Society and Social Life
The city of Minneapolis is known for its love of the arts – musically, visually, architecturally, and otherwise. The very museum that Monica worked at was really the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. The whole area around Stevens Square has a very "Bohemian" sense to it, hosting artists and creative types.
The music scene in Minneapolis is huge, with plenty of acts from rock to R&B to punk to ska. The most well known of the performers, of course, is
that guy who has changed his name frequently (including some weird, unpronounceable symbol) and fought over the rights to his songs (which, due to copyright issues, will probably never be mentioned in Wapsi Square). He helped make some venues, like First Avenue, into major music hot spots. Bands like Husker Du and the Replacements have also made it big in the music business, as have Morris Day & The Time, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
There is a greater mix of people in the Twin Cities, when it comes to race and ethnicity, than a century ago. However, it's more likely you will run into someone who is white, Lutheran, and has a Nordic background.
Though the Mall of America is a huge part of the area's business scene, it is generally seen as a "tourist trap" among area residents. They are more likely to shop at local stores or at pre-existing malls. The Galleria in Edina is one of those.
As for sports: the Twins (baseball's American League) and the Timberwolves (NBA) play at facilities across the I-395 freeway from each other – both named for Target, the modern department store chain that evolved from Dayton-Hudson. (George Dayton established Dayton's Dry Goods on the corner of Nicollet and 7th in 1902; he would start the "discount" version of his company, Target, in 1962.) The Vikings of the NFL will begin play at US Bank Stadium, on the site of the old Metrodome, in 2016.
Minnesota has a reputation as being the "State of Hockey", with more players from the state playing professionally than any other. The state has an active and popular junior hockey program – one that the movie The Mighty Ducks only hints at – and with top-tier hockey squads at the U of M and various smaller colleges around the state, the moniker fits. However, the state's second NHL team, the Wild, play their home games over in Saint Paul at the Xcel Energy Center.
The area's original NHL team, the North Stars, played at the Metropolitan Sports Center, or "The Met", from 1967 until their departure for Dallas in 1993. The Met was located – ironically – just east of the current site of the IKEA store by the Mall of America. The Mall itself sits on the site of Metropolitan Stadium, the one-time home of the Twins and Vikings until the Metrodome was opened in 1982.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin