Twin Cities

The Minnesota Wild start the 2021 season tonight and fans are hopeful that a new and young core can propel the club deep into the playoffs for the first time since 2003. 

Why it matters: Minnesota has made the playoffs seven of the last nine seasons, but has not advanced past the second round for 18 years. 

What's new: Not a lot. The biggest addition is defenseman/Minnesota native Alex Goligoski. 

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter — cornerstones for the last seven years — were bought out of their contracts in offseason. 

The team is now leaning on three young skaters — sensational sophomore forward Kirill Kaprizov, center Joel Eriksson Ek and winger Kevin Fiala. 

What they're saying: Most hockey prognosticators predict the team will make the playoffs as a wild card or by finishing third in the Central Division. They don't, however, predict a deep playoff run. 

But in the NHL playoffs anything can happen, which is why so many fans are hopeful. 

The bad news: Watching Wild games (and Wolves games, for that matter) won't be cheap this year. 

Bally Sports North, which will broadcast 69 of 82 Wild games this season, is only carried on cable or DirectTV streaming (formerly AT&T), which costs $85 a month. 

Since lower-cost streaming services like Hulu, Sling and YouTubeTV have dropped Bally Sports North, ratings for local sports have plummeted. Twins games were down almost 50% last season. 

Puck drop: The Wild starts the season at Anaheim tonight at 9pm. 

Can the Minnesota Wild get over the hump this season?

Minnesota has made the playoffs seven of the last nine seasons, but has not advanced past the second round for 18 years.

Minnesota Wild players high five on the ice.

Kirill Kaprizov is the star Wild fans have been craving for two decades. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Sports

Axios Twin Cities, anchored by Torey Van Oot, Nick Halter and Audrey Kennedy, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard

Axios Twin Cities

Minnesotans trying to buy a vehicle before winter are finding bare dealer lots and long delays. 

I learned that first-hand, and fast, while shopping for a car to accommodate my third child on the way.

Why it matters: There's a national vehicle shortage tied to a shortage of semiconductor chips, so people are having to wait for their preferred vehicle and pay more when they get it.

"Everybody's paying sticker price or above sticker to get something they want," said Scott Lambert, president of the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association. "In my 30 years doing this, I've never seen anything like this."

I was interested in buying a used vehicle, but the prices were so high that it didn't make a lot of sense. 

Used car prices are up 34% compared to last year. Why spend a few thousand dollars less on a four-year-old vehicle with 50,000 miles and no warranty?

What they're saying: Reader Deb Halvorson wanted to buy a used Subaru Crosstrek, but her dealership didn't have any. She ended up buying a new one.

Reader Brian Powers also opted for new over used for the same reason when buying a Volkswagen Altas. The good news: The dealership gave him $1,000 more for his Subaru Forester than what he would've gotten when he considered trading it in last year.

State of play: Auto makers are focusing on building trucks and SUVs, which are more profitable, Lambert said. 

Before the chip shortage, 86% of new vehicle sales in Minnesota were trucks and SUVs, but now that number is 90%, he said.

What's ahead: It could be a while before the market balances out, Lambert said. Many of the vehicles rolling into dealerships this fall have already been spoken for and the chip shortage is now expected to last through 2022.

"The Upper Midwest market gets slower in January and February," Lambert said. "That's usually when we catch up on inventory and get ready for spring sales. I don't know that we're going to be given the luxury of getting caught up this year."

I ended up buying a Honda Pilot after finding the right trim on Honda.com. I then called Inver Grove Heights Honda and put down a deposit. Now, I'm the midst of waiting six weeks for the vehicle to be built and shipped from Alabama. 

Why buying a car is nuts right now

"Everybody's paying sticker price or above sticker to get something they want," said Scott Lambert, president of the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association.

An aerial view of a mostly empty car lot 

Many Minnesota dealers have empty lots, like this one in California. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Business

News

The former Pepito's restaurant next to Parkway Theater in South Minneapolis will become a Wisconsin-style supper club.

Driving the news: Ward Johnson and Eddie Landenberger — who own both the restaurant building and the theater at 48th and Chicago — are in the process of renovating the restaurant, which briefly was home to El Burrito Mercado after Pepito’s closed. 

Their third partner on the project is Wisconsin native Eli Wollenzien, a supper club fan who's also the owner/chef of Red Sauce Rebellion and Coalition in Excelsior. (Coalition also has a spot at 50th and France.)

What to expect: The restaurant, to be named The Creekside Supper & Lounge, will serve up all of the supper club classics. Think prime rib, steak, fish frys and a pickled relish tray before the main meal.

