According to Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, these are the top five routes from MSP this year: DEN (1,114,941 seats), PHX (769,017), ATL (721,348), ORD (718,838) and LAS (686,362). Would’ve never guessed that order (or volume) in a million years… ✈️
With Oliver* now scheduled for production in England, I’ve been thinking about what I want for a license plate. Minnesota offers a ton of special plate options, along with the original personalized option. You can’t combine the two, though, which is probably what I would do if I could (i.e. – a loon design with a custom name). The costs vary a lot too – a standard personalized plate is $100, while the various “contribution” plate styles range from $10 to $60 annually (plus fees).
Growing up, I always thought personalized plates were pretty cool (and expensive). The state says there are almost 82,000 of these currently in use and I’ve seen quite a few clever ones over the years. I wish there was an online site where you could check to see if your desired name is available, but right now it’s just a paper form with spots for your top three choices. Don’t really want to gamble $100 unless I know I will get the one I want, so that option is out.
My mom always had the loon plates, which I also had on my first Mini in 2005. I was thinking about another loon, but then heard about the Minnesota State Parks & Trails option (pictured above). It’s $60 annually, but also grants you access to all of the state parks without an additional permit. I see that one a lot on the road (almost 25,000 issued) and it seems like a win-win. Here are a few other plate stats I find interesting:
Oliver is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in Oxford on December 12, followed by a boat ride across the pond. Should be in Minnesota just in time for a big red bow on Christmas morning…
* proposed name for our 2024 Mini Cooper S Hardtop
Not a big fan of billboards, but the ones that First Avenue gets are usually pretty awesome
Big thanks to Jim and his crew for hosting – Wild beat the Oilers, 7-4 (and a hat trick for Hartzy)
Cheapest gas on the entire drive now ($3.18/gallon today vs. $3.44 at the previous all-time leader, Cloquet Kwik Trip)
Grand Casino might have the last Black Orchid games in Minnesota. Played just a little bit – no progressives, but multiple free spin sessions (some with re-triggers). Very disappointed to see the giant new “Smoking Room” that made the whole place stink…
The Scotch tape and blue painters tape tee markers were a highlight at the 2023 3M Open @ TPC Twin Cities
This Forbes story on Bill Holst is fascinating. I was already impressed with his accumulation of golf courses (Gopher Hills, Red Wing, Clifton Highlands, Lake City and Troy Burne), but never knew about the caviar.
Would love to see more local reporting with stories like this…
The courses are both still beautiful, but the pace of play (and the management of the pace of play) was the worst I’ve seen up here
The only ad I want to see from you is the return of potato cakes #ArbysBoycott
