John McGivern’s Main Streets

- I'm in a city in Minnesota that sits on the Minnesota River, and it's the fourth largest city in the state, and I just gotta tell you, the city is just not what I expected.

[upbeat music] - "John McGivern's Main Streets" thanks the following underwriters: [pleasant music] - Greendale is proud to be the inspiration for "John McGivern's Main Streets."

This historic village is a real place where all are welcome to gather, to shop, to enjoy.

Charming, vibrant, joyful, welcoming.

You've just gotta see Greendale.

[exciting music] - I'm on my way Oh, it's time to hit the road I'm on my way This is the freedom I live for - Remember when the American dream was being able to say, "I made that.

I built that."

Wouldn't it be great if your kids and grandkids chose a career that provides that kind of pride, with good pay, but without a ton of student loan debt?

A four-year degree isn't the only path to success.

We need talented people to make and build on main streets everywhere.

Skilled work isn't a thing of the past; it's a bright future.

- Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Plum Media and the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Thanks, friends!

- 'Cause these are our main streets Something 'bout a hometown speaks to me There's nowhere else I'd rather be The heart and soul of community's right here On these main streets - I am in Bloomington, Minnesota, not to be confused with Bloomington, Indiana, or Bloomington, Illinois.

It began in 1851, and how did it begin?

People from Bloomington, Illinois came north to found another Bloomington, Bloomington, Minnesota.

I am in the backyard of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the two largest cities in Minnesota, and X marks the spot thanks to interstates 35 West and 494.

It's less than 100 miles north of the third largest city, Rochester.

So when you think of Bloomington, Minnesota, come on, this is what you think of.

Mall of America.

Right, Emmy?

Hey, sorry you can't be with us, Emmy.

– Emmy Fink: I'm sorry, too, John, but baby wanted me to stay just a little closer to home, but I still did all my research.

Bloomington was established in 1858, the same day Minnesota became a state.

Its proximity to the Minnesota River made it a popular home for Native Americans, traders, and settlers, turning it into a thriving farming community.

So where people now buy shoes and jewelry and pretzels, they ride roller coasters, they used to raise animals and tend to their crops, and those farms aren't all in the history books.

There's one still standing and operating today.

[soft acoustic music] - John: I'm on this beautiful, peaceful lamb, goat farm in Bloomington, Minnesota, and you need to see the farm's neighbor.

Yeah, it's the Mall of America.

This is your farm, yeah, in the middle of this city of Bloomington.

- Yes.

- How long has this been a working farm?

– Cindy Wolf: It's been in this family since 1932.

We have ewes and lambs here, and we have does and kids.

I've been responsible for a few cattle here, but if they get out and go visit the Mall of America, it gets kind of interesting, so now we're sticking with just sheep and goats.

It won't make 'em sick.

Come on, girls.

Come on.

So, now you're gonna have to reward 'em, John.

- Do I just give 'em one?

- Yeah, just give 'em one at a time.

That's Cinnamon.

- Cinnamon.

Cinnamon is kind of bossy.

- [laughs] - Hey, don't-- you just took a butt.

[laughter] Do they like peanuts, as well?

- Grass is their thing.

I don't feed them anything.

They just feed themselves.

- So they know that it's gonna be hot, and they can find shade and rest now.

- Yes.

- And they'll get up a little later and have some more food?

- Yes.

- I'd be a great lamb.

- [laughs] - [lamb bleats] - This is the old milkhouse.

So, like, this is a comforter.

It's full of our wool.

So, some of the guys will shear 225, 250 in an 8-hour day, which is phenomenal.

- Whoa.

James E. Kelly, is that your husband's father?

- My husband's grandfather.

- Grandfather.

- Yeah.

- How great that you have that.

- So, we graze this, too.

We call this the hill pasture.

This is all wildlife refuge where the trees start at the bottom.

- It sure is beautiful, land-wise, isn't it?

- Yeah.

These guys are friends.

That's why they're together.

- They're hanging out.

- Yeah.

So, luckily for me, this is a girl.

- And how old is she?

- She was born two weeks ago.

- Ah.

- Do you want to hold her, John?

- Please.

I just can't wait to get home to downtown Milwaukee with my new pet.

Does McGivern have a lamb?

