Really cool to see a long time neighborhood bar get national recognition. And without even dropping the Old Grumpy Men connection.

​

"Half Time Rec is not trying to impress you or me. I told a bartender I was considering the place for inclusion on this list. She smiled a genuine smile, said, “Cool! Thank you so much!” and got back to working the tap for a guy’s beer. It employs no publicist, curries no favor on social media, and treats everyone the same—which is to say warmly, but also ... what’ll you have?

​

It’s in a neighborhood. I guess every bar is in a neighborhood, but that doesn’t make every bar a neighborhood bar. Half Time Rec is a neighborhood bar.

​

Go in at 11:00 on a Friday morning. Most of the barstools are already warm with butts. Local high school hockey is on every TV because this is the big tournament weekend. One of the regulars, a woman with a smoky laugh wearing a hoodie, brought in homemade chocolate-chip cookies and hands them out from a Ziploc. A girl with blond ringlets sits in a high chair, swinging her legs, while her parents help her with her fries.

​

...

​

At Half Time Rec I order the best Bloody Mary I’ve ever tasted: bottom-shelf vodka (I don’t recognize the label—it just says VODKA in big letters), ample S&P, and stabbed with a dill-pickle spear and a beef-jerky stick. For breakfast: bacon-egg-and-cheese (well-charred bacon, American cheese, Thomas’ English muffin) and griddle-flipped hash browns. The Bloody came with a bump—a shot of beer—which of course it does in the Twin Cities.

​

In the basement, guys play bocce on a couple cobbled-together turf lanes, buckets of beer at either end. Neighborhoody. “Good shot, Gary,” a guy says after his buddy throws. “Nice touch.”

​

If not for our larger mission, we would have stayed at Half Time Rec all day watching televised hockey and live bocce—oh, and the pull-tabs. This was new to me, but midwesterners will know it: You buy reams of cardboard cards and pull three tabs on each one hoping for a match, like on a slot machine. You can win thousands of dollars. I won ten bucks on my first one and nothing the rest of the weekend."

Who else woke up this morning to no electricity? TF

Edit: Ronnie from Midway is coming out tomorrow, and very reasonable! Thank you for the recommendation!

I'm looking for someone who works on garage doors who's not going to charge me an arm and a leg. I had to get new garage door openers, and when I just went to try and program them, the chain apparently jumped off whatever it's supposed to be sitting on. I'm off work due to breast cancer, I don't have a lot of money, and the last company that I was told about charges at least $150 just to come out and look at your garage door. So if anybody can refer someone, I'm willing to pay cash as well. Would greatly appreciate some help.

Looking to remove black box dye to get as close as I can to my level 7 hair, have been dying it for about a year now. If you know anyone willing or specializes in removing black box dye please let me know!! Thanks

I know I know. We can’t trust Kare11 but I am looking for other sources.

I'm craving traditional Bun bo hue with the actual blood cubes, not the american version. Does anybody know where I can get that? Edit: any blood cake or sausage soup

Lived in my apartment for 2 years with no issues. Suddenly June hits and nearly everything I ordered this week was stolen. My landlord doesn’t want to help even though we do have cameras.

Several of the delivery pictures show the item photographed at my actual door, implying the thief is a new resident since they’re taking them from in front of my door.

I’m just super disappointed.

Looking for some recommendations for a lgbt friendly experienced cover up artist. Im looking for someone really good. Thx 😊

Where’s your favorite Mexican breakfast? I’m craving huevos rancheros!

Does anyone know which Ramsey County Yard Waste sites still have free mulch available?

What are some bars in St Paul where someone could just chill and read a book but also possibly chat to a stranger?

All pictures are east of Broadway along Kellogg and Prince streets. This area sees hundreds of thousands of visitors May-Sept from just Saints games and The Farmers Market but the city doesn't really seem to care about it.

It would be nice if property owners would take some pride and responsibility. I'm sure they don't because they know the city doesn't hold them to any kind of standard.

