Jacob Frey: Civic Soul – Leading a city in real time

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You know what we doing?
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Y know it takes a special track to do this.
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It’s just the fluid chef. I’m here to remind y’all I’m sick with it. My name is hot. It’s ubiquitous meaning it’s one
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of the same. Simple and plain. I’m all about my paper. The bacon pain. I got these lames running for the border. The
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talented Mr. Porter. Keep it flowing like it’s water. But here we go. There we go. Creeping to a low speed. Is it him and his friend sitting in the nose?
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play it cool. He just acting like they know.
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Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of the Taste Music Here Food Podcast Show. I am your host Ed
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Porter and this is the destination for food, music, and culture and how they all connect. Today we have a very, very
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special guest in the building today. Um, and I’m just ecstatic to to have him here. So, I’m going to give him his
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flowers that he so graciously deserves, and I’m going to try to do that with this intro. All right. Today’s guest is a man who doesn’t just move through a
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city, he runs it literally and politically. From marathon podiums to mayoral briefings, he is the rare kind
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of public servant who blends athletic hustle, legal muscle, and a deep respect for community and culture. He’s led Minneapolis through moments of historic
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transformation from civil unrest to charter reform. All while raising a family, dodging Twitter wars, and trying to make space for justice, joy, and
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juicy lucies. But behind the title in the headlines is a man raised on movement. The son of ballet dancers,
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shaped by rhythm and discipline, now navigating a city rich in music, food, and complex identities. Please welcome to the show, Mayor Jacob Fry. We are
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going to forever cancel the introductions that I normally get and use that one.
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Uh because that was about as cool as it gets. Chef, I’m so honored to be here. Thank you. Thank you for being here.
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Now, honestly, it’s um this is Yeah, I know, right?
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We had a little briefing about the Don’t worry about it. You’ll see if you go and watch. I mean, I’m horrible. Like, so you can’t be as worse as bad as I am.
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But again, thank you for being here. And so, let’s let’s jump right in. So I I you know I dive into all things Jacob Fry to
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do this but you know and there is you said on many occasions that you know marathons and running brought you to the
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city but like we just talked about my happen stance. What what made you stay? What made you decide to be the person that
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was going to fight for the city of Minneapolis?
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Well, either we were born here or we’ve come here for a variety of different reasons. Uh, and yeah, my first time in
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Minneapolis was to run the Twin Cities Marathon. I was a very serious distance
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runner. I was using money that I got from running these marathons to help pay for living expenses while I was going through law school.
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And uh, I remember running the Twin Cities Marathon. And I was around like mile 15 and I remember thinking to myself, my god, this is like this
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beautiful city in a park. I could totally see myself living here. And then lo and behold, I qualified for the
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Pan-American Games. I was racing down there uh and I met a girl on the way from the Olympic Village over to the
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training facility. I get talking to her and she says, “My dad is an attorney out in Minneapolis.” And at the time I was looking for jobs. Uh, so I said, “Yo,
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why don’t you give me your dad’s number?” And I got her number, too. But, but nothing nothing came of that. People always assume that I’m going down that
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route, but I got her got her dad’s number. I got an interview.
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I got a job. Uh, it was the best offer that I had gotten. And I moved out to Minneapolis.
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Yeah. You know, and started my life here. Uh, and now once you get here, as you know, it’s
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a very different vibe from the east coast. And while there are extraordinary things about Minneapolis when you first move
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here, we can be real. It there are also difficult parts as well. Absolutely.
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You know, you’re at a bar on the East Coast.
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The regular thing to do is to introduce yourself to the person next to you and get to know them in the immediiacy. That is not as normal thing to do here.
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People kind of question it, right?
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Uh but once you break through that, you find these incredible people. You find these spectacular communities. Uh and
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there’s just this special kind of vibe and mentality here that gets you to stay. You know, I met my wife here.
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Um we have a four and a halfyear-old kid. We’re going to have another one any minute. Might need to run out of this podcast to, you know, head over to the
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hospital. But um I love it. Uh, you know, I’m I’m She’s gonna be born closer to your birthday, though. Is that what you think?
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Yeah, I think like dead on your birthday.
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Dead on. So, 2030. That’s She’ll be a Leo then, too, right?
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Uh, I have two on my life, so I know, but I’m a Scorpio, so you know, it’s a it’s a thing. The I would say,
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and you came when the weather was nice, so you kind of got uh got hoodwinkedked a little bit. So,
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so I came in December, December 18th, 1998. I remember like it was yesterday.
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Yes. I this how was it on that first day?
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It was it was so cold and so quiet that you could hear the electricity on Hippen Avenue.
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So I lived my first place that I lived it was on 1150 Henipin Avenue. Yeah. And uh which was all the rage. Yeah.
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At the time in the cities, but it was I just remember it being so cold.
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Then I was like, “Okay, this is so” And I I came here on my New York salary, too, so like everything was like a quarter the price. I’m sure I love it. You’re thrilled. Yeah. I’m like, “Yeah, I love it.” Yeah.
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like this was good. I love Not in the Bronx anymore.
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No, no. I lived on the 16th floor. I had neighbors that worked at all the local strip clubs. It was great. I was 21. It was it was the the best time of my life.
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But uh but then like the art scene here was what really did it for me.
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That’s what that you know like where we are now where we’re filming at you know this corner here north northeast there’s
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like five or six James Beard award winning restaurants right here. It’s ridiculous. I mean 13th Avenue is one of the most magical streets.
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Absolutely. in the whole city. Absolutely.
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I mean, and as you walk by, whether you’re at the Ritz or you’re, you know, 331 or you go a little further down, you’ve got all these James Beard chefs.
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It’s really incredible.
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Absolutely. You’re the son of ballet dancers. Yeah.
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So, anybody that knows anything, so being in New York, I have tons of friends that went to, you know, all of the the major schools and the discipline
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that it takes to be a an elite or even trying to get into that world of being a ballet dancer takes a a significant amount of focus and discipline.
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How has I know that spilled off into you as you know when they were rearing you as a as a child. How has that benefited
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you into, you know, doing what you do now? First as a lawyer, but then as a public servant.
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Well, I’m probably the only non artist in my family. Uh, my parents were both professional modern ballet dancers. My mom grew up in Queens in New York City.
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She went to the high school of dance and performing arts.
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Oh, I love you. See, that’s went to LaGuardia. She went to the high school where fame was was about. uh and met my dad
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uh while he was on stage and she was in the audience and they’ve got this beautiful story, you know, they moved in
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with each other like a week later or something like that. Been together.
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They’ve been together ever since. And actually they’re moving out here like next month. Uh so big shift here. Big shift.
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Huge shift. Uh, and you know, they initially kind of had
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me dabble in dance, but it never really took, you know, you learn the basics, first position, second position kind of
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stuff, but uh I I was more interested in running. Um, but clearly there’s a very intense discipline in the area of dance
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and some of it emanates artistically and for whatever reason I didn’t go down that route. My brother and sister did.
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Uh other forms are I mean my mom and dad very intense about posture you know and
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form and and grace like like how you move physically you know I I remember you know bringing a girlfriend home or
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something brilliant girl beautiful smart kind all that my mom’s like h but did you see her posture
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frumpy you know just intense about it you know and so just yeah of course you you you take things you learn things
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from uh you grow up I mean I I everything I am I am because of my mom and everything I want to be is my dad.
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Yeah. So I I take from that intentionality. So it’s one thing that you know to be to have that level of discipline your parents had a a strong
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sense of intention to to everything they do. Absolutely.
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Is uh that bodess well and it and it plays in every every walk of life. All right. Before we get too deep in, we’re going to play a little game. Yes.
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Called this or that. Okay. And so because I got a couple of years on you, but we are in the same ballpark and because we’re both East Coasters. Yes.
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We’re going to play a little game called this or that. It’s going to be the ‘9s snack food edition. Oh wow.
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Okay. So we’re we’re not doing like Big E Tupac kind of stuff.