[lamb bleats] - [chuckles] - When I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, there was a mall called Mayfair Mall, and in it, they had an ice skating rink.

It was unbelievable.

Now here we are at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Take a look what they have.

Nickelodeon Universe!

Come on!

I thought the ice skating rink was fancy!

[groans] Oh.

[upbeat rock music] So is this an exciting ride?

– DeEtte Zettervall: This is a very exciting ride.

They spin.

They go up a big lift, and then they start spinning, and then they go up and down and all around in a bunch of circles.

- This is one of how many rides that you operate?

- 18 rides.

- You know how to do 'em all?

- 18 different rides, yep, yep.

- You could not pay me to go on this, just so you know, but look it.

The crew wants to go.

That's Lois, the producer, and that's Gail, our sound engineer, and they're gonna go on.

- Oh, boy, here we go.

- Here they go.

Have fun.

- Three, two, one.

- How long have you been working here?

- 21 years, ride operator the whole time.

It's always sunny and 70, yep.

- Have you seen a lot of change in this part of the-- - I have seen a lot of change.

A lot of rides have left, and a lot of rides have come in.

- 'Cause Snoopy was here for a long time.

- Camp Snoopy was here until 2006, and then it turned into Nickelodeon Universe.

- Oh, there they go.

Oh, did you see 'em?

They were spinning.

Ugh!

[chuckles] How many people will ride this today if it's a really busy day?

Do you have any idea?

- Probably 1,500.

How was it?

- How was it?

- Whoo!

- You want to go again, you guys?

You guys are idiots.

[laughter] - Before it was Mall of America, it was home to Metropolitan Stadium where the Twins and Vikings played from 1961 to '81.

Matter of fact, that is the original spot for home plate.

The teams moved out of Bloomington in 1982.

They redeveloped the area into the Mall of America, which attracts over 40 million visitors a year.

- We've been told that you know it all.

– Dan Jasper: Well, I know some of it.

- I love a know-it-all.

I do then.

Let's go with that.

- How long have you been here?

- I have worked here for 18 years now.

- 18 years.

- And I see my teams as the storytellers behind the mall.

- Sure.

And it's a good story to tell, isn't it?

- It's an amazing story to tell.

It started with a vision by the Ghermezian family.

They had built a similar mall up in West Edmonton, Canada.

- Mm.

- And we opened 30 years ago now, back in 1992.

- Can we just talk facts about the building?

- Sure.

- So how big is it really?

- It's massive.

It's big, right?

It's 5.6 million square feet.

- There you go.

- Every lap around the mall is 1.15 miles.

So if you walked level one, two, and three kind of quickly... - Yeah.

- You've just done a 5K.

- Visitors come for not just shopping.

- So, we have so many attractions.

We have the theme park, and we have a great aquarium here, and movie theaters, and great dining.

Like, on a weekend in June, you're gonna have probably 150,000, 160,000 people in this building, but it's big enough that it doesn't feel packed, right?

- So is this the only mall that has its own amusement park?

- You're not gonna find anything like it in the world.

- Yeah.

This is an important ride, yes?

- An original attraction to Mall of America.

1992, the infamous Log Chute, and in fact, we have more than 850,000 guests that ride this every single year.

- That's amazing.

- And many of 'em get wet.

- Do they?

- Yes, it's so much fun.

We're not supposed to let people in here.

This is the inner workings of the log chute.

Here's Paul.

There's Babe the Blue Ox.

- Hey, Paul, I've been to your restaurant in Wisconsin Dells!

Remember me?

No.

- So, like, during the holidays, we will dress him up as Santa Claus.

- Santa's outfit.

Comes with a hat.

I love an ensemble!

- It's the secret.

Don't show anyone, please.

- [laughs] It's a great job, isn't it?

- It's an amazing job.

- Yeah.

- But I love it!

- Every year, on Earth Day, there's a group of 75,000 that come to Nickelodeon Universe.

Who are these invited guests?

[quirky music] - Ladybugs, that's right.

The mall releases thousands of these bugs instead of using harmful pesticides to get rid of the bugs that are attracted to some of the 30,000 live plants on the grounds.

The ladybugs are sprinkled right on the plants.

They eat the harmful bugs.

It's the circle of life.

- I've gotta tell you, I was shocked when I saw you pushing this cart.

