The Minneapolis tourism industry will be keeping a close eye on what happens to the downtown Hilton hotel as it heads toward a scheduled auction next month.

Why it matters: The Hilton is Minnesota's largest hotel, with 826 rooms. It's the type of hotel that event planners love because guests can eat, sleep and meet in one place. It's also the type of place that brings lots of people to the city and region.

Catch up quick: The hotel's current owners defaulted on their debt during the pandemic.

• After failed modification discussions, a Hennepin County judge ordered a foreclosure auction, which will take place on Jan. 13, per the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

What they're saying: Douglas Greene — managing director of Haberhill, one of the two Hilton Minneapolis owners — blamed Minnesota's "unnecessary" pandemic shutdowns for the hotel's financial situation.

• He told Axios that if Minneapolis is concerned about the future of the hotel, officials and industry types should have been louder back in 2020 and 2021.
• "What's going to happen to this hotel is much less certain when a lender takes it back than when somebody in the [hotel] business owns it," he said.

Between the lines: If the hotel goes to auction, there's no telling who will buy it. Plus, Hilton's management contract expires in four years, and hotel brands expect owners to make upgrades.

The intrigue: Who buys the hotel and what they do with it will give us an idea of how much investors believe in the future of downtown Minneapolis.

• The Minneapolis Hilton was a profitable hotel before the pandemic. In 2019 it had a 74% occupancy and operating income of close to $20 million on $61.5 million in revenue, according to loan details provided to Axios by analytics firm Trepp.
• But in 2020, downtown occupancy plummeted. Since then, it's been slowly rebounding, but occupancy rates were only 55% in October 2022, down from 75% in October 2019, per STR.

What we're watching: City council member Michael Rainville told Axios that "as of now, "nobody is concerned we're going to lose the biggest hotel in the state of Minnesota."

• In fact, he said, with hospitality making a comeback, talks are reigniting about building a new large-scale downtown hotel. "Sites are being looked at," he added.

Masks, cheap gas and brunch spots were top of mind in the Twin Cities this year, at least according to our Google searches.

Driving the news: The tech company's recently released roundup of 2022 local search trends includes a list of items and services Twin Cities users wanted to find "near me."

• N95 masks, Easter brunch, gas prices, cheapest gas and fence company rounded out the top five, followed by upholstery repair, concerts, Pilates, fish fry and food shelves.

Yes, and: Our most-searched recipe was the "Jennifer Aniston salad" (IYKYK) and the top trending animal was the capybara.

• We'll save you the search: It's a giant rodent.

Go Deeper with Google's full recap

🚨 Emergency medical responders in Hennepin County say violent incidents are making the job even more dangerous. (Star Tribune)

👮 St. Louis Park deputy police chief Bryan Kruelle is the city's pick to lead the department. He'll start as chief on Dec. 17. (Release)

🇺🇸 Gov. Tim Walz spent the weekend visiting Minnesota National Guard troops stationed in Kuwait, per a release.

🏈 High school students from dozens of tribes took the field at U.S. Bank Stadium for the fifth annual Indigenous Bowl on Sunday. (MPR News)

🏢 Ameriprise Financial is consolidating its downtown Minneapolis employees into its Client Service Center building. (Star Tribune)

• That means its main headquarters building, Ameriprise Financial Center, will be vacant in 2025, adding 850,000 square feet of space to an already over-supplied downtown office market.

🗳️ Jerome Evans recently announced a bid for Minneapolis' Ward 12. He's seeking to succeed Council Member Andrew Johnson, who is not running for re-election. (Info)

"When we talk to candidates, probably less than 1 in 10 would be willing to relocate to Minneapolis."

Yes, but: While it's "extremely difficult" to attract applicants from elsewhere, it's also hard to get workers to leave once they're here, Hoffarber told the Star Tribune.

Go Deeper on the local workforce conundrum via the Strib's Curious Minnesota series.

💼 Check out who’s hiring around the city.

1. Lead Infrastructure Engineer - Fraud and Claims at Wells Fargo.
2. Event Planner at Horizontal Talent.
3. Partnership Sales Director at Minnesota Timberwolves.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job.

The next Congress will see Minnesotans move into influential leadership posts on both sides of the aisle.

Why it matters: These roles give members of the state delegation prime seats at the decision-making and message-shaping tables. Leadership positions could also raise their national profiles.

Driving the news: U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who chairs the Steering Committee, was elevated to the No. 4 spot in Senate Democratic leadership last week, while U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar was named vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Yes, and: U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer's selection as GOP whip, announced last month, will make him the third-ranking Republican next year.

• U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, meanwhile, was elected vice chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

The popular Zillow Gone Wild Twitter account tipped us off to this "perfect mid-century modern" home in Minneapolis.

• The split-level home has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Diamond Lake, multiple fireplaces and a shuffleboard court in the laundry room.
• It's listed at $825,000.

See more photos...