em cassel
@biketrouble.bsky.social
a guy drops one piece of ham in the snow and he never hears the end of it. co-owner/editor of @racketmn.com, em@racketmn.com. (she/they)
racket is five years old!!! i find that fact very hard to swallow and yet it’s true. here’s our fifth annual report to prove it. i feel very, very lucky that this is my job and my life!!!
Racket’s Year in Review: August 2025-July 2026 - Racket
Let’s dig into the facts and figures from Racket’s fifth year of operation.
racketmn.com
checked off three more national parks with my family this week: yosemite, sequoia, and kings canyon✨ i’ve got 20 down now, 43 to go!!!
I've spent the last two weeks talking and learning about fish. My findings:
Racket@racketmn.com · 2w agoThe long, up-'n'-down-'n'-slightly-up-again history of harvesting Lake Superior treats from the deep.
i've been thinking about babes in bikeland so much since racing it (my first alleycat!!!) almost two weeks ago. so i wrote about experiencing babes as a rookie, why this race means so much to so many people, and why, if it returns again in 2027, you should *definitely* register to ride.
Inside the Return of Legendary MPLS FTW Alleycat Babes in Bikeland - Racket
Or: How I learned to stop worrying and race my first alleycat.
racketmn.com
I love their pierogi--just like my grandma made. No other place in the area comes close.
em cassel@biketrouble.bsky.social · 2w agoalternate headline: pierogi and potato pancakes and pączek, oh my!
alternate headline: pierogi and potato pancakes and pączek, oh my!
At the Reimagined Black Duck, You'll Find a Menu That Would Make Babcia Proud - Racket
A trip to Poland inspired chef Jason Sawicki to reconnect with his roots—and reinvent his restaurant.
racketmn.com
i’ve been obsessed with MPLS piecycle club’s posters for years, and i’ve been delighted to see more and more cut-paper collage ride call art from them. i chatted with co-founder levi mills about how AI sucks and making stuff with your hands rules! their next family-friendly ride is this saturday :)
MPLS Piecycle Club Promotes Group Rides With Adorable Antidotes to AI Art - Racket
Creating community with a little help from cycling squirrels, dancing bears, and anthropomorphic loaves of bread.
racketmn.com
Our beloved neighborhood cafe & music venue Pillar Forum has been shut down by the City for fire code violations. They were working on the problem but the City decided they can’t host music anymore. Pillar was there for us every day during the Surge. Chip in a couple bucks so they can pay staff.
Donate to Save PILLLAR Forum: Keep All-Ages Music Alive in Minneapolis, organized by Corey Bracken
Hi, my name is Corey, I'm the owner of PILLLAR Forum. Today I… Corey Bracken needs your support for Save PILLLAR Forum: Keep All-Ages Music Alive in Minneapolis
gofund.me
really low for all of mpls to make any kind of parallels about omar fateh's scandals and graham platner's scandals. you you can't compare someone who raped a woman and who also had a nazi tattoo to fateh, what the fuck
Maine Public Radio's coverage of the killing by ICE this morning. It sounds like ICE is once again claiming that the victim tried to run them over, so just as a reminder, every time they've claimed this, it's been a lie. www.mainepublic.org/maine/2026-0...
Developing: 26-year-old Colombian man dead in ICE shooting in Biddeford
Federal, state and local law enforcement had closed off the scene of the shooting, which occurred before 8 a.m. Monday. Details were still emerging but state officials said an unidentified man was sho...
mainepublic.org
i cannot emphasize how easy it is to get to wells roadside by bike from south minneapolis now that the north cedar lake trail is finally open again! so... i had to write about that in addition to hot dogs. bikes: good. hot dogs: good.
You Need to Fill Out Your Glizzy Passport - Racket
If you've yet to get to Wells Roadside, this is the month to do it. If you've already been to Wells Roadside, this is the month to go again.
racketmn.com
Today: Are you nostalgic for video stores like @biketrouble.bsky.social? Places like Saturn Video are the antidote to the streaming service doomscroll. Plus, DJ Hampster Dance wants to see you at the First Ave grocery store rave. twincities.citycast.fm/podcasts/top...
