City Cast Twin Cities

City Cast
  • 5.0 (23)
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  • UPDATED DAILY

Join Sean McPherson and the City Cast Twin Cities team every weekday morning as we bring you the day's conversations about life in the Twin Cities. With our cast of journalists, activists, experts and residents, we celebrate our wins with beaming pride, critique our shortcomings with the attention of a seed art judge and mutter “that’s interesting” for anything in between. Alongside our daily newsletter, we put the spotlight on the news and culture of the Twin Cities from every perspective we can find – including yours. It’s like a potluck where everyone’s invited and no one brings grape salad. So whether you've been here long enough to remember the Halloween blizzard of 1991, or you just bought your first winter coat, bring your dish over and let's talk. Learn more and subscribe to our newsletter at ⁠twincities.citycast.fm⁠.

  1. 20H AGO

    Giving Twin Cities restaurants some love

    As Twin Cities restaurants face economic strain and ICE enforcement fallout, we’re resharing some of our favorite food conversations. Writer Ali Elabbady walks us through the best African food across the metro, Sean defends his 135% correct ranking of the Top 5 chicken wings in the Twin Cities, and we revisit beyond beurre blanc’s Kirstie Kimball’s ambitious list of the best restaurants across Minnesota, plus send her all the love as she continues her public and powerful fight against breast cancer. The Minnesota food scene needs us. Let’s eat. Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode: Minneapolis-St. Paul's Best Spots for African Food (Explore Minnesota) Top 5 Twin Cities Chicken Wings (City Cast Twin Cities) Minnesota 50: 2025 (beyond beurre blanc) Learn more about the sponsors of this February 18th episode: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at twincities@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637. For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities. Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

    44 min

  2. 3D AGO

    'Your City Could Be Better’: How the Twin Cities Organized. Plus, What Counts As ‘Cold’?

    In this inaugural episode of “Your City Could Be Better,” City Cast CEO David Plotz talks with City Cast Twin Cities podcast host Sean McPherson about the local collective action efforts that cropped up throughout Operation Metro Surge. Immigration agents are expected to withdraw from the Twin cities over the next week.  Sean shares stories of how his community self-organized, why these networks have been so successful, and what other cities can take away from Minnesotans’ response to Operation Metro Surge. Plus, we have a D.C. vs. Twin Cities face-off on local cultural norms. We also mentioned this episode of City Cast Twin Cities. Is there something your city is doing that we should be talking about? Email David now! We’re also on Instagram: @yourcitycouldbebetter Looking to advertise on Your City Could Be Better? Check out our options.

    32 min

  3. 4D AGO

    The End of Operation Metro Surge? Plus, Best/Worst Twin Cities Dates

    Is it really over? Well, not quite yet. White House Border Czar Tom Homan announced Thursday he was ending Operation Metro Surge, and agents are expected to leave within the next two weeks. Why now? We consider three reasons. Plus, we share our best and worst Twin Cities dating stories and chat about a new City Cast podcast that focuses on what our cities are doing right and wrong.  Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode: Border Czar Tom Homan announces end to Operation Metro Surge, claiming success (Minnesota Reformer) Your City Could Be Better Things to do for single people on Valentine's day in Twin Cities (City Cast Twin Cities)  Learn more about the sponsors of this February 13th episode:  Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at twincities@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637. For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities. Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

    34 min

  4. 5D AGO

    A Spicy Legal Meatball and Why Singing Is Anti-Fascist

    About 17 assistant U.S. attorneys remain in Minnesota following a wave of departures from the office at the start of the year. Joe Thompson, a former prosecutor in the Feeding Our Futures fraud case, resigned last month and has joined Don Lemon’s defense team as the Justice Department seeks to prosecute him. Contributor and celebrated local journalist Winter Keefer joins host Sean McPherson to break down the fallout and all the spicy legal drama. Later, the team chats with vocalist Liz Digitale Anderson to talk about her organizing with Singing Resistance and the role of song in revolutionary and anti-fascist movements. Want to support our work and your community? Join our membership program and become a City Cast Neighbor today. For a limited time, we are donating the first three months of proceeds from all new Neighbors to the Immigrant Law Center. Learn more and sign up at https://membership.citycast.fm/twincities  Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode: Former federal prosecutor Joe Thompson joins Don Lemon’s defense team in church protest case (Star Tribune) Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow (New York Times) Another wave of departures in Minnesota’s U.S. Attorney’s Office (Star Tribune) Attorneys raise concern over questions about Trump policies on federal prosecutors' job applications (CBS News) What is the FACE Act, an obscure law used to prosecute Don Lemon? (MS NOW) Statement from the Minnesota Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Reformer, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Sahan Journal, Center for Broadcast Journalism and Minnesota Newspaper Association (Star Tribune) Singing Resistance: Songs of Defection for ICE Agents (City Cast Twin Cities) Learn more about the sponsors of this February 12th episode: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Xcel Energy Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at twincities@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637. For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities. Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

    40 min

  5. 6D AGO

    Mixtape for Mutual Aid, Indefinite Detentions, and The Power of Gay Bars

    The guardrails that protect immigrants’ rights are being bowled over by the Trump administration. A federal court decision handed down last week means more people detained in Minnesota will be quickly shipped out to Texas for an indefinite period of time. We’ll talk about what that means for immigrants’ rights. We’re also pressing play on a 30-artist mixtape, which has raised more than $1,600 for community aid so far. Plus, Lush, the gay bar in northeast Minneapolis, is partnering with Absolut Vodka and gay bars around the country to support each other.  Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode: Dozens of Minnesota bands come together for mixtape benefitting mutual aid efforts (Bring Me The News)  A federal appeals court just greenlit Trump's mass detention policy. Here's what it means for Minnesota. (Sahan Jourmal)  A Mixtape for MN Mutual Aid (Bandcamp) Lush Lounge and Theater Learn more about the sponsors of this February 11th episode: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at twincities@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637. For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities. Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