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We we’ll get to that too. We’re going to do all of that. So little little background about the the show. So this show in my humble opinion I believe that
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the arts mainly food and music are the two most powerful universal languages on the planet. I’ve been all over the world
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and I can talk to anybody about food and I can appreciate um anybody’s culture
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from eating the food, having a reverence for the people that created the food and experiencing the music. Right. It’s the best way to dive into any culture.
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And you you can’t have biases when you have a reverence for a person and something they created. That’s right.
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It’s going to be the I think the catalyst to help you know eradicate all of this BS and minutia. That’s right. I couldn’t agree more. Okay. But in this one, we gonna go with uh Here we go. All right.
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So, Little Debbie Zebra Zebra Cakes. Oh my god.
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Or Hostess Honey Buns. Don’t worry about the jumbo. Don’t do the jumbo. You don’t look like a jumbo guy.
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Yeah. So, Hostess Honey Bun. No question. Hostess Honey Bun. No question. No questions.
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When’s the last time you had one of those?
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Uh it’s it’s been at least a decade, you know.
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I mean, it was Hostess, but then you got a little Debbie.
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Y uh and so there was a whole series of them. You get him at on the East Coast. was get him at a 7-Eleven. Absolutely. Absolutely. With the slurpee.
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I used to go to the Hostess uh thrift store, so they had like like a bakery depot. Okay.
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And it was like You went to a like a deep like an out Hostess outlet.
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Yeah. It was right around the corner from my house. And we bought our bread from from there when it wasn’t Wonder.
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If it wasn’t Wonder, we was getting Hostess bread and then all of the all of the snacks, the Hostess, uh the the Suzie Q’s, you name it. I we was getting
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them like by the box load. really super duper healthy. Yeah. Anyway, thanks mom.
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Wonderbread. You do the You do the Wonderbread.
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Yeah. You got to have Wonderbread or Home Pride. Those those are East Coast breads. Okay. Well, they are East Coast bread.
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So, that that was a very non like Wonderbread. Jews don’t get Wonderbread, you know.
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You know, there there many similarities between blacks and Jews and Wonderbread is not one of them. I thought that was more of a Gentile thing, but I guess I’m
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in New York, so I mean most of my friend, you know, how many I’ve been to all of Yeah, that’s right. you probably more than I was more than I’ve been.
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And my daughter My daughter’s yours.
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Is that right? There you go. You know it. Well, there you go. So, all right. Cryb Babies. Those are gums and now Laters. I don’t care what flavor.
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Now and Laters are disgusting. So, all right. So, let’s let’s Okay.
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So, uh it’s definitely Cryb Babies, but but now Laters are like gross Starbursts that are hard and you can’t really bite
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into them and they get stuck in your teeth for the next 5 hours. I mean, you’ll be eating a chicken sandwich the next day and you’re still tasting crap now.
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I’ll give you the trick. Yeah.
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So, if you if you get like the the apple, the sour apple, the watermelon ones, if you just so happen to leave it in your pocket.
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Oh, really? Little body warmth.
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They’re chewy now. Suddenly, it’s a they’re chewy now. Now they’re chewy.
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So, now they went to start making chewy now that is. And nobody They’re called now inlers. Nobody Nobody I thought about that.
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It’s called now inlers. and lers. It’s the later that you got to go to because the now is disgusting.
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The now now it later is and nobody ever says the end in it anyway. So, okay. So, Crybaby Gums and it’s a lie. It says now and later it says chewy.
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So, did they do have chewy ones now? Do they really? They do. Okay.
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They figured out they took out the uh lies the maturation process. They they they sped it up.
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Yeah. Rather than chewy, they should just said mortar. All right, let’s go next.
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Okay. Are you a you a soda guy? I’m not a soda guy. Have you ever been? Uh, you know, I like a good root beer.
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Oh, I’m a root beer guy, too. What’s your favorite root beer?
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You know, I mean, the the classic is like A&W, but it is pretty damn I know it’s simple and you know, I don’t like barks all that much. It’s got the bite.
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Um, I had a what was it called? 19 1919 1919 the other day, which was flatout excellent.
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1919 is good. Okay. So, the my favorite root beer of all time is Virgil’s. I don’t know if I’ve ever had that one. So, what’ you call it?
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Virgils. Virgils. I’ll send you some. Okay.
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So, the the the logo is the last supper in the clouds drinking root beer. That’s how good this root beer is. That is a good logo.
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It’s delicious. All right. So, FGO Red Pop or Tahesian Treat, which is to me the quintessential East Coast.
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It says fruit punch, but it doesn’t taste like fruit punch.
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Yeah, I’ve seen Tahesian treat. I don’t think I’ve ever had it before. Definitely never had FGO.
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FGO. Especially the red pop cuz it’s not a flavor. It’s just there’s a pitch of a strawberry on there, but it definitely doesn’t taste like strawberries. It’s sort of like the Apple Jackson, the apple and the apple jacks. There’s no apple in there, right?
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I saw cinnamon. But this just red number 40. It’s red flavor for sure.
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This is So if you had to pick at the moment, oh, I’m going the punch.
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I’m going the fun fact. Tee and treat was made by Canada Dry. Really?
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Yeah. So if you find a label that has a Canada Dry logo on it, that’s worth big money.
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If you have a that has a logo on it, right?
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Yeah. So like like because they they took the logo the Canada Dry logo off of the bottle like probably the early ‘7s like when cans were still made out of 10, right?
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And uh and they were flat. Remember when cans were flat anyway? Yes.
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So if you find one of those Okay.
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And I learned that by looking up all this stuff because I was like I got to find one now. This my hunt. My memory about Canada Drive, specifically ginger
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ale, was that um on the rare occasion we get to go on a plane, I got ginger ale. Like for some reason, my my mom would say, “Okay, now you can
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have a ginger ale.” Thought it was like a special treat. Now I like ginger ale.
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Ginger just in in the in the black community, ginger ale was was medicine. Well, you use ginger ale for everything.
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Well, yeah. When you aren’t feeling that that was actually a thing in the juice, too. Ginger, do you have it when you’re sick? Absolutely. You have it when you’re not Little for an upset stomach for sure. Ginger ale. That’s right.
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That’s crazy. It’s very little ginger. Well, ginger ale. Little tussen.
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Yeah. A little tussing. Yeah. It’s some And and you got to put some Vicks on head to toe. And then that that cures all. All right. Next.
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Hot F. You do you remember hot fries? I do remember. No, this is easy, too.
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And then then and then UTS. So that’s So okay. So as soon as you passed Jersey, uts is a thing. Yes, that’s right.
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So which one? Which one?
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It’s hot. It’s hot all the way. Without a doubt. Is it the crab flavor?
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I don’t No, I never did the crab. It’s just uh Old Bay. It’s Well, right. Yeah, it’s it’s fine.
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I mean, I I could do a number of different flavors of uts, but I mean, I want the kind of uts that where you put them on a napkin and then you can see through the napkin. So much grease on it.
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Yeah. Yeah. That’s when That’s when you’re doing right. If you’re going to eat a chip, clog the arteries. That’s what’s happening. Absolutely. Yeah. This this handicaps things. Okay. Chico sticks or lemon heads.
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Oh, wow. Do you remember Chico sticks? I do. Yeah. Uh, it’s Lemon Heads, though.
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Lemon heads was Yeah, Lemon Heads. You know, I forgot about them. They don’t have those anymore.
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So, now they don’t have them like that anymore. You can have them in a in a in a box and they’re like the size of the little gobstoppers, little tiny, right? The the
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great thing about the lemon head is that like you had like two treats in one because if you can chew through that little yellow layer, right? There’s a a white center
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that we don’t know what flavor that is, but let’s just say vanilla cuz whatever. Alexander the grape was a good one. Yeah. Yeah, that’s that’s a good one.
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Producer Gabe talking about Alexander the grape. That was a great one. Chico sticks. Here’s the thing with Chico Sticks for me. So, Chico Stick is
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actually almost identical to the inside of a Butterfinger except it has coconut in it. And that’s what they did me wrong. I don’t do the coconut. You don’t do coconut.
