Hello, I’m a remote worker making 44k a year. I’m just wondering if Minneapolis/twin cities might be a good place for the modest income I have. I see a bunch of newly built apartments for less than $1200 a month and I’m used to the cold.

I am a daily glasses wearer. I moved here recently and have always been under the care of a private eye doctor. When I moved here, I started going to a Target Optical because it was the first place I could get in and I have high optical needs due to an eye condition and the nature of my job. I couldn’t be without care for long. I ordered a couple pairs of new glasses from them and even with opting in for all the bells and whistles, the quality of their glasses just isn’t what I’m used to. Can anyone recommend an office that procures high quality, fashionable glasses.

I mean blue light filter, high density material (severe prescription), trained technicians who can get the field of view correct and will properly size the glasses. I need these glasses for all day, every day use.

I've never been, how is it set up? Can you bring your drink into the pinball area or do you have to stay at the bar?

Anyone know where I could get involved in local urban planning activism orgs? Is there a local Strong Towns chapter? I want to find ways to get involved that are flexible enough that I can do so despite my disability/mobility problems

Join us Feb. 25 at the final open house for the New Nicollet Redevelopment. New Nicollet is a 10-acre parcel of land between the Midtown Greenway and Lake Street. It was home to Kmart for many years. The City is developing a plan to make it a walkable area that meets the needs of nearby neighborhoods. Community input is at the heart of that plan.

Community priorities

The New Nicollet team gathered community input in 2024. They did this through surveys, online meetings and in-person conversations. Residents, businesses and community members said what they hoped to see here. Top priorities include:

• Deeply affordable housing with supportive services.
• Home ownership opportunities to prevent displacement and support wealth building.
• Well-connected public spaces for community connections and to promote public safety.
• A grocery store for access to healthy and affordable food.

The open house will showcase the ways extensive community input is shaping the project. Attendees can give feedback on the Development Framework and learn about next steps.

Final New Nicollet open house
5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25
Whittier International Elementary School, 315 W. 26th St.

Language interpretation will be available for Spanish and Somali. Free food and kids’ activities will be provided.

Find the Development Framework starting Feb. 25 on the New Nicollet Redevelopment webpage.

Are there any people/pages you check in with often to find out more about what's going on? Are there seemingly obvious sites you check out for upcoming events? What websites do you recommend for learning about Minneapolis news?

ETA - Thanks for all of the feedback and information. We're about 80% certain we'll be buying when we first move, although we'll be looking into some of the rental options that were suggested. I appreciate the kindness and willingness to help from the community, it's really helping us be sure that this is the right place for us.

Moving to Minneapolis, and wanting to see if renting would even be an option for us or if we'll have to go straight to buying.

The problem - we're 2 animal lovers who fell in love. He had 2 small dogs and 2 small birds, I had 1 dog, 1 cat, and 1 medium sized parrot. When we combined households that leaves us with 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 3 birds. Everyone is well trained, pet areas are cleaned daily, they have lots of toys and scratching posts to keep them occupied. Right now we have a lovely pet sitter who comes over whenever we're both gone for more than 5 hours. Due to my parrot loving to scream her little heart out for an hour a day, we can't live anywhere with shared walls.

We have no references on rental history, I purchased my first home over a decade ago and he lived in military housing when we met - when we combined households we bought a home together. When we moved to our current state we lived with his parents for a few months, but I doubt a reference from a parent would hold up anywhere.

Based on my research, once we sell our home we'll be able to put a deposit on a modest 3 bed/1 bath home. We'd really prefer to rent, that way we can really get to know the area and make an informed decision. We have no friends or family anywhere in Minnesota to stay with like we did here.

Realistically, do we stand a chance? Or should we be just doing online and research and take a couple of vacations to try and scope the area out first?

https://www.italianeaterymsp.com/?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=678bd0daf62a6b799e8e8fa1&ss_email_id=679ce63d6d44433ec35612f8&ss_campaign_name=Italian+Eatery+returns+as+ie+by+Travail%21++%E2%9C%A8&ss_campaign_sent_date=2025-01-31T15%3A05%3A45Z

Hey everyone. This is kind of an odd request, but I was wondering if there were any food service business owners who might be able to help me get a hold of some BIB (Bag-in-Box) syrups without having to pay out the ass. I tried the sodastream syrups, and I kind of hate them. I know there are third party syrups and recipes, but really what I'm after is just authentic Mountain Dew syrup with little effort (and other things, if I can get that).

