Rapp Strategies Rundown – July
Here’s what we did, read, watched and thought about this month.
Todd R.: We are currently living through an increasingly common phase of life called “Full Nest Syndrome.” In honor of that status, I offer to you that the past month has been filled with the joy of new experiences. For example, I had no idea that the song based on the nursery rhyme “Jack and Jill” could be played 37 times in a row and still keep the attention of a two-year old. I also did not realize that Miss Rachel has a Masters in music education, is filthy-rich, and would more accurately be called “Mrs. Rachel.”
I read Michael Bamberger’s latest ode to the greatness of golf, called The Playing Lesson. Fueling my interest in the back story for popular art, I just started Chris Nashawaty’s book, which tells the story of how Caddyshack became a cultural icon. In the category of adult activity, we had some high-quality cabin time and great dinners at Hazelwood and Liliana, both in Woodbury, and Smoke BBQ in Mahnomen. We’re also most of the way through The Hunting Wives on Netflix, which is very soap opera-ish and not for our grandchildren’s eyes.
Rich: July kicked off with our annual family trip to The Hamptons, NY. Cynthia (Kari’s sister) and her spouse (Laurie) introduced us all to The Hamptons. Over the last 5-10 years, they rented a home in East Hampton and invited the whole family to join them for a week over the July 4 Holiday. Cynthia lost her battle with cancer in June 2024. We all decided to continue our Hamptons Fourth of July tradition. It was pretty traumatic coming on the heels of her death, but we knew it was what Cynthia would want us to do. The 2025 event was a bit easier and was filled with many stories and memories of Cynthia and our time spent together. There was also much laughter and joy. Now, we are finalizing plans to return to The Hamptons for the September 6 wedding of our daughter and Andy Jobe!. It will be a joyous occasion, of course, and Cynthia will be there with us in spirit. The Hamptons is a special place for our whole family.
Todd S.: July brought a quick getaway for the family to Door County and a chance to spend time with some longtime friends and their kids. Highlights included a visit to Washington Island, a bike ride cut short by rain, a stretch at the beautiful beach in Meridian Park State Natural Area and the mandatory acquisition of a couple cherry pies for the ride home.
Back in the Twin Cities, it was a full‑on superhero month, with opening‑weekend viewings of Superman and Fantastic Four. Opinions were split at home on which was better. For me, Superman could have used a bit more of James Gunn’s edgy humor, while Fantastic Four delivered family warmth and striking 60s‑era style, though it needed a few more laughs. We even squeezed in F1 with Brad Pitt — not much more realistic than the superhero flicks, but the high‑speed scenes delivered a thrill, and Pitt brought plenty of movie‑star presence. Of course, all of that was just a warm‑up for our big family road trip in August to Montana and Yellowstone National Park.
Sean: Ups and downs in the middle of summer, but I’m coming out of July with a fresh perspective and renewed energy after a grueling start to 2025. It feels like we were finally able to rest, relax and set some time for introspection and recognition of the lessons received (but maybe not yet appreciated) in the chaos of the first six months of the year.
July had an abundance of outdoor activities, family gatherings and as much time as possible spent out of the house — including my first time golfing this year (it went as poorly as you’d imagine). Stereotypical parent moment: there’s nothing better than the joy on your kid’s face watching them run through a water sprinkler on a hot summer day. Good lord does that fill the soul. Something about that moment felt symbolic. Worked and played hard this year – now we’re refreshed!
Anna: We hosted good friends of ours from Ireland over the Fourth of July (their first time in America)! We made sure to give them a classic taste of the USA, from a Twins game in 93-degree heat to lakeside walks, a fireworks show and health foods like macaroni and cheese and Sloppy Joes. I treated my sister to a long-overdue birthday brunch at Maison Margaux (“Paris in the North Loop”), where we enjoyed an absolutely delicious meal, including the croque madame croissant and the merguez omelet. Ike and I had a great evening attending the wedding of my friend and client, Eryn Sorensen. It was a beautiful celebration!
Meredith: We started out this month with the wedding of a very dear friend, Kaylee No-Longer-Tracy, who is the reason I work here at Rapp Strategies. It was a hot day and my car AC decided to break, but it was also beautiful and full of love and joy. The morning after, Tasha and I jetted off to Florida to stay at my parent’s house since daycare was closed for the week. We got to see both of my siblings, meet my brother’s significant other and have dinner with one of my best friends from high school and her family. Tasha experienced the beach, the waves and the pool for the first time. She wasn’t too keen on the waves, wanted to eat the sand, but loved the pool and going for rides on the golf cart. Even though I worked the whole week, it was lovely to be with family and have down time to relax in such a beautiful place. Since we’ve been home, the big update is we have a crawler on our hands! We can’t wait to see what skill she learns next. Non-baby news, I rode my bike for the first time in two years – I convinced Cullen and Julia to ride the Dakota Trail from Wayzata to Mound to get ice cream at Lost Lake Creamery with me. As if they don’t see enough of me during the week, they said yes to the 17-mile trip on a Saturday!
Cullen: I kicked off July with a trip to North Carolina to see Lauren’s sister and brother-in-law. We caught some fireworks on the 4th and beat the southern heat by traveling into the Appalachians to hike Calloway Peak. It was the first hike I’ve ever done that required ladders – we covered about 5,200ft of elevation in eight miles!
