Audrey: Checked off all the necessary fall activities this month, from the Dead End Haunted Hayride to a romp in the pumpkin patch where I resisted the urge to adopt a second kitty (well, more like I was put on a waitlist and there were many people ahead of me in line, so I didn’t stand a chance).
Went to see Wildwood in theaters and it was even more mind-blowing than I expected. I will likely be going to see it a couple more times. On the list for November is You Can See Everything with Nathan Fielder, and Sunrise on the Reaping. Still trying to find the perfect movie theater that meets the criteria of:
Recliner seats
Good popcorn (AMC Edina you know what you did)
ICEE machine
You’d be surprised how difficult it is to get everything in one place.
Looking forward to spending the colder months chilling with the cat, working on my crochet projects, and counting down the days until the Holiday décor can go up.
Jorrun: October flew by with more warm days than expected! Made it over to the Mississippi River for a couple hikes to see the changing colors, and sacrificed my outfits to the dreaded everlasting bonfire odor on a few occasions. My mom and I kicked off our pre-holiday shopping at the Minneapolis Mart, which has become an annual October tradition in recent years.
I attended my fourth and final wedding of the year, where the bride and groom opted for a magician, yard games and cocktail hour over a dance. It made for a very classy evening! I’m a big fan of magic tricks and was enthralled.
This year continues to be fantastic for movies. I saw Primetime, Resident Evil, You Can See Everything and Clayface. All four made me gasp and cringe in very different ways. I’m itching for more horror films and documentaries to watch – send me your recs!
Todd R.: As I read the standings, on November 1st the Wild and Vikings are in first place in their divisions, the Timberwolves are hanging strong without Anthony Edwards, the Gophers are tied for 5th in Big Ten football and the surging Gopher volleyball team is in the top 25 with several good match-ups prior to finishing the regular season with #1 Nebraska on November 17th. That is a lot of good news on the local sports scene.
The election will likely be over when you read this post but the lawsuits may not be, as they has become an inevitable part of the post-election world in the last decade.
As for culture, I am in the middle of four books — John Grisham’s latest The French Illusion, Peter King’s The Game, Kai Bird’s biography American Scoundrel about the life of Roy Cohn, and Nathaniel Philbrick’s The Rush. As a result, while we made it through season four of Ted Lasso this month (still pretty good), politics and occasional readings got in the way of attacking something new. Maybe Agency Season 2?
Cali: October was bookended by two jam-packed weekends – my friend’s long-awaited wedding and Halloween. Between then, we went to the Stillwater Harvest Festival, visited another orchard with toddler friends and cheered on the Gophers for their Homecoming victory over Iowa. Toddler-approved restaurant alert:
near Allianz Field was a hit for the whole family and we popped over to the Italian restaurant next door for gelato afterward.
I snuck out to the movie theater for the first time in ages to see You Can See Everything. I might be a busy parent, but I couldn’t miss out on this cultural moment with all the reactions, memes and conversation. On the small screen, the new Carrie series is a great re-telling of this story. It’s so believable the way they’ve placed it in today’s social media and outrage-driven world.
Marisa: Fall wedding season was a whirlwind! I was a personal attendant for a dear childhood friend who chose the windiest day of the month to get married back home in South Dakota. The ceremony and dance to follow were beautiful and a great time to reconnect with old friends. I was a “groomsmaid” for a college bestie whose rehearsal, ceremony, dance and send off were all held at a stunning 1880’s mansion in Kansas City. We were lucky enough to spend the weekend there surrounded by Victorian-era opulence in one of the few rooms with a modern shower instead of a clawfoot tub. I took my job monitoring the guest book very seriously and was rewarded with some stunning photos from their talented photographers.
Back home in the cities, I made the most of spooky season with a trip to a haunted house (or five) at Scream Town, pumpkin carving, and a murder mystery party. Brandon and I went as Odysseus tied to the mast of his ship and a siren trying to lure him in. This update wouldn’t be complete without mentioning my favorite movie of the year so far, Nathan Fielder’s You Can See Everything. My mind is still swimming with theories.
Mya: I've been looking forward to October all year, and it didn't disappoint.
Hussein and I went to see Rabbitology, one of my all-time favorite musicians, and we had a blast. Some of her music is built from real-world sounds that she layers seamlessly together with a loop machine, and she did that for us live. It was so cool!
Then we went north to St. Croix Falls to enjoy a little honeymoon. We painted each other's portraits, went on a nighttime riverboat cruise, read a lot, wrote a lot, and explored Interstate Park.