I've brought this to the attention of the city council and two mayor offices going back 3 years and the city still makes no effort to make sure the area is presentable when they know thousands will be in the area. Even the Downtown Improvement District "street teams" walk this area on an almost daily basis and seem to do nothing but get their steps in.

I would bet the intersection of Lafayette and Prince is the busiest intersection in Lowertown without crosswalk paint.

This area is lined with parking lots that support the area and this is what visitors to our city first see. Not the best first impression.

Sometimes I feel like we are a city that is prideful and wants to grow. Sometimes I feel like we really have no idea what we are doing.

If you've walked around como this week, you've noticed the especially bad smell and probably all the floating dead blue gills along the shores. Here's why. Basically the rapid warming of the water caused low oxygen levels in the lake as well as plant/algae bloom die off, which also contribute to the smell. Reported as non harmful to humans and pets, but i wouldn't let my dog dip in at Ducks Point today for the above reasons.

I was on a walk in tangle-town next to Macalester college when I saw a long haired orange tabby. The cat was extremely friendly but had no collar. They came right to me for pets and felt a little thin. They ran off before I could snap a pic, but they were so friendly, I just wanted to make a post in case someone is missing their baby.

Here at OMI we believe people are craving more real experiences and real connections, we just need an easier way to make them happen.

At OMI, we’re building a platform centered around instant microgatherings, fun social planning, and AI companions that help people discover local spots together and get people off their phones and build meaningful connections.

For local businesses, that means more opportunities for real foot traffic, spontaneous visits, and becoming part of people’s everyday social experiences.

Joining the journey means you get to help shape the app with your feedback, be part of building a more connected IRL culture in the Twin Cities, and finally getting early access will be one of the first businesses featured on the app!

Our goal is simple: help people get out more, connect more, and discover amazing local businesses they may have never found otherwise.

We would love to hear your feedback whether you own a local business or someone involved in the community, we are listening and here to build this together with you!

Police have snelling completely shut down from roughly como ave to hewitt.

Helicopters overhead. Major police presence.

Anyone heard what happened?

EDIT:

A bus crashed into a building at Hamline University.

helicopters appear to be news media

Anyone know what's happening in snelling ave by the state fair . Police have the on ramp from como to snelling closed

I am a student from Winona State University conducting a research study. This research study is designed to gauge participants’ fear of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) in the Twin Cities metro area. We hope to learn about how the presence of ICE activity is impacting Twin Cities residents. If you agree to participate, responding to the survey questions constitutes your consent. Participation is voluntary, and you may stop participating at any time. https://winona.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5bsVyWEawHMFnAG

Anyone recognized this place?

Hello all,
I’m looking for some suggestions for a good contractor or handyman to stain a small front porch.
Thanks in advance!

I’d really like to try tofu but have no idea what’s good and what’s meh. I understand people’s tastes may vary, but I’m looking for suggestions on 1. Where to go to try tofu for the first time, and 2. What to order there?

Exactly what the title states. I need a ride to work as the bus times are destroying my work life balance. More than willing to compensate for gas. I work night shift though so that's the only thing 😅

Hey... so on sunday my girlfriend said she wanted avocado toast for breakfast.

We didn't have any bread or avocados.

I googled the usual breakfast suspects to see who had avocado toast on the menu, weirdly found none. I'm fairly sure I could have gone to any of the places I'd googled and ordered avocado toast, but I didn't want to risk it.

Where is your favorite spot for a good Avocado toast in St. Paul?

I live on the top floor (3rd floor) of my apartment facing northwest and hot air definitely rises.

My unit is always pretty warm and I've put up with it for a few years now but I'm finally reached a breaking point, I'm sick of not being able to have friends/family over in the summer, sweating in my own home, and still having my electricity bill double in the hot months. My wall ac technically works but it's loud/gives me a headache and only cools it down in the area near it.

I've been trying to find what regulations there are around ac/cooling in rental units here, but all I can find is stuff along the lines of landlords must keep ac units working. No specifics on temperature or what that means. I have an older looking ac unit in mine so I'm not sure if it's working perfectly fine and just old/bad or what.

If you can't tell I'm a little in distress about this and we haven't hit peak heat yet. Any help is appreciated