By Steve Quam, special to Nordic Insights
The World Cup does not come to Minnesota very often. In fact, the last time the World Cup visited Minnesota was December 1985. To provide some context regarding just how long ago that was, in 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev was the leader of the USSR, “New” Coke was a thing, and a-ha’s “Take on Me” was a hit. (Other than a-ha remaining awesome, it is a very different world now.)
Now that you are finally coming back to Minnesota, we hope you will make the most of your visit. Here are some ideas to help you do just that:
1. See a show at First Avenue. Don’t let the 30 years of dust and grime scare you away. First Avenue is as cool as Minnesota gets. Think about it this way — did Prince ever play in Ruka? [Because I will factcheck even rhetorical questions, Prince did in fact play in Helsinki on July 21, 2011, but Ruka was apparently a bridge too far. – Ed.]
2. Visit Bob Hagstrom’s wax shed near Stillwater. For about forever, Bob Hagstrom’s wax shed has been the de facto headquarters of the Stillwater High School Nordic team. Although there are a bunch of places sort of like it, the Hagstrom wax shed was, and still is, Jessie’s wax shed. Enough said.
3. If you are a Finn, head to Menahga to see the giant statue of St. Urho. With a little planning, you could roll in a visit to a giant turkey (Frazee), a giant otter (Fergus Falls), a giant prairie chicken (Rothsay) a giant pelican (Pelican Rapids), and another giant statue of St. Urho, this one carved out of a tree (Finland — the town, not the country).
4. Take in a high school hockey game. If you catch the right game, you will understand why hockey is pretty big in Minnesota. If you catch the wrong game, you will quickly understand what is wrong with youth sports in America, why there is a shortage of referees, and quite a bit about American politics as well.
5. Ski at Giants Ridge (home of the first World Cup visit to Minnesota in 1985). Ski for Gunde, for Britt, and for those who nearly froze to death watching Gunde and Britt at the OG Minnesota World Cup at Giants Ridge in 1985.
Embed from Getty Images6. Stop by Maplelag. Before the last big fire in 2022 (there was also a terrible fire in 1999), Maplelag was a place full of Norwegian antiques, a massive lunch box collection, antique railroad signs, a bunch of other signs, free cookies, family-style meals served in a giant lodge with cool stained glass everywhere, lots of rolling classic trails that make even the weakest of us feel pretty strong, great grooming, and an unwavering commitment by the Richards family to silent sports. Today, post-fire, the quirks and business model are a little different, but the soul of the place remains. If you want to know just how good Maplelag was and is, ask Alayna.
7. Search for the mythical site of Ahvo’s ski tunnel. Legend has it that Ahvo, the Finn Sisu founder and Minnesota Nordic legend, and his buddies Greg Fangel and Jerry Slater wanted to build a ski tunnel somewhere in St. Paul. Details about the grand plan, like the location of the site, remain a bit foggy. If you happen to find it, please let us know. The point is this — although not all dreams come true (take, for example, Ahvo, Greg, and Jerry’s ski tunnel), sometimes they do (the facility at Wirth, snowmaking at Battle Creek, a World Cup stop in Minneapolis, etc.).
8. Try to ski across the headwaters of the Mississippi. The mighty river is not very wide at its source, and most of you are probably pretty quick on your skis. On the right day, we think many of you could skim right across. Kind of like swimming across the English Channel — also kind of not like that at all — but definitely better. And we suspect far fewer have done it.
9. Throw your hat in the air next to Mary Tyler Moore on Nicollet Mall. To get in the mood, watch the Chuckles the Clown episode — you will not regret it, and you will see why Mary put Minnesota on the map.
10. Visit the Spam Museum in Austin. Lots of cities have art museums, history museums, and science museums. As far as we know, only one town has a museum devoted to Spam. Don’t miss your chance.
Can’t wait for you to get here,
Steve Quam
About the author: By day, Steve is an eminent domain lawyer in Minneapolis (not quite as boring as it sounds). During his free time, he watches skiing whenever and wherever he can, religiously reads Nordic Insights, tries to find time to ski (not very well), and generally enjoys all things outside in Stillwater and the St. Croix valley.
