Rapp Strategies Rundown – August

What we did, read, watched and thought about this month.

Todd R.: I did finish a couple of good books this past month: Camelot’s End, about the battle between President Jimmy Carter and Senator Ted Kennedy for the 1980 Democratic nomination, and City of Dreams, the second in a trilogy from Don Winslow about a Providence crime family. Next up for me is Falling Through Clouds, a story about a local tragedy that hits a little closer to home than most. Finished Hijack on Apple TV (suspenseful but not impressed with the hijackers’ strategy) and started Special Ops: Lioness, which is off to quite a good start. Of course, the return of Billions and Damien Lewis to Showtime is definitely taking our attention. Made a visit with extended family to the very pleasant Pattison State Park south of Superior, WI that ended with lunch at Sir Benedict’s in Duluth. Any day that includes Sir Ben’s is a Top Ten Day! Finally, Oppenheimer is an A+, but I still get an NS (No Show) for Barbie.

Rich: Our August highlight is easy to determine. Our son and his wife, Zach and Ava, announced that they are expecting a baby (due late February or early March)! This will be our first grandchild, and Kari and I are almost as excited as Zach and Ava. We think back to how wonderful it was to have our five kids and anticipate a similar wonder with this grandchild.

The rest of August pales in comparison. I played a lot of golf and somehow managed to win the second flight of the Edina Country Club Men’s Senior Championship. When presented with the trophy, I made it clear that I have plenty of room on my trophy shelf. Kari and I and most of our family made it to the Hamptons again for another stay with Kari’s sister, Thia, and her spouse, Laurie. We had a ton of fun as usual.

Kari and I have made it a point to get out with friends for dinners, attend events at the Guthrie and generally return to social activities at a level we haven’t achieved in a few years due to the pandemic. It’s great to return to a more “normal” life.

Todd S.: Our big family summer trip was to the coast of Maine. Lobster rolls were a hit as was blueberry soda, which must be the official state carbonated beverage. We spent a lot of time in Acadia National Forest, enjoying one stunning scene after another. Of course, we found ourselves in Bar Harbor — good luck parking, but the nature cruise was a hit. The nearby town of Ellsworth was a charming surprise. Highly recommend Union River Lobster Pot. Don’t recommend getting a head cold on your second day of the trip.

Jodi: The final month of summer finds me eating far more corn on the cob than perhaps the average person should consume. I picked up this cooking method from my stepdaughter and son-in-law and it makes the perfect ear of corn – guaranteed! We spent most of our month enjoying time at the lake, planning a few home improvement projects this winter and mapping out a warm-weather vacation in January. My sister and I went to see Jagged Little Pill at the Orpheum. While the show was delayed for about an hour due to sound issues, the performance was great and reminded me why this album remains on my Top 10 list. I just wrapped up Justified: City Primeval on Hulu. So disappointing. The original Justified series was far better. We made our annual trip to the Great Minnesota Get-Together by bike this year and discovered a few new favorites: Peachey’s Donuts and strawberry jalapeno lemonade! The atmosphere of the State Fair and Jim’s memories of working there as a teen always make the trip worthwhile. Plus, I never knew I needed a Glamper Van until seeing similar styles on the old Machinery Hill. Rapp Strategies on wheels? I vote yes.

Sean: Sad to see this summer come to a close. While I welcome a reprieve from the hot and sticky days, this has been a special last few months that I can’t say I’m ready to let go. Alas, signs of a new season have come in full force. Most notably, James received his first two teeth in August resulting in a few sets of tears: The tears of his parents who are watching their little boy grow up too quickly and tears of frustration/pain from the little one.

We were able to alleviate these developments by keeping ourselves plenty busy in this last month of summer. We enjoyed family reunions on both sides of our family, spent countless hours in the sauna, playing beach volleyball, winning men’s league soccer championships (no big deal) and going for family walks around the lakes.

I finally finished A Gentlemen in Moscow (yes, I started it two months ago – give me a break) and Rosie and I have been enjoying a New Girl rewatch in the final hours of the night after James falls asleep. I’m also very much in on the final season of Reservation Dogs, which I highly recommend.

Now to settle in on these final days, ending the summer with some traditional activities: Fantasy football drafts and a state fair visit.

Anna: Being the wonderful husband that he is, Isaac watched the Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility movies with me after baby’s bedtime. Owen has mastered crawling, discovered a new love of cheddar (taking after his mama) and has begun pulling himself up on furniture. He gets more adorable every day, even when he’s practicing his babbling skills at 2 a.m. Isaac and I enjoyed a lovely date at The Sample Room – I highly recommend the Bottineau burger with pork belly, brandied onions and tomato aioli. We followed up the evening with a stop at the decadent Edwards Dessert Kitchen. And you better believe that at the barest hint of a cool breeze, I treated myself to the first, but not last, pumpkin spice latte of the season.