– Barb Mike: You thought I was a housekeeper.

- Completely.

- All the time.

I have fertilizer, rake, pickers.

- You are the supervisor of horticulture?

- Of interior gardening.

- Do you have any idea how many plants there are here?

- I believe there's around 30,000.

The varieties are picked by what will do the best in this environment.

- Yeah.

- It has to be zone nine or higher.

That's the orange tree.

See the orange?

- Oh, sure, yeah.

What's this gorgeous tree?

- That is a Podocarpus.

- It's really beautiful, isn't it?

- Yeah, yeah, it's very pretty.

A lot of the trees over in this area are original.

We wash 'em down every week, not so much to give 'em water 'cause we have irrigation throughout the park... - Oh, okay.

- But mostly just to get the dust off.

- But you want to clean 'em up a little bit?

- Get the dust off.

- And they love a little water, don't they?

- They do.

So we do a lot of this.

- I'm kind of OCD, all right?

- Nickelodeon Universe... - Okay.

- Is irrigated.

- But the rest of the mall?

- The mall, no irrigation at all.

- No irrigation, so all of that has to be watered.

- Hand watered.

See how fun?

- I'm staying here till I get this one.

Right here.

- All right.

Make sure you can get it.

Do you want to join us?

- I'd have to be part-time, Barb.

- Well, as long as you can start at 5:00.

- 5:00?

- You can be part-time.

- You have no idea.

You're talking to the right person.

- Perfect.

– I love 5: 00.

- There you go.

4:30 would be better.

[laughter] - I love my job.

It's finding the hidden gems in these communities we visit, and this is definitely one of Bloomington's hidden gems.

We're on the campus of Normandale Community College, and if you come to the back of the college, this is what you're gonna find.

You're gonna find the Normandale Japanese Garden.

Hundreds of beautiful plants that are cared for by the college and, of course, trained volunteers.

It opened in 1972, meaning that they are celebrating their 50th anniversary open to the public, open year-round.

[upbeat music] It's fitting that we talk about pickleball here.

It's the Jim Klaseus Pickleball Courts.

Jim Klaseus is the father of pickleball in Minnesota.

– Rachael Kroog: Jim, he actually brought pickleball back from Arizona, and these are the first designated pickleball courts in the Twin Cities area.

- Yeah, your dad taught you how to play?

- Yes, within two years, I had won my first national championship... - Congratulations.

- So I did like it.

- Yeah.

- Whoa, get that one!

- If people don't know pickleball... - It's very easy to pick it up and play.

- Yeah.

- It's difficult to master.

- I want a lesson from them!

– David Dutrieuille: Pickleball, it's open play.

Come one, come all, and if we were here at about 6:00... - Yeah.

- We'd have some roll-up coolers.

- Seriously.

- Yeah, yeah.

It's real serious, you know?

– Rachael Kroog: It's very inviting.

It's just a super friendly sport.

- I think one of the things that's amazing about pickleball is its ability to generate community.

- It's a good experience.

- It's a really good experience.

- Community.

- Community.

- Is there a lot of pickleball in Bloomington?

- It's huge.

I don't think the park and recs can build pickleball courts quickly enough.

- Right.

- There's such a demand.

- 'Cause I can't think of another sport where you can meaningfully put a grandchild, a grandchild, and a parent, and have a truly competitive, belly-laughing experience.

- Yeah.

That's great.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- And you know, the best part about pickleball, too, is you don't have to wear athletic wear.

You can play in what you're playing, too.

- This isn't what I generally wear.

- I know.

Smooth, there it is.

Ready?

Look.

The less effort... - Go get that.

- Yeah, John.

Come on, baby.

Whoo!

- Don't call me baby, okay?

- All right, fair enough.

- [laughs] - We're gonna play a doubles game, right?

- Yeah.

There it is.

That's you.

Yep.

- Good one.

- Good hit.

- Nice one!

- Oh!

- Oh!

Good game.

- Good game.

- That was fun, you guys.

- It was fun.

- Next time, I'm gonna wear my snowmobile suit.

[laughter] - Quality Bicycle Products is the largest distributor of bike parts in all of North America, and you're gonna believe me.

Here, take a look.

See?

– Rich Tauer: So we have bike brands that we own, but we also represent about 450 other companies, and that's-- those are the products that we serve to 5,5000 retailers across the U.S. and another 300 or 400 up in Canada.

