There is power in Awooo-nion: T-Wolves and Lynx crew apply to form a union

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked and/or interesting Minnesota news.

Unions! You just keep shaping them!

The 50 members of the Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx internal audio and video team have applied for union recognition with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 745, according to a news release Tuesday. The crew applied for voluntary recognition on Monday, according to IATSE, but their request went unanswered by Timberwolves management and they have officially filed for election to the National Labor Relations Board.

Crew members who perform technical tasks such as operating internal cameras, replays, video, audio, etc. cite the need for “reliable, inflation-adjusted pay increases” as their main motivating factor; According to the press release, the Target Center crew has only received three (three!) raises since the Wolves' inception in 1989.

If successful, the Timberwolves/Lynx crew will be MN's second unionized intramural sports group, after the Minnesota United crew voted to unionize in 2022. “Our crew is inspired by the union's success at MN United, and they want that at Target Center too,” said crew member Josiah Wollan.

Warehouse district, lively?

Warehouse District Live wrapped up its glorious 2024 season this past weekend, but it sounds like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and his Downtown Action Council have some new proposals for revitalizing the Warehouse District beyond an event that brings out almost no one and looks depressing as hell.

The Minneapolis/St. Keith Schubert of the Paul Business Journal reports that the mayor has suggested the possible creation of neighborhood “social districts” where open containers would be allowed. New Orleans who? The idea was included in Frey's new Downtown Action Plan, released Monday, of which the mayor said in a statement: “This plan isn't just about ideas, it's about actions.” Yes, we got that from the Found out the fact that it’s called “Downtown Action Plan,” very good.

In addition to open container-friendly spaces, ideas in Frey's 18-page plan include new signage and billboards, year-round events, improved public spaces with improved lighting, pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and street activations. Mostly good ideas, mostly along the lines of “Make downtown a place that isn't boring in general.” I wish we had thought of that. If only we could get a nice park, public toilets, or a riverside attraction worth seeing…

Strib publisher/CEO reveals book, Strib dutifully writes about book

Last week, the Washington Post pulled more than 200,000 digital subscribers, the result of (unwarranted) outrage at its owner, divorced billionaire Jeff Bezos, and WaPo's failure to support the president.

Closer to home, we see another example of influential people in journalism profiting from their newspapers. Did Star Tribune editors who report to publisher Steve Grove independently consider their boss's just-published memoirs worthy of media coverage? Apparently, because today is about this story How I Found Myself in the Midwest: A Memoir appeared in the Strib by two contributing authors who compiled three sources. Interestingly, Grove's quotes were sent via email. Must be a busy guy!

Conspicuously absent from the lapdog story? Any mention that the Strib newsroom was apparently “blindsided” by Grove's sideline as a memoirist, as Minnesota Reformer's Patrick Coolican reported earlier this month. Also ignored: that the publishing powerhouse Simon & Schuster could only afford How I found myself in the Midwest a cheap, Kindle-exclusive cover, although you shouldn't judge books by it.

There have been rumblings within the Strib about whether things like a national listening tour and, soon, this book might serve as a way for Grove to use his high-profile gig as a springboard back into politics. Perhaps his plans will become clearer on June 24, when this “passionate tribute to the power of moving forward by going home” hits bookstores. We look forward to the clear, impartial review of the Strib.

Let's look at Walz Crazy taxi

How is everyone feeling a week before the election? Ha, ha, ha… yes, me too.

While major party candidates spent the weekend staging a “carnival of grievances, misogyny and racism,” here is Gov. Tim Walz Crazy taxi with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. (Smart players have pointed out that they are playing an inferior mod of the classic Dreamcast game FWIW.)