Other weekends were spent up at the cabin, where Lauren and I did equal parts swimming, fishing and wedding planning. Despite nearly two years of engagement, it nevertheless feels like the big day came very quickly. We can’t wait to celebrate with friends and family, and jet off a few days later for our honeymoon. Big shoutout to my lovely coworkers for accommodating my time off and being so supportive of us!
Speaking of coworkers, Meredith, Julia and I got out for a great ride on the Dakota Trail, made even better by a stop at Lost Lake Creamery. A few days later, I did a ride from St. Paul across the St. Croix River via the Stillwater lift bridge and St. Croix Crossing bridge, which was a fantastic route. This all synced up perfectly with the 14-man fantasy league I joined for the Tour de France led by my cycling-obsessed friend, where I cheered on the likes of Ben Healy and Wout Van Aert.
And finally on the home front, I finished Dune: Messiah (very interested to see how the movie adaptation of this one goes) and made steady progress through Game of Thrones with Lauren. We also made yummy visits to Café Astoria for lattes and Emerald Lounge for cocktails – both highly recommended.
Julia: Like the heat index and poor AQI scores, July was nonstop. Starting with a boisterous celebration with family and friends on the 4th, every weekend has been packed. I caught the first night of the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, where the Alabama Shakes absolutely brought the house down, Father John Misty was a lovely weirdo and Hozier had to compete with a gnarly thunderstorm. You've never lived until you and 30,000 other soggy Minnesotans flee en masse across the Wabasha bridge to the safety of your cars.
I also spent the month gearing up for my second triathlon while battling (and hopefully, now, healing from) patellar tendonitis. I may have to walk the run portion of my race, but I have been biking and swimming like crazy to make up for it. If you happen to be at Lake Nokomis on Sunday, August 10, keep an eye out for me!
The best part of my month was helping my good friends get married. It was, as I've dubbed it, a "community wedding" – meaning family and friends took care of everything, from food to decor. I oversaw tablescaping the dinner tables and really delivered on the bride's vision.
I had less time for movies and tv this month, but I caught both Materialists and Lilo & Stitch in theaters (both good!), watched all of Deli Boys on Hulu, and just started the very promising Dept. Q on Netflix.
Alida: I kicked off the month with a family trip to the cabin over the July 4 weekend. We basked in the sun, spent time on the lake and saw an impressive fireworks show, courtesy of our neighbors.
Mid-month, I cashed in some flight points for a trip to New York City to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday. She threw a fabulous party on the top floor of the gallery she works for in Chelsea, Alison Bradley Projects. It all felt very “Sex and the City.” Towards the end of the month, we celebrated Jacob’s birthday with friends and takeout from Ted Cooks 19th Hole BBQ (highly recommend!). I also caught Materialists in theaters, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Other than that, we spent a lot of time settling into our new home—a never-ending but fun project. Looking forward to peak Minnesota corn and tomato season in August… and hopefully better air quality (fingers crossed)!
Jorrun: The beginning of July is always a whirlwind. It began with a full week at the cabin, which included a trip to The Boat Club in Duluth, golfing and many hours of sauna, swimming and sun. The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday (though I do not consider myself particularly patriotic). For the Kuehns, the Fourth is a week-long bonanza of family and community events, and it’s the one weekend of the summer when everyone is together at the lake. Our traditions include an annual kickball tournament (we won!), the Fourth of July parade, fireworks on the lake, and the Sandman Triathlon. For the last five years, my cousin’s band has opened for my uncle’s band at the Moose Lake Golf Club. Despite almost getting rained out, the show was bigger and better than ever.
The other highlight of the month was the Festival of Sail in Duluth. The terrible air quality only added to the swashbuckling atmosphere. Attending the festival with my cousins has been a tradition since it came to Two Harbors a few years ago. We ran into our favorite act, Magic by Chaz, and I got to perform a couple tricks with him – an incredible honor.
Later in the month, I went to Cabaret at the Guthrie, saw a double rainbow at sunset and started learning how to sail!
Jack: Minnesota in July, it doesn't get much better (and no, that is not sarcasm). Despite the constant heat, July is probably my favorite month of the summer. The reason being that I'm comfortably in my summer routine, and it's still too far away to think about school. My July started with a nearly weeklong trip to my family’s new cabin on Cross lake for the 4th of July. Four of my friends from Villanova flew to MN that week and got to have a true Midwest cabin experience. They were introduced to the fact that "the beach" on the East Coast is not the only body of water used during the holiday. They also tried their first Juicy Lucy and were thoroughly impressed.
The rest of the month included a trip to Detroit Lakes – partially for coaching, partially for fun. I scored a free ticket to the 3M Open, my first ever PGA event. I found myself humbled seeing the ball come off professional players' clubs. But my favorite moment of July was my Grandma's 80th birthday party. It was a blast to see her smiling throughout the day, talking to all of the friends and family she has given so much to over the years. I'm glad we were able to have a day to celebrate her.
Is it even a summer rundown without a baseball update? I continued to coach an STA team, became a spectator for our family friend’s Mendota Heights team (they won the 2nd grade championship, picture included!) and watched our beloved Twins with frustration.