Keep us updated if you hear anything there since you are local.

Oh, and sorry you have to deal with that visit. Let's hope it just comes and goes like passing some bad gas.

The bad weather is going to keep turnouts low, I'm sure.

glad you and your family are staying away.

Is there a good all news radio station in Minneapolis?

It's not right-wing talk radio, and generally is a pretty good source of Minnesota news. You can get it streaming online at radio.com

Lock your doors! Secure your valuables!

What a foul stench they are bringing to the Twin Cities... I hope they enjoy the higher numbers of protesters vs. supporters...

Women should be on the lookout for small-fingered vulgarian who cannot keep his hands to himself. Be on the lookout for his supporters' signs that exhibit poor grammar or tastes (Or both).

Things are going to be pretty shitty around there.

Target Center, where Trump is holding his rally this evening, has a capacity of 19,356. The Trump campaign claims they have handed out 72,000 free tickets to the event. Clearly that many people won't fit into Target Center, which is also the primary venue for the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA team.

But, they're not expecting that many people, anyhow. It is more likely to be 10,000 or fewer who actually show up.

Where is Target Center? It's right on the edge of Downtown Minneapolis and at the junction of three major freeways. Traffic there is always a mess, and this will just make it worse. Doors at Target Center open at 4 PM for attendees, but people planning to come are asked to show up by 10 AM today to begin the security screening process. Attendees will have to wait outdoors until the doors open.

Target Center is served by two light rail transit lines, along with metro bus service. However, the buses can't use the streets near the venue, which have been closed and locked down since 8 PM yesterday. Parking, of course, is at a premium in downtown Minneapolis, and parking is even more difficult because of the closed streets, which prevent people from parking at the main parking ramps at the venue itself.

Most parking ramps in Minneapolis will already be full during the day, with all the people who commute into work in the crowded downtown business sector. Some will park out on the light rail lines in Park and Ride lots, but those tend to be full on work days, as well. Our light rail and metro transit system works pretty well, but it's sized to help people get to jobs. If there's a time conflict between people who work downtown and an event, the whole system slows down and gets very, very congested.

Protesters are another issue, altogether. They can't go inside, so they'll be stuck with the cold, windy, rainy weather that is forecast for today. They will also face the crowded public transportation and parking situation, and will be competing with downtown workers and rally attendees for available resources.

On the other hand, there are plenty of bars and restaurants near Target Center, so folks can get some respite and refreshment in those, as they wait for things to start happening. We'll also have plenty of law enforcement folks everywhere, including MPD, the Hennepin County Sheriff's office and probably some folks from St. Paul PD and suburban police departments. The Secret Service, of course will be directing the show, as best they can.

My advice to anyone thinking about heading down to Target Center late this afternoon? Don't. It's not going to be any fun at all.

They’ll also be staying far away.

Minneapolis is a very progressive city. Trumpers will probably be trying to come in from outlying areas? Good luck with that! It’s also a work day and school day.

from the suburbs. They're going to find it a tough thing to attend. Most of them know that. That will limit attendance, I'm sure.

I live in St. Paul. I absolutely never go into Minneapolis anytime near rush hour. Never. This event is a rush hour event. It's going to be very inconvenient to attend, whether you are a Trump fan or protester.

There are no open spaces near that venue, the streets nearby will be closed, the traffic is horrible on a normal day, and it’s even worse now on account of all the construction. The weather is lousy today, too. Most of the eager MAGA cult members will be driving their rolling coal pickup trucks into town from Stearns County and such places; they hate Minneapolis because it’s full of liberals and Those People so they never come here and won’t know their way around, and good luck finding a parking space. They’ll end up having to park at the Mall of America and take the train back downtown but they hate public transportation so maybe not. It will be awful for them, which makes me smile.

No way they gave away 72k tickets!

If half the expected are protesters, inside they might have 5,000. What will they do with the empty seats?

What's the matter with all those trump "supporters". Don't they want to pay to see their idol? Guess not.

who won't be getting money from them after they screw city officials, so many states are waiting for monetary funds for putting these rallies together.

but that didn't work. The event will go on as planned.

that dropped off the news and I never heard.

