🍗 Top 5 chicken wings in the Twin Cities

Enough Governor's Race, Let's Talk Chicken Wings

We put out an informative podcast episode yesterday if you wanted to hear more about Tim Walz's decision to drop out of the governor's race, but today there's more pressing matters to discuss. Here are some highlights from City Cast's official list of the Top 5 Chicken Wings in the Twin Cities.

• Sticky fingers: The Nook is home to the Ranham Bowling Center in its basement and some of the best wings in town. The spicy honey barbecue wings are an oasis of saucy delight with the perfect melding of honey and barbecue flavor. Who knows, maybe cramming your sauce-covered fingers in the bowling ball will help your score!
• They deserve the hype: Kong's Kitchen receives a lot of praise for their oyster chicken wings, and it's all warranted. Host Sean McPherson calls them "inspiring." You have to taste these award-winning wings for yourself.
• Sleeper pick: La Doña Cervecería has spectacular tacos, burritos, and llapingachos, so you'd be forgiven for not having tried their wings before. But their buffalo wings possess a perfect crispiness and tenderness in each bite, with slightly more tang than usual in the sauce.

To see the rest of our picks and honorable mentions and to find out why Runyons is No. 1, check out the full write-up from Sean.

ICE surge continues: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was spotted in the Twin Cities, as over 2,000 additional ICE agents have recently been deployed to Minnesota. Around 1,500 agents are Enforcement and Removal Officers (EROs), while 600 agents are with Homeland Security Investigations. DHS officials said the HSI agents will be focused on investigating fraud allegations following Nick Shirley's recent viral video. [MPR / KARE11]

Transition shake-up: St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olsen resigned last week, making her one of the only high-ranking officials to leave office so far as Mayor Kaohly Her takes over for Melvin Carter. Other department heads have been offered the opportunity to keep their roles as they evaluate how they fit with the new administration. [Star Tribune]

New food at BauHaus: Since Animales BBQ left its longtime residency at BauHaus Brewing to open a standalone restaurant, Red Rocket Pizza will now be stepping in to fill the food void. The food truck will be serving up wood-fired pies every Wednesday through Saturday at BauHaus starting tonight, and they're running a $5 off pizza and $5 pints special on Saturday to celebrate. [Star Tribune]

"NO ROOM AT THE INN": After a Hilton Hotel in Lakeville refused service to ICE agents, the DHS made a post on X that appeared to compare ICE agents to the unborn baby Jesus looking for shelter in Bethlehem. The hotel has since offered an apology, and Hilton has announced it is removing the hotel from its network. [FOX 9]

Family First: Hope Walz appeared in an interview with John O'Sullivan to talk about her father's decision not to run for a third term as governor. She cited threats to herself and the rest of her family as major factors that fed into the governor's decision. Hear more about this interview on today’s episode. [One Hour Detours / 🎧 City Cast]

Wednesday, January 7

• 🖼️ Art & Dining After Dark | Minneapolis Institute of Art
• 🚴 Weekly Social Ride | Sociable Cider Werks
• ✍️ Author Reading: Diana Xin 🆓 | Milkweed Books
• 🦋 Monarca Rapid Response Training | United Methodist Church
• 🎬 Drop Dead Gorgeous w/ music by Leslie Vincent | Parkway Theater
• 🗣️ You're Not From Around Here, Are You? A Night for Transplants | Black Hart of St. Paul
• 🎵 Freaque, NOAMZ, and Wormdove | Icehouse

Thursday, January 8

• 🧊 Minneapolis Institute of Ice (Opening Day) 🆓 | Minneapolis Institute of Art
• 🎯 Game for NA: An Alcohol-free Activation | Fowling Warehouse
• 🔁 Barter Hour 🆓 | Resource
• 📘 Book Release Party for Jane Hadley's A Right Honorable Soldier | Tropes & Trifles
• 🎥 Capri First Thursday Films: Sinners | Capri Theater
• 🎭 Alex Tatarsky: Sad Boys in Harpy Land | Walker Art Center
• 🪕 Amythyst Kiah and Anna Graves | Parkway Theater
• 😈 Bad Choices: A Darkish Standup Comedy Special 🆓 | LITT Pinball Bar

• Chief Development Officer at Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies | $90k - $100k per year
• Creative Director at The Social Lights | $120k - $140k per year
• Communications Manager at The Aliveness Project | $60k - $70k per year
• Universal Graphic Designer at MN Dept of Natural Resources | $50k - $73k per year
• Staff Attorney, Immigration Legal Services at The Advocates for Human Rights | $74k per year