urbanMSP

Anyone know why they're taking down the Calhoun square sign?

https://twitter.com/GrantSimons2/status ... 5092630528

Because it's ugly?

Hopefully it's just getting an led retrofit or being refreshed...

David... lol

Taking Mr Calhoun's name off of it?

Southwest Journal reports newly opened "Trapped Puzzle Rooms" at 2717 Lyndale Ave S:

http://www.southwestjournal.com/news/bi ... ale-avenue

I'd never heard of this kind of thing before but it sounds pretty fun. Basically, they lock you and your friends in a room and you have to figure out how to get out of it by finding hidden clues and solving various puzzles. It sounds fun, in theory, anyways. Anyone ever try this sort of thing?

Their official webpage is:

http://www.trappedpuzzlerooms.com

Oh my god they did one of these on Conan. They look like a ton of fun. Kind of like one of those puzzle flash games where you have to escape the room but real life. I propose a Streets.mn meet up at one.

[Hint: The way out of the library is not a multi-way boulevard.]

Yes yes yes yes YES

http://www.startribune.com/teen-falls-t ... 323107381/

So incredibly sad. Cannot imagine what the parents are going through.

There is a heck of a lot of these kinds of fire escapes in the area. I've always thought they looked pretty solid, but I guess you never know. Does the city regularly inspect fire escapes?

Looks like a Potbelly's is going into the Flooring Expo building at 28th and Hennepin. So with Giordanos a block away, when do we start calling this strip of Hennepin "Little Chicago"?

Looks like a Potbelly's is going into the Flooring Expo building at 28th and Hennepin. So with Giordanos a block away, when do we start calling this strip of Hennepin "Little Chicago"?

When Old Chicago reopens?

^ Nice.

Perhaps we should wait for a couple gunfights to take place as well.

Erik's Bike Shop to open in Uptown.
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/n ... rship.html

Wow, with Flanders, Penn, Two Wheels and the Alt, that makes five bike shops within a few blocks of each other. Somebody open a bike shop on 38th and Nicollet. That seems like an untapped market. Bonus points if it's a bike shop/liquor store combo.

The biggest thing that we are missing is that the pie has actually gotten much bigger due to the increase resident in the area. How many new bikers are in the half a dozen + new buildings. The plus that Erik's has that Ducati did not, is that they have a full year worth of equipment that they sell. Erik's also sells ski's and snow boards that I 'm not aware that the other bike shops carry. This will help make Erik's a to got to place for the winter sports, and could carry over to the Bike's if they have great customer service. Not sure that many of the current bike shops will go belly up. There is a growing population that will allow for most to still do well. Some have already built a strong following over the years and will retain their customer base due to their past customer service. Again Erik's will gain in that they have a market already established with their other stores for winter sports equipment. Will see where things are in a year or so.

God I love living here.

The changes over the past decade are nothing short of amazing. It goes far beyond the physical developments we see. There are tons of kids that weren't here even five years ago. I see more people walking around the neighborhoods. In general it just feels much more lively than it did when I first moved in. There's much more generational diversity. We are still laking in racial and cultural diversity and I'm concerned about loss of lower-income residents but there are things we can do about both problems.

Temple Israel is expanding/ remodeling again. Noticed the fence up yesterday.

http://finance-commerce.com/2015/09/tem ... expansion/

Agree with wedgeguy, Erik's will do well on the winter sports gear here. Not a ton of competition for that stuff (The Alt does sell snowboards).
Since I always look at the negative, I wouldn't be surprised to see Penn or Flanders hurt a little bit by this move. Flanders seems dedicated to the high end racing bike segment, but Erik's will still be able to bite into some of that.

I'd love it if Penn Cycle and the corner building (former Milio's & smokeshop) was torn down for a new multi-story development.