Thank you! I am proud of NJ too! Did you see that Senator Andy Kim has joined Senator Ruben Gallego in calling for Stephen Miller’s ouster? I called Kim’s office to thank him.
Thank you for this piece, Mari. I like the picture you painted of Minnesota and will attest to the fact that Minnesotans are really nice! I didn’t realize that your home state was so highly ranked in all those categories.
PS I feel compelled to remind you that you forgot to mention the greatest songwriter of all time from Hibbing, Bob Dylan.
Ha! I am laughing because I am SO NOT a Bob Dylan fan! But yes, you raise an important point: we have an additional, if not brilliant musician, then a brilliant lyricist from Minnesota!
Thanks again for yet another highly interesting and informative article! The only time I have been in MN was a three-day stay at White Bear Lake at a friend's house. Wish I could have seen more.
I particularly liked what it said on the link to the best native restaurant in the US: "decolonized ingredients.. and a decolonized dining experience". Hats off to this no-nonsense attitude and staunch defense of culinary authenticity. Wish there were more restaurants with that.... sigh.
Oooo! You had dinner at Owammi? So exciting! It is too meat-heavy for a vegetarian like me, but my son is hoping to go one day. Thanks for the kind words about the article—and about Minnesota!
unfortunately, didn't get to Owammi back then. But we went to a great Japanese place (the restaurant was like dining in an indoor garden with starlit sky) im downtown Minneapolis.
Ah my fellow OHS A Cappella Choir kid, I always giggle like a 16-year-old when I remember how lasciviously the bass section would sing "Minnesota, come and see what a real good time can be!"
But I do take issue with your dislike of lutfisk/lutefisk. Done well it is as flaky as a walleye fresh off the lake. Dining with strangers on lye-kissed cod is one of my favorite activities of the year. That meal is community is action. ;-)
Thank you, Mari, for your love letter to our beloved Minnesota. We remain strong together in our diversity and community.
Also, let’s not forget that special Explore MN verse written by our very own Mr. Hansen: (something about being out on the lake), everyone’s pleasant and friendly, come see for yourself just how special it is, you’ll have the time if your life! 😆
Ha! I remember the basses singing that line that way too! We will have to differ on lutefisk, dear friend, but we are united in our love of wonderful Minnesota!
As you know, Mari, I traveled to Minnesota five summers in a row for Ultimate frisbee for my daughters. It is a beautiful welcoming state, and will be again once Trump’s goons are gone. Hugs to you and yours going through this occupation. Minnesota nice will out last Trump’s tyranny and there’s inspiration there for all of us.
This is so great, and I will be posting some stories from my years living there in the coming days. It was such a unique place to be in the 60's-80's, though I left for a period of time to live in Colorado.
The vegetable farm I worked on as a teenager in Brooklyn Park, run by Marlene Brooks and family, whose kids all went to Osseo for High School, grew vegetables that sold to the Vietnamese in Minneapolis. I picked many bushels of snow peas, long beans, and cucumbers, and we would haul it all in a big truck to the market downtown. The kind and honorable Hmong people who bought from us were the first Asians I had ever met or got to know a little bit, and it woke me to learning more about minority communities and understanding why immigration was important and part of the American way. Some of the best Vietnamese food in the US can be found in Minneapolis.
These were people, who in many cases, fought for us in the Vietnam War. They are from Northern Vietnam and many would have been killed if they had stayed.
We fast forward to 50 years later and these are some of the people who are being kidnapped on the street, hauled off in their pajamas, and in some cases let out in the cold without their phones and a long way from home.
Those of us who have experienced the beauty and need for immigration, or how they help build our communities, have a responsibility to provide insight into why this is important. It is not a mistake that the many people I know in Minnesota ,who did not have this kind of experience to learn from, including my own Father and other family members, are the ones cheering on ICE. They have no idea what they are saying, many have never gone to other countries to experience culture, and now they are filled with hate or distorted minds.
But the reality is thank God we have been a country of immigrants! It has enriched our lives more than we may ever know, and will continue to do so.
While I am quite positive the post is correct that most Minnesotans are really very nice folks, the problem is that many or most of the agitators are not normie Minnesotans but rather out-of-state professional rioters and insurrectionists, the all-too-typical rent-a-mob fomenting violence either out of sheer nihilism or hoping to provoke violence they can use for political gain.
