How Minnesota Are You?

Master Abstract at the Walker
Over the years, the Walker Art Center has taken a lot of flak. Bold statements—Thomas Hirschhorn’s trash-filled Cavemanman, the looming, gray addition, the gallery filled with twelve TV monitors screening Bordering on Fiction: Chantal Akerman’s D’est —have done more than raise a few eyebrows. However, it is these same avant-garde, envelope-pushing projects that have brought the visual arts world to our door and led us to new ways of seeing things. 1750 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-375-7600

Sit Behind the Plate When Johan Is Pitching to Mauer
Yes, the Dome sucks. But it’s worth braving the Teflon skies to see the most dominant battery in the American League since the Yankees’ Whitey Ford–to–Yogi Berra era. Not only will you see a Cy Young–quality game of catch, but our hometown boy (Mauer was once a star QB/catcher for the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders) is pretty good astride the plate as well—as evidenced by last year’s batting title. 612-375-7454, minnesotatwins.com

Dry Out, Clean Up at Hazelden
Looking for a mind/ body/ spirit makeover? Skip the seaweed wrap and head to Center City for a two- or twenty-eight-day stay at Hazelden. With results like H’s, everyone should take advantage of one of the state’s best least-kept secrets. Twelve Steppers have always held that we all could benefit from a spiritual program of recovery from whatever your worst jones is. They’re right! Got a problem with booze, cocaine, pills, gambling, sex, smoking, codependency—Hazelden has a program for it. Spring clean your soul. Center City

Throw It All Away, Then Win Some More at a Casino
Ferget yer pull tabs. Love ’em or hate ’em, Minnesota’s tribal-owned casinos are now an indelible part of our state’s entertainment fabric—the primary source of action for thousands. The bigger ones are a fine substitute for Vegas if you’d rather put $300 into a couple of hours of video poker and a nice steak than a redeye flight. And these days, some of the best music and comedy acts only play the gambling houses.

Make Friends with Sid
New York had Breslin, Chicago Royko. Fifty years from now, Sid Hartman, already nearly 150 years of age, will be the only Twin Cities newspaper columnist anyone remembers. He is the voice of Minnesota sports, and his quirks just enhance the experience: the mangled syntax, the phlegmy throat, the growing prickliness and contempt. There will not be another like him. For the ultimate Sid explainer, check out the Saturday Morning SportsTalk page at am1500.com. Then tune him in Sunday mornings on WCCO Radio or The Sports Show Sundays at 11 p.m. on the CW Twin Cities. Or catch his Strib column.

Mill Around St. Anthony Falls
Minneapolis was founded on flour, and the power of the Mississippi River was once harnessed by the largest mill in the world, the venerable Pillsbury “A,” built in 1881 astride St. Anthony Falls. Times have changed—the A Mill is going condo, but the falls’ power is still being gathered—now by a hydroelectric plant. Get the flour story, from top to bottom, at the Mill City Museum and check out the Falls from the Stone Arch Bridge. Mill City Museum, 704 S. 2nd St., Mpls., 612-341-7555

Navigate the Spectacle That Is the Mall of America
Don’t gawk, gape, or saunter. You’re no tourist, you’re a local. Yes, it’s a big mall with nearly every shop America could ever love. But it’s also our biggest attraction—and  with nearly 40 million visitors a year, it’s home to the state’s best people-watching. They come here from the Dakotas to wed, from Iowa for a Gap, from Manitoba for warmth, from Japan for—well, the Japanese are just plain ol’ shopping- and Western pop culture–obsessed. Bloomington, 952-883-8800

Drink in the Power Scenes at The Lex and Bellanotte
Clout in St. Paul is traditional. Pols, lawyers, lobbyists, old money. Their gathering spot is The Lexington, a 1935 clubhouse of rich wood paneling with a historic bar where the city’s movers gather to drink the hard stuff and gorge on chicken pot pie, lamb shanks, and turkey dinner. In Minneapolis, power is sexy (or vice versa)—musicians, athletes, models, new money. Their HQ is Bellanotte, an evening-long party that started in 2004. The food is middling Italian, but you’re not there to eat. Creative cocktails, big music, and a killer lounge scene bring them like moths to a flame. 1096 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 651-222-5878; 600 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-339-7200