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I don’t like coconut. I don’t like coconut flakes. I like coconut flavor.
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Like dried like you ever go to like uh somebody’s crappy uh uh Easter party and
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they have like a cake that’s covered in coconut. Right. Right. Right. You don’t do that. And no, it just tastes horrible. Okay. What about like an Almond Joy?
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That’s my mother’s candy, bro. Like you got there’s a certain age group that comes with that.
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Well, mine might because she liked the dark chocolate.
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Yeah. I used to take the bus uh when I was like 10 from where I lived over to George Mason to try to pretend like I
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could keep up with the track athletes there. They had the best track runners in like the world at the time. And uh on the way back uh I would get a Mounds candy bar and give it to my mom. Yeah.
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And that was like I thought I was such a good son. my my mom I’m enjoying m that’s her thing she loves she Yeah that’s that’s funny
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all right so this has been this or that I love this that’s like pure nostalgia yeah it really is so that’s those things again
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food is the ultimate like unify I don’t care everybody either you had it you’ve seen it and here’s the the other trick none of that stuff’s good for you
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yeah no none of that stuff’s good for you and unfortunately I had everything on everything that we showed I’ve had
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unfortunately many many times over. So, it is what it is.
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Let’s talk about you being, you know, when you was sworn in in 2017, you were the second youngest mayor in Minneapolis history.
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Did you know that?
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Yeah, I had heard that. I’m not sure second or third. Al Hoststead is definitely was definitely younger than me, but no, he was second. Yeah,
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for sure the second. And you were 36, right?
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Believe. So And he was 34. He had you about two years. Mhm.
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I up in there, you could you would know this now, but in my career, I was always the youngest um person in the kitchen.
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And then I got to a point to where I was I got to be in charge. I was the the you know, executive chef. I was the head chef. And I was still the youngest.
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And when did you become a head chef? My first ex my first uh chef uh head chef job was at 18.
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Wow. As a head chef. Yeah. So this happened.
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When were you when were you laying out plates that were actually served? I mean when were you actually cooking? Not as a prep chef, but like actually cooking up the plates that were served out.
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Oh yeah. That like 18 17 18. That is unbelievable.
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Yeah. 17 18. And that’s it was just so and again I I didn’t really get serious about food till probably I want to say
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about 20 really.
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So it was just I I got into food to pay for studio time, right?
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So I um I got into food to pay for rent. Um I I was a server. I was a prep chef for a while. I never graduated to doing
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anything technical or that tastes good. But you know the grind though.
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I knew the grind. Oh yeah. Yeah. slicing green peppers and onions and tomatoes and I made sausage at a kind of shitty
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Italian restaurant, Williamsburg, Virginia. And then I I I worked in a restaurant in Detroit, north of Detroit and and in DC area, same idea. Yeah.
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Oh, very cool. So, in your when you when you when you came in your first term, did you ever deal with any backlash
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or doubt from constituents because of sheerely because of your age? you being the youngest.
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I did and I thought it was pretty unfair. And now in retrospect, you know, there is some naive, not necessarily
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because of age, but just because I was new. Like any position, right, you learn with experience,
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there are lessons that I learned that have made me a better person, a better mayor, a better leader, and yet I use those lessons every day.
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And so while at the time I was really pissed off when I thought that somebody was undermining me because either of my
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age or lack of experience, um there was a bit of truth to it. Right. Right.
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And that’s not Here’s the thing. I I do also believe there’s a fine line in there because with youth and just not knowing what you
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don’t know, there’s a lot of innocent uh hubris that you have and just trying to do the right thing for the right the
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right reasons, right? And so that enthusiasm I believe is why you were elected anyway.
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So the fact that you we you’ll learn what you need to learn. We you’ll get that without a doubt. But you got to start with the ideal. The the idea is that you
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got to keep those ideals and those values, but then you gain the knowhow. Absolutely. To get it done.
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Absolutely. Yeah. And this is look, being in public office, uh, anything in the public eye, specifically
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as a politician, you know, you can please some of the people some of the time. You’ll never please all the people all the time. And things, this is one of
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those things. We’re talking about being a comedian that people, everybody thinks they can be a comedian. Everybody’s funny. like, oh, I can tell a joke.
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Everybody thinks that, you know, uh, governing or or making a policy and
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trying to be a fair representative for the people is a one sizefits-all type of thing. It doesn’t
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work that way. I listen, I have six kids, right?
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My kids think I’m the most unfair person. First off, the baby’s the favorite. Like, yeah, she kind of is, but that’s not the
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point. The point is The point is this, and it’s and it’s only because I appreciate you got the guts to say it. No, here’s this is really what it is.
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So, any job that you do for any length of time, you should get better at it. Of course.
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So, my son, who was the first, he didn’t get the same dad that November got. Oh, right. Because I’m better at it.
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And hopefully your financial situation changed. That’s true. You get to be better at it. And and you deserve that grace for that.
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And as long as you can remember the mindset and the why why you got into it in the first place and just take their your experience with you and your
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knowhow now you’re the you know best of both worlds but people that’s a dead-on mentality.
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Absolutely. A lot of people forget forget that. Um you
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lead a city that is renowned for its musical history. It’s in my opinion,
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especially I’m well traveled, very underrated food scene here. And I always ask people this. I mean, Minneapolis, oh my god. Yeah.
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Is a is a is a food mecca, but on the low. A lot of people just don’t know about it. In a powerful arts community.
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The fine arts sector of the world of any city of any place is usually the first thing that suffers
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under you know unrest and the last thing thought about to bring it back to where it was or hopefully make it better.
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How important do you see the arts as far as the lifeblood and lifeline of a city?
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How how important of a role do you think it plays? Critical.
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Uh, it’s critical to the lifeblood. It’s critical to an economic comeback.
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Artists have long been the impetus and the driving force for progress, for change, and for economic development.
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And we’ve seen it. I mean, we’re sitting in Northeast right now, you know. And so, I mean, look at the history. You had a whole lot of artists that were hanging
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out in these kind of vacant warehouses in North Loop. And what happened? Well, they made the neighborhood better. A
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coffee shop pops up. A mural goes in. An area that was particularly kind of gray
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and bland suddenly has some pop. Next thing you know, the values go up. The rents go through the roof and they get displaced from some of the neighborhoods that they made wonderful to begin with.
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And where did they move? They moved to Northeast. Exactly. You know, and then what happens? Say now it’s happening here. Yeah.
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And so, uh, look, not only are the arts not cut, um,
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over this last year that we just passed, we’ve funded art more and more because we recognize that if we’re looking for a
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big Minneapolis comeback, which by the way is happening, artists are going to be the galvanizing force. And that is the case with paint.
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That is the case with food, which is also art. Absolutely.
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Uh that is the case with dance. And by the way, we’re about to announce some great stuff involving the dance world as
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well. Uh because there is a uh we are a mainstay for so many of these different
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practices uh in our city. And uh we often don’t give ourselves enough credit for it uh because we stand out worldwide for our music scene here.
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There is the Minneapolis sound. It’s why I knew where Minneapolis was. Of course.
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I mean, it’s Minneapolis sound. It’s Prince. It’s Jimmy J. Terry Lewis. I mean, it’s Soul Asylum.
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It, you know, there are so many worldclass bands and artists that have come right through here and there are more coming through right
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now. Um and so yes, it’s absolutely critical and I am just excited to see where this next phase brings us.
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Yeah. The also I think another huge thing that I think that your administration has done and is currently
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doing aside from funding there is the the the fact of serious and true honest
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support. That’s that’s understated. So most people Yes. If you fund certain things that’s good. to get certain things funded, but being supportive and
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a participant of these events and being seen and and just not for the sake of a photo op, but just for the fact of
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Exactly. That’s where the rubber meets the road, I believe. Yes. Um, for sure.
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You’re right. You’re right. And well, and that that is a thing that gets harder if I’m real honest at times as as mayor.
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Uh, because to just be there and to just experience as a It’s got to be hard. Yeah. Yeah, sometimes it’s doable if you can get the
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right spot and you wear a hat or whatever and you just kind of be there.