The BIB is about $100 on Webstaurant, so if you can get it cheaper than that, I'm interested.

What is the best spot at MSP airport to enjoy local foods or local beers?

If you don’t think psychics are real, then move along this post isn’t for you:) no need to comment

I’m upgrading to a queen sized mattress from my current full size one, which is about 10 years old. But, I live downtown in an apartment building and our building manager told us that it will cost $80 for them to dispose of it for us. I would love to avoid paying any more than I need to, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for how to get rid of this mattress. My thoughts right now:

• Find my own haul away company that costs less than $80 for them to take my mattress away
• Find a mattress store that will haul away my current mattress when they deliver my new one (I would pay more than $80 for this since we’d be getting delivery and taking care of our old one)
• Find a place that accepts mattress donations. It’s in good condition despite its age, just wondering if anyone would accept it
• Find someone who lives somewhere that we could leave it in their alley/front yard for solid waste collection
• Rent a UHaul or something to take the mattress ourselves to a dump location. Where we can do this?
• Chop up our mattress somehow and dispose of it like regular garbage at our building…

Has anyone else managed to do this or does anyone have any suggestions for these ideas? Or any other ideas I haven’t thought of?

Hi all! I've been looking, but haven't found any definitive answers for what's open on Easter Sunday this year. Who is? and definitely important, who do you recommend? No dietary restrictions, so anything is fair game! Thank you!!

Have a good weekend!

AROUND TOWN

• St. Paul Winter Carnival (Various locations - All Weekend)
• Minneapolis Home + Remodeling Show (US Bank Stadium - All Weekend)
• Ice Castles (MN State Fairgrounds - All Weekend)
• MN State Snow Sculpting Competition (MN State Fairgrounds - All Weekend)
• The Great Northern Festival (Various locations - All Weekend)
• Bonspiel & Winter Festival (Forgotten Star Brewery - All Weekend)
• Minnesota Ice Festival & Winter SKOLstice (Viking Lakes - All Weekend)
• The Ice Palace Minnesota (Delano Central Park - All Weekend)
• Echoes: A Solo Exhibition by Lynn Bierbaum (FOCI Glass Arts - All Weekend)
• CONsole Room: Rockin’ Through the WHOniverse (Hilton MSP Airport - All Weekend)
• Paul Shambroom’s American Photographs (Nash Gallery - All Weekend)
• 1,000 Nesting Dolls (Museum of Russian Art - All Weekend)
• The Empire Strips Back (Granada Theater - All Weekend)
• Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo (Xcel Energy Center - Friday & Saturday)
• Two Year Anniversary (Green Room - Friday & Saturday)
• The Cedar Commissions (Cedar Cultural Center - Friday & Saturday)
• Indoor Art Crawl (Bachman’s - Saturday & Sunday)
• 5th Annual Bonspiel (Sociable Cider Werks - Saturday & Sunday)
• Art Shanty Projects (Lake Harriet - Saturday & Sunday)
• City of Lakes Loppet Winter Festival (Theodore Wirth - Saturday & Sunday)
• 8th Anniversary Week of 80’s (Utepils Brewing - Saturday & Sunday)
• Lunar New Year Celebration (MOA - Saturday & Sunday)
• A Brunch of Drag (LUSH - Saturday & Sunday)
• One Woman Playwriting Festival (Yellow Tree Theatre - Saturday & Sunday)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31