Then we ended the month with Halloween! A friend's birthday falls on the 31st, so we celebrated with them in the afternoon, and then transformed into vampires for another friend's Halloween party in the evening.
Sean: Spooky season, we hardly knew ye. Despite our best attempts to sit down and enjoy it, October flew by in a hurry this year. Disappointed by the lack of Halloween-centric TV shows. Streaming is usually good for one or two good horror mini-series each year but if they were out there in 2026, we missed them (I welcome any late suggestions).
Halloween was an absolute hit - with James rocking his Miles Morales outfit to school all week long, only to pivot to Fox in Socks on the day of Halloween. A bold move but his parents appreciated the fact that he had a warmer costume for a chilly night of trick or treating. Henry, meanwhile, donned his best monster outfit to go as “Hankenstein’s Monster”.
Two other noteworthy events: A brief leadership trip down to Fort Worth for me, where I got a crash course in owning and operating a businesses from an incredibly group of professional service business owners. I didn’t buy any cowboy boots, but I did march with the longhorns. We also had a celebration of life event for a close family friend, who helped raise Rosie. In the Cambodian tradition, they gathered while the individual is still alive to show respect and appreciation. Love this as a tradition and I look forward to being the one to send my own funeral invitations.
Last note about October - it is full of bdays of my closest people. Shout out to Rosie, Mark and Franklin Oyaas, all of whom got one year older and one year wiser in October.
Meri: This October was somehow the length of two months instead of one with the amount of things we packed into it, so I will only share the big highlights.
We started the month out celebrating our two-year-old! For her birthday we went to a park with her little bestie to slide then finished the night out at Snuffy's, which is becoming a birthday tradition for us. Her party was brunch and Flamingle themed with lots of fun flamingo costumes and treats. We had family from four states stay with us the full weekend which was just lovely.
Then to end the month, one of my friends got married on Halloween! With these stellar events bookending the month, I will leave it up to you to imagine all the fun we had in the in-between.
Julia: I love fall! And Halloween! And voting! So, it's been a good month.
Each year, I mourn the loss of swimming in the lakes but relish the time we get to plod along the Mississippi River Gorge and leaf peep. It was an odd year for fall colors, but a mid-October weekend up in Duluth made up for the lack of bright reds in the metro.
I applaud my colleagues for dressing up for Halloween, and I am grateful for my friends who dressed up with me as the comedic version of Mumford & Sons from their 2013 Hopeless Wanderer music video. Incredibly niche, I know, but it was gratifying to make partygoers watch us perform full stomp-and-clap songs.
I saw some great movies — Clayface, Resident Evil, and You Can See Everything — and my book club finished the compelling Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. We're now making our way through Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Both are what we like to call "brain-wrinkling" books.
I've started shopping for the holidays, which is very dangerous. I always end up with a few too many gifts for myself.
Todd S.: Halloween is our Super Bowl.
The Stone household does not mess around when it comes to Halloween. The decorations are up by Oct. 1, followed by 30 days of anticipation. Then it’s game time. This year, we went all in: a fully decorated house, giant spiders, plenty of spooky lighting and more than 1,000 pieces of candy handed out to trick-or-treaters.
I somehow landed on Dipsy, the green Teletubby, while Kim chose the Bride of Frankenstein. (Or perhaps more appropriately, the Bride of Fronkensteen, for the Mel Brooks fans out there.)
Another Halloween in the books. We’re already plotting new ideas and features for next year.
Alida: I thoroughly enjoyed the strangely warm October, global warming concerns aside. I took plenty of walks, played a little tennis and went leaf peeping a handful of times.
I also embraced spooky season, putting up Halloween decorations and answering the door on the 31st. We have a lot of little kids in the neighborhood, so cuteness abounded.
I also finally started watching the latest season of Slow Horses, which does not disappoint. I continue to think it’s the best show I’ve ever seen. Looking forward to the inevitably quick transition to the holiday season.
Rich: Kari and I returned to Minnesota on Oct. 8 after spending two weeks in England. We had a great time in London and the Cotswalds. The people are very welcoming and the weather was terrific (that was a nice surprise).
I spent a lot of October time working on a potential acquisition for Crescent Cove (the non-profit for which I am Board Chair). We are pursuing opening a second respite and hospice home for children who have life-shortening illnesses and their families. The need is great and we hope to at least double our capacity.
In the meantime, I played some golf and spent as much time as possible with our kids and grandkids.