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Um, other times it’s hard because you’re, you know, you get there and you want to, you know, listen to the Digable Planets performance.
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So, I was at the show you was at. So, I I learned I’m like, I was at that show.
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I didn’t, you know, I didn’t bump into the mayor, but that’s okay. I’m like, you you probably had way better seats than I did or standing room only. You That’s right. Right. That’s right.
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We were at the back and up, but but it was which was a great seat actually.
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Um, that was a that was an an opportunity where I just got to kind of hang and listen to some nostalgic old school.
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Absolutely. Beautiful music.
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Very cool. Very cool. All right. So, be honest. What is What is the coolest most unexpected perk that was not in any of the drafts when it comes to being mayor?
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What is the coolest thing that you found out that that one of the perks for being mayor that you didn’t know before you was campaigning?
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The perks.
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I’m gonna go to me. So, I would think I’m going to I’m going to think of it while you talk.
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I would So, I would think just me being me like you gota I’m pretty sure right now if I called on behalf of you, I can get a seat in any restaurant in the city.
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I’m I’m pretty sure there’s not a restaurant that you can’t get a primo.
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Matter of fact, we should call already booked restaurants just just to try it out.
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Well, reservations, they get easier even even if you’re not dropping names or anything that I will admit that at times uh you’ll say, I’d like to, you know,
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get a spot. So, of course, what’s what’s your name? That’s the first thing. And then, so you it may happen without me even knowing about it at times. And so,
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that could be could be perhaps um you know, I’ll tell you another one which is really worldly and kind of cool. And by
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the way, the political thing to do would just say, “Oh, the people, the people, the people the perk, of course, the people are the perk, you know.” Um, I’m a very extroverted person. I love
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people. I love engaging with people. I love talking to people.
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Um, but that’s such an obvious political answer. Uh, so we have sister cities.
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Yep.
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Around the world. I think we’ve got like 12 of them or something.
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And I had never been on an official sister city trip.
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Uh but there is this kind of worldly camaraderie that you have with these sister cities and they were set up
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intentionally back in like the 40s or 50s I believe it was Eisenhower and the whole idea was even when two nations are
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at war while you might not have a relationship between the federal governments perhaps the cities would
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still be a source of humanity where you’re recognizing your opponent as a person and maybe that would be a source to create peace.
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It’s a brilliant idea. Yeah.
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Uh and so we’ve got, you know, Cornovaga, Mexico is a sister city in Finland. Uh Quio, Finland is a sister
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city and Bosaso, Somalia, we got a whole ton of them. And there’s kind of this companionship which is really cool. And
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if you get a chance to go on a trip and visit, you get to see a city in a very different culture in a way
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that you’d almost never get to experience even if you were to go there in normal terms, right? So that’s something pretty special.
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That’s actually really cool. And I had no idea. I didn’t know that there were multiple. So like sister city for San
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Francisco is um I was just there too. Uh it’s in Spain. Um and and how I knew I
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was start asking questions. So they the whoever the the dictator that was there before like he just like was picking up landmarks and like build one of those
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here. So like there there’s a bridge that looks just like the Golden Gate Bridge.
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There he has like I forgot what the statue is the crystal one in in Brazil.
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He has one of those. And like um and even like the landscape looks a lot like San Francisco. That’s right.
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So it’s um well great culture often gets copied.
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Very true. Very true. Very true. That’s a it’s a great point. And to it’s sort of like the uh student ex exchange
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program just on like steroids like like having the sisterities like that.
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Well, you know, it’s it’s an interesting topic around like I’m going to transition just slightly to um culture that is succeeding is copied and then
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there’s also cultural appropriation. You know, for sure.
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Uh, Jews are thrilled usually when their culture gets copied. You know, I
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remember, you know, bagels, at least outside of New York City, were not really a thing, you know.
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Very true. You didn’t have bagel stores everywhere.
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Uh, and I remember in DC, in Northern Virginia, when those first bagel stores started to pop up,
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uh, I remember my mom said to me something like, “We’re winning this thing.” You know,
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there are people that are leaving church and going to grab bagels. Absolutely. Now, the bagels were garbage.
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Yeah, that’s No, that was They were not good. You know, it was like a step above lenders bagels, but they were boiling them, you know.
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Uh, they got to import the water. They got to import the water.
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They got to import the water out of out of Yeah. from Bagel Oasis. That was their bag. That was their spot in Queens. Or Bagel. Yeah.
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Yeah. Yeah. Bagels are one of those things I You know, there’s nothing like I tell people all the time, if you anything that touches the water in New
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York City is just better. I don’t care what anybody says.
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Well, the water in New York City is excellent. The water here is very good. The water here is very good.
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Is is really good. We are We are broadly recognized as having some really great water, at least as it applies to Minnesota. We get a guy in it works for the city. All he cares about is the
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taste of the water. He knows if it’s a leafy taste why and if it’s a chlorine taste why and then he makes works to make it better. It’s kind of cool.
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That is actually I would I’m a geek like that. I love that. And and you can use that for other things. So as a chef I would love to that like oh and water tastes completely different.
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Like it really does have a really does have a taste and it’s a it’s a it’s a viscosity too. I Well, New York water is also go good for your hair.
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Absolutely. You know, your your hair just feels softer. And that’s you know what?
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Me leaving New York is the reason why I’m bald now. There you go.
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Now I’m fically challenged to stay my ass in New York. I look I was long and luxurious when I when I came here. Long and luxurious when I came here. Curls or what?
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Yeah. I curls when I when I came here. I was good, you know. I been den, you know. Yeah. All of it. Mississippi River Water.
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Yeah, that’s right.
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Oh my goodness. So, let’s let’s talk about some of your accolades because there’s there’s this is it’s a tough gig, right? And so,
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anytime that you get a chance to be recognized for some things that um it’s not so much about the accolade itself,
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it’s more such about more more so about what it represents. So, the the MLK Junior Award and the first to receive
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that. Tell me about what that represented for you. not not for the office, just for personally what
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that meant to you to be the recipient of such a prestigious. That was a huge deal for me at the time.
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I think I told everybody. Um, you would not be able to have met me at the time
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and not hear about that within the first five minutes of a conversation. Um, rightfully so.
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I mean, big head, big ego. I thought it was I was I was really honored.
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Yeah. uh and and it was due to we had I had done a lot of work in support of marriage equality uh as we were fighting
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off a very hateful state constitutional amendment that would have defined marriages between a man and a woman.
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I had done or I was doing uh work on the north side following that tornado that had ripped through providing free
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legal service uh for people that had literally lost their homes.
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Yeah. Uh, and yeah, to get an award like that, um, I mean, just fully honored and
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excited and, um, who knows, maybe it wasn’t even deserved, but, uh, I certainly was thrilled to have gotten him.
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Absolutely. No, there’s there’s I think that there’s a sense of
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um very there’s a it’s a realness to an approach when something is authentic and
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something’s just cuz right like there’s there’s going through the motions and then there’s showing up and being present right and that award I in my
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personal opinion is is for the person that that is showing up you know it’s not something that yeah you did what you’re supposed to do. That’s the, you
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know, all the right things. It’s the the politically correct thing to do. But the the reason for doing it was more so
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about the people than anything else. And um you know, and then that’s just, you know, the climate awards and then there’s the the the historic reforms
37:02
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that are passed. There’s I mean, it’s a slew of great things that have happened.
37:07
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Um rent policy is another great one. So, I just think that award to me was sort of
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like from the people. So, I would think it would be a a great, you know, especially having MLK’s name on it because of what he represented to, you
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know, the American people. So, uh if you my point for asking that is because if you didn’t um receive it that
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way, I think you should because that’s it’s one of those it’s a very very Oh, thank you. a good and deep thing. um
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you’ve been uh one of those people, the reason why I I gravitate towards you because it’s a very East Coast mindset
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to take, but very steadfast in the face of, you know, protesters and, you know, adversity and, you know, willing to to
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die on that hill um because of just standing up for what you believe is right
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um and is the right difficult decision to make at the time. None of these decisions are easy, right?
