Saint Paul’s restaurant community is taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather by adding ice bars at 10 spots this weekend, Feb. 9-11.

Capital City Ice Bars will span a mile of restaurants thorough West Seventh Street and downtown. Each will feature special drinks (with or without alcohol).

The bars coincide with the Red Bull Heavy Metal street snowboard competition on Saturday, Feb. 10, which takes place on the steps of the Minnesota Capitol. That event is free and open to the public.

When Steve Williams opened a seven-seat bar in downtown Saint Paul last summer, he figured it was well past time to bring some heavy metal back to Lowertown. It’s been a decade since the old Station 4 night club closed on 4th Street, leaving headbangers and metal heads — among other fans of underground music — a bit adrift.

Half-hidden directly behind the Amoco gas station on Seventh Street where Broadway Street becomes a frontage road, the new White Rock Lounge offers a performance stage that has brought out the beast in audience members as young as 10 years old. Bands play at least four times per week, leaving a night or two for ’80s trivia, heavy metal karaoke and other draws.

For accomplished conductor and pianist Bill Eddins, music seems to have always played a role in his life.

Like many during the pandemic, Eddins found himself out of work and brewing beer. He was also living through mass civil unrest, following the police killing of George Floyd. Eddins was experiencing his third wave of historic racial reckonings, after living through the 1989 Miami riots and the Los Angeles riots of 1992.

“I was really upset with the fact that we tend to not want to do things that really will help our society in the long term,” he said.

Enter MetroNOME Brewery, a downtown Saint Paul based business focused on funding music education. Eddins and his co-founder, Matt Engstrom, aspire to grow their business to the size of a small regional brewery. When their goal is realized, they plan to filter funding from the brewery toward local music education programs.

Vehicle thefts have risen across the U.S., largely due to an increase in Kia and Hyundai thefts. But that's not what's happening now in St. Paul, Minn., where car thefts have fallen dramatically.

In the past two years, car thefts have skyrocketed in many U.S. cities, driven by a trend targeting Kias and Hyundais.

In Chicago, 80 cars on average were stolen every day last year. In Minneapolis, a woman's car was reportedly targeted three times in six months. But just across the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minn., a very different story is playing out.

Although the smaller Twin City also saw a surge, car thefts there have since fallen dramatically, and local officials say a focus on prevention and youth intervention likely has made the difference.

The month of February is observed as Black History Month to celebrate the stories and contributions of Black people throughout history.

Learn more about Saint Paul organizations honoring the achievements and lives of Black Americans that have shaped our community, this month and throughout the year.

Red Bull Heavy Metal is a single-day street snowboard contest that features the most progressive rail riding in the world. Following last winter’s event in Detroit, MI, the highly touted street jam is heading back to Minnesota, this time on the steps of the iconic Saint Paul Capitol Building on February 10th, 2024 from 2 to 6 p.m. You won’t want to miss this one! Viewing is free and open to the public.