Thank you for the kind words about my fellow Minnesotans, and for the civil tone, even though we disagree. So I will return your civility in kind and politely ask what the evidence is that “many or most of the agitators” are “out-of-state professional rioters and insurrectionists”?
Because afaik, there have been no riots in the Twin Cities since the ICE surge began, and all the evidence I have about the protests, from reliable news sources as well as from friends who are involved, says that the people involved come from church groups, school communities, or are neighbors or just people passing by on their way somewhere else who have gotten swept up.
I say nuts to you. In my opinion you're either a gullible victim of propaganda, or willfully ignorant of the facts.
Every day folks here in Minnesota are pissed. There was a gathering last Friday, January 23rd that attracted between 50,000 and 100,000 protesters (the photos are out there, some by friends of mine who were in attendance). The event was remarkable in the low incidence of violence. So you tell me, did 50K+ people 'sneak' into Minneapolis as paid professional agitators? If so, why didn't they agitate? No, the answer is right in front of you if you will only look. This is a home-grown movement directed at federal overreach and intimidation. The people trying to provoke violence for political gain? Those people are in the Administration.
So gull or deliberately obstuse? Which do you choose and are you going to stick to it or open your eyes?
Yes, @ronetc, what exactly has led you to think that these protesters are not Minnesotans but rather out-of-state professional rioters? Everything that I have seen indicates that, as with all the anti-ICE, anti-Trump protests around the country, these protesters are local people who are disgusted by this administration's actions and are voicing their anger through peaceful protests. Please do provide the evidence that would indicate otherwise.
I stand on a corner of a small town in NJ almost every Saturday with about 15 fellow liberals. We have been called paid protesters (I wish!) and other things shouted at us like “get a job!” It a Saturday….we work M-F!!!!!
I am so sorry that your home
state is suffering with this violence now. NJ stands with you!
Thank you! I am proud of NJ too! Did you see that Senator Andy Kim has joined Senator Ruben Gallego in calling for Stephen Miller’s ouster? I called Kim’s office to thank him.
Thank you for this piece, Mari. I like the picture you painted of Minnesota and will attest to the fact that Minnesotans are really nice! I didn’t realize that your home state was so highly ranked in all those categories.
PS I feel compelled to remind you that you forgot to mention the greatest songwriter of all time from Hibbing, Bob Dylan.
Ha! I am laughing because I am SO NOT a Bob Dylan fan! But yes, you raise an important point: we have an additional, if not brilliant musician, then a brilliant lyricist from Minnesota!
Hi Mari
Thanks again for yet another highly interesting and informative article! The only time I have been in MN was a three-day stay at White Bear Lake at a friend's house. Wish I could have seen more.
I particularly liked what it said on the link to the best native restaurant in the US: "decolonized ingredients.. and a decolonized dining experience". Hats off to this no-nonsense attitude and staunch defense of culinary authenticity. Wish there were more restaurants with that.... sigh.
Oooo! You had dinner at Owammi? So exciting! It is too meat-heavy for a vegetarian like me, but my son is hoping to go one day. Thanks for the kind words about the article—and about Minnesota!
unfortunately, didn't get to Owammi back then. But we went to a great Japanese place (the restaurant was like dining in an indoor garden with starlit sky) im downtown Minneapolis.
Ah my fellow OHS A Cappella Choir kid, I always giggle like a 16-year-old when I remember how lasciviously the bass section would sing "Minnesota, come and see what a real good time can be!"
But I do take issue with your dislike of lutfisk/lutefisk. Done well it is as flaky as a walleye fresh off the lake. Dining with strangers on lye-kissed cod is one of my favorite activities of the year. That meal is community is action. ;-)
Thank you, Mari, for your love letter to our beloved Minnesota. We remain strong together in our diversity and community.
Also, let’s not forget that special Explore MN verse written by our very own Mr. Hansen: (something about being out on the lake), everyone’s pleasant and friendly, come see for yourself just how special it is, you’ll have the time if your life! 😆
I didn’t remember that verse! So wholesome!
Ha! I remember the basses singing that line that way too! We will have to differ on lutefisk, dear friend, but we are united in our love of wonderful Minnesota!