Meredith: While many people headed to the Great Minnesota Get-Together over opening weekend, I got in a car with my cousin, Viv, for a cross-country trip to move her back to school in Massachusetts. In our 23 hours on the road, we passed through eight different states and played the license plate game. Over the course of our drive, we managed to spot license plates from 48 states, three Canadian provinces, Sweden and China. The most eventful part of the trip, outside of spending a few hours at Kalahari in Sandusky, OH, was not driving through Chicago traffic. Instead, it was watching in horror as a vehicle ahead of us on the freeway decided to do a three-point turnaround, drive straight toward us and the other two lanes of traffic, and use an emergency access point to get on the correct side of the highway. Yes—there was a lot of screaming and horn honking. How did you know? I didn’t realize I would need to continue traffic safety messaging after parting ways with AAA, but I do want to make this abundantly clear: If you miss your exit on the interstate, you should proceed to the next exit and then backtrack as necessary, not put yourself and everyone else in danger.

For those of you appalled that I haven’t been to the state fair yet this year, Cory and I are headed there soon to enjoy the food, people watch, and attend the Yung Gravy and BBNO$ concert.

Cullen: Easily the biggest highlight of August was proposing to my girlfriend – now fiancé! – Lauren, during a morning hike at Devil’s Lake State Park. Afterwards, we enjoyed champagne and a picnic at the overlook courtesy of our good friend, Tony, who also was gracious enough to snap some under-cover photos of the proposal. We spent the rest of the weekend camping, hiking, swimming and making delicious campfire meals before heading home and sharing the happy news with family and friends. We could not be more excited!

During a trip back to Minnesota, we caught the Arctic Monkeys at the Armory for their first show in Minnesota since 2014, and – of course – made a pilgrimage to the State Fair. As any longtime fairgoer knows, the only thing better than going to the fair is going with someone who has never been before. Since it was Lauren’s first time, we hit all the essentials: Fried pickles, a giant juicy turkey sandwich, pronto pups, Sweet Martha’s, and stops at the Giant Slide and Skyglider. We capped off the weekend with a celebratory dinner with my family at The Lexington in St. Paul.

Between things, Lauren and I started watching Shadow and Bone on Netflix after both finishing the book series, and I’ve been spending my work-from-home lunches reading Madison Chefs, an entertaining profile of the people and stories behind Madison’s booming culinary scene.

Kaylee: August contained too many great highlights that my Rundown won’t quite do justice. The most memorable of all was visiting friends in Venice and northern Italy. The trip was full with beautiful views, swimming, ancient architecture and likely the best food I’ve ever had. I did have to chuckle, though. Since I was visiting German friends who live there, I had more German-style meals complete with bread and cheese than I did Italian. After that, I hopped up to Berlin for a few days to visit my old stomping grounds. Thankfully, the rest of August was packed with fun summer activities which made coming off vacation a relatively smooth transition — minus having to switch back to using English all the time. Seeing the Barbie movie, floating at Lake Nokomis and trying new foods at the state fair made the best of the last of the warmest months of a Minnesota summer.

Colette: August was filled with many weekend adventures as we cherished this, at times excessively, warm month.

One evening was spent at the Dakota County Fair in Farmington where my family and I indulged in favorites such as deep-fried pickles and live music. You couldn’t keep me away from the animal barns where I spent some time observing the cows, chickens, and my personal favorite – miniature ducks.

In mid-August, I once again headed to Sioux Falls, SD for a concert with Dylan. Our visit included time at the local farmers market where I picked up the prettiest bouquet of flowers, followed by a delicious lunch at one of my Sioux Falls favorites, Josiah’s Coffeehouse, Cafe and Bakery.

The following weekend, what began as an evening dog walk turned into a stop at North 20 Brewing in Rosemount, where we relaxed on the dog-friendly patio with our two Yorkie-Poo’s Laney and Van.

The month ended with a trip to Owatonna for a visit to the Minnesota State Public School Orphanage Museum. Once the third-largest institution of its kind in the United States, the tour provided a look inside the life of the children who lived there. For those with an interest in Minnesota history or child welfare, I wholeheartedly recommend a visit.

Alex: August was exceptionally busy for me this year. My month began with a family trip to Minot, ND to celebrate my grandparents’ 50th (!) anniversary. It was lovely to celebrate them and catch up with some family I haven’t seen in years.

The next stop was the beautiful cabin on Lake Superior owned by my aunt, who generously let my girlfriend, Molly, and I stay at the beautiful location near Cornucopia, WI. We got to enjoy the stunning scenery and get some much-needed relaxation time together.

I spent a good chunk of August slowly cleaning and moving out of my house, until the end of August when I fully moved out.

During the last week of August, I was able to get out to the St. Croix River and get together with a friend who was visiting from Texas. Of course, as every Minnesotan should, I went to the state fair with my Molly’s family and enjoyed the classics. By far my favorite was the cheese curd taco!