🌭 Steal our State Fair plans

Price tag: Investigate the St. Paul mayor? That’ll be expensive with an unclear timeline. Lawyers from Resolute Law LLC, who have been investigating allegations of inappropriate behavior by Mayor Kaohly Her, are charging $290 an hour. Sources tell the Pioneer Press that’s a reasonable rate, but the number of witness interviews may add up. Regardless, it’s not ideal when taxpayers have to pay for investigations into their electeds (especially during a $26 million budget deficit). [Pioneer Press]

Boycott on boycott: The American Federation of Teachers announced a Target boycott, amid the back-to-school shopping season. The nationwide coalition is denouncing Target for refusing to “stand up to ICE” during Operation Metro Surge. Local organizers like Nekima Levy Armstrong have been encouraging shoppers to boycott the company since their rollback of DEI policies. [Star Tribune / 🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]

More data, please: Legacy Investing, the developers hoping to turn a former Star Tribune publishing plant into a data center, are facing an uphill public battle. They don’t need neighbors’ approval (that rests with the City Council) but developers still made their first public pitch to skeptical neighbors last week. To sum up the meeting, this from the North Loop Neighborhood Association: “The representatives from Legacy Investing could not provide the detail the [Planning and Zoning] Committee is accustomed to receiving in order to make a decision to support, reject or apply conditions to a proposed development.” The association meets again tomorrow. [MPR News]

Your next bite: When a neighborhood staple closes, don’t you secretly wish they’d make a comeback somehow? Beloved pho spot Tay Ho did just that, reopening as Pho Tay Ho in St. Paul’s West 7th neighborhood. When we visited the restaurant they weren’t serving alcoholic drinks quite yet, but the staff expected that to be resolved in the coming days. I’m especially excited to hear that their bun rieu, a tomato and crab noodle soup, will be a regular menu item instead of just a weekend special. If you’ve only ever tried pho, I highly recommend it (don’t wear a white shirt unless you’re trying to dye it orange-red.) [Star Tribune]

After the surge: After training 50,000 observers to respond to ICE detainments, what’s next for Unidos MN? The advocacy organization is mobilizing residents to spread voter information block-by-block, using lessons learned during Operation Metro Surge. Organizers have a lot to prepare for this election season; even state officials are mapping out contingencies if there’s federal interference. [Sahan Journal]

Steal Our State Fair Plans

The State Fair is in two days. Whether it’s your first time or your hundredth, there’s always more to do. We surveyed eight of our City Cast contributors to help you build your itinerary for the Great Get-Together. One contributor took out $400 in cash and spent it all in one go – it’s that serious. [🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]

• You’re invited: Consider this year’s fair a giant birthday party for Fairchild. The gopher mascot is turning 60. You can meet him and nephew Fairborne at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day at the Visitors Plaza. [Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine]
• In memoriam: Did you know the fair has an (unofficial) podcast? The three women behind Info Booth Ladies have been interviewing workers and providing color commentary on the fair’s goings-on for five years. In March, they lost their co-host Kathy Riewe who passed during treatment for a blood clot. For all the fair’s flashiness, the Info Booth Ladies remind us that the true enduring appeal of the fair is its people. [MPR News]

• Tool and Die Maker / Tooling Specialist at Nordic Ware | $26–$36 per hour
• Canoemobile Outdoor Leader at Wilderness Inquiry | $19–$20 per hour
• Internal Audit Deputy Director at Ramsey County | $114k–$172k per year
• Brand Creative Content Writer at Second Harvest Heartland | $72k–$80k per year
• Manager of Marketing at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities | $58k–$66k per year
• Continuing Education Instructor at Minneapolis College of Art and Design | $57.82 per teaching hour (PT)