And yes, of course there will be Old Fashioneds, Manhattans and other cocktails.

"It's going to be the most comfortable, down-to-earth and in many ways, simple menu ...  not trying to be super complex, just trying to do very basic things but do them really well," Johnson told Axios.

What else: The interior is being designed by Anna Lundberg, who also designed the Parkway Theater renovation after Johnson and Landenberger bought it in 2018. 

"We're kind of trying to recreate that small town feel, almost like a restaurant that's been there for a long time and it feels familiar and it feels comfortable," Johnson said.

Timeline: Johnson expects a soft opening in late November.

Scoop: Wisconsin-style supper club coming to Minneapolis

"It's going to be the most comfortable, down-to-earth and in many ways, simple menu."

A sign with Creekside Supper Club in white letters above orange 

Food and Drink

If you want to know which way the Minneapolis City Council is headed, keep an eye on Ward 11.

Why it matters: Ward 11 is a clear-cut race. It pits Jeremy Schroeder, a progressive incumbent who pledged to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department last summer, against Emily Koski, a moderate from a prominent Minneapolis DFL family. 

Koski is the daughter of the late mayor Al Hofstede and niece of former council member Diane Hofstede. 

Context: The ward the two are vying to represent is in southern part of the city surrounding Lake Nokomis. 

It's older, whiter and has fewer renters than the city as a whole.

State of play: Koski has blown Schroeder away in fundraising, $69,400 to $15,300. Her lawn signs are everywhere and mailboxes are stuffed with her literature.

Asked if he is the underdog in the race, Schroeder said "in some ways," but noted a candidate doesn't need that much money to win a City Council race. He's door knocking and giving voters "factual information," he said.

The top issue in Ward 11, like much of the city, is public safety. The neighborhoods were hit by the carjacking wave last winter and the 48th and Chicago business node suffered several robberies. 

But at the same time, many in the neighborhood are demanding changes to policing after the murder of George Floyd.

What they're saying: "We haven't seen MPD do anything to hold their own officers more accountable," said Schroeder, who supports the charter amendment to replace MPD with a new public safety department. 

"We have the exact same system we had when George Floyd was murdered. That's also what I hear at the doors and what people are concerned about," he added. "They want to be safe, they want to make sure that we have a system that works, and at the same time, (they're) kind of eyes wide open that nothing's changed."

Koski, who opposes Question 2, said the current authorized size of MPD — 770 sworn officers — feels low, and the city isn't even close to having that many officers on the street due to a wave of retirements and disability leave.

"We need to address the structural systemic racism and we need to implement deep structural change, but it's also  ... creating public safety alternatives beyond policing," she said.

More differences: Koski is more moderate on other issues as well. She opposes rent control (Schroeder supports) and would likely re-visit some of the policies enacted by the previous councils, including the drive-thru ban.

The bottom line: The City Council has been moving to the left for several years now, and a slate of challengers including Koski, Michael Rainville in Ward 3 and LaTrisha Vetaw in Ward 4 could move the needle back toward the middle.

Of note: There are other less-funded candidates in the Ward 11 race, including Dillon Gherna, a public initiatives coordinator for the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, as well as Albert Ross and Kurt Michael Anderson.

What the Ward 11 results will tell us about the future of Minneapolis

Incumbent Jeremy Schroeder and candidate Emily Koski are split on the future of MPD.

Emily Koski and Jeremy Schroeder. Photos courtesy of the campaigns

Politics

The Twin Cities would be a main pillar under the Federal Railroad Administration's newly released Midwest Regional Rail Plan. 

Zoom out: The plan would make Chicago the hub of the Midwest, with four pillar locations — Twin Cities, Detroit, St. Louis, and Indianapolis — that would have high frequency service. 

Why it matters: Daily service to Chicago (and Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin) would jump from one daily trip on the Amtrak Empire Builder to a much more frequent and fast schedule. 

It would also make it faster and easier to travel from here to other Midwest cities. 

Yes, but: Don't book that trip just yet. As the Chicago Tribune notes, the concept is only in the early stages and is intended to be a 40-year framework. 

It also depends on state and federal funding.

What the Midwest Regional Rail Plan could mean for Twin Cities travel

The plan would make Chicago the hub of the Midwest.

A route map for the Federal Railroad Administration's newly released Midwest Regional Rail Plan.

Nick Halter

Featured stories

Scoop: Wisconsin-style supper club coming to Minneapolis

What the Midwest Regional Rail Plan could mean for Twin Cities travel

Can the Minnesota Wild get over the hump this season?

What the Ward 11 results will tell us about the future of Minneapolis

Why buying a car is nuts right now