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They’re they’re all going to be difficult. Yeah.
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There’s going to be some people that are not going to be happy, but the goal is to make the best decision for the long term, not for today. Absolutely.
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But down the road and that to me, I think you you do with grace and I I know you get, you know, you’ve taken some shots.
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Oh, yeah. You know. Oh, yeah.
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But you keep showing up. And so that to me, you know, you know, why did you decide decide to even to run for the third term? Like what was what what made
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that something that you had to do is, you know, is to get a job done. Yeah, absolutely.
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Our city has been through a whole lot over these last five years. Uh and we have faced those challenges headon.
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We’ve gone hand inand with our community members facing some of the most difficult issues that this world could offer. And our city’s coming back. It
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really is in fine form. I want to be able to hand the reigns off to the next mayor
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uh with a city that is in excellent shape, that is realizing its potential
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and in an office of mayor where that next person has the ability to fully and efficiently run the government on behalf
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of people. Uh and we’ve had some major changes over the last several years. Uh major changes that are external
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substantive policy changes. We’ve had an entire shift to the structure of government, which some people don’t recognize is arguably the most important thing that I’ll ever do.
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Yeah.
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Uh as mayor, um and I want to make sure that that system is set up for the next person so that they don’t need to have some of the
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fights that I’ve had, right?
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They can do it smoothly, right? How do you feel, and you kind of touched on this is why I’m going here, how, you know, the current president’s
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policies or lack of thereof, is does it make your job
40:14
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here harder or or obviously it makes it harder, but how does how is how is navigating those things? Because there’s
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there’s when stuff is happening on the federal level and changes to things that have been systematically put in place to benefit
40:31
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us from now until tomorrow when things are being rolled back. Oh yeah.
40:37
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It’s it’s got to be super duper frustrating. But it is it also changes how things are done on the ground here.
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And I don’t think people understand that those decisions that are made in Washington have dire you pick up the pieces.
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Absolutely.
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We are facing some of the decisions that other levels of government don’t want to touch with a 20ft pole. And that’s just
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in general. That’s without even Donald Trump in office. Now, with Donald Trump in office, it’s not as if these horrible cuts that
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41 minutes, 12 seconds
he’s making to health care, for instance, for people that need it and can’t afford it will save money. It won’t.
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It just means that cities are going to have to deal with the consequences because what happens if someone can’t go
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to the doctor when something is ailing them? It gets worse. And when it gets worse, they might get sick in a way that
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makes them lose time at work for an extended period. They might lose their job because of it because they lose their
41:47
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job. They might not be able to pay the rent or their mortgage. They go homeless. Next thing you know, they’ve got all sorts of other issues
41:54
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that are associated. And like we are left to pick up the pieces
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42 minutes
and sometimes uh that means that Henipin County or our social workers are going out there to do this work and suddenly they got a whole lot more work to do.
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Sometimes it’s our police that are dealing with the repercussions that go in the way of violence or crime.
42:16
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Uh but the bottom line is we are having to see the consequences of it. And you know, every time there’s a new election,
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every time a new president comes in, you expect there to be changes, especially if it’s a change in party. So absolutely, free and fair election, you expect that.
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But the kind of things that Trump is doing now is not just about a shift of policy.
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I am now concerned about the endurance of our republic. Yeah, sure.
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Because when you’re questioning a court order, when you are challenging the result of a free and fair election,
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which of course he did, then the sustenance, the long-term maintenance of our democracy is at risk.
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And it is right now, right?
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Anybody who says otherwise, I don’t know. You’re lying to yourself. It’s very concerning.
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Absolutely. Absolutely. When when Freda is old enough to vote, what
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type of Minnesota or Minneapolis do you want her to inherit? A loving one.
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Broadly speaking, it is a kind, loving place. And I could expound on that, but
43:36
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like you know, times change, people change. Um, ideas shift. Uh,
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I want her to live in a place where people are treat each other with a common humanity. Yeah.
43:53
43 minutes, 53 seconds
They embrace both similarities and differences.
43:58
43 minutes, 58 seconds
They’re not taking themselves too seriously where you can’t have a laugh.
44:03
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uh where it’s not so based in the words you’re saying but in the intention behind them.
44:10
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Uh and um I just see so much potential and hope and love here especially in the face of
44:19
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all the chaos that’s happening nationwide and worldwide. And so I am optimistic. I fully expect her to love to be here when in fact she’s 18 years old and can vote.
44:29
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I don’t know what the hell I’m going to be doing.
44:35
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on to that point. Um, you know, you you said again this is going to be your last term that you run, right?
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What do you want people to say about the version of Minneapolis
44:50
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that you intend to leave? And what part of yourself do you hope to gain back from stepping away from public office?
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45 minutes
because that’s going to be a huge shift for you and probably you’ll be able to go to c well you probably still won’t be able to go to many places you you know
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you can’t change your face the part that you gain back I I think to
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a certain extent is there is um a very necessary uh tension in that
45:27
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on any given night you could get waken up woken up at 1:00 in or two in the morning uh to something really bad that just happened. And you know, I know if
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I’m getting a call at 1:00 in the morning and it’s not from a drunk friend uh if it’s from our, you know, our chief, right,
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or a state official um or my chief of staff, I know that I’m about to hear something
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really horrid, right?
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Oftentimes it’s a little kid that just got killed. Um sometimes this was assa an assassination.
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Yeah, that was um and there is a tension associated with that,
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a necessary one where you’re prepared to get up and deal with the situation in the immediacy. Uh and you add to deal
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with it no matter the mental state of mind that you’re presently in personally, right?
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Uh and so to a certain extent you almost need to temporarily divorce yourself from that and deal with the issue at hand. And that’s it’s hard. Yeah.
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And so to just sleep Yeah.
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Uh and to put down my phone, that’s a big one. Yeah.
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You know, to be able to put down my phone for an extended period of time and not worry about what might happen.
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Um yeah, that is that would be something super special, too, you know, and I’m sure anybody would appreciate that. And at the same time, I love this work. I love this job. I love this city.
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Uh, and it is so fulfilling. And so, it’s one of those things like running, which is, you know, why I came out here.
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Um, it’s both incredibly difficult and the most fulfilling thing that you could possibly do.
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That’s well said. Well said. We have some uh, producer Gabe, we have some questions from the audience, I believe.
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Yeah, we do. Let’s see. So, I got Well, th this one’s for me, but um uh what’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done as mayor?
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If like if you had a mulligan or whatever you guys have.
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Look, I’ve done a I mean, I’ve done so many dumb things. I Hey, join the club. I mean, um,
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I mean, I think the ones that are just most apparent and coming to mind are are instances where, uh,
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I was assuming that people would understand that I was joking around, but maybe the people in the room took it that way. Those damn jokes again.
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Yeah, the people in the room will take it as a that way, but maybe the people online did not take it the same way.
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didn’t translate.
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And I’ve I’ve come to the assumption that I’m not remotely funny. You got to have a staff joke right now.
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I know a guy if you I got a guy I always say this like I’ve never texted a woman anything that would sound good at a press conference 10 years later.
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You know what I mean? Like you just can’t like it’s hard to have your jokes put in print, you know, or sarcasm or whatever. They never read white. That’s for sure.
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Right. Um, so this is from uh listener Nate Greenot. He says uh uh what is the difference between Mayor Fry first term and third term?
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Like are you way better every so much?
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Um I mean look you maintain the same values. Um the policy largely has not
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dramatically shifted. I mean truthfully the policy never totally shifts. I mean, if you look back at the work that Hubert
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Humphrey was doing, what was he focused on? He was focused on housing and crime and safety and uh economic development.
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I mean, it’s the same stuff, right? And certainly over time you bend that arc towards justice. Over time, you make
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progress. Uh and so not drastic changes in terms of those
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pieces. Uh there are drastic shifts in my ability to execute on them and carry them out. A big part of mayor is also
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not just executing a plan, but responding to circumstances that you don’t anticipate.
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That’s a huge part of the job. Yeah.
