Our stories on beer, bikes and Rewire—Twin Cities Public Television’s innovative effort to engage more Millennials in public tv, hence Benedict Cumberbatch from “Sherlock”—were among The Line’s top stories of 2104. But even those hot topics paled in comparison to our Internet-busting story on forging a new North identity for the Twin Cities. Your response to “Forget Midwest. We Are North: Repositioning MSP’s National Identity for the 21st Century” was stratospheric, making the article number-one in the history of The Line.
 
Fast on its heels was “10 Development Projects That Will Transform MSP in 2015.” So naturally we’re eager to delve even further into the Twin Cities’ singular culture, the bespoke and local undertakings that contribute to our identity and livelihoods, and initiatives in city building, sustainability, biking and micro-brewing that you love.
 
In 2015, we’ll dive deeper in our niche, to create a kaleidoscopic portrait of the people, places and ideas that make Twin Cities culture unique. Our goal is always to tell compelling stories about the innovators and artists, makers and designers, initiatives and technologies, entrepreneurs and startups, communities and neighborhoods that bring MSP to national attention and make our cities more livable.
 
Thanks so much for subscribing to and reading The Line. In case you missed any of our top 10 stories of 2014, or want another look, here they are along with excerpts that show why we think these stories were particularly readable.

1. Forget Midwest. We Are North: Repositioning MSP’s National Identity for the 21st Century
 
The idea of North, or something else that positions Minnesota and the Twin Cities apart from the larger Midwest into which we’ve been culturally, geographically and politically lumped, “is more honest,” said Tom Fisher, dean, College of Design, University of Minnesota. “It’s claiming a part of the country we know, which clearly exists and isn’t defined by someone else’s perspective. There’s a ‘North’ culture here, and we should claim that.”
 
2. 10 Development Projects That Will Transform MSP in 2015
 
While the high-profile and drawn-out political sausage-making that goes into stadium projects usually ensures everyone is jaded by opening day, the St. Paul Saints Ball Park in St. Paul’s Lowertown is the exception. Designed by celebrated Minneapolis architecture firm Snow Kreilich Architects, the baseball park survived prolonged attempts to slap historicist bric-a-brac over the streamlined, 21^st-century concrete structure. The ball park includes a new pedestrian and bike connection to the nearby Bruce Vento Nature Preserve. The stadium also has open sightlines—a good thing for watching the game, and for letting some of that game day energy spill out into Lowertown, one of America’s top hipster zip codes with its Farmers’ Market, award-winning restaurants, coffee shops, food trucks and wine bars, and warehouse buildings converted to apartments and co-working spaces.
 
3. How a Car-Free Lifestyle Led to a More Experience-Based Life
 
From the saddle of his bike, Michale Sevy found his perspective on the urban environment changing. “I felt the city and its topography so much more,” he says. He describes the moment he realized that East Lake Street is actually one long, nearly imperceptible upslope from the Mississippi River to the Blue Line. He came to feel like an active participant in the urban fabric, something he hadn’t even experienced in dense, transit-crazy Denmark. “I learned how the city breathes—the weather, the environment, the people coming and going,” he says.
 
4. Night Market Debuts June 14 in St. Paul’s Little Mekong
 
Theresa Swaney, communications coordinator for the Asian Economic Development Association, hopes the night markets will help breathe new life into the area as a nighttime destination. “It’s sort of shifting the idea of what’s acceptable, and possible, at night,” she says. Like farmers markets, the Little Mekong night markets will host local farmers selling fresh produce, but also up to 30 different vendors selling specialty food, art, and crafts. “It’s sort of this mix between a festival and a farmers market,” says Swaney. “It’s going to be a little more entertaining and a little more exciting than just getting your vegetables.”
 
5. How Rewire—and Benedict Cumberbatch—are Enticing Millennials to Twin Cities Public Television
 
“Rewire is a hub for thoughtful experimentation in content, revenue, marketing, engagement and more,” explains Andi McDaniel, Rewire’s overseer. “It’s also a department that’s strategically focused on gaining support from digital natives and those who think like them….  We used to be a critical intermediary for high-profile shows like ‘Sherlock’. It’s crucial for us to find ways to demonstrate that we still play an indispensable role in making that content available.”
 
6. Sioux Chef Brings Indigenous Cuisine to Minneapolis
 
Minneapolis-based chef and Oglala Lakota member Sean Sherman is about to open the Sioux Chef, a first-of-its-kind restaurant that will serve locally sourced “pre-colonization” cuisine. Sherman is in the final stages of selecting a space, most likely along Seward’s Franklin Avenue or along East Lake Street. He wants to be “as close as possible to the heart of the Twin Cities’ indigenous community,” he says…. “It’s funny that you can get food from almost anywhere in the world [in the Twin Cities],” he adds. “The only food you can’t get yet is the food that came from right here.” Sioux Chef will change that.
 
7. Grrl Power: Initiatives in the Twin Cities Getting More Women on Bicycles
 
With momentum on multiple fronts, female cycling advocates are optimistic. Future cycling participation gains and favorable policy changes depend on active, engaged female bikers of all stripes (from those who occasionally ride on summer weekends to hardcore winter cyclists) getting on bikes more often and creating a healthier, safer and more opportunity-rich Twin Cities. “Across the cities, more people need to get out of their houses and cars and get out on the street,” says Stephanie Weir [organizer for St. Paul Women on Bikes, a St. Paul Smart Trips program.] Regardless of gender identification, she says, “Biking isn’t just about recreation. It’s about health, jobs and economic vitality.”
 
8. Cycling in the Cities: Seven New Local Inventions for Bike Enthusiasts Here and Around the Globe
 
 “We use the cash flow from our catalog of legacy products to fund exciting new research,” says Paul Schoening, Park Tool’s marketing director. Among the most promising: The PRS-33, a mobile bike repair stand with a motorized drive unit that lifts bikes into place and moves them horizontally for easy access. The PRS-33 is particularly useful for electric bikes and mountain bikes, both of which are increasingly popular in the Twin Cities.

9. Twin Cities Brew Boom Taps into Placemaking, Entrepreneurship, Neighborhood Synergies

The entrepreneurs who run these businesses are ambitious, but all recognize that they’re part of a larger community. Indeed Brewing, for instance, takes collaboration with other local businesses seriously. It’s one of the biggest patrons of Northeast-based community organizations and charities, and recently released “Burr Grinder,” a special-edition beer made in collaboration with nearby Dogwood Coffee. “We do our own thing as businesses,” says Rachel Anderson, Indeed’s marketing director and co-founder, “but there is a friendly camaraderie between us” that makes collaborations easy and rewarding. Indeed was initially drawn to Northeast by the district’s supply of old warehouses and storefronts suitable for breweries, but “we kind of fell in love with” the area’s entrepreneurial, community-focused scene, she says.
 
10. Cooking Up Entrepreneurship in Twin Cities Incubator Kitchens
 
Sharing a kitchen also comes with a built-in support system for food entrepreneurs. On its website, GIA Kitchen describes itself as “more than a production facility, it is a community of small business owners that are passionate about their food craft and committed to building a stronger and more vibrant economy.” “It is all about the community, and honoring people and their ideas,” says Sarah Couenhoven, founder of Bonus Vivus, maker of Thuro Bread and bars, and current manager of GIA. “It takes so much energy for food entrepreneurs create the initial idea and get it going. Then you need a community that will give moral support, and brainstorm new concepts or challenges with you when they arise.”