    38 min

  6. FEB 10

    Anti-ICE Blockades, Witness Speaks On ICE Shooting, and Bowling for Love on V-Day

    "Filter blockades" are popping up at intersections around the Twin Cities as residents are employing a new technique to slow down federal immigration enforcement. Host Sean McPheron is joined by Racket co-founder Em Cassel and producer Tiffany Bui to discuss the purpose, effectiveness, and outcomes of these blockades. The team also offers up recommendations on how to spend Valentine's Day in the Twin Cities if you're single, and unpacks new information on the Jan. 14 incident where an ICE agent shot a man in the leg in North Minneapolis. Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode: Minneapolis tells residents to stop building anti-ICE barricades, but they keep popping up (Star Tribune) Neighbors: Blockades are pop-up parties that also slow down ICE agents (MPR) Two Venezuelans, charged with assaulting agents in ICE shooting, re-detained despite judge’s orders (Star Tribune) ‘I saw everything’: Woman speaks out after ICE shot and detained her partner in north Minneapolis (MPR) The Bodyguard: Date Night + Friendship/Dating Mixer! (Trilingua Cinema) Il Cinema Ritrovato at The Main Cinema and Walker Art Center (MSP Film) Cheesy Garlic Bread Donuts (Mario's St. Paul) Cross Country Skiing at Theodore Wirth Park (Loppet Foundation) Cry For Help at the Bowling Alley: Bryant Lake Bowl, Memory Lanes, Elsie's, The Nook Learn more about the sponsors of this February 10th episode: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at twincities@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637. For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities. Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

    34 min

  7. FEB 9

    A Principal on the Front Lines, Plus S’mores, Snowshoes and Music

    Cherise Ayers is the celebrated Principal of Saint Paul Central. Ayers joins host Sean McPherson to explain how she fights chaos with consistency and why she keeps an emergency pom-pom in the car so she can always celebrate one of her students. Later, MPR Newsroom coordinator and City Cast contributor Denzel Belin highlights events for this Valentine’s Day week, and we feature Crescent Moon and Andrew Broder for our Local Music Spotlight.  Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode: Central High School Meshell Ndegeocello at the Dakota Puzzle Night at Badger Hill Brewing Gabby’s Dollhouse Live at Ames Center Small S’Mores at the IDS Gallentine’s Day Hand Knit Chunky Blanket at Fat Pants Brewing Snowshoeing at Oliver Kelly Farm  Home on the Mornin’ Train from Youth Performance Company “Eulogy” from Crescent Moon and Andrew Broder Learn more about the sponsors of this February 9th episode: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at twincities@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637. For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities. Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

    37 min

  8. FEB 6

    The Bargain for ICE Leaving, Schools Sue DHS, Neighbors Save Dog

    After Border czar Tom Homan announced that 700 immigration enforcement officers would leave Minnesota, reports emerged that county sheriffs were exploring ways to honor "ICE detainers" despite state law barring them from holding inmates beyond their release dates. It's legally complicated, and thankfully Ana Pottratz Acosta, a visiting law professor at the University of Minnesota and a lawyer specializing in immigration and human rights, was able to chat with host Sean McPherson on the podcast today to break it all down. Longtime local news producer, media consultant, and adjunct journalism professor Sam Choo and Producer Adam Sage also join the conversation to cover a new lawsuit being brought by multiple school districts against the DHS and to share some Twin Cities wins from the week. Learn more about the topics discussed in today's episode: ICE Demands More Access to Minnesota Inmates. But It’s Complicated. (New York Times) County attorneys nix plan between Minnesota sheriffs and ICE (MinnPost)  Minnesota sheriffs group, border czar Tom Homan negotiating blueprint for federal drawdown (Star Tribune) Minnesota school districts, teachers union sue Trump administration over ICE activity near schools (Star Tribune)  Attendance drops at Minnesota schools as federal immigration enforcement intensifies anxieties (Star Tribune) Minneapolis schools cancel classes after Border Patrol clash disrupts dismissal at Roosevelt (MPR) Minnesota clinics look to fill gap in gender-affirming care after Children's Minnesota pause (MPR) Want to get in touch? Follow us @CityCastTwinCities on Instagram, or email us at twincities@citycast.fm. You can also call or text us at 612-217-0637. For more Twin Cities news, make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, City Cast Twin Cities. Looking to advertise on City Cast Twin Cities? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise.

    41 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

Join Sean McPherson and the City Cast Twin Cities team every weekday morning as we bring you the day's conversations about life in the Twin Cities. With our cast of journalists, activists, experts and residents, we celebrate our wins with beaming pride, critique our shortcomings with the attention of a seed art judge and mutter “that’s interesting” for anything in between. Alongside our daily newsletter, we put the spotlight on the news and culture of the Twin Cities from every perspective we can find – including yours. It’s like a potluck where everyone’s invited and no one brings grape salad. So whether you've been here long enough to remember the Halloween blizzard of 1991, or you just bought your first winter coat, bring your dish over and let's talk. Learn more and subscribe to our newsletter at ⁠twincities.citycast.fm⁠.

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