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I mean, I don’t think I said the word pandemic. I don’t think anybody said the word pandemic a single time when I was campaigning for my first term in office.
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uh to say that we were illprepared collectively to understand how to deal with a
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pandemic would be pretty freaking accurate, right? We’re not anymore. We are prepared now.
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Uh you know, you learn and you adjust. You gain thicker skin. That’s a big one.
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I mean, things used to bother me uh when I was first elected mayor. uh they really got
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to me. You know, people had a misunderstanding about why I did something or there was an assumption
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made that I didn’t care about someone who I deeply cared for.
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Um yeah, I call you names. Sometimes you get bashed by the exact opposite side
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for the same thing, but they’re they’re coming at it from a different perspective. You know, I I used to joke with Mayor Carter, uh, you know, the
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most popular, most likely feedback number was one and two was not enough cops and too many cops.
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Um, and so, uh, yeah, but over time you you gain that thicker skin. uh you have more
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confidence because decisions that used to take the better part of a day now take 10 minutes because you’ve seen it
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before. You know how to handle the issue. Uh and yes, I am a dramatically better mayor than I was when I took office. No question in my mind.
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Absolutely. So, uh this is from listener Chris Celing. He says, uh let’s see.
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Oh, hang on. Okay. It says, uh, “Do you remember your first time getting confronted in a restaurant by an angry constituent or just, you know, I guess
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anywhere, but first time get, you know, I assume that happens.” Oh god. Yeah.
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Yeah. That’s got to be miserable part of the job. I would think just there’s days you just want to be you and Yeah. I mean, Sarah and I joke about a
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19 for 20 rule. In other words, we’ll get 19 positive interactions or at least neutral ones where someone’s asking a fair question. And then if you get much
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beyond that, uh much beyond 19, something bad is coming. Yeah. Yeah. It’s on the horizon.
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Uh so, first I’ll start out by saying here’s the truth. I have no problem at all with people coming up to me and
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asking me a tough question or uh noting something that they don’t like. That is fair game. I’m the mayor.
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I signed up for that. Um, of course, sometimes I like to have some time with my family where I get to hang out with
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my wife and my kid. Uh, but look, you see me out, you say, “Hey, I’ve got a question about this pothole that hasn’t
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been fixed or the housing that we’re waiting on getting built or whatever issue it may be.” That is fair.
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Uh, what I find completely pointless is f you. Yeah. And a driveby.
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I don’t know whether you’re a Democrat or you’re a Republican. I don’t know if what you don’t like. That’s not constructive.
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It’s not constructive because what people don’t realize is about, you know, about half the feedback you get is from one side of the spectrum and about the
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other half of the feedback you get is from the other half.
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Genuinely, right?
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And so I have no idea. I mean, that’s your contribution to the world in that day. That’s a pretty pathetic contribution.
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I would say it would be a very positive contri I would say it’s a very positive contribution to say, “Hey, here’s something that I have an issue.” And having the courage Well, that’s what
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to have a conversation. Have the courage to And that’s always what I will tell people. It’s the same thing every time. Hey, you’re going to say that.
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Do you have the courage to have a conversation? Right. And most people don’t.
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Oftentimes they don’t. Yeah. Sometimes I’ll give them credit. They do. And maybe sometimes
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there was a misunderstanding and now that they realize the full context, they actually agree.
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Usually is sometimes sometimes someone just wants to be angry, you know, and um you know, again, I’m a mayor, but I’m also a human being.
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Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely.
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What what So this is mine, and I’m not trying to sound like a a con whatever weirdo here, but too late. One of the things we’re finding out, well that’s true. One of
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the things we’re finding out is that there’s a lot of blackmail in politics.
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And I’m not saying you’ve, but have you ever sensed an exper?
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Yeah. Yeah. No, that that there’s like political dirty tricks. Have you ever felt like anyone’s like been trying to
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do any like set you up for anything or cuss on this? You sure can. [ _ ] constantly. Really? 55:04 55 minutes, 4 seconds Constantly? Yeah. What’s an example of that? Oh my god. 55:09 55 minutes, 9 seconds That’s crazy. I I did not expect you to say constantly. 55:11 55 minutes, 11 seconds Two days. I mean, even the last two days, there are people that are they’re they’re literally trying to get in a fight with me. I’m like, I I don’t even 55:20 55 minutes, 20 seconds disagree with you. I don’t even know what this fight is about. They are trying to fight when there is no 55:27 55 minutes, 27 seconds disagreement. We’re just trying to get the work done and do a job. 55:31 55 minutes, 31 seconds Um I God I have had here’s the other frustrating thing. I’ve had people come into my office council members. Uh, 55:40 55 minutes, 40 seconds and they’ll literally say to me, “I know what you’re doing is the right thing here, but I’m gonna vote against you and 55:47 55 minutes, 47 seconds come out you with it because because because I’m scared or I’m worried or I’m um I don’t want to get torn apart.” 55:56 55 minutes, 56 seconds Uh, and I don’t give any names out, you know, but like why are we in these jobs, right? if you know what the right thing 56:04 56 minutes, 4 seconds is to do, but you won’t do it because you’re fearful. Um, I mean, I’ve got certainly many flaws. 56:15 56 minutes, 15 seconds Uh, but if I know what the right thing is to do, I will not back down under pressure, right? And that was harder initially 56:25 56 minutes, 25 seconds because my skin wasn’t as thick. My skin is pretty damn thick now. And I think if there’s anything that people can take away from it is, yeah, you want to come 56:33 56 minutes, 33 seconds at me, come at me. Uh, but there could be 2,000 people outside my home demanding that I defund the police. 56:42 56 minutes, 42 seconds This happened. And this happened. 