Star Tribune
31 scary movies and TV shows to watch in October
‘Tis the season to watch something spooky.
For the last decade, I’ve spent the month of October ping-ponging between my couch and the cinema, marathoning horror movies in the run up to my favorite holiday. We call it “The Halloween List” and on occasion I’ve shared my autumnal advent calendar with readers of the publications where I work, most recently in 2018.
That was also around the time we reached peak TV. And in the years since, I’ve added shows like “Stranger Things” and “The Haunting of Hill House” to the list.
Of course, there are a few rules to composing these lists. Here they are:
Every day features a different horror, thriller or mystery movie or TV show.
Sundays are for themed double features. This year, the wife and I are watching a pair of Spanish zombie movies, two ‘50s B-horror classics, exploring Ridley Scott’s “Alien” universe and embarking on what we’ve decided is a dimension-hopping adventure through the cinematic universe spawned by George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.”
We always end the month with a movie from the “Halloween” franchise.
Finally: the calendar is more of a guideline than a rule. Sometimes life happens and we don’t get to the movie of the day. We either drop it from the list or move it to next year.
Kurtis Hanna, a longtime cannabis lobbyist in Minnesota, said he doesn’t understand why the state’s second search for a permanent director was seemingly left unfinished. Hanna, a public policy and government relations specialist for the cannabis consulting firm Blunt Strategies, said he thinks entrepreneurs seeking business licenses deserve stable leadership.
“I’m sure that they would prefer to have a leader that they know is going to be sticking around for years on end,” he said.
Jen Randolph Reise, a cannabis attorney with North Star Law Group in St. Paul, sees it differently. While Reise said she’s surprised there still isn’t a permanent director, she thinks Briner and the cannabis office have done a good job laying the groundwork for the new industry.
“I think at this point, a leadership change would be disruptive,” said Reise, who’s assisting clients that are seeking cannabis business licenses. “Any new director that came in is going to want to put their own stamp and vision on the agency.”
Two east metro cities will allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as “mother-in-law apartments,” within their city limits this month, joining dozens of cities across the state.
The New Brighton City Council approved an ADU ordinance Tuesday and the Falcon Heights City Council approved its ordinance Sept. 11.
Advocates of accessory dwellings say that amid a housing crisis, the units are a way to add “gentle density” to cities. More than 230 such units have been permitted in the Twin Cities metro since 2016, according to Metropolitan Council data.
This year, a bill that would have required cities across Minnesota to allow ADUs failed at the Legislature. But several cities have passed their own ordinances in recent months, including Edina, Vadnais Heights, St. Cloud, and now Falcon Heights and New Brighton.
Falcon Heights City Planner Hannah Lynch said she had received calls from residents and people seeking to move to Falcon Heights asking about ADUs. She said most residents expressing interest wanted options to house family members. Accessory dwellings will now be allowed on lots with single-family houses, provided the plans meet size, setback and other requirements, Lynch said.
Ben Gozola, New Brighton’s assistant director of community assets and development, said in an email that the new ADU ordinance, drafted after soliciting community input through surveys and public meetings, replace outdated “servants’ quarters” regulations with modern ADU ones, giving residents options to age in place, house medical professionals caring for loved ones, create living space for young adults or make housing more affordable by renting the ADU or primary home.
Maggie Smith, the masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for ”The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” in 1969 and gained new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in ”Downton Abbey” and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Friday. She was 89.
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