Minneapolis is at a crossroads. With the mayoral election approaching, three challengers sat down for a one-hour roundtable debate unlike any other — no stump speeches, no canned talking points, just a candid conversation around the dinner table.

From the role of money in politics, to the future of ranked-choice voting, to deep frustrations about racial inequities and North Minneapolis, this is a raw look at the candidates who want to replace Jacob Frey.

Omar Fateh — the leading challenger — was invited but did not attend, leaving an empty chair and questions about his record.

Watch this to hear unfiltered perspectives on the biggest issues facing Minneapolis.

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction & Empty Chair: Why Omar Fateh didn’t show up

01:10 – Setting the stage: A dinner table debate, not another forum

05:00 – Who are you ranking #2? The games of ranked-choice voting

15:00 – Narratives of crisis: Is Minneapolis “at the bottom of the barrel”?

25:00 – Policing, safety, and the city’s trust deficit

35:00 – The role of money: Jacob Frey’s massive fundraising advantage

45:00 – Political identity: race, representation, and the mayor’s role

55:30 – The question I would have asked Omar Fateh about Uber/Lyft

01:00:00 – Closing thoughts: Leadership, trust, and who actually runs this city

Minneapolis City Councilwoman Latrisha Vetaw joins me for a candid, unfiltered conversation about the state of City Hall, why the council feels broken, and how politics can sometimes feel more like theater than public service. She opens up about trust issues on the dais, her fight for Northside representation, and yes—her unforgettable Usher cherry story.

This episode of One Hour Detours goes deep into what it means to serve a divided city, how national issues clash with local responsibilities, and the personal costs of being in public life.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro: Who is Latrisha Vetaw?

02:00 – Running for office vs. serving

05:00 – Mentors, training, and how to start in politics

08:00 – Facial expressions, performance, and being “real” on the dais

09:20 – Northside representation and standing her ground

11:00 – How an idea becomes law at City Hall

14:00 – Tobacco policy, coupon bans, and city attorneys

18:00 – Is City Council “broken”? Division and dysfunction explained

19:30 – Who represents constituents vs. themselves

20:45 – The encampment debate: healing camps or public danger?

23:00 – Talking openly about homelessness and addiction

27:00 – Third-term mayors, incumbents, and political fear

31:00 – Political violence, safety, and threats to electeds

36:00 – Why some people won’t run for office anymore

41:45 – Life in the spotlight: sports games, fans, and recognition

42:00 – The Usher cherry story

44:30 – Public vs. private life: when you’re always “the councilwoman”

47:00 – Drinks, social life, and the human side of City Hall

48:00 – Closed sessions and what really happens behind the scenes

50:00 – Can council members be friends? Division by voting block

52:00 – Dinners with colleagues and broken trust

54:00 – Why the council feels like “cosplay”

55:00 – Generational divides at City Hall

57:00 – Wrapping up

Comedian MJ Matheson joins One Hour Detours to talk about breakups, open-mics, and the absurd joy of crying at Wisconsin Dells’ Noah’s Ark waterpark. We get deep on what makes Minnesota’s comedy scene unique, how trauma turns into timing, and why the suburbs are the true villains of the Twin Cities.

MJ also helps me workshop my own stand-up material about Minneapolis vs St. Paul — and things get unexpectedly emotional (and hilarious).

Chapters:

00:00 Intro – Meet MJ Matheson

02:30 Art, aesthetics & the set design

03:00 Crying at Wisconsin Dells during a break-up

05:10 The music that hurts so good

07:00 How MJ started in comedy

08:40 Open mics, sociopaths & surviving the scene

10:50 Love Island UK vs American reality TV

11:40 Catholic mass in a football stadium

13:00 What it takes to be a comedian day-to-day

16:00 Why open mics can be brutal (but essential)

20:00 Hosting Easy Speak at Volstead Emporium

24:00 When MJ called me out in the crowd

26:00 Workshopping my bit on Minneapolis vs St. Paul

35:00 The suburbs are the real enemy

40:00 Comedy as therapy and math equation

45:00 Holding for laughter & timing the beat

46:00 Laughter as a way to break tension

49:00 Collaborating on bits & ending the hour

Wall art by Genel Jumalon (https://www.jumalon.art/)

Filmed at Kickernick Building (https://www.kickernick.com/)

Hosted by John O’Sullivan (One Minute Tours, Hidden Middle)

Filmed at the One Hour Detours studio in beautiful downtown Minneapolis

To see the stand-up set that was performed later that night, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ7dOl5ZwBM

Grammy-winning musician Joe Mailander of The Okee Dokee Brothers joins John O’Sullivan for an uncut, one-hour conversation about music, fatherhood, faith, and finding meaning in the simple things. From their early canoe trips that inspired a Grammy, to turning down another nomination in protest, this episode dives deep into the power of family folk—and why the songs we sing with our kids often hit hardest as adults.New Album: Little Old You — out November 7Learn more at https://www.okeedokee.org📍 Chapters:00:00 Intro — Why The Okee Dokee Brothers matter03:00 “Nature’s Music” (live performance)06:00 The art of family folk08:00 When kids’ music makes adults cry14:00 Faith, simplicity, and the folk tradition20:00 Saint John’s Abbey, brutalist architecture, and belief31:00 Parenting, spirituality, and emotional honesty38:00 Turning down a Grammy nomination46:00 Fatherhood lessons and “Little Old You”57:00 “Through the Woods” (live performance)#OneHourDetours #OkeeDokeeBrothers #LittleOldYou #KidsMusic #FolkMusic

For more than a year, I’ve been talking with Steve Grove about the future of news, the Minesota Star Tribune, and what it means to lead a civic institution in 2025.