56:44 56 minutes, 44 seconds And I will tell you the truth, which is yes, we need significant culture shift and real reform, but am I going to defund the police? No. You can shame me, 56:53 56 minutes, 53 seconds you can spit on me, you can throw things at me, but I won’t back down. Uh and now 57:00 57 minutes that position is held by virtually every single politician in the Democratic party. Yes. 57:06 57 minutes, 6 seconds And they’re running from many are running from the positions that they previously took. And in my mind, the quality of that elected official is not 57:15 57 minutes, 15 seconds necessarily in the position that they took or didn’t take, but it’s in the fact that you had the courage and the 57:22 57 minutes, 22 seconds conviction to stand by what was right and the thing you believe to be true. 57:29 57 minutes, 29 seconds Absolutely. Absolutely. All right. So, before I let you get out of here, we’re going to play one more game. It’s the 57:35 57 minutes, 35 seconds lightning round. So, in this round, I’m going to give you a word or phrase and don’t think, just feel first thing that pops in your head. 57:45 57 minutes, 45 seconds This is dangerous. You talked about one of the stupidest things that you’ve you’ve done. 57:49 57 minutes, 49 seconds This might be on the list. This is going to be on the list now. This is on the list. All right. So, favorite hiphop artist or group? 57:58 57 minutes, 58 seconds Uh, Digable Planets. 58:00 58 minutes Digable Planet. Okay. Spiciest thing you have ever eaten? 58:07 58 minutes, 7 seconds I’m sure it’s some sort of ghost pepper. 58:10 58 minutes, 10 seconds I don’t know that I’ve eaten the whole thing. Like had a little bite and then my entire face burns off. 58:15 58 minutes, 15 seconds What was it in? You just h Well, I remember actually just having the pepper itself. Uh I don’t I don’t remember if it was a ghost or something 58:23 58 minutes, 23 seconds else, but like I had like a a bite of it. And was it a dare? 58:26 58 minutes, 26 seconds Uh or Wednesday. A bear or a dare? Yeah. 58:32 58 minutes, 32 seconds Um, uh, Mosley, as I say, um, 58:40 58 minutes, 40 seconds uh, no, I just remember being like, water and No, I’m not a pepper head, you know. What the hell? 58:46 58 minutes, 46 seconds No, I mean, I think I was just messing around when I was like in high school or something like that and trying to show off and show how show some girls were involved. Show some Yeah. 58:54 58 minutes, 54 seconds Show some girl how strong I was. Hey. And she I never saw her again. 59:01 59 minutes, 1 second Here’s the secret. Goes in hot comes out hot. 59:04 59 minutes, 4 seconds All right. So, uh, last thing you ordered on Uber Eats? Uh, oh god. Last thing. 59:13 59 minutes, 13 seconds And this is not sponsored. So, this could be any any delivery service. 59:16 59 minutes, 16 seconds I mean, cuz this is too so frequent though. Yeah, this is so frequent. Um, look, love Tea House Chinese food. 59:24 59 minutes, 24 seconds I love y’all. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I’ve got a I got a regular order that we hit over there. Um, you know, I try to I work virtually every night. I try to take Friday nights off. 59:33 59 minutes, 33 seconds Okay. 59:34 59 minutes, 34 seconds And so oftentimes Sarah will, you know, we hit the couch with the kid. Uh, we do Shabbat. Okay. 59:40 59 minutes, 40 seconds Uh, light the candles. We watch a little, speaking of old school, remember Gummy Bears? 59:45 59 minutes, 45 seconds The cartoon bouncing bouncing here and there and everywhere. 59:47 59 minutes, 47 seconds That is the best theme song of any cartoon. Yeah, I know the whole thing. 59:51 59 minutes, 51 seconds Yeah. Yeah, me too. I love it. I I promise I will not sing it. 59:55 59 minutes, 55 seconds I love Speaking of ‘8s, I was just I just watched an episode of Gummy Bears like two nights ago. I I’m get my 10-year-old. I’m like, you don’t know cartoons. Yeah. 1:00:03 1 hour, 3 seconds You know, Gummy Bears, you can still get it. You can still get it on like was it HBO or something like that? 1:00:07 1 hour, 7 seconds It’s it’s on um No, it’s on Disney. Yes, it’s on Disney. Oh, I love it. 1:00:11 1 hour, 11 seconds Now, it’s doesn’t look as good, but it still the song still brilliant. Oh, it’s great. Magic and mystery. 1:00:18 1 hour, 18 seconds I love I loved it. Love it. Okay. Go to go-to karaoke track now since you’re singing already. 1:00:27 1 hour, 27 seconds Uh, all right. First thing that comes to mind is Macy Gay. I try I try to say goodbye and I trust 1:00:35 1 hour, 35 seconds that’s a good for you to sing. Yeah, it’s for him to sing. 1:00:38 1 hour, 38 seconds Yeah, Macy Gay is kind of a she’s kind of a baritone anyway. Yeah, I can I can do some AC/DC too. 1:00:44 1 hour, 44 seconds Okay. This is kind of opposite side of this the spectrum of music. Uh uh but uh yeah, I can nail some AC/DC. Okay. All right. 1:00:52 1 hour, 52 seconds All right. Tiffany. I could do Tiffany. 1:00:55 1 hour, 55 seconds Oh, that’s you. That’s Hell yeah. 1:00:57 1 hour, 57 seconds That’s a good one. All right. You’re hosting a dinner party. You have three guests. Dead or alive. No politics allowed. Who’s at the table? 1:01:06 1 hour, 1 minute, 6 seconds Give me the rules again. 1:01:07 1 hour, 1 minute, 7 seconds Three guests. Dinner party. Dead or alive. No politics allowed. Who’s at the table for your dinner party? 1:01:16 1 hour, 1 minute, 16 seconds Dead or alive. 1:01:18 1 hour, 1 minute, 18 seconds No politics allowed. Uh my wife safe. Yes. 1:01:25 1 hour, 1 minute, 25 seconds We’re about to have a face politics. I’m worried that she’s going to call me. So let’s let’s maintain that rel, you know. 1:01:34 1 hour, 1 minute, 34 seconds Um uh Steve Prefontaine, which you may or may not know about. This is a he’s a 1:01:40 1 hour, 1 minute, 40 seconds distance runner, right? Yeah. He Well, he he died in a car crash. uh when he was like 24 25 or 1:01:49 1 hour, 1 minute, 49 seconds something like that. Um but uh has always been a hero of mine. Um and the 1:01:56 1 hour, 1 minute, 56 seconds third one, 1:02:06 1 hour, 2 minutes, 6 seconds the third one would probably be like to get some sort of historic answer that nobody knows yet. You know what I mean? 1:02:15 1 hour, 2 minutes, 15 seconds Um, like I got really into um this whole concept of did Jesus have kids or not? 1:02:25 1 hour, 2 minutes, 25 seconds That’s a deep one. 1:02:27 1 hour, 2 minutes, 27 seconds Jesus had a kid. I want a meal with this kid. 1:02:29 1 hour, 2 minutes, 29 seconds I I got to talk to this kid. I mean I mean Well, technically they say I don’t know. I What do they say technically? I don’t know. You tell me. 1:02:38 1 hour, 2 minutes, 38 seconds That’s the whole thing. That does it. 1:02:40 1 hour, 2 minutes, 40 seconds Then now I got to go down. That’s the Thanks for that. Now that that I know I’m spending my weekend, Gabe, does Jesus have kids? 1:02:48 1 hour, 2 minutes, 48 seconds It’s like the Da Vinci Code type stuff. You know what I mean? 1:02:50 1 hour, 2 minutes, 50 seconds I don’t know about that, but I heard that the Knights Templars have his bones and they’re getting him tested now in the next year to Oh, there you go. And then recreate through DNA. 1:02:58 1 hour, 2 minutes, 58 seconds There we go. Yeah. Let’s make Jurassic Park with Jesus, right? 1:03:03 1 hour, 3 minutes, 3 seconds Oh my god. All right. And finally, Minneapolis in one word. 1:03:08 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds Minneapolis. Oh, you want me to tell say like what would it be? One word for Yeah. For Minneapolis. Uh, for me is heaven. 1:03:16 1 hour, 3 minutes, 16 seconds Awesome. Awesome. Okay. Before I let you go again, I need you to tell everybody 1:03:24 1 hour, 3 minutes, 24 seconds where they can find you and and and and learn about the things you got going on outside of the stuff they see in the 1:03:31 1 hour, 3 minutes, 31 seconds headlines. Um, give them your social cuz you’re you’re active on social. I follow you. Um, and you post a little bit about everything, which I think is so cool. 1:03:41 1 hour, 3 minutes, 41 seconds I mean, you you could follow me on all the platforms and stuff like that. Um, uh, you know, you’ll you’ll see me at 1:03:48 1 hour, 3 minutes, 48 seconds meetings and stuff. I I tell you the I love talking to people. Yeah. 1:03:54 1 hour, 3 minutes, 54 seconds If you see me at the bar, come say hello. Ask the question that you’ve been wanting to ask. You know, as 1:04:02 1 hour, 4 minutes, 2 seconds long as you do it with integrity and and love, bring it on, right? It could be something that maybe is not so loving and that’s okay. Yeah. 1:04:10 1 hour, 4 minutes, 10 seconds But like, you know, come up to me, right? 