🏋️‍♀️ MN Supreme Court sides with trans powerlifter

MN Supreme Court Rules Trans Athletes Can Compete

In a unanimous decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that USA Powerlifting violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act when it prevented JayCee Cooper, a trans athlete, from competing. [MPR News]

• Elected Officials React: As expected, the opinions of our representatives were vastly different depending on their party affiliation. Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, said that "as Minnesotans, we believe in the right to live free from discrimination." Meanwhile, Rep Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, called the decision part of "Tim Walz and Keith Ellison’s war against women.” [MPR News]
• Trans Protection For Now, But: In the court's opinion, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson left the door open for USAPL to argue that barring trans athletes from competition is essential to their operations as a business. That question is going to be sent back down to the Ramsey County District Court for further proceedings. [Star Tribune]
• "How can you justify that as a business decision?": We spoke with Hannah Wydeven, JayCee's former coach and the owner of Solcana Fitness in Minneapolis. When discussing the impending arguments around whether barring trans athletes from competition is essential to USAPL's business, Hannah emphasized that many other powerlifting federations do not carry anti-trans policies and fare well in recruiting competitors. Weydeven also mentioned that her gym is now choosing to run their own powerlifting events. [City Cast Twin Cities]

📚 Another Election to Watch: On top of mayoral, city council, and park board elections, we will also have multiple high-stakes races for the Anoka-Hennepin school board next month. Candidates are taking partisan lines on multiple culture war issues, and the conservative/liberal balance of the board will be decided in the election. This will impact how history is taught in schools, the implementation of DEI, protections of trans students, and more. [Sahan Journal]

💽 New Owners, Same Groove: Two longtime employees of the Down in the Valley record stores in Maple Grove and Golden Valley have purchased the stores! Down in the Valley has been in business since 1972, and has been voted Minnesota's Best Record Store every year from 2021-2025. [Bring Me The News]

🍎 Teacher Strike Update: Earlier this week, the Minneapolis Federation of Educators authorized the use of a strike in the event Tuesday's contract negotiations didn't go well, and … they didn't go well. Now, the federation will be voting today and Monday on whether or not to strike. If the vote goes through, MPS teachers will likely begin walking out in early November. [Star Tribune]

💜 Northeast Needs Some Love: Eastside Food Co-op's refrigerated section is empty since someone climbed up on their roof and cut their refrigeration line. This one really hurt to read, as Eastside is such a valuable part of the neighborhood, and this happened just after someone threw Molotov cocktails at Fletcher's Ice Cream in Northeast earlier this week. Eastside Food Co-op asked that if folks want to support them, you can head to the store and buy some shelf-stable items (I grabbed some vegan snickerdoodle cookies). [Instagram]

🍔 Best Burgers 2025: Pioneer Press's annual Twin Cities burger guide is in. They break down all the must-try patties from dive bars, fancy restaurants, food trucks, and more. Our podcast host, Sean McPherson, makes sure to try at least one burger off the list every year, and this year he has his eye on the double smash burger at Gus Gus and the wagyu beef DeGidios burger. [Pioneer Press]

Friday, October 24

• 🗳️ Early Voting Pop-Up | Midtown Global Market
• 👶 Babies at the Castle: Salad Hilowle | American Swedish Institute
• 🤼 Pro Wrestling Patio Party | The Cabooze
• 🐕 Dog & Owner Costume Contest | Broken Clock Brewing
• 💃 Noche en Cuba with Havana Quartet and Charanga Tropical | La Doña Cervecería
• 👑 Icons Celebrity Impersonation Drag Show | Roxy's Cabaret
• 🎸 DPFKS (Album Release) w/ Ciao Bello and Jacob Mullis | Zhora Darling
• 🎷 Atlantis Quartet (“Live at Berlin” Album Release) | Berlin
• 🚗 Drive-In Movie: The Sixth Sense | Lake Nokomis

Saturday, October 25

• ☕ The Great Northern Roaster Showcase | SK Coffee at Vandalia Tower
• 🎨 Lake Street Mural Day | Midtown Farmers Market / Lake Street
• 🚲 Perennial Fall Femme/Trans/Women Ride | Perennial Cycle
• 🎃 Pumpkins & Power Drills | BauHaus Brewing
• 🎥 Horrorthon IX: Dead By Dawn | The Trylon
• 🧵 Center for People and Craft Open House | The Center for People and Craft
• 🎸 Big Trouble (featuring City Cast host Sean McPherson!) | White Squirrel Bar
• 😂 Hannibal Buress | Pantages
• 🎭 One In The Chamber (closing night performance) | The Hive Collaborative
• 🎹 Cornbread Harris & Friends with Solid Gold | Animales BBQ Co.

Sunday, October 26

• 🎃 BOOnion Depot | Union Depot
• 🥘 Tastes from the Czech Republic: 43rd Annual Czech Dinner | Sokol Minnesota
• 🎂 Spirit Garage Birthday Party and Pumpkin Bash | Squirrel Haus Arts
• 🎧 Noise Party Vol. 12 | The Cedar Cultural Center
• 🐉 Alebrijes: Keepers of the Island (final day!) | Raspberry Island
• 🎃 Pumpkins & Power Drills | Fulton Taproom
• 🪩 Neon Diyas: MN's First Neon Diwali DJ Dance Party | Lush Lounge
• 💃 Cumbia with Jimi Parker | Tapestry Folkdance Center

• 🧠 Mental Health Professional at Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center | $80k per year
• 🥕 Marketing Director at Twin Cities Co-op Partners | $115k - $130k per year
• 📸 Digitization Supervisor, Collections at Minnesota Historical Society | $63k - $79k per year
• 🦅 Conservation Project Coordinator at Wildlife Forever | $47k - $50k per year
• 🎨 Programming Coordinator at Minneapolis Institute of Art | $30.80 per hour