Wacipi

from flickr user ericmonson
It's a bit out of season but this photo, simply tagged 'Wacipi' in its title, is so vibrant and colorful it needed to be showcased. It shows that even with metropolitan development nearly encircling the reservation that the children still embrace their heritage - if only for one weekend each summer. I should be more familiar with the date (taken Aug. 3, 2008) but I believe this would have been during the annual Wacipi put on by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux of Prior Lake (Mystic Lake Casino...)

The final frontier of the city

from flickr user kyril
The photographer says: Scenery along Eagle Creek Blvd. in Shakopee, MN.

Echoing the comments on the photographer Flickr stream, the photo is wonderfully composed and manages to capture the stark contrast of the edge of development and farmland - for now.

A sign of the times

from flickr user jenniferlarson
I haven't the slightest idea where this photo was taken in the Twin Cities but the clarity is stunning, the color powerful and rich and its mysterious locale and mildly cryptic message make it that much more intriguing.

Our Lady of Victory chapel

from flickr user Dan Anderson
The photographer says: The Our Lady of Victory Chapel on The College of St. Catherine campus, St. Paul MN – I like the Mother Mary blue doors.

University Square

from flickr user -Chad Johnson
The photographer says: What was once the Centerplace Galleria in downtown Rochester, MN is now The Shops at University Square. The two top floors are now home to The University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR).

Sadly, I remember seeing more than a few movies when a theatre still occupied some of the Galleria's space on Broadway. I knew it had ended its retail run but kudos to the University for occupying existing space.

First Storms

from flickr user dancing bohunk
The photographer says: The first severe storms of the season. They were about 50 mi. away at this point - just snapped this from my deck.

Giant Mining Truck

from flickr user pmarkham
The photographer says: Any truck that requires either a ladder or a set of stairs in order to get into the cab shouldn't be allowed!

St. Paul buildings

from flickr user Dan Anderson
The photographer says: Interesting building seen from Transfer Road, St. Paul, MN

Iron Man Statue

from flickr user pmarkham
The photographer says: Located just outside of Chisholm, MN, this giant sculpture is titled "The Emergence of Man Through Steel." I saw it as I was driving through the Iron Range today on my way to visit a customer.

Deer tongue

from flickr user vangoat
A nicely cpatured photo of a young deer lapping up some seeds on landscape timbers.

Ted's Liquors

from flickr user Nick Mazur
This is my type of bar. It's shaddy looking, almost fright-inducing, looks like you could mug as you duck out for a smoke and the floors are definitely sticky. Don't even get me started on the bar stools.

The photographer says: Ted's Liquors is a bar in my neighborhood. I drive by it every day, but last night the light was really nice so I decided to take a picture of it. I used a Cokin grad filter and did highlight toning in Photoshop.

Coachella; Peter, Bjorn & John

from flickr user IceCreamMan
A photo of the nicely corralled crowd at the Polo Grounds in Indio, California during Sunday's Peter, Bjorn and John performance during the annual Coachella music festival. Ahh, to have actually been there... someday it will happen. See the band here.

Bird Island

from flickr user nkimadams
There is nothing more iconic in rural Minnesota than what I affectionately refer to as the soup can water tower.

The photographer says: Nothing more iconic. The water tower in a small American town. Bird Island, Minnesota. Out for a bike ride today, I stopped in the alley across the street and shot this view.

Tree

from flickr user Dan Anderson
A gnarly River Oak in Merriam Park St. Paul, MN

Alien landing

from flickr user Dan Anderson
The photographer says: Giant water towers in Highland Park St. Paul, MN. These always remind me of that 'War of The Worlds' movie.

Liquid zzzzzzs

from flickr user lillith collective
Even more alluring than the light effects of this photo is the young woman posing for it. Spring is truly in the air.

St. Paul's Tea Party

from flickr user FotoSnapper1
While the crowds didn't exactly pan out to be as large as expected, it looks like maybe 1,000 or so protesters turned up at Minnesota's state capitol in St. Paul yesterday for the tax day protest.

Finally on the Lake

from flickr user jardinle
Spring has sprung in Minnesota as this sailboat, taking to one of our nearly 15,000 lakes, glides across the relatively calm but blue water.

Swingers

from flickr user Randy's Dailies
Very nicely silhouetted riders at last year's Minnesota State Fair.

Rural decay

from flickr user eremcknight
A fallen tree lies slowly decaying somewhere in Minnesota.

