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What to expect at the Holidazzle Festival 2024
Holidazzle is back at Nicollet Mall after taking a year off.
MINNEAPOLIS — From a peppermint pub crawl to the Viking’s SKOL Line, there is plenty to expect at this year’s Holidazzle Festival.
The big winter celebration is returning to its roots on the Nicollet Mall after a few years in Loring Park and canceling in 2023.
Holidazzle organizers say they are transforming downtown Minneapolis into a free, community-focused winter wonderland, with musical performances on two stages (indoor at IDS and outdoor on the U.S. Bank Stage). There will be local vendors for gift shopping, food trucks, putt and play minigolf, roller skating, and you can share wish lists with Santa at his North Pole outlet between 8th and 9th Streets, organizers say.
The opening ceremony begins at 4:15 p.m. on Dec. 18, with the Minnesota Chorale and the drumbeats of the Vikings’ Skol Line. At 6:15, organizers say there will be a performance by Minneapolis’ own “7th Favorite Hip Hop Person,” NUR-D.
New this year there will be a peppermint pub crawl on Saturday, Dec. 21 from 5 to 9 p.m. with several bars serving festival drinks. The crawl (21+) tickets are $25 per person or $80 for four people.
Throughout Holidazzle there will be three pop-up markets: Chameleon Market featuring BIPOC, women-owned businesses at Dayton at Gaviidae YMCA; Minneapolis Craft Market at IDS Center; Dayton’s Holiday Market in the Dayton’s Project. On Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 there will be the Very Vintage Holidazzle Market in City Center.
For a full list of all events happening each day of Holidazzle, click here.
John has covered four governors, countless would-be laws and issues — and elections. So many elections.
MINNEAPOLIS — Starting in 1997, a fresh-faced kid from Kansas started popping up on your television screen.
John Croman has covered just about everything you can think of during those 27 years.
The big stories that put a mark on this state — both good and bad.
From the death of Paul Wellstone to the Comfrey tornado to the 35W bridge collapse, John Croman has been a steady stream of reliability and information.
But his strengths go well beyond breaking news.
John joined the investigative team digging deep into important issues, and then the extras unit, but “chief political reporter John Croman” is likely how you remember him.
John has been to national conventions, Iowa caucuses and Washington D.C. He’s been everywhere to cover our Minnesota politicians, but most of the time, his office was the Minnesota State Capitol.
John has covered four governors, countless would-be laws and issues — and elections. So many elections.
He says the most dramatic political story he covered was the Al Franken-Norm Coleman recount, which stretched from November of 2008 to July of 2009.
And the most memorable? The passage of same-sex marriage.
For some, politics may be dry.
The only thing dry about him is his sense of humor.
“He took the work seriously, but he has never taken himself seriously. There’s always a little twinkle in his eye. Hit me. What’s he thinking about? There’ll be some, you know, some video or show up on social media,” said KARE 11’s Boyd Huppert.
“I mean, we all know the ‘bill on Capitol Hill,’ right? But John, in some ways takes it to the next level because he localizes Schoolhouse Rock for us every day. I can’t imagine what our younger employees are like. What is that? Who is that? Why is that?” said KARE 11’s Jana Shortal.
But he’s also the first one to share information, a contact, or context for a story. The ultimate teammate.
“He’s going to be missed. Not just by us, but by the people at the Capitol, because he treats them with respect. And he’s always so well-versed on the issues he’s talking to the politicians about, the wealth of knowledge that he has is irreplaceable.” said KARE 11’s Lou Raguse.
Often his own cameraman and editor, working late and on days off… John is dedicated entirely to his craft.
“I’m sure we’ll have a new political reporter. I’m sure we will never have another John Croman. They just don’t make him like that. He’s one of a kind,” said KARE 11 anchor Julie Nelson.
No, we’ve never lost our hearts, but you can be sure a piece of it walked out the door the day John Croman left.
The city says it’s making changes after people were targeted using their personal information on public documents included in its online meeting agendas.
A highly sophisticated scam is hitting Mounds View and appearing to come directly from city officials.
The city says it’s fake and targeting your personal information from public records it posts in its online meeting agendas and that it’s now making changes.
Nathan Dornquast’s information was included because he was in the midst of seeking final approval from the city to buy a parcel of land behind his house.
He says hours before that meeting he received an email from the city that included its logo, employee names and an invoice for $10,000 to settle the sale of the property.
“The $10,000 threw me because it was three times the cost of what I had already paid and it was last minute and it’s coming from the city and planning commission,” said Dornquast. “I mean, I was taken.”
Dornquast didn’t fall for the scam. He’s been an information technologist for 30 years, but despite his deep industry knowledge, Dornquast was surprised at how specific the scam was.
“The question is how was this put together, how was this incorporated, how was this done,” said Dornquast. “Are there individuals doing this or are we starting to see an uglier side of new technology, specifically is somebody leveraging artificial intelligence to help put together thousands of these transactions?”
“Clearly these bad actors are taking advantage of government transparency requirements and given the detail of this specific scam, I would not be surprised if the bad guys were leveraging AI to some extent,” said Mark Lanterman, a longtime cyber security expert who leads Computer Forensic Services.
Lanterman is reminding people to slow down, contact the organization directly and never click on any links. One clue in Dornquast’s case is the email wasn’t associated with an account tied to the city.
“Whenever you receive a request for something of value, whether that’s money, whether that’s information, take a deep breath, read it again, and if you’re still hesitant, pick up the phone,” said Lanterman.
“I had no suspicion that it was fraudulent until I emailed several people I had been working within the city,” said Dornquast.
The city says two other people were targeted, but they did not fall for the fake email either. It’s since started removing people’s names, phone numbers and emails from public documents. It can’t remove addresses because that’s public record.
The Mounds View Police Department is also aware and while it took reports, is not actively investigating due to the email’s unknown origin and not enough resources.
Dornquast says he also submitted an inquiry to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“I would be shocked if Mounds View, Minnesota was the only place this was happening,” said Dornquast.
Several hills have announced when they’ll be opening their slopes for the 2024-25 ski and snowboard season.
MINNEAPOLIS — Ready or not, winter is coming.
The drop in temperatures has allowed several ski hills to start making snow, meaning slopes will be opening soon for the winter season.
Here’s a list of when some of the hills across the state will be opening this season:
Nov. 30 — Afton Alps announced it will be opening for the winter season on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 10 a.m. For information on how to purchase single-day or season passes, click here.
Nov. 29 — With snow already being made, Buck Hill in Burnsville could be opening as soon as Friday, Nov. 29. To purchase single-day or season passes, click here.
Nov. 29 — The slopes opened to season pass holders on Wednesday, Nov. 27, but will be opening to the public on Friday, Nov. 29 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information about the upcoming ski season or to purchase passes, click here.
Nov. 30 — Spirit Mountain will be hosting its 50th Anniversary Winter on Saturday, Nov. 30 with one “top-to-bottom” run down Bindle Stiff. Tickets and passes, as well as rental services, will be located at the Skyline Chalet. For more information, click here.
Dec. 6 — Snow is being made at Lutsen Mountains with Opening Day scheduled Dec. 6. Season passes and winter packages are currently being sold. For more information, click here.
Dec. 1 — If the weather is cooperative, Welch Village will open Saturday, Nov. 30 at 10 a.m. for pass holders and Sunday, Dec. 1 for the general public. For more information on opening weekend or how to purchase passes/tickets, click here.