In this conversation, I finally got to ask him the questions on the record: the role of billionaire owners in journalism, whether local news can survive the digital age, what really happened inside DEED during Covid, and why he chose to write a memoir that reads suspiciously like a political launch.

Steve is the CEO and publisher of the Star Tribune and former head of DEED, and he spent years at YouTube shaping the early creator era. This isn’t a surface-level media interview. It’s a deeper look at how journalism actually works, how power moves behind the scenes, and what’s at stake for Minnesota.

If you want more conversations like this, subscribe to One Hour Detours. And if you want more of my regular Minnesota stories, you can always find them on One Minute Tours.

You can purchase Steve's book, "How I Found Myself in the Midwest" here: https://amzn.to/49efESL (affiliate link).

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Chapters

00:00 Who Steve Grove is and how long we’ve been talking

01:03 Writing a book while running the Star Tribune

04:20 The accidental political energy of his memoir

07:53 What government service really looks like from the inside

10:14 Why bureaucracy frustrates people but still matters

12:19 How polarization affects Minnesota differently

17:15 Has our culture actually recovered from Covid

20:10 The Minnesota paradox and the gaps we don’t talk about

23:23 Steve’s move from government to running the Star Tribune

24:31 Closing the printing plant and what that means

27:01 How digital subscriptions changed the business

29:00 The value of print, serendipity, and the E-edition

33:48 How the Star Tribune sets the agenda

36:03 The Pete Hegseth text messages story

39:47 What a publisher actually does inside an investigative scoop

41:14 The editorial independence question

41:35 Is it good for America to have media owned by billionaires

43:33 Conflicts of interest and whether they matter

44:31 Who should own the news in the future

46:09 How creators changed the landscape

47:20 Should creators be doing the job journalism used to do

49:04 What Steve learned from the early YouTube era

I sat down with longtime Minnesota media voice Jason DeRusha – WCCO Radio host, former TV anchor, and media personality – for a lively and candid conversation about his career, the state of journalism, and the messy line between authenticity and ego.

In this conversation we cover:

00:00 – The Jason Cam & innovating early in media

07:00 – Ego vs. arrogance: why Minnesotans hold themselves back

12:00 – Skyways, tourism, and why Minneapolis struggles with growth

20:00 – The origins of Good Question and what he learned from it

30:00 – Living with a public persona vs. being yourself

41:00 – Social media, sponsored content, and the authenticity trap

50:00 – The business of being a media personality

57:00 – The future of local news and digital creators

Jason shares stories about buying his own billboard, why ego isn’t a dirty word, and how Minnesota could better tell its own story to the world.

Art by Megan Moore - you can see her works at https://www.meganmoore.com/

If you enjoy thoughtful conversations with people shaping Minnesota’s culture, subscribe for more episodes of One Hour Detours.

When me and my team had the idea for One Hour Detours, I had a sense of confidence, a hubris even. Of course I, with my years of public speaking experience could keep a conversation flowing for 60 minutes continuously. In full candor, this was the fourth episode we filmed but the second we’ve released. The first three conversations went how I was hoping they would. Then came Comrade Tripp.He’s a comedian with such a deliberate sense of timing, such a unique brand of humor that he wouldn’t be cow-towed by the timer, or the need to keep the conversation going.I started in presenter mode, trying to ask him sincere questions about comedy. Eventually, I started to match his energy, leading into the awkward silences. By the end, it turned into one of the most unique conversations I’ve ever had.Look - this might be a terrible episode of the podcast. Or it might make you laugh. Either way, I so appreciate Comrade for stretching the bounds of what this format can be.You can find him and his extensive Pokémon documentaries on his Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/comradetrippThank you to Kelsey Anderson Art for lending me her beautiful artwork for our studio. www.kelseyanderson.art

I so enjoyed my conversation with Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. Currently running for his third term, Mayor Carter has overseen crisis to crisis all while leading a city that also serves as Minnesota's political capitol.

In this conversation we speak about:

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction & running for a third term

01:18 – From “best job in the world” to “crisis bingo”

11:09 – Parenting, school safety & the Minneapolis shooting

14:15 – Why St. Paul is pushing to ban assault rifles

19:05 – The Second Amendment & political rhetoric

29:23 – Florida 2000: arguing the right to vote

33:38 – Public engagement & governing differently

39:16 – Race in Minnesota vs. the South

42:02 – Guaranteed income, rent control & medical debt relief

47:14 – Homelessness, downtown St. Paul & foot traffic

49:53 – Skyways, safety perceptions & downtown competition