As you know, Mari, I traveled to Minnesota five summers in a row for Ultimate frisbee for my daughters. It is a beautiful welcoming state, and will be again once Trump’s goons are gone. Hugs to you and yours going through this occupation. Minnesota nice will out last Trump’s tyranny and there’s inspiration there for all of us.
Minnesota Nice is so inspiring to so many right now! I am so proud of my home state! Hugs to you too!
This is so great, and I will be posting some stories from my years living there in the coming days. It was such a unique place to be in the 60's-80's, though I left for a period of time to live in Colorado.
The vegetable farm I worked on as a teenager in Brooklyn Park, run by Marlene Brooks and family, whose kids all went to Osseo for High School, grew vegetables that sold to the Vietnamese in Minneapolis. I picked many bushels of snow peas, long beans, and cucumbers, and we would haul it all in a big truck to the market downtown. The kind and honorable Hmong people who bought from us were the first Asians I had ever met or got to know a little bit, and it woke me to learning more about minority communities and understanding why immigration was important and part of the American way. Some of the best Vietnamese food in the US can be found in Minneapolis.
These were people, who in many cases, fought for us in the Vietnam War. They are from Northern Vietnam and many would have been killed if they had stayed.
We fast forward to 50 years later and these are some of the people who are being kidnapped on the street, hauled off in their pajamas, and in some cases let out in the cold without their phones and a long way from home.
Those of us who have experienced the beauty and need for immigration, or how they help build our communities, have a responsibility to provide insight into why this is important. It is not a mistake that the many people I know in Minnesota ,who did not have this kind of experience to learn from, including my own Father and other family members, are the ones cheering on ICE. They have no idea what they are saying, many have never gone to other countries to experience culture, and now they are filled with hate or distorted minds.
But the reality is thank God we have been a country of immigrants! It has enriched our lives more than we may ever know, and will continue to do so.
While I am quite positive the post is correct that most Minnesotans are really very nice folks, the problem is that many or most of the agitators are not normie Minnesotans but rather out-of-state professional rioters and insurrectionists, the all-too-typical rent-a-mob fomenting violence either out of sheer nihilism or hoping to provoke violence they can use for political gain.
Thank you for the kind words about my fellow Minnesotans, and for the civil tone, even though we disagree. So I will return your civility in kind and politely ask what the evidence is that “many or most of the agitators” are “out-of-state professional rioters and insurrectionists”?
Because afaik, there have been no riots in the Twin Cities since the ICE surge began, and all the evidence I have about the protests, from reliable news sources as well as from friends who are involved, says that the people involved come from church groups, school communities, or are neighbors or just people passing by on their way somewhere else who have gotten swept up.
I say nuts to you. In my opinion you're either a gullible victim of propaganda, or willfully ignorant of the facts.
Every day folks here in Minnesota are pissed. There was a gathering last Friday, January 23rd that attracted between 50,000 and 100,000 protesters (the photos are out there, some by friends of mine who were in attendance). The event was remarkable in the low incidence of violence. So you tell me, did 50K+ people 'sneak' into Minneapolis as paid professional agitators? If so, why didn't they agitate? No, the answer is right in front of you if you will only look. This is a home-grown movement directed at federal overreach and intimidation. The people trying to provoke violence for political gain? Those people are in the Administration.
So gull or deliberately obstuse? Which do you choose and are you going to stick to it or open your eyes?
“The answer is right in front of you if you will only look”: Yes! Exactly!
Yes, @ronetc, what exactly has led you to think that these protesters are not Minnesotans but rather out-of-state professional rioters? Everything that I have seen indicates that, as with all the anti-ICE, anti-Trump protests around the country, these protesters are local people who are disgusted by this administration's actions and are voicing their anger through peaceful protests. Please do provide the evidence that would indicate otherwise.
How does someone determine that demonstrators are professional rioters or insurrectionists?
I stand on a corner of a small town in NJ almost every Saturday with about 15 fellow liberals. We have been called paid protesters (I wish!) and other things shouted at us like “get a job!” It a Saturday….we work M-F!!!!!
Thanks for standing up for what is right, Alison! Too bad you aren’t getting paid! 😂
It is a known fact, and can be proven without a doubt, that is not true. No riots, and no instigators other than ICE.