Twin Cities / Co+nvergence 2025

[Adapted from email travelogue, sent Sunday, August 17 at 8:57 a.m.] Wednesday, August 13: Minneapolis Central Library Check it out! With this year's visit to the Twin Cities, I added two new Central Libraries to my collection of visited libraries. Between the Mount Vernon Library Commons I visited in April; the Portland Public Library I also visited in April; three libraries during my Washington, D.C. visit in June (the Apple Carnegie Library; the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library; and the Library of Congress); and two libraries in the Twin Cities this week, that makes seven new libraries visited this year alone! Anyway. I took a very early flight from Seattle out to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Wednesday, just so I could do some sightseeing on the Minneapolis side of the Twin Cities: I caught the Co+nvergence shuttle bus to the hotel in downtown Saint Paul; checked into my room; and within minutes I was on an express city bus between downtown Saint Paul and downtown Minneapolis (23 minutes stop to stop). I then had about a third of a mile to walk to the Minneapolis Central Library—its modern building with fantastic architecture, having opened in 2006, only two years after Seattle's own iconic Central Library.

Many of you may recall, from my 2023 Co+nvergence travelogue, my fascination with the Minneapolis Skyway System—the "largest contiguous system of enclosed, second-level bridges in the world." That's a lot of qualifiers, whatever: it connects 80 blocks of downtown Minneapolis and comprises over 10 miles of pathways. The tall building you see in the above photo is 365 Nicollet, a 30-story apartment building constructed in 2018, complete with its own skyway connecting to the Central Library—the whole reason I took this photo. Imagine having the library connected directly to your own building! I'm so jealous of everyone who lives there.

Hey look, more skyways! Actually I took this shot because of the emergency response vehicles there in the street, which came while I was waiting for my bus back to Saint Paul. A guy on a scooter got hit by a car coming out of that building's garage, and I watched it happen. Fun! For the record, he wasn't bleeding or broken or anything. He lay in the street for several minutes holding his calf, but then he got up and walked toward the car, not even really limping. I'm sure it scared the shit out of both him and the lady driving the car, though —who I also saw immediately get out of the car and call 911. My biggest concern was how this was happening right by my bus stop, and the emergency vehicles were right in its path for pulling up to the stop. I walked right over there and said to them, "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" Just kidding! I walked up the street to the next stop two blocks away.

I'm going to back up a little now, to tell you about the downtown Saint Paul parking garage I found myself in, shortly before I caught the bus over to Minneapolis. I knew that there were kiosks at the light rail station two blocks from my hotel, so I headed over there with intent to buy my Metro Transit day pass—and I thought I would walk over there using Saint Paul's skyway system, which connects to my hotel. (Saint Paul's skyway would be the second-largest "contiguous system of enclosed, second-level bridges," connecting 47 blocks of downtown and comprising five miles of pathways.) Here's the issue, though: it can be difficult to figure out how to get in and out of the skyway systems from the street level. And when I walked the couple of blocks to the light rail station, I found myself at one skyway whose opposite end was blocked off evidently by some kind of construction or renovation; and in the opposite end, I found a door that actually opened—into a fully abandoned, and closed, parking garage. It took me several minutes to figure out how to get outside from this garage. I went down a staircase with a lot of garbage on it, then went through a door and into the ground level—only to find the vehicle entrances from the street blocked by metal gates pulled down over them. Even the vehicle ramp up to the second level from there was littered with garbage, clearly not used in ages. I got a little nervous that I might find some sketchy people in there, and honestly was kind of surprised not to, except I suppose that it takes some effort to find yourself in there, as was the case with me. I found one stairwell with a door to the street that would not open. I then turned another corner, and found the office you see pictured above, in a state that made it look fully functional one day and then suddenly abandoned the next, several years ago. There's still a computer on the desk, a partially full bottle of soda now caked with dust, multiple desk chairs, and more. It was like something out of The Last of Us. I did finally find a door that opened to the street from another stairwell, so if there were any mushroom zombies or raging cannibals in there, they didn't get me. I know you're relieved.

