
Artist Profile: Breathing new life into Native legends with Marlena Myles
February 24, 2020 by
Though she may appear a mythical being on the cover, Zitkála-Šá was a flesh-and-bone Dakota Sioux translator, writer, musician, teacher, and activist. Taken by missionaries from her home in 1884 on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota to a Quaker boarding school in Indiana, she became one of the first of the Dakota Sioux … [ Read more]
“The Rose Ceremony” – A Short Story
February 24, 2020 by
Wait! You haven’t seen The Bachelorette? We have to watch it.” Out of desperation to meet a deadline at the PR agency where she worked, Ani remembered her grandma’s stories about Astghik, the ancient Armenian love goddess, and summoned her to help with some Valentine’s-themed social media posts. That was Friday. Now it was Monday, … [ Read more]
“Heikki Lunta Sinks a Ship” – A Short Story
February 24, 2020 by
In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, not far from Marquette, there lives a Finnish snow god named Heikki Lunta (Hank Snow.) Beloved and feared, he is responsible for delivering snow (by the flake, the inch, and the foot) to the doughty folk of the North Country. Late one autumn night, the snow god Heikki Lunta and his … [ Read more]
