Rapp Strategies Rundown – MAY
HERE’S WHAT WE DID, READ, WATCHED AND THOUGHT ABOUT THIS MONTH
Todd Rapp
Todd R.: My unsolicited views on all things from May: Weather - not good enough, as we jumped from cold nights to hot days while skipping right by spring sweatshirt weather. Margo’s Got Money Troubles — weird in a very good way, making me realize that I have never given Elle Fanning and Nick Offerman enough respect for their acting. Vladamir — weird and not always in a good way, so it left me wondering why Rachel Weisz chose this streamer (no question why John Slattery jumped at this). NHL playoffs — too much whining about the playoff format, not enough whining about cross-checks in front of the crease. The Last Branch Standing — a very interesting read showing that evaluating the Supreme Court through just a political/ideological lens is not always telling the whole story. The JFK Conspiracy — I really like Brad Meltzer, but this was pretty much a rehash.
Rich Forschler
Rich: May started with a trip to New York for Kari and me. We spent time with our kids, David and Emma, and their spouses, Olive and Andy. We stayed with our Sister-in-Law, Laurie, in her beautiful condo. We hadn’t been to New York for quite a while and it was fun to do the Big Apple with our family. We ate together in several great restaurants and walked and shopped in Mid-Town. The highlight was attending a great Broadway play, Buena Vista Social Club.It was set in Cuba during the Castro Revolution and featured a great script setting forth real lives in the extraordinary music scene in Havana at that time. The star of the show was the music and musicians. It reminded us how much we love Broadway and how great the talent is in New York.
The rest of May was as much golf as I could squeeze in while continuing my orientation and meetings at the Metropolitan Airports Commission. I am really enjoying my service on the MAC Board and learning so much about our fabulous airports.
Todd Stone
Todd S.: Much of the month was spent crisscrossing the Twin Cities for our sons' soccer games, tournaments and track meets. Like many parents at this time of year, we became very familiar with folding chairs (we upgraded for comfort) and GPS directions to fields we had never heard of before.
One highlight of the month was finally making it to our first Minnesota United match. We were fortunate enough to catch the final home game for James Rodríguez. Sorry to see him move on so quickly. It seemed like his stint with the Loons ended before we got to see what he could really do.
On the entertainment front, we've been on a bit of a binge lately. The Boroughs, Widow's Bay and Margo’s Got Momey Troubles have all earned a spot on our recommendation list. Great writing, strong casts and the kind of storytelling that makes it easy to watch one more episode than you intended.
Sean Oyaas
Sean: The Spare has arrived! Henry Robert Oyaas, born 4/20/26, measuring 19.1 inches and weighing in at 7.1lbs (exact same height/weight as The Heir). We were fortunate enough to be blessed with another beautiful boy to raise in this chaotic world and I spent the last six weeks enjoying every second of it.
I cannot understate the value of the time our family was able to spend together - it was as magical as life can get. That is not to say it was all stress-free, we are certainly experiencing every emotion one can go through but even the most stressful/exhausting moments are signs that we’re alive and kicking!
If I were to attempt to capture all of our activities and updates, this would go on far too long. I’ll just highlight the final week of leave, where we escaped to the cabin (which is still without Wi-Fi) to tune the world out for a bit and just appreciate the time together.
Don’t tell Rapp this, as it’ll go to his head, but I’m incredibly grateful to work for a firm that cherishes and respects family time. I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive environment and know that I owe my RSI teammates a huge debt for all the work they took on in my absence.
Meredith Mitts
Meredith: May was a very busy month filled with adventures. We flew out to Rhode Island to watch my cousin graduate and got to stay with family we rarely get to see. Tasha loved it all and was a champ on the flights/trip home despite it taking us nearly 24 extra hours to get home. We were on the worst flight of my life — think Six Flags roller coaster, but in an airplane... for over an hour..... Naturally, Tasha slept through it all. We also got to see friends and family in Illinois for Memorial Day weekend, including my aunt in Iowa, my sister and her husband who flew in from Arizona, friends who drove in from Missouri and Tennessee and of course, the family in the area. While travel is fun, I am looking forward to a few weeks of being home and enjoying summer weather here in Minnesota!