Thursday, August 14: Co+nvergence, Day One Once again I was booked at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel, just as I had been in 2023—and, just as I did then, I requested a high floor. I accepted the assignment of my room on the 15th floor, even though I had been on the 19th two years ago, and this year I got the lowest floor between the three of us from PCC who attended Co+nvergence this year: Amanda got a room on 17, and Frank got on the 21st—one down from the top! As you can see, the view from my room—the above shot having been taken during sunrise on Thursday morning—wasn't anything to complain about. Side note: the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront hotel is actually 23 floors—not because they skip the 13th floor; somewhat surprisingly, we all confirmed in the elevators that this hotel actually has 13 numbered—but because this particular hotel has the odd approach of counting floor 1 one level up from the ground floor. So really, I was on the 16th floor; Amanda was on the 18th; and Frank was on the 22nd. We had all requested to be booked at this hotel, both in the hopes of getting better views and so that we would all be in the same hotel. (NCG also uses the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Downtown Saint Paul, which is a much smaller hotel, and has only five floors, but is also located much closer to the conference, one block away—the InterContinental is four blocks away.)

. . . And Co+nvergence begins! This is an annual conference of attendees from grocery cooperatives across the nation—specifically member co-ops of National Cooperative Grocers (NCG), itself a cooperative of retail food co-ops. Membership consists of "167 food co-ops operating 241 stores in 39 states." At the last Co+nvergence, NCG flew out up to two people per store location for the conference, and because PCC is by far the largest member co-op with 16 stores, in 2023 we had 22 people in attendance. This year, they pivoted a bit, offering only to fly out 3 people per co-op for the conference—hence, this year Frank, Amanda and I were the only ones from PCC present. Side note: I did not follow up on how this may have changed in the past two years, but I did check the NCG member directory in 2023, curious to see who might be the second-largest member co-op, in terms of store locations. I found three co-ops with four locations, but no others any larger besides PCC, which meant PCC had at minimum four times as many stores as any other member retail cooperative. This makes us a very large fish in a relatively small pond. I did ask an NCG staff person if they knew what the number of attendees was this year, and they didn't know exactly but estimated around 350. I asked if the number was lower this year, especially considering this year's conference was two days rather than the three days it was in years past, and I was told it was indeed smaller, but only by about 40 people.

This was possibly the most engaging session of the day on Thursday, when only by chance everything I attended—whether it was a single session for all to attend, or a breakout session—was held in "Ballroom AEBF" at the RiverCentre in Saint Paul. The shot above is easily the most fun photo I took in any session during either day of the conference, this one being at the final session for everyone to attend on Thursday: "Celebrating Diversity in Grocery: A Conversation with Project Potluck." From left to right: 1. Moderator Kathleen Casanova, Founding Executive Director of Project Potluck, which is a "network for people of color in CPG." (Side note: I could not remember hearing CPG as an acronym before, which was said many times during this session, and I had to Google it: Consumer Packaged Goods. Duh. You'd think I would have known that.) 2. Michael Ham, Co-Founder and President of Wild Orchard Tea Company, made from organic teas grown on a single 1,000-acre farm on Jeju Island in South Korea, the farmers themselves also part of a co-op. 3. Yasameen Sajady, CEO of Maazah, a line of Afghan-style chutneys and sauces, with the family operation located locally there in Saint Paul. 4. Val Emanuel, CEO and Founder of Rif Care, which makes period care products with hemp fiber. Amanda and I walked the Vendor Showcase together on Friday afternoon, and we saw all three of the above panelists representing brands there—Michael and Yasameen at their booths; and Val happened to be sitting at a table we stopped to rest at for a bit. The Maazah table in particular had a beautiful charcuterie spread.

Each day of Co+nvergence ends with a social event combined with a provided dinner, and at least based on the two conferences I have been to so far, I can tell you they are always super fun—and I especially enjoyed the Thursday night event this year, a catered hangout after-hours at the Science Museum of Minnesota, located right across the street from the Saint Paul RiverCentre. They have a bunch of dinosaur skeletons (and who doesn't love that?); delightfully snarky museum labels; and many interactive exhibits which, as you can see, Amanda and I gleefully engaged with. The vibe of this event was very similar to some of the PCC holiday parties hosted for all office and store staff for a few years ages ago, two years of which (2004 and 2005) were held at the Seattle Aquarium; another year (2006) at Seattle Center's Pacific Science Center. So it also triggered some pleasant work-relared memories for me, from a couple decades ago.

