Tony Nelson

On May 13, 2013, Minnesota became the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage, and we couldn't be prouder of the people of Minnesota who helped make this historic day possible. To celebrate this huge step forward for Minnesota, we compiled our 12 favorite things about gay marriage in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

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The movies filmed in Minnesota are both a blessing and curse for our fair state. They introduce outsiders to settings familiar to us, like a frozen lake or downtown cityscape. They also showcase some of the subtle humor to be found underneath our generally reserved exterior. At the same time, however, they can contribute to the impression that Minnesota is a frozen wasteland of passive-aggression and bland food.

Though the 12 movies on this list get their fair share of laughs at the expense of tried-and-true stereotypes, they also do a good job showing off what our state has to offer, whether through the obscene barbs of ice-fishing grandpas or the musical gifts of a certain purple-clad god among men.

Here they are, in no particular order.

See Also:
Five Minnesota Movies from the '90s that would make marvelous musicals
Top 15 books set in Minnesota

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Courtesy CoCo

The 40-foot ceilings and former grain-trading pit are vestiges of CoCo's days as the Minneapolis Grain Exchange.

CoCo Minneapolis, the co-working space that took over the old Grain Exchange floor, hit its first anniversary back in August. To mark the occasion at the time, we checked in with its founders to talk about whether the space had lived up to the hype, and where CoCo would go next.

One of those places, it turns out, is onto Business Insider's new list of "The 17 Coolest Co-Working Spaces in America."

See Also:
- Slideshow: CoCo Minneapolis and St. Paul: The Tour
- One year later, co-working space on Grain Exchange floor lives up to the hype [PHOTOS]

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B Fresh Photography

Jean Bardot's Fetish Ball 2011

E.L. James is coming to town on Thursday. Don't know who she is? Well, 1,343 people are currently requesting her first book, 50 Shades of Grey, in the Hennepin County Public Library system (and that's not including 393 requests for the audiobook). Back in May, the Times gave us national attention when it reported 2,121 requests in the system, a number the paper called "more holds than anyone can remember on a single title."

So, Hennepin County readers like their BDSM literotica. Which could be why James, the breakout British author behind Grey and the other two books that round out its trilogy, included the Edina Barnes & Noble on a mini-tour of six U.S. cities this month. (Her other stops: Houston, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles).

Feverish fans can start lining up at 9 a.m. on Thursday in order to ensure a wristband to James's 7 p.m. signing, and stay tuned to see how many desperate housewives of Edina storm the bookstore (the trilogy's main readership is married women over 30). But while we wait for the queen of "Mommy Porn," there are plenty of places in our state that would put Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, the star couple in the 50 Shades series, to... if not shame, than at least to greater pleasure.

Here's our list of the 50 sexiest things about Minnesota. Think we missed something? Please tell us in the comments. Sexiness is worth sharing.

See also:
- "Fifty Shades of Grey" most popular book in Hennepin libraries, banned in Fond du Lac
- 50 Reasons Minnesota is the best state in America
- 50 Fun Things to Do in Minnesota
- 50 Reasons to love Minneapolis/St. Paul

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See also:
Top 12 most ridiculous Twins-themed merchandise

There's no doubt about it, Vikings fans are diehard. While it takes a certain loyalty to tailgate in freezing temperatures, the ones creating Vikings crafts and selling them online are perhaps the most diehard of them all. In honor of Sunday's home game, we've gathered the best of the worst stuff out there, so you can show off your team spirit with these incredible, baffling, and utterly ridiculous items. Or, you could always just stick to the classic purple-and-gold jersey.

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Thunderchild7

Typical Twins team spirit.

Minnesota is Twins territory, and with major leagues comes major merchandise. As a result, our state is also home to some of the most bizarre baseball memorabilia around. We've curated a list of the weirdest stuff out there, so keep a look-out for some of these items on your next visit to Target Field.

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Jason Reidy

Related:

50 Reasons to Love Minneapolis/St. Paul

50 Reasons Minnesota is the Best State in America

50 Cool Facts about the Minnesota Music Scene

Are you having fun yet? The City Pages staff compiled a list of our favorite things to do around town. Whether you love the great outdoors or prefer indoor comfort, here are 50 Fun Things to Do in Minnesota. Feel free to add your favorites in the comments.

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Tony Nelson

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Photo by AMagill

​The Twin Cities are a pretty decent place to live thanks to our thriving art and performance scenes, our lakes and parks, and our cutting edge fried food at the Minnesota State Fair. Unfortunately, in order to enjoy these treats you must also survive our never ending winters of despair.

But take heart! Minnesotans are a hearty bunch, so we have just enough summer preserved -- pickled, canned, or just plain faked -- to get us through sub-zero days likes today. Looking to warm up? City Pages tracked down some toasty businesses and events that promise to turn up the heat and humidity (and some may even involve some garishly fake tropical plants).

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Nike Air MAGs

​By now every hipster nerd out there has probably seen and coveted Nike's super-limited-edition Air MAGs, based on Marty McFly's kicks from Back to the Future II (if not, procrastinate for a few minutes by checking out the commercial here). Production of the shoes was limited to only 1,510 pairs, which were auctioned off via eBay with all proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. They sold for around $5,000 each to folks like Kanye West, Kid Cudi (who bought four pairs), and San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Brian Wilson (who was seen sporting them in a bullpen covered in discarded sunflower seeds, baseball diamond clay, and dip spit, no doubt sending legions of sneaker freaks into hysterics). When the digital smoke cleared, the auction raised a staggering $5.7 million for Parkinson's research.

A truly worthy cause, but real talk? Those shoes are butt ugly.

Honestly, unless you're one of those aforementioned celebrities, chances are, you're gonna have a rough time pulling off that look in public. You might as well be rocking a pair of astronaut boots with your jeans. And good luck seeing those things survive a Minnesota winter.

That said, here's hoping the trend continues, because there are plenty of clothes, accessories, and home decor inspired by movies that everyday schmos actually could use or wear. For example:

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