Julia Schafer
Julia: May went by in the blink of an eye, and was full of my favorite things:
Went to dinner with Alida, who graciously took me for my first meal at Italian Eatery. She even spent her gift card money on me. The food is as good as people say it is.
Saw several movies in the theater! The best ones were Obsession and I Love Boosters -- both incredibly indie and fantastic.
Saw Little Women, one of my favorite books and movies, at the Guthrie Theater. I highly recommend!!
Read The Berry Pickersfor book club. Very melancholy, but beautiful. I would recommend it to those interested in stories about family, grief and identity.
Walked along St. Anthony Main at dusk. I do so love it down there.
Celebrated my mom, who put my dad and me to work installing her new raised beds.
June will bring swimming, trips to the movies to get out of the heat, and at least three different baby showers.
Alida Mitau
Alida: If I had to pick a favorite thing about May, it'd be finally getting to leave the windows open at home most of the month. I soaked up the spring-summer weather with walks around the lakes in my neighborhood. Despite growing up in Minneapolis, I can never quite get over how green this city is — or how easy it is to watch the sunset over a lake.
I also took part in local festivities this month, including the annual May Day parade and celebration at Powderhorn Park and Art-A-Whirl in Northeast.
On the couch, I managed to binge a few notable shows — Rivals (a juicy drama on Hulu), Rooster (starring Steve Carrel on HBO) and the final season of Hacks — all of which I'd highly recommend.
Jorrun Kuehn
Jorrun: The highlight of May was a week-long Oregon Coast road trip with my family. To my brief disappointment, we left a sunny, 80 degree day in Minneapolis to land in Portland where it was 50 degrees and raining. We drove up to Astoria to see sweeping views of the Columbia River before making our way down to Cannon Beach where we were charmed by the elk, puffins, tide pools and sea stacks. I could’ve spent a full week there, but our goal to reach the Redwoods meant every stop was a quick one.
The weather improved as we traveled south, enjoying lots of fresh seafood, incredible coastal hikes and unique natural phenomena (the Octopus Tree and Natural Bridges were my favorites). I’ve never seen so many landscapes on one trip – driving through the rainforest and past beaches, sand dunes and rolling countryside made hours in the car pass by quickly.
The Redwoods are impossible to describe, and no picture can convey just how massive they are. Crossing this off my bucket list has been a dream for years and was an experience I’ll never forget! I highly recommend visiting if you have the chance.
Marisa Morris
Marisa: I certainly got my steps in this month, traveling around the city for Doors Open Minneapolis and exploring the street vendors and studios at Art a Whirl. I’m glad they planned my two favorite Minneapolis events on separate weekends this year! The highlight of Doors Open was spraying the hose at the fire station, but I also loved the Purcell-Cutts historic home and nearby Tulip House. I put on more miles during a birding expedition and hikes while camping with friends at Split Rock Creek State Park over Memorial Day weekend. We had beautiful weather, other than about an hour of hail. It was a good test of our gear!
Mya Temanson
Mya: I'm still catching my breath from the first week of May — what do you mean it's now come and gone?
The first weekend, I went north with Hussein, where he proposed to me on a little island. I cried, even though I knew it was coming. It was truly perfect. Then, I caught Flyte's last show on their North American tour with my friend — they were so much fun, and so British. After that, it was time for an adventure with my dad and sister over in Olympic National Park. Moss poetry to be written. The last weekend of May, I dusted off my old VCR and hosted a little watch party for the whimsical movie, The Princess and the Goblin.
I wish I could say I'll be catching my breath next month, but all of June is booked! I feel very grateful to be able to spend so much time with friends and family these days. My life has felt so full.
