Hi! We’re Ashlea Halpern and Andrew Parks, a pair of East Coast journalists who spent two years exploring Asia and Australia before embarking on an exhaustive 16-month, 40-state, 229-city search for a new hometown. In February 2018, we relocated to the Twin Cities—and haven’t shut up about it since. The Star Tribune noticed our unbridled enthusiasm, calling us the state’s “biggest evangelists,” and Minnesota Monthly named us “Best New Cultural Curator” in its Best of MN 2019 issue. (Insert blushing emoji here.)
So why Minnesota? We get this question a lot, even from native Minnesotans. No, we don’t have family here. And no, we didn’t move here for work. We chose the Twin Cities because they checked all the right boxes: culturally rich, surprisingly green, entrepreneurial, progressive, resilient, and brimming with friendly locals.
Minnevangelist is an obsessive dossier of the people, places, and things that made us fall in love with Minnesota. Think of it as a kind of never-ending mash note—highlighting new spots, championing old favorites, picking the brains of inspiring locals, and urging you to take full advantage of this great state. If you dig Minnesota and its northerly neighbors (Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota), follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We’ll adventure together!