Friday, August 15: Co+nvergence, Day Two Back in 2023, I walked back and forth from the hotel to the Saint Paul RiverCentre via the Skyways every day of the conference. This year, I guided Frank and Amanda through it on Thursday morning, but we never went there through the Skyways to get to the conference again. On Friday morning, we all walked the four blocks there on the street—it was humid again this year but not nearly as hot, on average, as it was the last time I was there. Here Frank and Amanda are having an animated chat as we pass in front of our hotel.

I really wanted a group shot of the three of us with a Co+nvergence sign. Not only did I get my wish but this photo is fantastic!

At the Vendor Showcase Friday afternoon. I texted Noah this photo of Frank and said he wanted to bring in this size of the Birdie & Louie dog food. Noah replied that he thinks that's a Costco exclusive.

A view of the Vendor Showcase floor and its nearly 300 represented brands—the participation fees for which pay for this conference, in combination with sponsorships (we got Spindrift sparkling waters on the shuttle bus from the airport; welcome bags full of goodies and swag; etc). Co+nvergence remains the only work related conference I have ever gone to as an employee of PCC, as I never go to the many trade shows that Merchandisers go to (and have never thought I should, to be clear), so I have nothing to compare to. Amanda noted as we walked the Vendor Showcase, though, that this was pointedly different from other trade shows in that these vendors are all specific to brands that work with retail food co-ops, creating a much greater uniformity of like-mindedness—specifically, the spirit of cooperation, and particularly things like product quality and sustainability. It seemed to make for a more pleasant experience (the number of vendors falling just short of begging us to carry their products notwithstanding). Another point of clarification that never registered for me the last time I attended was that NCG does not require that members be natural foods co-ops, although that seems to be what the majority of member co-ops are. We met one woman from a co-op in Vermont that recently opened a hybrid version of their pre-existing store, now selling both natural and conventional products, and I heard about this approach a few times at the conference.  When I attended the LGBTQIA+ meetup, there was a woman who shared the co-op she works for, this one in New Hampshire, has three Co-op Food Stores and two automotive service centers, all part of the same company, which was a new one to me.

There was a heavy rainfall early Friday evening, and Amanda and I used the tunnel that connects the Saint Paul RiverCentre to the Saint Paul Skyway to make our way to the Saint Paul Central Library, which has an entrance off of this tunnel. We had to dodge some puddles of water that had leaked into the tunnel because of the rain.

George Latimer Central Library - Saint Paul I had been much more interested in the Minneapolis Central Library, but I couldn't just ignore the one Saint Paul has of its own! Especially since it also has its own architectural significance—the George Latimer Central Library (renamed in 2014 for the former Saint Paul mayor who served 1976-1990) was built in 1917, and is quite beautiful. Amanda was interested in joining me for checking it out on our way back to the hotel after the Vendor Showcase, and we both took quite a few pictures.

While Amanda and I were at the library, a thunderstorm rolled in. This lasted quite a long time, in a way thunderstorms never do in Seattle. We must have looked ridiculous to locals, gawking at all this lightning I'm sure they're all so used to they barely notice it.

The final Co+nvergence event, on Friday evening, was the catered dinner and drinks (two drink tickets per person) at the same place used for the last-night shindig in 2023: Amsterdam Bar & Hall, just three blocks straight up the street from the hotel. They had karaoke with a live band that had the songs memorized, which was both very impressive and fun to watch; and, also like the last year, they had two hired caricature artists—and when Amanda expressed interest in having it done, I suggested we have them draw all three of us in one portrait. Having two artists work at the same time meant we didn't have to wait all that long in the line, and of course we were all quite delighted by this final result. Personally, I was rather struck by the uncanny recognizability of Frank's face in particular. (Amanda also commented on how the artist apparently nailed it with my eyes.)

This is Tyler, and he was getting his caricature portrait done by the other artists right next to us while we were getting ours done. I had already noticed Tyler, several times over the course of the conference, because he wore nothing but pink every single day. I first clocked him at the airport, waiting for the shuttle on Wednesday—he even had a hot pink rolling suitcase. So when I saw him next to me getting his portrait done, I leaned over to him and said, "You should ask him to draw you in pink!" He hadn't thought to do that, and quickly made the ask—so I'm going to go ahead and take credit for that. When I asked to take his picture with his caricature, he noticed on my Co+nvergence badge that I was from PCC, and he immediately said, "I work at Central Co-op!"—which, as I then noted to him, is all of one block from where I live. What are the odds? (There are 167 participating co-ops from around the country, so, the odds would have been about 1 in 167.) We then wound up chatting for what must have been a good half an hour. I did ask him if he always wears pink every day. I learned that if all his pink clothes are in the laundry he'll wear black.

