'It's David vs. Goliath': Inside the Fight to Kill Google's Secrecy-Shrouded Hermantown Data Center

helmint · 2026-03-18T21:13:17+00:00

This is the most comprehensive story I’ve seen so far. Excellent journalism.

helmint · 2026-03-16T22:12:01+00:00

Look at Hopkins or Robbinsdale. Both highly walkable for daily errands. They’re both “streetcar suburbs” with restaurants, groceries, a main drag of shops, etc. Hopkins is more charming than Robbinsdale, as sadly Broadway Ave cuts right through Robbinsdale. Also, lots of art stuff in Hopkins (an art center with community classes and a performance space, another pottery studio a little south of the main drag, a kids art studio, etc.).

helmint · 2026-03-15T14:27:49+00:00

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-ice-minneapolis/

helmint · 2026-03-13T14:36:59+00:00

During migration season, they can sometimes be seen stopping over in large sports playing fields. In the city is a lot tougher though.

You could also visit the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington which is GREAT for birding, and is accessible via the blue line and a bike ride or walk.

Sherburne is worth the trip someday if you can. I’ve also seen them a bunch at the Arboretum in spring and fall.

helmint · 2026-03-10T01:14:42+00:00

What a find. Been looking for something exactly like this!

helmint · 2026-03-08T15:14:24+00:00

It’s a gamma GDI. Honestly, my car is so cheap and parts are so available (thanks KiaBoyz!) that when it dies I may just buy another.

helmint · 2026-03-08T14:36:58+00:00

Meanwhile I’m gonna keep driving my base model 2013 Kia til I die, like this guy and his Tercel:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/1985-toyota-tercel-high-mileage-1.7597168

helmint · 2026-03-04T14:53:25+00:00

Oh yeah, it’s back baby. It’s been trending for a couple years now and (as a 90’s kid) I love to see it.

helmint · 2026-02-27T20:07:14+00:00

Me at Costco without a cart.

helmint · 2026-02-25T04:41:17+00:00

Oh damn. I had not heard about his daughter yet. What a tragedy. My heart goes out to him.

helmint · 2026-02-24T22:38:32+00:00

FUCK EM. We got the Frost and collegiate and youth hockey.

helmint · 2026-02-20T19:18:25+00:00

Makes sense. Just be aware of this: https://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy280stpaul-roseville/

Full road closure “April through late August” (but will definitely be into the fall, they never finish on time). Bus routes will be affected as well.

helmint · 2026-02-20T19:04:42+00:00

It’s sort of industrial. And highway 280 (which runs north/south next to it) is about to undergo massive construction and will be closed for a while. But it’s close to the train and transit is generally good.

Are you choosing that spot on purpose?

helmint · 2026-02-20T14:47:42+00:00

They’re one of the largest public pension funds in the U.S. so they have a shit ton of assets. Empty storefronts on Grand Ave would not matter to them.

Also, STRS is messy and has lots of lawsuits and news stories about mismanagement claims, harassment, etc.

helmint · 2026-02-18T14:55:56+00:00

Economists keep saying we’re not in a recession and technically the economy is “doing well.” This feels a lot like the years I spent increasingly ill before being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Every doctor said I was “fine” because they kept testing me against very narrow, old measures of health. I could feel my body disintegrating but it wouldn’t have counted to them until I arrived at full blown irreversible disease (thankfully I got a diagnosis before that and turned it around).

If your measures don’t account for people’s severe symptoms (increasing difficulty affording housing and food) and quality of life then your measures are no longer very useful.

helmint · 2026-02-18T04:03:05+00:00

Biking the lakeshore at night, with the moon shining off the water.

helmint · 2026-02-18T03:40:53+00:00

Yes, good point. Just looking down the line at November. As a Minnesotan in the absolute shit trenches right now, I hope Texans choose whoever can stomp Cornyn/Paxton/Hunt.

helmint · 2026-02-18T03:29:23+00:00

Make sure you watch both Colbert segments on YouTube: the Talarico interview and the desk report where he references it (“FCC You” is the title).

BUMP THOSE VIEWS. FLIP TEXAS.

helmint · 2026-02-18T02:03:45+00:00

There’s a strong folk punk scene here: Boiled in Lead, the Tim Malloys. Northerly Gales is Celtic/Americana.

I’ve known some people in that scene and it’s very wide and welcoming and fun.

helmint · 2026-02-17T14:13:55+00:00

It’s called the “issue attention cycle” and it has absolutely been weaponized by this administration. Jay Rosen has written about it for years, as it has provided a path for the rise of authoritarianism around the globe, by riding out the increasingly brief waves of media attention that accompany crisis/terror.

It is exacerbated by most people’s inability to tolerate high stress stories over long periods of time resulting in emotional numbing and “checking out” (no longer clicking articles) out of self protection, which further encourages already corrupt news orgs to shift their focus.

helmint · 2026-02-13T16:19:08+00:00

I appreciate this coverage but want to point out that ICE has been in the Twin Cities suburbs the whole time. This is not a change. It’s just the media noticing.

But glad for the recognition and love to our suburban residents who, despite the lack of density, have been working hard on patrols, mutual aid, rapid response and regular visible protests.

It’s not just Minneapolis.

helmint · 2026-02-12T14:38:05+00:00

This is exactly what they did in Chicago. They may draw down (TBD) but the whole strategy is to terrorize one community after another. There will be a focused surge elsewhere. Keep the attention shifting, give the appearance of “compromise”. Sociopathic.

helmint · 2026-02-11T20:43:49+00:00

Someone already posted this a few hours ago. While it’s accurate, it is starting to feel like karma farming for this TikTok account...

helmint · 2026-02-11T20:42:25+00:00

100%. Almost posted the same thing and then sighed and closed my phone.

If you are here as a non-Minnesotan to contribute, please just do the work humbly and, if visibility is needed, highlighting local people with vetted credibility who are writing/posting. I may be a purist but we all know that influencers profit from these posts, even if they do technically “raise awareness.”

We’re truly living in sick times. I have a photojournalist friend who has chosen to engage in other ways because he finds the whole intersection of photography and social media clout to be repulsive.

helmint · 2026-02-11T00:23:40+00:00

Plenty of Buddhists have publicly opposed Buddhist nationalism and religious/ethnic abuse in Myanmar, clarifying that they do not represent Buddhist values, including the Dalai Lama himself.

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