• Downhill Disco (Buck Hill 2-10pm)
• Friday Night Fun (56 Brewing 5-10pm)
• Hot Chocolate & Bonfire Bash (Loring Park 6-7:30pm)
• Shadow Puppet Workshop (HUM Yoga 6-7:30pm)
• Star Gazing and Sky Watching Party (Wood Lake Nature Center 6-9pm)
• The Serpent’s Charm: Fashion Show (The Luminare 6-9pm)
• ON LAUGH SUPPORT w/ Lorna Landvik comedy (Bryant Lake Bowl 7pm)
• Big Christmas Energy (Dudley Riggs 7:30pm)
• Unbound: An Evening of Poetry w/ Cassie J. Williams (Capri Theater 7:30pm)
• Nikki Glaser comedy (Mystic Lake 8pm)
• Gasolina Reggaeton Party (Fillmore 9pm)
• Aranya & Suture Fancy Present: SWEAT (LUSH 9pm)
• Nosferatu’s Nightmare (Ground Zero 10pm-2am)
• Glitterdark 2 (live) w/ friends (Uptown VFW 10pm)
• The Dick Von Dyke Show (Black Hart 10pm)
• Reventon Reggaeton Party (Cabooze 10pm)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1

• Harry Potter Drag Brunch (Union Rooftop 10am | 12:30pm | 3pm)
• Doggie Depot (Union Depot 10am-3pm)
• Brunch w/ The Other Ol’ Blue Eyes (Icehouse 11am)
• February Festival (Lake Ann Park 12-3pm)
• Frozen Fingers fingerboarding event (Lakewood Salvation Army Maplewood 12-8pm)
• Wonders of Winter (Central Park Maple Grove 1-4pm)
• R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Market (56 Brewing 1-6pm)
• Valentine’s Maker’s Market (Black Hart 1-7pm)
• Red Bull Heavy Metal (MN State Capitol 2-5pm)
• WrestleVerite “Crimson Hearts” (Hopkins Center for the Arts 3pm)
• Fire & Ice Winter Festival (Plymouth Creek Playfield 3-9pm)
• Boozy Book Fair (Cream & Amber 4-6pm)
• Birchwood Winter Party (Birchwood Park SLP 5-7pm)
• Candlelight Walk (Afton State Park 5-8pm)
• MN Philharmonic Orchestra Salon Fundraiser (Center for Performing Arts 6-10pm)
• Pat McGann comedy (Parkway 7pm)
• Folsom Prison Experience (Ames Center 7:30pm)
• We Them One’s Comedy Tour (Armory 8pm)
• The Taylor Party: Taylor Swift Night (Fillmore 8pm)
• Mirage: Kings Takeover (LUSH 9pm)
• Jumpsuit Funk & Disco Dance Party (Black Hart 9pm)
• A Drinking Game MN presents Back to the Future (Bryant Lake Bowl 9:30pm)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2

• Cold Blooded Expos Reptile Show (MN State Fairgrounds 10am-4pm) 
• Drop Dead Gorgeous Drag Brunch (Crave Downtown 11am & 1:30pm)
• Brunch w/ Phil Heywood (Icehouse 11am)
• Kids’ Fest (Minnetonka Community Center 11am-2:30pm)
• 3rd Annual Great Minnesota Bike Swap (MLK Jr. Park Community Center 11-3pm)
• BRRRZINGA Art/Craft Fair (Under Pressure Brewing 12-4pm)
• Improv A Go-Go (Strike Theater 7:30pm)

LIVE THEATER

• Grease (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres - All Weekend)
• Sweet Charity (Bloomington Center for the Arts - All Weekend)
• Misery (Hanifl - All Weekend)
• Dealing with Dragons (Phoenix Theater - All Weekend)
• Leonardo! (Children’s Theatre Co - All Weekend)
• Sanctuary City (Open Eye Theatre - All Weekend)
• The Root Beer Lady (History Theatre - All Weekend)
• A Taste of Things to Come (Lyric Arts - All Weekend)
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (Stages Theater Co. - All Weekend)
• Glory (Theatre in the Round - All Weekend)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Guthrie - Saturday & Sunday)