Barbed wire

from flickr user jeffree 2671
A unique perspective on barbed wire and power lines above them.

Al Franken wins again, Coleman remains sore loser

from flickr user chuckumentary
The big news last night was the panel of three judges ruling that U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken's lead stands over candidate Norm Coleman. Of course Coleman will try yet again in his never-ending court battles as the recount pushes toward its fifth month.

Goldfinch in the snow

from flickr user djsime
Our days of snow are finally gone for the season but this cooperative goldfinch is quite the trooper as it shows off its colorful featuers during a snowy day just a week ago.

Minnesota Rollergirls at Roy Wilkins in St. Paul

from flickr user Mulad
After watching an episode of No Reservations during my first fake-cation day last Friday, I have a new found respect for the girls of roller derby. I have no idea if those in the Twin Cities are as physically brutal as those featured in Los Angeles but these women are tough and look damn good doing what they do.

Aerial of The Legend at Giants Ridge, hole 17

from flickr user minnecations
A dramatic lake carry clearly makes this an all or nothing par 3 of heroic proportion. Making par here could possibly be the best score on your card. From trusted sources, Giant's Ridge is one of Minnesota's top five golf courses.

An ice breaker

from flickr user minnetonkafelix
An honest-to-God ice breaker at a marina on Lake Minnetonka. Does anyone have the specifics?

T.C. the bear at a Twins game

from flickr user Croixboy
This week marks the opening of the final season for the Minnesota Twins in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The stale setting of the utilitarian dome has been the home of the Twins for nearly three decades and with the move to the new Target Field, some are saying it's time bid a fond farewell to Twins mascot T.C. In favor of what, though?

New Twins Ballpark

from flickr user Weeks101
A (rather crude) panoramic photo of the new home of the Minnesota Twins, Target Field. I haven't been near the site of the new stadium for a few months so seeing its progress is impressive but even more impressive is how the designers, engineers and architects crammed the stadium in such a tiny and cramped site. Hell, it is literally on the street in this photo.

Cosmological horizon

from flickr user { tcb }
The photographer says: Just felt like i had to share some of the "magic moments" with the light lovers. This was a crazy night, cold, windy, late, noises, fear, uneasiness, and awesomeness all rolled into one. Even on the way out at 1:30 am, an unexpected person or thing had decided to rest in the hallway of the exit. Not a voice, but an erie radio, talkshow like voice was reverberating on the walls. That's why i don't watch scary movies, i experience the real thing all the time and it's both bad and good. It's good to be able to remain calm and collected in a extreme situation. I knew a back entrance through a small opening we used =)

Old Trestle Bridge

from flickr user GSankary
The old and now closed bridge bridge across the Minnesota River. Black Dog powerplant behind.

Churning water

from flickr user ksod bartman
A superb long exposure photo of the Mississippi River taken near the Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis late last autumn.

Rochester, Minnesota, skyline in the evening

Rochester, Minnesota, skyline in the evening, originally uploaded by Gordon Runkle.

The Rochester, Minnesota, skyline in late evening. The Zumbro River is in the foreground.

Perspective

from flickr user -Chad Johnson
Just outside of Ostrander, Minnesota

And if you want to know where Ostrander, MN is I can tell you it's just down MN Highway 56 from Leroy, MN.

It's a stunning photo because the sky is so moody and the perspective from ground level is beyond dramatic.

Corn Cob Water Tower

from flickr user TannerWolfe
The water tower serves the Seneca Foods canning factory and has a presence in Rochester right up there with the geese. The ear of corn is 151 feet tall and has stood over the cannery since 1931. Reid-Murdoch Co. of Chicago - Monarch Foods - built the 50,000 gallon storage tank shortly after the cannery opened in 1929 to provide water for the corn and pea packs. It was last painted in 2002 and represents a true ear of corn as to the number or rows of kernels.

James J. Hill House

from flickr user copperboom!
240 Summit Avenue
Built 1891

National Register ##66000405, listed 10/15/1966
Also a National Historic Landmark

Target Center Court

from flickr user dgwallick1
Where does a guy start with the Minnesota Timberwolves. I can say that this photo from the March 29th game vs. the New Jersey Nets is actually very nice. The focus and clarity is outstanding but the subject of the photo sucks. I have a long-standing bitterness towards the Minnesota Timberwolves. They tried leaving for New Orleans in the 1990s and, in retrospect, we should have let them leave.