Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Prince’s Death, 2016-2026
Like many Catholic ladies of a certain age, my late Aunt Nancy, bless her soul, was obsessed with funerals and cemeteries. She called me every year on the anniversary of my father’s death, which, while a nice gesture, struck me as a touch morbid. I feel the same way about Minneapolis every time April 21 rolls around.
Ten years ago today, I was racing from downtown Minneapolis to Chanhassen and back, reporting on the scene for Rolling Stone. I recall one woman telling me a convoluted story, woven Keyser Soze-like from the lyrics to “Raspberry Beret,” about how Prince wrote the song for and about her. It was an emotional, exhausting day unlike any other, and before I went to bed I poured all my thoughts about Prince and my adopted hometown into an essay for Pitchfork.
The circumstances of Prince’s death were sudden and shocking. It’s a “where were you when you heard?” moment, and a “what did you do next?” moment as well. But maybe it’s time we all move on—not from Prince, of course, but from Prince’s death. Ten years is long enough…