Saturday, August 16, 2025: James J. Hill House, Saint Paul And now we get back to my strategy for this visit, which was distinct from my 2023 trip, when Shobhit flew out to meet up with me on the Saturday all the other conference attendees flew home, but Shobhit and I took our bags on the Light Rail over to the Minneapolis side of the Twin Cities and stayed three more nights together in another hotel over there. This year, so that I would not have to pay for any hotel (NCG covered three nights for Co+nvergence at two hotels in Saint Paul), I flew in early on Wednesday, and flew out late on Saturday. This was to give me some extra time on the two travel days to do some sightseeing I did not manage to get to in 2023. My goal on Wednesday was to see the Minneapolis Central Library and that goal was met. On Saturday, even Amanda and Frank had a little bit more time than expected. Frank says he likes to get to the airport several hours early, though, so even though they had booked the same flights, he caught a shuttle back to the airport well before I or even Amanda did. Amanda had heard about this street in Saint Paul, Summit Avenue, that purportedly has the longest stretch of Victorian houses in the country, and had some interest. She even found a particular house that does guided tours: the James J. Hill House. Built for its namesake between 1888 and 1891 at a cost of $931,275 (about $22 million today) when he and his wife were in their fifties, the guided tour includes a lot of very interesting historical information about Hill, who developed the Great Northern Railway, in the process gaining the nickname "Empire Builder," for which the Amtrak train using the same route is still named today. The house is astonishingly well preserved, the vast majority of it still in original parts, or at least what was installed last during Hill's time living here. Much of it is incredibly beautiful and ornate. Our tour guide, Emma, was delightfully well informed, had information at the ready for any and all questions asked, and made the $15 adult ticket price for a one-hour guided tour well worth it.

A tiny foyer space just inside the front door immediately impressed with its intricate decorative detail, and I got this great shot of Amanda on our way in.

Amanda and I must have been on the same wavelength: after I took the great shot of her just inside the front door on the way in, Amanda took this great shot of me just outside the front door on our way out. She didn't text it to me until I was at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport, working on this email, and I loved it so much I had to add it to this travelogue at the last minute.

Saturday, August 16, 2025: Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis Last stop! And: what I was making time for by flying back late on Saturday—Minnehaha Falls. I had hoped to see this in 2023 but was not able to make the time. I did make a mistake in thinking Amanda and I had plenty of time to catch return shuttle to the airport—for some reason I thought they ran until 2:00, but the last one left at noon. And our guided tour was at 11:00. So, after we got back to the hotel and discovered there were no more shuttles, instead of taking a city bus (which I would have been fine with doing otherwise; I was going to be buying another transit Day Pass for this day regardless), Amanda booked a Lyft and I joined her. We had a sample bag of tortilla chips and a garlic dip she got at the Vendor Showcase, which we grazed on both while waiting for the Lyft and for a few minutes at the airport before Amanda went through security. And then, I caught the Light Rail to Minnehaha Park, which is not far at all from the airport, three stops away—this was much easier than the longer bus I'd have had to take direcrly from the hotel in downtown Saint Paul. The only challenge was that I still had to carry my backpack (with my laptop in it, which made it heavy) and my suitcase anywhere I went in the park, which made it impossible to walk the trail that goes all the way to the Mississippi River, about a mile into the park. I'll just have to return and do that next time. In the meantime, I lugged that suitcase down a steep staircase to view the falls from the banks of Minnehaha Creek; walked it a little ways on the trail alongside it; and lugged it back and up the stairs again, all also with the backpack on my back, which was killing me by the end of it. It sure was beautiful, though, as you can plainly see. I then took the light rail back past the airport and to the Mall of America for about an hour for no reason but to kill the time I'd have rather spent in the park, but my bags were too heavy. Not that it was much better lugging them through a giant mall insanely packed with people, looking for some shorts in my size at a decent price and finding none. Oh well! Next time I'm making Minnehaha Falls the plan for day of arrival. And hopefully that'll be next year!