Newcomers
Recently I caught an Angela Davis segment on MPR discussing what it is like to be a newcomer in the Twin Cities. The emphasis was on people relocating for work, particularly people in their 20s. … ‣ more…
Leaning into Architecture and History
Andy Sturdevant wrote a regular column, The Stroll, for MinnPost until 2017. I still miss it. For those who feel the same, I can offer a brief taste of Andy’s writing on a Stroll-like architectural … ‣ more…
Wild Grind Coffee
It has been a while. During the pandemic I have been blogging over at Suddenly at Home. This is Kinda Different’s first coffee-shop review since the beginning of coronavirus time — we just haven’t been … ‣ more…
Suddenly at Home
I have begun a new community blog for these quarantined times: Suddenly at Home aims to capture, through a multitude of voices of our Twin Cities neighbors, the day-to-day realities of the prolonged sheltering-at-home and … ‣ more…
Tracking Down Minnesota’s “Doughnut Cities”
This does not happen in Massachusetts. There, cities and towns tile the counties and the state: they do not overlap. Minnesota is kinda different. In this state, eleven cities are completely enclosed within the limits … ‣ more…
Aldus, Bembo, and the Semicolon
The semicolon was invented in 1494. I got to researching its creators; this investigation uncovered connections to the University of Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and my own career. The semicolon’s inventors were three Italian Renaissance … ‣ more…
The River’s Source, Part 2
The source of the Mississippi River has resisted being pinned down over centuries of time and countless expeditions of discovery. In the previous post we dug into the decades-long political and geographic confusion that resulted … ‣ more…
The River’s Source, Part 1
The source of the Mississippi River is the stuff of legends. Let’s excavate them a bit. Last time out we followed the Rev. William Boutwell as he accompanied an expedition that identified the source of … ‣ more…
A Tale of Two Boutwells
The Reverend William Thurston Boutwell has been in the Twin City news lately, as his house near Stillwater MN was saved from demolition and is being renovated. The name “Boutwell” immediately caught my eye because … ‣ more…
Venerable Hole in the Wall
Recently my wife got me over to Al’s Breakfast in Dinkytown, as she has been wanting to do since before we moved here. The place is a time capsule from its founding in 1950. Katharyn … ‣ more…