• MinneAfrica.com is (aiming to be) your one stop shop for all things African in Minnesota. (Aside: The connection to the now-defunct Metropolitan Cafe is merely coincidental.)
• Is Second Harvest Heartland your charity of choice? Follow them on Twitter: @2harvest
• You know any guide to the Twin Cities written by Max “Bunny” Sparber is gonna be… different. If anyone knows “hidden treasures, little-known locations, and strange history,” it’s Max.
• LiveJournal discusses the best apple orchards and pumpkin patches in the TC. (via @alexisthegirl)
• Inside Northside is a North Minneapolis Encylopedia in wiki format. Remember, a wiki means anybody and errbody can contribute to it. Who, what, and why.
• The Lynx‘s Candice Wiggins handily won the WNBA’s Sixth Woman of the Year Award for the 2008 season. She set a league record for bench players in averaging 15.7 points per game. Gettin’ Wiggy wit’ it! The team has audio and Ice’s highlight reel.

National Geographic Traveler‘s 48-Hour Guide to Minneapolis (July/August 2008 edition) lists local blogs and podcasts to check out, followed by newspapers and magazines, maps, and books and movies. We’re a design mecca on the prairie. (I didn’t know Building Minnesota had a podcast.)

TC Daily Planet: Copper Thieves at Coldwater. Exploring the effects of neglect of the Coldwater/Bureau of Mines land.

I knew there was the Minnesota Thunder, our professional men’s soccer team in the United Soccer Leagues. I didn’t know there was a women’s team, the Minnesota Lightning. They’re clearly affiliated, judging by the look of the websites. And by the extremely confusing navigation of the Lightning website, in which all of the links and even the site name up at the top of the browser point to the Thunder, but with a light blue color scheme instead of a dark blue one and a picture of women playing at the top instead of men. Boo! [twitter: @mnthunder]

Vote Yes MN implores you to protect the Minnesota you love. Everything you need to know about the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, a proposed amendment to the Minnesota state constitution appearing on the ballot this fall. If passed it will dedicate funding to protecting the environment “by increasing the sales and use tax rate beginning July 1, 2009, by three-eighths of one percent on taxable sales until the year 2034.” [web: yesformn.org] [twitter: @yesformn] [facebook: group]

While the Lynx‘s Seimone Augustus is off playing in the Olympics, the team and staff will spend the WNBA league break out in the community, putting on the 33 Days of Augustus.

Common Roots is celebrating its 1st year of operation with a Summer Celebration on Saturday August 9th from 2-9pm. “Featuring grilling on the patio, an heirloom tomato tasting, local beer and wine samples, family activities and live music.” [facebook: profile] [facebook: event] [twitter: @commonroots]

Are y’all checking the late night movie schedule at the Riverview Theater?

FringeFamous is a blog covering the Minneapolis/St.Paul independent theatre scene, written by a group of quasi-anonymous “Twin Cities theater professionals.” They do year-round coverage (as of March of this year, anyway), but you can imagine how frothy they are over the impending Fringe Festival. [twitter: @fringefamous]

Community Design Group is “an urban planning and policy consulting group” touting “a people-centered, asset-based approach to urban planning, policy and design.” (via mediation)

Edina Realty now offers foreclosure searching.

Canis Hoopus Timberwolves writer Stop-n-Pop has a response to that KTLK guy’s lesbian/WNBA bashing comments** that is actually funny and smart.

The sad thing about this entire story is that some local news outlet will ask the Lynx to comment on this idiot’s take on something he doesn’t appear to know anything about. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; it looks like he makes his entire living by making stupid comments about things he doesn’t appear to know anything about.

Here’s my suggestion as to how to handle this situation: everyone should take the time to visit Chris Baker’s KTLK web page. Download one of his podcasts, pop it in your car, and drive on down to the Target Center to catch a Lynx game. It will take all of about 2 minutes in the 1st quarter for you to realize which entertainment option is actually worth your while.

… It’s a tough choice, I know. World class athletes playing a game of precision skill and agility or social commentary that you can find at the end of a bar in your local pub or on the rear bumper of a rusty old 57 GMC pick up truck with a gun rack.

There’s more to it. And visual aids. But you get the gist. (via locally-born awesome-tastic WNBA resource Women’s Hoops Blog)

If you’re still not sure and need help making your decision, I’ve got a pair of tickets for Friday night’s Lynx game vs San Antonio. These are my regular season tickets in Section 111, Row K; we’ve got a seat upgrade for the night and will be down in front (a season ticket holder perk). First person to email me at elmauter AT gmail DOT com gets ’em. UPDATE: Tickets are spoken for. Thanks for playing.

We just beat them in San Antonio on Sunday. They’re the top team in the Western Conference and have only lost twice on their home floor, so for us to beat them by 14 was huge.

Other good reasons to go to a Lynx game:

• Friday, July 25, is Ladies Night Out. Get dinner before the game at the Melting Pot, a spa gift certificate, and a pretty good seat at the game, all for $30.
• Sunday, July 27 is the last home game before the Olympic break. If you show a valid transit pass at the Target Center box office, you get a discount on your ticket. It’s also the official Seimone send-off and the first 2500 fans get a t-shirt.
• For any game, you can get a meal deal package (pizza/pop/ticket) for $15.
• Dads and Daughters get 50% off tickets for every Sunday game.
• Bike to the Sunday, July 27 game, and get free, secure bike parking and half off a $10 ticket.
• Sunday, July 27, is your chance to see Candace Parker who can dunk the ball (though hopefully she won’t dunk on us).
• The Lynx are having a better season than the Timberwolves did.