1:04:12 1 hour, 4 minutes, 12 seconds Uh, have a drink with me, hang out, have some food, talk about, you know, who you are, where you from, what you like to 1:04:18 1 hour, 4 minutes, 18 seconds do. And and I mean, I truly do love people. And so, um, I mean, maybe you’ll 1:04:25 1 hour, 4 minutes, 25 seconds find me over at Cliff of Norms, you know, may maybe you’ll find me nearby my my home at over at Whiteies. Um, I’m 1:04:33 1 hour, 4 minutes, 33 seconds there a lot, you know. Um, but regardless, uh, I, you know, you can learn about 1:04:42 1 hour, 4 minutes, 42 seconds stuff online, uh, but that’s not a connection. 1:04:45 1 hour, 4 minutes, 45 seconds No, it’s not a real connection. What would one thing you could say to to all the listeners that you urge them to do to be a, you know, a better neighbor, a 1:04:55 1 hour, 4 minutes, 55 seconds better citizen, just a damn near just a better human like 1:05:05 1 hour, 5 minutes, 5 seconds you know, um, a better citizen, a better human being. Um, 1:05:13 1 hour, 5 minutes, 13 seconds I would say take a beat to first recognize a person’s common humanity, whoever that may be. You know, 1:05:21 1 hour, 5 minutes, 21 seconds we’re we’re at a time right now where people are villainized based on their background, their race, their sexuality, 1:05:28 1 hour, 5 minutes, 28 seconds their um gender, their uh where they’re from, their documentation status, especially right now. 1:05:37 1 hour, 5 minutes, 37 seconds Um and people could use a whole lot of love. 1:05:43 1 hour, 5 minutes, 43 seconds And so I think entering a conversation with a willingness to see that person as a human being no matter who they are 1:05:51 1 hour, 5 minutes, 51 seconds would go a really long way you know and that doesn’t mean that there’s understanding immediately because often times there’s not right 1:05:58 1 hour, 5 minutes, 58 seconds you know and sometimes that’s just based on again where you may have come from you know like I mean let’s just be real let’s be very real here you know we 1:06:07 1 hour, 6 minutes, 7 seconds we’ve got a very blue twin cities you got a very read uh greater Minnesota and 1:06:15 1 hour, 6 minutes, 15 seconds other portions. And look, it’s not like um everybody from greater Minnesota is is awful. It’s not everybody from the 1:06:22 1 hour, 6 minutes, 22 seconds Twin Cities is awful. You know, you you grow up and with having met different 1:06:28 1 hour, 6 minutes, 28 seconds people, being learning things from different mentalities. Mhm. 1:06:36 1 hour, 6 minutes, 36 seconds Uh and if you can kind of embrace that difference and take the time to understand and not hold somebody accountable for what they don’t know 1:06:44 1 hour, 6 minutes, 44 seconds yet, right? 1:06:46 1 hour, 6 minutes, 46 seconds Um I think that would go a really long way. 1:06:51 1 hour, 6 minutes, 51 seconds No, that’s a great point. I I always say that even the most fascist person, most racist person, there’s one time for sure 1:07:00 1 hour, 7 minutes every day is not thinking about segregation. It’s when it comes to their stomach. Mhm. 1:07:05 1 hour, 7 minutes, 5 seconds So many times a day, they’re eating foods from people and cultures that they deem to be inferior. That’s a beautiful way of putting it. 1:07:13 1 hour, 7 minutes, 13 seconds And if they placed a face and a name to that dish, right, they’d have a whole different outlook on it. 1:07:20 1 hour, 7 minutes, 20 seconds That is a And and there are so many commonalities. 1:07:22 1 hour, 7 minutes, 22 seconds Absolutely. Every culture has a chicken dish. Every culture has a rice dish. Well, brisket. 1:07:28 1 hour, 7 minutes, 28 seconds Yeah. I mean, there’s the there’s there’s a black way of cooking brisket and there’s a Jew way of of cooking brisket. I mean, there’s probably we just call it we call it this the New 1:07:37 1 hour, 7 minutes, 37 seconds York way to New York and it’s the right way. The New York way of cooking brisket. 1:07:43 1 hour, 7 minutes, 43 seconds Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Everywhere else. I don’t know. 1:07:46 1 hour, 7 minutes, 46 seconds There’s water involved. I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what to tell you. But yeah, and you’re you’re 100% right. The things that change are 1:07:54 1 hour, 7 minutes, 54 seconds the method of cooking and the the the objects that are readily available for the area. But at the end of the day, 1:08:02 1 hour, 8 minutes, 2 seconds it’s all about substance and it’s the greatest form of reverence and love you can get share with a person. 1:08:08 1 hour, 8 minutes, 8 seconds And the and it’s one of it’s one of the few times uh two times that you have blind faith with a person that you probably don’t 1:08:17 1 hour, 8 minutes, 17 seconds never met when you go to a restaurant and when you board a plane. So they you’re putting your life in into these people’s hands and you’re you know you’re entrusting 1:08:25 1 hour, 8 minutes, 25 seconds that their skill set is on a certain level. 1:08:28 1 hour, 8 minutes, 28 seconds Um but yeah well give me your best bridging of a gap story through food. 1:08:36 1 hour, 8 minutes, 36 seconds I um so I’ve I I managed a a a restaurant chain um sorry 1:08:45 1 hour, 8 minutes, 45 seconds hotel chain and we had a Pacific Rim steakhouse um a part of the hotel as as 1:08:53 1 hour, 8 minutes, 53 seconds the lead in that I I knew that optics are important. 1:08:57 1 hour, 8 minutes, 57 seconds Now I trained with one of the top sushi makers in in the world. I also know that it just doesn’t look good for me to be making the sushi. 1:09:08 1 hour, 9 minutes, 8 seconds It just doesn’t it just does, you know, it just doesn’t look good, right? And so I had a a moment to where so I trained they’re going to they’re going to walk 1:09:15 1 hour, 9 minutes, 15 seconds out of the restaurant and go to another one where the Japanese guy is making the or the Mexican guy. Sure. 1:09:20 1 hour, 9 minutes, 20 seconds Or guy, somebody just closer in resemblance to what they think. 1:09:24 1 hour, 9 minutes, 24 seconds Okay. Okay. Right. Okay. Sure. Now, so I had we had this uh a customer come up and he was raving about the sushi, 1:09:33 1 hour, 9 minutes, 33 seconds right? And then for some reason I had one of one of my servers, a black kid, um he had an issue with him, whatever 1:09:41 1 hour, 9 minutes, 41 seconds the case may be. And basically, he was just very very much super duper um off-putting about inferiority and him 1:09:50 1 hour, 9 minutes, 50 seconds being knowledgeable about what he was doing and everything. And so I went up to him and I saw this happening in real time and just because I’m also super petty. 1:10:00 1 hour, 10 minutes So So uh I go up to him. I’m like, “Hey, how’d you enjoy your meal?” Yeah. 1:10:05 1 hour, 10 minutes, 5 seconds Yeah. Okay. Um Yeah. So there’s obviously a misunderstanding you had with uh with the with the server, but um you know u Oh yeah, the sushi chef is is 1:10:14 1 hour, 10 minutes, 14 seconds amazing. Amazing man. So I called the way. Come over here. Like tell tell him who uh who showed you how to make sushi. 1:10:21 1 hour, 10 minutes, 21 seconds talking. Oh, chef here is the he’s he’s the guy. You should saw his face because he was he was reeling about and 1:10:29 1 hour, 10 minutes, 29 seconds even when I when I approached him and told him who I was, it was still like underling type of vibes. 1:10:36 1 hour, 10 minutes, 36 seconds And um my whole thing is I I’m a firm believer in killing with kindness because the the you can’t you can’t you’re not going to alter my I’m not 1:10:44 1 hour, 10 minutes, 44 seconds going to change who I am or how I would normally do things because of a response from someone else. That’s right. 1:10:50 1 hour, 10 minutes, 50 seconds There’s no greater joy I get than walking away. 1:10:54 1 hour, 10 minutes, 54 seconds I just [ _ ] his whole world. His his whole world is shattered.
1:10:57
1 hour, 10 minutes, 57 seconds
He used to call it grinning down the bear. I like that.
1:11:01
1 hour, 11 minutes, 1 second
Yeah. Killing with Kindness. Grinning down the bear.
1:11:03
1 hour, 11 minutes, 3 seconds
I like that. I like that. Well, again, thank you so much for coming by. I I owe you an album. I got you an album coming soon. I love it.
1:11:10
1 hour, 11 minutes, 10 seconds
Um again, follow Mayor Jacob Fry. Please follow him. Make sure you go out and get
1:11:17
1 hour, 11 minutes, 17 seconds
in the polls. do what you need to do to make this city the best city it possibly
1:11:24
1 hour, 11 minutes, 24 seconds
can be. I believe this gentleman has all of those things in mind. And um we will see you at the polls. And this has been the Taste Music Here Food Podcast Show.
1:11:34
1 hour, 11 minutes, 34 seconds
I am Ed Porter. Till later. Peace.