LIVE MUSIC 

Friday, January 31

• Winter Rayne (White Squirrel 6pm)
• Ancient Waves, Betty Won’t, Ciao Bello (Zhora Darling 6:30pm)
• Best New Bands of 2024 (First Ave 7pm)
• Haydn’s Fire Symphony (Ordway 7pm)
• BABYFACE RAY (Varsity 7pm)
• Chastity Brown (Dakota 7pm)
• Glitter Crush (Amsterdam 7pm)
• California Dreamin’ The Songs of Laurel Canyon (CDT 7:30pm)
• Minneapolis String Project (Berlin 7:30pm)
• The Super Tramps - tribute to Supertramp (Crooners 7:30pm)
• Liszt and Dvorak (Orchestra Hall 8pm)
• Treaty Oak Revival (Armory 8pm)
• Mike Dawes (Fine Line 8pm)
• Minneapolis Song Slam (Icehouse 8pm)
• Mallrats present MTV Unplugged (Parkway 8pm)
• Porridge Radio (7th St. Entry 8:30pm)
• Jimmi & the Band of Souls (Shaws 8pm)
• The Boot R&B, Tim Casey & the Martyrs, Scott Allen & the List (Palmer’s 8pm)
• Solid Gold (Turf Club 9pm)
• WRECKNO (The Loft 9pm)
• Matcha Fever (White Squirrel 9pm)
• White Keys (Bunkers 9:30pm)
• Faux Pseudo, Sleepy Eye, Paul Cerar (331 Club 10pm)

Saturday, February 1

• Martin Zellar and the Hardways (Crooners 5pm & 8pm)
• Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys (Uptown VFW 6pm)
• In Your Eyes: the Peter Gabriel Tribute (Day Block Brewing 6pm)
• 2Hollis (Amsterdam 6pm)
• Trevor Knutson (White Squirrel 6pm)
• Haydn’s Fire Symphony (Ordway 7pm)
• The Dirty Nil (7th St. Entry 7pm)
• Chastity Brown (Dakota 7pm)
• FULTON LEE (Studio B 7pm)
• The Bored (Basement Bar 7pm)
• Dylan Marlowe (Fine Line 7:30pm)
• California Dreamin’ The Songs of Laurel Canyon (CDT 7:30pm)
• Inland Seas (Merlins Rest 7:30pm)
• Aberration, Nothingness, Extermination Day (Zhora Darling 7:30pm)
• Ross Clowser Quartet (Berlin 7:30pm)
• Liszt and Dvorak (Orchestra Hall 8pm)
• Jeremie Albino (Turf Club 8pm)
• The Off Nights, JULY FIGHTER, Cain & Co. (Shaws 8pm)
• Nato Coles & the Blue Diamond Band, the 241’s, Miss Georgia Peach (Palmer’s 8pm)
• Panel, Time Thieves, Partial Traces (Cloudland 8pm)
• Magic City Hippies (First Ave 8:30pm)
• Guster (State Theatre 8:30pm)
• SNAILS (The Loft 9pm)
• Gently, Gently (White Squirrel 9pm)
• Mikel Wright & the Wrong (Bunkers 9:30pm)
• The Riddim Castle - Subsuka, Abyss, NAUT (The Vault 10pm)
• The Changeups, Ira Haze & the Straze, Izzy Cruz (331 Club 10pm)

Sunday, February 2 

• Wilkinson James w/ Erik Brandt (White Squirrel 1pm)
• Schubert Mixology w/ Bradley Greenwald & friends (Amsterdam 2pm)
• Corpse Reviver (331 Club 3pm)
• Church of Cornbread (Palmer’s 5pm)
• Devil Dodger (White Squirrel 6pm)
• Chief Adjuah (Dakota 7pm)
• Nile & Six Feet Under (Studio B 7pm)
• Brass Messengers (331 Club 7pm)
• Fred Steele Presents: Baritones #101 - Broadway to Vegas (CDT 7pm)
• Topaz Annual Birthday Show (Zhora Darling 7pm)
• Nathan Hanson, Leyna Marika Papach, Kyle Motl, Steve Hirsh (Berlin 7pm)
• Pure Soul (Crooners 7pm)
• Wunderhorse (Turf Club 8pm)
• MICHELLE (Fine Line 8pm)
• West Bank Social Club (Palmer’s 8pm)
• Smokin’ Joe (White Squirrel 9pm)
• Dr. Mambo’s Combo (Bunkers 9:30pm)

