Madison Bloomquist

Minneapolis

Associate Editor at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine

Associate editor @mspmag. Cycle instructor. Thrifter. Not a big Tweeter.

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Articles

Insider: Art-A-Whirl Is Back

1 week ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

Could one neighborhood really be so densely packed with painters, sculptors, jewelers, and more that its creative industry effectively takes over the city for a weekend? At Art-A-Whirl, the 1,500-plus artists who will fling open their studio doors from May 16–18 for art-loving mayhem in Northeast would indicate that the answer is a resounding yes.
Home & Design | Artist Spotlight: Maria Larson Manske’s Working Girls

1 week ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

Just because artist Maria Larson Manske’s latest series is based on women she’s dreamed up doesn’t mean her subjects don’t have stories to tell. The collection, The Heart of Saint Paul: Portraits of Imaginary Women, 1930s–1980s, which debuted at Succotash in St. Paul in February, celebrates women inspired by those who flitted through Larson Manske’s life while growing up and raising a family around St. Paul.
Shoreline Hotel Opens on Lake Minnetonka

2 weeks ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

Ever since her husband died far too young in a car accident in 2008, Kelly Olsen’s life goal has been to encourage people to slow down, take a breath, and appreciate the little moments with their loved ones. After all, she knows, those moments aren’t guaranteed.
Twin Cities Bookstores Become Places for Community

3 weeks ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

For years, it seemed like all readers heard about when it came to bookstores was bad news: Amazon and big-box stores were Goliath; local shops were David, hapless against big money and bigger power. But in 2025, things have changed. Our Twin Cities have seen a significant growth in the local bookstore scene in the last handful of years—and we’re not alone. In 2023, the American Booksellers Association boasted 2,433 members, almost double its numbers from 2016 and some 200 greater than 2022.
The Cherry Trees at St. Paul’s Como Park Will Soon Bloom

3 weeks ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

Owing to our temperamental climate and late frost potential, Minnesota doesn’t seem like the most hospitable environment for springtime cherry blooms. But for a short, fickle moment in late April or early May, the area near Como Park’s Mannheimer Memorial glows with blush-pink blooms, just like a scene out of Washington, D.C., or Japan, which is where, as fate would have it, St. Paul got its cherry trees in the first place.
By the Numbers: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Tulip Gardens

1 month ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

This spring, visitors in droves will make a pilgrimage to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum looking for the sorely needed color explosion that only MLA’s sprawling tulip displays can provide. “People think of tulips as perennials, but they’re not really, anymore,” says Arb senior gardener Aimee Thuen. “We consider them annuals. So, every year, a new display and color design gets planned.
By the Numbers: Allianz Field Giant Loon

1 month ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

Last fall, a fleet of flatbed trucks carrying mysterious cargo appeared near Minnesota United’s soccer pitch, Allianz Field, in St. Paul’s Midway. Over the next handful of days, as the contents of those flatbeds were unpacked, a gigantic stainless steel loon emerged right there on the southeast corner of Snelling and University. Wings outstretched, beak pointed skyward, the loon beckons people to the home base of the soccer team colloquially nicknamed after the state bird.
Minnesota Orchestra Unveils 2025-2026 Season

1 month ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

Music director Thomas Søndergård is pulling out the big guns for his third season with the Minnesota Orchestra. “It’s a season full of amazing vocalists, soloists and orchestral works, and we are delving into the concept of what it means to be American-made,” he said in a press release.
Minnesota Zoo Announces Wild Nights Lineup

1 month ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

Summer Fridays just got a little wilder, thanks to the Minnesota Zoo. This summer, the zoo will bring back its lauded Wild Nights series for the fourth season. On five Friday evenings, guests can check out Minnesota musicians at both the Amphitheater and Upper South Plaza stages, plus find wandering musicians throughout the zoo.
Love Is Blind Minneapolis Recap: The Final Countdown

2 months ago | mspmag.com | Madison Bloomquist

Well, readers, we did it. We journeyed all the way from pre-Netflix-release gossip to the pods to temporary apartment-homes and bars in Minneapolis. We watched our Cities go viral on social media and spark stories in national news outlets. We cringed at the Minnesota accents and the B-roll of Minnesota in late February and early March (c’mon, you see what it looks like outside right now. I beg you, Netflix, next time you host something here, try September.).