**That KSTP article is a week old and still has an error in it.

• The Four Firkins. Minnesota’s first specialty beer store opens Saturday in SLP. Grand Opening on June 14. (via east-lake and MN Beer)
• “The Neighborhood Energy Connection (NEC) (formerly the Saint Paul Neighborhood Energy Consortium) is a nonprofit organization that provides energy efficiency information, services and programs to residents, businesses, and communities across Minnesota.” They provide a lot of info, connect you to a lot of resources, and also provide some for-pay services.
• NextStep: “This site has been designed to provide Minnesota Sustainable Communities Network (MnSCN) members and others with information, access to resources, opportunities for networking, and inspiration on the topic of sustainable communities. NextStep site users have the ability to post information and resources on the site as well as to access the resources and information posted on the site.” Great event listing. Sortable by regions around the state.
• The Sibley Bike Depot is “a non-profit membership-based biking and walking organization. We promote healthy transportation and help new riders through advocacy, classes and the Sibley Bike Depot (a community education, repair and retail facility).” Located at 712 University Ave in St Paul. They have a pretty cool Earn-A-Bike program.
• Matt and Colin are filling in for Taylor at Mediation this week. Matt starts off with a self-pimp of a legislative session wrap up. “If you are a lunch room lady…
• Citizen-penned marriage equality bill introduced in Minnesota legislature. “The bill is modeled after a similar bill that has passed the California Legislature twice, only to be vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger said that the issue was for the courts to decide — and they did.”
• Bob Collins is a Lynx fan! Sunday afternoon’s home opener was a stellar display. Only one game, yes, but the win over Detroit (three Eastern Conference championships in a row) bodes well for the team’s 10th season. I had courtside seats!
• The Uptake on the RNC media walk through.

• Sunday, May 17, is Syttende Mai, Norway’s Independence Day.
• Kids from one school bus stop are biking to school together for Bike Walk to Work Week.
• Minneapolis City Councilmember Ralph Remington on the black experience in America.
• Charles Hallman of the Spokesman-Recorder, who (along with Stephen Litel from DT/SW Journal) provides the best Lynx coverage in town) previews the Lynx going into the team’s 10th season and the WNBA’s 12th season. Home opener is Sunday at 5:00 against the Detroit Shock and will be broadcast on FSN North. FanFest will be happening out on 6th Street from 2-4pm.
• Vandals damage governors’ portraits in the Capitol. Harold LeVander, Elmer Anderson, and Jesse Ventura. Colonel Mustard, in the rotunda, with a marker.
• Mary LaHammer previews her Almanac interview with Jesse Ventura. Dude’s all over the place pimping his new book.
• Sornie: “When I attend the Minnesota State Fair, I love to wander through the ‘varied industry building’ or as I refer to it as ‘people peddling crap that doesn’t deserve shelf-space at the As Seen on TV store at the Mall of America building’.” It doesn’t even matter what the rest of the post is about.
• St Paul Issues Forum is doing happy hour tonight. O’Gara’s. 5-7pm. SPIF is also looking for candidates for their executive committee. Deets at happy hour.
• My favorite Rake blog is Just Passing Through. Guest blogging by all sorts of interesting folks.

I’m listening to the press conference the Lynx held with Candace Wiggins (Stanford) and Nicky Anosike (Tennessee) on Thursday, the day after the WNBA draft. They were our 1st and 2nd round picks respectively, and we picked up Charde Houston (UConn) in the 3rd round.

Let me just say this: Reporters ask some dumb questions sometimes. C’mon Twin Cities sports press corps! Come up with something unique. Or do your homework before you come to the press conference.

The LFO offered season ticket holders a chance to attend the press conference. I couldn’t go, but I would have loved to. That’s a really cool thing for them to do. I have mixed feelings about the overall fan experience at the Target Center, but they’re pretty good about the STH benefits.

Speaking of the press, my favorite Lynx coverage comes from Stephen Litel from Downtown Journal. Turns out he’s now doing WNBA coverage for SLAM Online, too. I’m-a have to make my way down to the press table and introduce myself.

After the Lynx pulled off the draft-day trade for Lindsey Harding last year, I was pretty stoked going into the season. But I didn’t know anything else about our other draft picks so I didn’t really have any expectations around them. And while last year’s 10-24 record doesn’t look great on paper, there were some exciting things on the floor and the record doesn’t at all reflect the improvement over the previous year’s 10-24 record.

But this year. I’m not expecting a championship or anything. Hell, I may even be expecting a lot with a playoff berth. (I’m big on managing your expectations.) I’ll settle for .500 this season. But the addition of Candice and Nicky and Charde and (hallelujah!) a post coach for an assistant (that’s former WNBA player Jen Gillom) is really just so exciting. I watched the Final Four, so at least I’ve seen all three of our picks play once or twice.

I hear the Draft Day party at NBA City was packed. That’s great to see. I know this team and this league doesn’t have the widespread appeal that others do. I suppose it’s like any passion; you want everyone to be as excited about it as you are.

The home opener is a little over a month away, against Detroit. Eeeeee!

Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Lynx.