City Cast Twin Cities

Today we’re revisiting an episode wherein a South Minneapolis sex store used their virality and social media reach to fundraise hundreds of thousands of dollars in mutual aid during Operation Metro Surge. We dive deep into the story of Smitten Kitten, and how they went from almost closing forever to rallying a community behind them. Their partnership with a nonprofit serving Somali women shows how perceived differences fall away in moments of crisis, and why anyone can answer the call to service. 

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

⁠Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor⁠

⁠Smitten Kitten ⁠

⁠Isuroon⁠ 

Learn more about the sponsors of this September 2nd episode:

⁠Ordway Center for the Performing Arts⁠

⁠Bayfield⁠

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on ⁠Instagram⁠, or email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at⁠ citycast.fm/advertise⁠.

The City Cast team tried foods new and old at the State Fair this week. We defend some eye-brow raisers and muse that you can indeed bring your own whipped cream. Plus, it’s pre-fall; check out these parks, concerts, and Oktoberfests before it gets too cold. We wrap with a story about why Anoka County is beefing with Anoka the city, in a perennial reminder to electeds to be careful about what they text. 

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor

Minnesota State Fair breaks two attendance records in a row (Fox 9)

Judge rules Legislature improperly diverted $6M from Anoka County after leader sought ‘revenge’ (Star Tribune) 

The rise of House DFL leader Zack Stephenson - MinnPost

Back to School Shopping in St. Paul (City Cast Twin Cities) 

Learn more about the sponsors of this September 1st episode:

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Bayfield

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at [email protected]. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

DoRe #MeToo started six years ago, featuring femme performers reclaiming sexist rock songs to fundraise for abortion access. The show returns at the Parkway Theater on Sept. 12. DJ Tricky Miki tells us there’s no shortage of Rolling Stones songs that fit the bill. Producer Adam Sage is bringing our version of Tiny Desk to the Twin Cities. Our first Neighborhood Sessions featured local rapper GR3G and his band at Recovery Bike Shop. Plus, your State Fair takes and a plea to buy the CC Club. 

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

⁠Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor⁠

⁠GR3G Live at Recovery Bike Shop (Full City Cast Neighborhood Session)⁠

⁠6th Annual Do Re #MeToo // Sexist Songs Reclaimed by Righteous Feminists⁠

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 31st episode:

⁠Ordway Center for the Performing Arts⁠

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on ⁠Instagram⁠, or email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at⁠ citycast.fm/advertise⁠.

A massive Meta settlement is sending $214 million to Minnesota. What does that mean for how kids actually experience social media? St. Paul Central Principal Cherise Ayers joins to talk about the school's strict phone-away policy, AI in the classroom, and why consistency is the answer to chaos. Then Patina Park, Chief Operating Officer of NATIFS, previews Indigenous Peoples' Day at the Minnesota State Fair, and host Sean McPherson and contributor Tane Danger give you a couple of Twin Cities wins (and one loss!). 

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

Indigenous Peoples Day at the MN State Fair (NATIFS)

Minneapolis looks at making it easier for felons to own large dogs (Star Tribune)

Judge Sides With Texas Over Minnesota on Extradition of ICE Agent (New York Times)

Meta settlement: New Facebook, Instagram limits for Minnesota teens (FOX 9)   

St. Paul Public Schools Policy

Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 28th episode:

Xcel Energy

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at [email protected]. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Church bells toll at 8:26 a.m. today in remembrance of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church one year ago. Sean talks about the fear and hope of sending your child off to school in America. We also talk to Minnesota treasure Kevin Kling ahead of his show at Open Eye Theater, celebrating 50 years of his storytelling work. Plus, will Amber of Twin Cities Toilet Paper divulge her number one place to go number two at the State Fair?

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor

'Unimaginably difficult': How Annunciation is rebuilding sense of safety at school after tragedy (MPR News)

Minnesota Star Tribune wins Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Annunciation shooting (Star Tribune)

Kevin Kling: Unraveled at Open Eye Theatre

Twin Cities Toilet Paper Reviews

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 27th episode:

Xcel Energy

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at [email protected]. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

A racist Halloween costume lands Target in hot water AGAIN and this time teachers are calling for a full boycott. Today we dig into what the apology reveals about corporate accountability, plus contributor Tane Danger breaks down Governor Walz's executive order blocking copper mining near the Boundary Waters and the Mike Lindell recount saga. Then, MinnPost reporter Claire Carlson explains why Minneapolis is racing to replace lead pipes before federal funding runs dry, and why your neighborhood might determine whether yours gets replaced at all.

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

⁠Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor⁠

⁠Walz executive order moves to block copper mining near the Boundary Waters⁠ (MPR News)

⁠Mike Lindell stops payment for primary election recount, calls terms ‘unlawful’⁠ (Star Tribune)

⁠Target Apologizes and Drops Halloween Costume Criticized as Racist⁠ (NYT)

⁠Teachers call for Target boycott over ICE response⁠ (MPR News)

⁠Back to School Shopping⁠ (City Cast Twin Cities)

⁠Golden Age Design Offers Generational Keepsakes⁠ (City Cast Twin Cities)

⁠With funding set to dry up, Minneapolis faces tough choices on lead pipe removal⁠ (MinnPost)

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 26th episode:

⁠Xcel Energy⁠

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on ⁠Instagram⁠, or email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at⁠ citycast.fm/advertise⁠.

It's State Fair week at City Cast Twin Cities, and we’re going all in. But before the fair talk, we dig in to a stack of listener mailbags including a heads-up about proposed Hennepin County Library hour cuts, a 13-paragraph manifesto on cars vs. cyclists, and a rave review of kids' theater in the 4-H building. Then contributors Tane Danger, Hans Buetow, Em Cassel, Winter Keefer, Kirstie Kimball, Roseanne Pereira, Sam Choo, and PaviElle French share their can't-miss State Fair foods and activities.

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

Minnesota State Fair

Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 25th episode:

Xcel Energy

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at [email protected]. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

A Twin Cities dinner series is turning immigrant home cooking into radical acts of storytelling. Mecca Bos, founder of BIPOC Foodways Alliance and creator of the Immigrant Kitchen dinner series, joins to talk about why grandmas and aunties are the real culinary experts, plus a new print zine called Matriarch. Then, Dylan Alverson, owner of Post Modern Times, shares what seven months of serving 30,000 free meals taught him about poverty, dignity, and why the most psychotic business plan he ever ran might have saved his restaurant. 

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

Post Modern Times’ promise of free meals may have been too good to last (Star Tribune)

I couldn't make my restaurant's numbers work. So I took prices off the menu. (Business Insider)

We Have a 'Zine! (BIPOC Foodways with Mecca Bos)

Immigrant Kitchen by BIPOC Foodways

Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 24th episode:

Xcel Energy

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at [email protected]. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

Minneapolis parks are ranked among the best in the country, so what happens when the mayor proposes cutting their funding nearly in half? Park Commissioner Jason Garcia of District 4 breaks down the budget standoff between Mayor Jacob Frey and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and what's actually at stake for rec centers and green space across the city. Then, guest Nisi Collins talks about joining the Children's Theatre's first-ever Core Company and starring in the upcoming production of Pinocchio. Then, only our members will find out what Executive Producer Anna Weggel will not be buying for $10,000 at the state fair this year. If you don’t want to miss this hot tea, Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor today.

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

Pinocchio at Children’s Theatre 

Minneapolis mayor, park board at odds over consolidation [KSTP]

A message to the city of Minneapolis: Consolidation would hurt our parks [MinnPost]

Frey’s proposed budget gives Minneapolis Park board less than half of what it asked for [MinnPost]

New Foods for 2026 | Minnesota State Fair 

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 21st episode:

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Science Museum of Minnesota

Xcel Energy

Paddle & Portage

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at [email protected]. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

This weekend, Minneapolis becomes home to the very first Midwest Black Book Fair. Dr. Terresa Hardaway shares how she built it (and how to get your free tickets!). PaviElle French joins guest host Tiffany Bui to talk about their experiences as people of color in the suburbs – before and after some burbs “became even more racially diverse than the Twin Cities”. And Carrie Openshaw at The Bond Between tells us about the adoptable dog who currently has her heart, and how the region rallied to care for the pets of people displaced by Operation Metro Surge.    

⁠Become a City Cast Twin Cities Neighbor⁠

Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode:

⁠Midwest Black Book Fair⁠

⁠The Bond Between⁠

⁠These Twin Cities suburbs are more diverse than Minneapolis or St. Paul⁠ (Star Tribune)

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 20th episode:

⁠Ordway Center for the Performing Arts⁠

⁠Science Museum of Minnesota⁠

⁠Xcel Energy⁠

Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on ⁠Instagram⁠, or email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637.

For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities.

Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at⁠ citycast.fm/advertise⁠.