🦆 Watch out for crash-landing loons

Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival Kicks Off Today

The festival will include over 200 films from around the world, plus parties, panels, and visiting filmmakers. Here are a few of the films you should definitely check out.

• Uncle Roy: Local filmmaker Keri Pickett documents the life and work of her Uncle Roy, a renowned figure skater who would become known as "the forefather of gay photography." Throughout the film, Pickett is desperately searching for a permanent home for Roy's archives of figure skating memorabilia and his photographs documenting gay liberation in the ‘70s before he passes. Go see it on Friday at the Main Cinema, and listen to our delightful interview with Keri Pickett on the podcast.
• Exit 8: This film looks terrifying and is probably the one I'm personally most excited for. Based on the viral Japanese indie game "The Exit 8," this eerie film traps viewers in an endlessly looping subway passage where "anomalies" like blood pouring out of the walls turn mundane spaces into something deeply unsettling.
• Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story: Minnesota-raised comedian Maria Bamford gets a deeply personal documentary treatment, diving into her career, mental health struggles, and singular voice in stand-up. Judd Apatow directs, and the film blends vulnerability with Bamford’s signature absurdity, tracing how she built a cult following while navigating bipolar disorder and the pressures of the industry.
• Normal: Bob Odenkirk (of "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul") plays a temporary sheriff in the fictional town of Normal, Minnesota, expecting a quiet post but instead stumbling into a web of crime after a botched bank robbery exposes the town’s dark underbelly. It sounds very Fargo-esque, and I can't wait to see it.

Resuming care: Children's Minnesota announced on Monday that they have resumed all services in their Gender Health program after having paused some on Feb. 27. The pause was a reaction to federal actions targeting pediatric health systems that prescribe puberty-suppressing medications and pubertal hormones to patients under the age of 18, but a recent federal court ruling blocked the Trump administration from limiting access to such care. [MPR News]

"That's one way to get a table." Earlier this week, an SUV crashed into the wall of Stanley's Northeast Bar Room in Minneapolis. Stanley's almost closed last year when MnDOT was planning to acquire the building under eminent domain for construction that was intended to reduce the rate of crashes in the area, but the proposal was scrapped after an outpouring of public support for the bar. [Bring Me The News]

Out with the new, in with the old: The city of Elk River has decided to stop flying Minnesota's state flag in favor of the old design that was phased out in 2024. The city council voted unanimously for the measure after receiving more than 1,000 opinions from community members, nearly 75% of which supported the old flag. [MPR News]

Reversing course: A growing number of police departments have been installing AI-powered license plate reader cameras, but recently, some Twin Cities suburbs have been shutting off or removing their cameras. Brooklyn Park ended their contract with the controversial surveillance company Flock Safety, and other municipalities around the country have been doing the same, as more reporting has surfaced about how the data from the cameras is being used. [Star Tribune]

Retiring: Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson announced she will soon retire. Hudson was appointed chief justice in 2023 and is Minnesota's first Black supreme court justice. Minnesota has a mandatory retirement age of 70 years old for Supreme Court justices, and Hudson turns 70 next January. [Minnesota Reformer]

Wednesday, Apr 8

• 📽️ MSP International Film Fest | The Main Cinema
• 🆓 Pop Up Dance Party | Bryant Square Park
• 🆓 Line Dancing at Animales BBQ | Animales BBQ Co.
• 🆓 MinneCulture Season 10 Launch Party | Cloudland
• 🌈 Wensgay Comedy Night | Sisyphus Brewing
• 🎹 An Evening with Jimmy Webb | The Parkway Theater

Thursday, Apr 9

• 🆓 Art Club: Mini Felted Balls | Art Lab, Walker Art Center
• 🍻 Spring Fest 2026 | La Doña Cervecería
• 🆓 Wooden Boatbuilding Workshop | Sheer Craft
• 🆓 Misty L. Heggeness presents Swiftynomics | Magers & Quinn
• 🎤 Gifted Handz | Berlin
• 🎼 Damn Tall Buildings | The Parkway Theater

• Executive Director at Twin Cities Women's Choir | $52k – $65k per year (PT)
• Manager, Automation & Digital Marketing at MN Women's Major League Volleyball | $50k – $70k per year
• Supervising Attorney at Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota | Starting at $88k per year
• Executive Director of Marketing and Enrollment at UMN | $165k – $185k per year
• Housing Justice Organizer at East Side Freedom Library | $49k per year