Top 5 Vintage Shops, Grocery Rave, and Video Stores Are So Back - City Cast Twin Cities
You don’t have to rewind time to rent physical copies of movies. Contributor and Racket co-owner Em Cassel tells us about Saturn Video, which hopes...
twincities.citycast.fm
The official announcement wasn't supposed to be till next week, but fuck it... Racket is starting a local newsletter in New York.
daviss@daviss.org · 4w agoSo @nytimes.com not willing to sit on the sidelines anymore and coming after @racketmn.com
what's up nerds, i'm BACK with ANOTHER story about renting movies in minneapolis!!!!
Does Minneapolis Have a 'Video Rental Guild'? If So, Saturn Video Is Its Newest Member. - Racket
Coming soon: another new place to rent movies (and also grab a coffee).
racketmn.com
We have some opinions about some food we haven't eaten.
New 2026 Minnesota State Fair Food Revealed: Predicting the Winners and Losers - Racket
Let's get all Mel Kiper on the fair's 36 new food concoctions.
racketmn.com
NEW: He was picking up a work crew to take them to construction site at 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning. ICE showed up. And now this small business owner, the father of three American citizens, is dead. www.thebulwark.com/p/he-lived-h...
He Lived Here for 35 Years. Put Three Kids in College. ICE Killed Him.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was picking up a crew for a construction project when ICE shot him. It now claims he was the aggressor.
thebulwark.com
WHY DIDN’T YOU PEOPLE SET OFF ALL OF YOUR FIREWORKS LAST NIGHT OH MY GOD
Hey folks, happy to announce that I will be writing a couple of columns per month about the Lynx for Racket. Fulfills a longstanding desire--when I was at The Athletic, they were too slowly assembling a WNBA core staff before branching into team coverage and Minnpost has the very capable Pat Borzi.
piloting a snack of the summer concept, and it's no contest: this is the SOTS for 2026
Old Dutch Stuffed Cheeseburger Chips Are the Snack of the Summer - Racket
But you’d better track down a box now if you want to try them before they’re gone.
racketmn.com
we added a new feature to the racket site, STEP UP YOUR COMMENTS ACCORDINGLY (this made me lol @viamarsala18.bsky.social—everyone shop at instant replay sports!!!)
In his book, 'The Cruelty of Nice Folks,' Ellis looks at how when it comes to race, Minneapolis is trapped in cycles of good intentions and failure to follow through.
When Nice Folks Make Cruel Choices: Journalist Justin Ellis on MN's History of 'Unaccounted for Repression, Rage, Discrimination, and White Supremacy' - Racket
In his book, 'The Cruelty of Nice Folks,' Ellis looks at how when it comes to race, Minneapolis is trapped in cycles of good intentions and failure to follow through.
racketmn.com
there is nothing a 2003 subaru baja can’t do including carrying two mountain bikes; tiny trucks remain undefeated !!!
this summer you need to be paul simonmaxxing, steely danmaxxing, CCRmaxxing, fleetwood maxxing
bought body wash at menard’s tonight if that’s any indication of how things are going
I was kind of surprised at the end seeing this was a letter signed by just about every queer politician. Then i read Lavender’s goodbye and it really was odd. A sort of clap your hands together, we solved homophobia, adios
Racket@racketmn.com · last mo.We learned this week that Lavender magazine’s leadership decided to end their run after 31 years. We thank those contributors who have done good work through Lavender, but we would be doing our communities a disservice if we didn’t address their ahistorical statements.
My big hypothesis is that the old state flag discourse is just a replacement for all of the Trump flags that folks no longer feel comfortably flying. Was surprised driving up north last weekend how few Trump flags or decals I saw. The old state flag is just a less embarrassing way of vice signaling.
Stacey Burns@wentrogue.bsky.social · last mo."THEY TRIED TO ERASE OUR HISTORY." Annie Holmquist is back in the Strib today bragging about flying the old Minnesota state flag. Holmquist also writes for 1819 News, a right wing Alabama news site; Alabama didn't pull the confederate flag from their state capitol until 2015.
The curb cut benefit (the phenomenon of how making spaces accessible for one specific group can end up benefiting many, many others) on this would be astronomical!!!
em cassel@biketrouble.bsky.social · last mo.from indie bookstores to target field, twin cities gathering spaces have started doing more to support people with autism—but restaurants really haven't. i tried to find out why that is and learn what small changes they could make to be a little more accessible.