Mayors should start refusing to provide any local services in advance. Let MF45 campaign pay for its own security elsewhere. Local city and county employees including police should just go about their routine business.

The city's contract is with the management of the venue, apparently. I suspect they waited too long before insisting on pre-payment. It's not completely clear to me, though, what happened.

Why couldn't the city demand prepayment? That seems like the only option for municipalities being stiffed by Trump.

But, I'm not entirely sure.

That Tangeranus fuckmaggot can't ever fucking ask for permission for any song.

video of any of it, inside or outside. It's hard to predict how many are going to show up, too, both inside or outside the venue.

Nobody knows. Minneapolis is not exactly a Trump-supporting city. In fact, it is just the opposite. We have conservative suburban cities nearby, though. Rural Minnesota, too, is rather conservative in its politics. However, most of the people living in those areas take some pride in staying away from Minneapolis proper. Hell, so do I. I hate having to go there from next door in St. Paul.

With the rally scheduled for 7 PM, people will have to arrive during rush hour, really. If they come before that, there won't be any place to park, since parking is in short supply and the parking ramps near the venue are on closed streets.

You can get there on two light rail lines, along with the Northstar train, which comes in from northern suburbs. Capacity of those, however, is somewhat limited, and the light rail trains are easy to block by a group of any size at all. Still, people ride the rail system to and from Target Field and Target Center, which are right next to each other all the time.

Other public transit also goes there, although they'll have to let people off a couple of blocks away, since they won't be using the closed streets near the venue. The bus system isn't much used by people who don't live in the city, though.

Those who are really dedicated will come to the venue earlier in the day and hang around until near the time of the rally. There are plenty of places to eat and drink nearby, but not a lot of places to rest. Gun-toters are going to stand out like sore thumbs in Minneapolis and will get a lot of negative attention from the locals.

Minneapolis has a strong population of ethnic minorities and immigrants, all of whom know how to navigate the city. If they turn out in numbers to protest Trump, they could be a real issue. There are numerous organizations of militant folks with specific axes to grind in Minneapolis, too, and they've proven themselves capable of peaceful disruption on a fairly large scale several times. I don't know what their plans are today, though.

Since Trump plans to attack Ilhan Omar, the House representative from Minneapolis, the Somali immigrant community is likely to show up. Since most Somali immigrants live near a light rail line, they have easy access to the venue and the route to the venue. The University of Minnesota, too, is on a light rail line that feeds to the Target Center venue, so that's another source of potential protesters.

The weather is going to be a serious factor. Cold, wind and rain are predicted. So...that will have a role in turnout of protesters. The Republicans have been very vocal about "lots of protesters" showing up. That's more likely to suppress turnout of Trump supporters than to do anything else, though.

I just don't know what to expect, really.

The Loaf Pinchers are mostly coming from out of town/state, I believe. They're going to be clobbered by the traffic. And they love to strut with their weapons out, which might cause some issues, as A: we're a concealed-carry state and B: the Secret Service will drop a truck of agents on anyone with a gun within blocks of the Target Center tonight.

(I hope it's the latter.)

I also find a massive load of hypocrisy in the Loaf Pinchers and the Tres Percent that are showing up tonight.

Let me sum it up thusly:

?1

available to them, I think there will be plenty of video of whatever happens.

He still owes for the last one. Many other cities are demanding they pay up.

As long as the rally is allowed to take place, he'll probably get away with not paying, like he has so many times before.

rent the arenas. No payment, no arena. Period.

Even the little town of Lebanon, Ohio is owed $17,000 from the last election.

Trump owes $1 billion to the UN. They can not pay their bills.

for an arena that only holds 20,500. Then stomps his feet when the Mayor wants to be paid upfront for police and other city services. He is creating bedlam.

Hope your wife’s sister isn’t delayed.

the Minneapolis chief brushed off the president's attacks, writing: "Yawn... Welcome to Minneapolis where we pay our bills, we govern with integrity and we love all of our neighbors."