Droning America: Minneapolis, MN

On this episode of Droning America, host Angie Avestruz meets up with familiar face Eric Perkins in Minneapolis, Minnesota! Things start off with aerial views of the Target Center and Target Field, homes to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Lynx, and Minnesota Twins. Perk tells Angie that sometimes Minneapolis gets a "bad rap" for being too cold, but that it's one of the most beautiful cities in the country. Seeing it from the drone's perspective definitely shows us what he means. Next up, Gold Medal Park, the Stone Arch Bridge, and the Guthrie Theater right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River! We even see the brand new home of the Minnesota Vikings, US Bank Stadium and the place where Prince got his start, First Avenue! Perk takes Angie on a scenic tour of Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood, where you'll find Minnesotan's enjoying the lakes, great restaurants, and night life! Finally, Angie heads to Minnehaha Falls, one of the most photographed places in the Twin Cities area. The gorgeous aerial views on this episode of Droning America were brought to you by Flight Productions and Tyler Mason. Check out all of the views we've captured of cities around the country on Droning America by visiting AirVuz.com VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Angie Avestruz: Hey everyone, I'm Angie Avestruz and on this episode of "Droning America" we're in a city in the land of ten thousand lakes. It's the hometown to a music legend and it lies on the banks of the mighty Mississippi. Welcome to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our first stop in the twin cities is just a few blocks away at the home of the Minnesota Twins, an appropriate place to meet up [00:00:30] with our local celebrity who's also a familiar face on Air Vuz. Well, to show us around Minneapolis, I'm hanging out with local sports anchor Eric Perkins, also known as Perk. Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to hang with us. Eric Perkins: Angie, this is, I mean we've got a great day for it, too, am I right? This is one of the ten days of the year that we get that are actually gorgeous. No, I'm just kidding. This is the summer spot, and so this is like the perfect avenue between Target Center, which of course hosts our Minnesota Timberwolves, and [00:01:00] our WNBA champion, Minnesota Lynx, can't forget about them, and of course our Minnesota Twins here at Target Field. And you know, baseball here, Angie, is where it's at. This is regularly ranked in the top ten baseball stadiums in America, and it really is a gem. They put this here in 2010, and it has been just an absolute summer delight for all baseball fans. And you know, it's a lot better than what we used to have. You know, Minneapolis kind of gets a bad wrap, and both the twin cities [00:01:30] do really, just because it is such a tundra here so many months of the year. But my goodness, we are a gorgeous town, right? It's clean, the people are wonderful, the traffic's not bad, there's no smog. There's a few mosquitoes or whatever, but you know what? It is a lovely city with great art, you know, thriving sports and so much for people to do, really. Angie Avestruz: A quick ride on the light rail brings us to our next destination, a city-owned park named for one of the many [00:02:00] major companies headquartered here. Perk, we made it to the beautiful Gold Medal Park. Eric Perkins: I love this place. You know what? Aside from being gorgeous, it is the highest mountain in all of Minnesota. I'm kidding, this is a pretty flat state, though. But this is right here in the thick of things in downtown Minneapolis. And to be honest with you, it's pretty new. They only built this park in 2007, Angie, which is also when they built the Guthrie Theater, or actually redid the Guthrie Theater, which had been an iconic landmark as part of that theater scene I was mentioning earlier. The Guthrie, 125 [00:02:30] million dollars, that's what it gets you right there. It is stunning right here and it's just been like part of the revitalization that we've seen down here on the riverfront. Angie Avestruz: And we're right along the Mississippi, and there are a bunch of restaurants along this area too, where people come hang out. Eric Perkins: Minnesota has a fierce culinary scene. As I mentioned, the arts and the Fortune 500 companies are flocking here. I think right now there's like 17 or 18 Fortune 500 companies in the Twin Cities, which is stout. Angie Avestruz: We've got the old, beautiful stone arch bridge behind us [00:03:00] right now, but if you look over there, you can see a gorgeous new glass stadium going up. Eric Perkins: It is a monstrosity but it is also beautiful, and US Bank Stadium took a lot of hoops to get through this and to finally get it built. But they got it up in a hurry, and they're gonna be playing football, the Vikings are, this fall in the new building. And it is stunning, if you haven't been inside. Angie Avestruz: So US Bank Stadium, definitely a place to be, people from all over the world are gonna be traveling to see events and games there. But that wasn't what originally put Minneapolis on the map. It [00:03:30] was a small place called First Ave. Eric Perkins: You know what? That got a lot of play nationally, obviously. And that's, it's been around for a long time. This is an unbelievable music venue right downtown in the heart of. And so many groups have been part of the Minnesota scene, whether it's, you know, the Replacements or Husker Du or whatever. But then Prince came along back in 1984 or whatever and put Purple Rain on the map. And you see all the stars on the side of the building of all the acts that have been there; it's phenomenal, some of the talent that has rolled through that place. And yeah, [00:04:00] it is jamming. And you always know something's going on at First Ave. Angie Avestruz: Next, we're taking the scenic route along Hennepin Avenue, through the theater district and passing the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to see the iconic spoon and cherry. All on our way to uptown. In the land of ten thousand lakes, we've found ourself at a lake. Eric Perkins: Right. This is perfect. You know what? This is the chain of lakes, and there's several of them, but the big three are Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet, Lake of the Isles. Lake Calhoun's the biggest; that's the one we're on right [00:04:30] now. And Angie, come May or whenever like the snow finally stops, people flock to these chains of lakes. Angie Avestruz: Yeah, Minneapolis is a pretty fit city, so I can imagine they're running around this lake, biking, rollerblading, all of it. Eric Perkins: All of the above, absolutely. And then in the winter, I mean, they still embrace these lakes, you know? You'll find people out here snowshoeing, you'll find pond hockey matches. It all goes down, and this is kind of where it all centrifies. Angie Avestruz: As you mentioned, we're on Lake Calhoun, but just a few blocks away is Calhoun Square, which I hear is a hot spot for all [00:05:00] the young professionals in town. Eric Perkins: Absolutely, yeah. You gotta be hip to be in uptown. No, that is actually another Prince song, "Uptown," right? But you know, there's a lot of young professionals there. There's a lot of great shopping, too. Great restaurants. And it is definitely the hot spot, especially at night down here in Minneapolis. Angie Avestruz: Well, Perk, thank you so much for taking time to show us around your city; it's beautiful and you couldn't ask for a better day. Eric Perkins: And now, Angie, I think it's time for you to purify yourself in the waters of Lake Calhoun. [crosstalk 00:05:26] No? Angie Avestruz: I don't think that sounds [crosstalk 00:05:27], maybe if it was Minnetonka. Eric Perkins: Oh, come on! Angie Avestruz: Finally, [00:05:30] we're going to a popular stop for pedestrians and bicyclists on the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, one of the longest continuous urban parkways in the country. We're ending our tour here in Minneapolis at Minnehaha Falls, which is one of the most visited and photographed places in the entire state. Thanks for hanging out with us all day, and if you think we should come to your city next, make sure to Tweet us @droningamerica. Bye!