FOOD TRUCK SPOTLIGHT

Friday, January 31

Brown Chicken Brown Cow on the Mooove (Boom Island Brewing 4-8pm) 🍔

Rustic Chef (Steel Toe Brewing 4:30-8pm) 🔥 🍗

Saturday, February 1

Amazing Momo (Sociable 12-6pm) 🥟

Tacos Los 4 Carnales (Inbound BrewCo 12-8pm) 🌮

Xstream Cuisine (Wandering Leaf Brewing 1-8pm) 🥪

Sunday, February 2

Red Rocket Pizza Co. (Utepils Brewing 12-8pm) 🍕

Angry Line Cook (Barrel Theory 2-6pm) 🍔

SPORTS

• Ottawa Senators VS Wild (Saturday 6pm) 🏒
• Washington Wizards AT Wolves (Saturday 7pm) 🏀
• Iowa Demon Hawks AT Blizzard (Saturday 7pm) ⚽
• Iowa Demon Hawks AT Blizzard (Sunday 6pm) ⚽

MOVIES

• Dog Man
• Companion
• Love Me
• Valiant One

KARAOKE 

• Otter’s Saloon (All Weekend 8pm-2am)
• Vegas Lounge (All Weekend 9pm-2am)
• Do Re Mi Karaoke Eagan (Friday & Saturday 11am-9:30pm | Sunday 11am-8:30pm)
• James Ballentine “Uptown” VFW (Friday & Saturday 9pm-1:45am)
• 1029 Bar (Fridays & Saturdays 9pm-2am)
• Black Hart of St. Paul (Friday 9pm-12am)
• Babe’s Place Shakopee (Sunday 9pm-1am)

LINKS

• Comedy Events (created by u/ Uzxxlu21): https://www.reddit.com/r/TwinCities/comments/1icevm6/this_week_in_comedy_jan_27thfeb_2nd/
• Reddit Twin Cities Social Meet-Ups: https://www.reddit.com/r/twincitiessocial
• Racket MN Event Calendar: https://www.racketmn.com/category/events/
• Meet Minneapolis Event Calendar: https://www.minneapolis.org
• MPLS Art Events: https://www.mplsart.com/calendar/upcoming
• Minnesota Monthly Event Calendar: http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/Calendar/
• MSP Magazine Event Calendar: http://mspmag.com/search/event/events-calendar/#page=1
• Minneapolis Northwest Event Calendar: https://www.minneapolisnorthwest.com/events/
• Minnesota Parent Event List: https://www.minnesotaparent.com/calendar/
• Family Fun Twin Cities: https://www.familyfuntwincities.com/family-fun-events-calendar/
• Minneapolis Parks & Rec Events: https://www.minneapolisparks.org/event-calendar/month/?tribe_eventcategory%5B0%5D=316
• St. Paul Parks & Rec Events: https://www.stpaul.gov/calendar/parks-and-recreation-events
• Three Rivers Park District Event Calendar: https://web2.myvscloud.com/wbwsc/mnthreeriverswt.wsc/search.html?display=Calendar&module=event&_csrf_token=cU716Z6D0C1B2B2C3C2L454I5R604U581V665Z566H046Q3U595K0B5U4U6L4N1F0E3S6K4U055R5P4J576D734L5C576Q73535P6D015S4R504J09664Q5G5708564N5S
• Trivia Mafia Schedule: https://www.triviamafia.com/schedule 
• Music Mayhem Schedule: http://www.musicmayhem.net/live-show-locations.html
• Get a Clu Trivia Schedule: https://www.getaclutrivia.com/home/#weekly-trivia-schedule

If you have any events to add, drop them in the comments! 

Due to life changes, I'm urgently seeking temporary foster homes for my two amazing cats, Charlie and Castillo.

Charlie: Gentle and calm, he loves cozy spots and quiet companionship.

Castillo: Friendly and playful, he thrives on affection and interactive toys.

I've included their profiles below for anyone interested in checking them out or sharing to anyone you think might be able to help!

Charlie: https://home-home.org/pets/22ebe729-beb6-4382-8d13-cf8d57901b06

Castillo: https://home-home.org/pets/869def93-e398-4299-bb93-6ab30a904bff

Both are neutered, vaccinated, and litter-trained. Please check their profiles or DM me for details. Your help in sharing or fostering would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!