WALKER ART CENTER
Next Exit: The Shifting Landscape of Suburbia
I moderated this panel discussion at the Walker Art Center. Here's a description: "In today’s expanding metropolitan areas, the lines between urban and suburban are rapidly blurring. Population growth, immigration, and transportation are among the many factors that city planners, designers, and developers confront as they prepare for the next million people to move into Minnesota’s suburbs. Join panelists Lance Nekar of the Metropolitan Design Center, Dan Bergin of Twin Cities Public Television, Michael Lander of Lander Group, and others for a discussion about the challenges and successes of new suburban design, how suburbs are becoming destination environments, and the cultural implications of these shifts." The video is available here. (Photo: Greg Stimac, Mowing the Lawn (Chandler, Arizona), 2005/2006)

MINNPOST
Audio tour of an Alcoa Care-free house
Imagine never having to paint your house or put on a new roof. Wouldn't that be great? After World War II, the world's third largest aluminum manufacturer tried to sell America on the idea of living in an aluminum house. The company set up sales offices around the country in an attempt to sell "care-free living." I toured a 1957 Alcoa Care-free House in St. Louis Park, Minn. with architectural historian Charlene Roise. You can listen to that report and see pictures at MinnPost.

MINNPOST
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Major League Baseball is celebrating the song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" this season. Written by Jack Norworth in 1908, the song was originally performed in vaudeville acts before catching on with fans. At Monday's opener, Twins fans auditioned for a chance to sing the sport's unofficial anthem at an upcoming game.

Bryce Jasper of Plymouth loves the tradition of belting out the song during the 7th inning stretch. "Everybody knows it," he says. "Everybody loves it. We all sing it. It just makes you feel good." (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins)