Star of the North

"The city has a 200-year history of embracing newly arrived immigrants and, over the past decade, burnt-out bicoastals lured by that Midwest Nice. Among them have been intrepid, talented chefs, undeterred by the cold, who have slowly but surely created a remarkably diverse food scene."

"If Prince had moved to Chicago, New York or Los Angeles, his music would have still been phenomenal, but it would have sounded very differently.... Prince’s genius was that he took the Black-inflected music from the community where he was born — Minneapolis’s Near North Side — and synthesized that with the city’s other sounds."

"Diane's Place is the first solo venture from Diane Moua, a highly regarded pastry chef whose CV reads like a roll call of the city's most acclaimed establishments. Yet there's far more than exceptional baking on offer here (tempting though the pastry counter may be): this much-talked-about restaurant is a refined, quietly ambitious dining destination where traditional Hmong flavors are reimagined through a contemporary lens."

In a state that offers so much — thousands of lakes, sweeping prairies, hardwood forests, and more — it’s hard to narrow down the best small towns to visit.... Whether you're looking for classic lakeside stops or hidden river valley gems, we’ve done the boots-on-the-ground research for you."

"Minneapolis is one of those rare large cities that does culture and outdoor adventure really, really well. The city boasts more than 55 museums in the metropolitan area, including at least three major institutions devoted to art, and dozens of theatre companies, a testament to how much locals love the arts."

"Unlike many arrow-straight rail trails, the wiggly Root River State Trail follows every curve of the meandering Root River in southern Minnesota for 42 miles from Houston west to Fountain, linking a series of small towns — none with more than 2,000 residents — that have largely been revived by cycling traffic."