- This is the employee parking lot right here.

- Yep.

- These are employee bikes.

Yours is at the end.

- Yep.

It seems to have its own space down there, Rich.

- I'm the first-- I'm one of the first people in.

- Oh, is that how it works?

Let's see who came in last today.

- In the last 15 years, the commuters here at Quality Bicycle Products have ridden over 3 million miles.

- Wow.

Has Bloomington committed itself to the lifestyle of bikers?

- Absolutely.

They have a network of trails, both in parks, as well as streets that have dedicated bike lanes.

This is all of the bike parts.

- Yeah, there is some inventory here.

- Yep, the warehouse is set up based on how far you have to walk to pick the order, and there's a pick path that tells you the most efficient way to go get those things.

- To go get it.

- It's a distribution company, so efficiency is important.

The accuracy of our inventory is critical.

- So how many packages go out of here a day, or--?

- We ship 700, 800 orders a day out of this facility.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

It's an aluminum rim.

So but it has to be assembled into a wheel.

Spokes are done in a particular order, and it has to be done in a particular tension.

You know, it's a science and an art.

- Yep.

- Annually, we do about 80,000 wheels.

- This is really impressive.

- Yeah.

- Okay, so I was given a choice by Rich.

I could either work in wheels or be on wheels, so, um, thanks.

- Absolutely.

- We chose this.

- That's right.

- Let's go; I'm gonna follow you.

- You know, we believe in bikes.

We believe in the value of bikes, and I'm a bike freak, man.

- [laughs] - Move over, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Rochester because Bloomington has got you beat.

Now, it may be fourth in size in this land of 10,000 lakes, but it can claim the top spot in one very important category.

Can you guess what that is?

[quirky music] - Jobs.

It has more jobs per capita than both Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Mall of America has over 11,000 employees each year, and there's another big employer in town, too, the hotels.

There are more than 9,300 hotel rooms in the city alone, thanks to the mall and nearby Minneapolis / St. Paul Airport.

[upbeat music] - That's amazing, isn't it?

It's called the Bush Lake Ski Jump, and I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, "John, you've done that quite a bit, haven't you?"

No, I haven't.

And you're not surprised.

How did this happen?

– Peter Geye: Well, there has been a Minneapolis Ski Club for 98 years.

- Here in Bloomington?

- Here in Bloomington.

- Yeah.

Do you fall a bit?

- Yeah, occasionally.

- Okay.

When was the first time you guys did this?

How old were you?

- Four.

- Four or five.

- Four?

- So we're in the middle of a season that this is not used, yes?

- Well, this particular hill is not used in the summer season... - Yeah.

- But we have three jumps over here that are summer jumpable.

You can see those glistening stainless-steel tracks.

And we run water down the track so that they're lubricated, but if you imagine spaghetti that is laid like shingles... - Okay.

- And then, we water that.

And it works exactly the same as it does in the wintertime, except for we're sweating instead of freezing.

- Like, I can't imagine being like, "Okay, I'm ready to do it."

- That little jump there.

Like, I mean, anyone who's ever been on skis and has just an iota of ability could go off that jump... - They could.

- If they had the courage to do it.

- I have nothing.

- And then you move to the next jump, and you just make the progression.

- Do you have friends in school that do the same thing?

– Nathan Krotz: No, I'm the only one at my school.

- Why?

- I don't know.

I don't understand it.

- Right?

How well they do is judged as how far they go, yes?

- How far they go, but also how stylishly they do it.

- Yeah, so, like, in the air, you wanna have a good form, you know, not-- your skis don't want to move too much.

And when you're landing, especially, you want to have one foot in front of the other.

It's called the Telemark position, and that gets you extra points.

- What's the future of this for you?

- I would love to go to the Olympics.

- You would?

- Yeah, Olympics and World Cup.

- It's been 30 years since I went off a ski jump, but I can recall it perfectly.

- Oh, my God.

How great is that?

- But I'm telling you, from the first time that I went off a jump, from the very first time, that I can remember as a seven-year-old thinking, "This is what I'm gonna do."

- And I did it until I was 20 years old.

I used to be nuts.

I'm not nuts anymore.

Fun stuff, huh?

- I'm next.

[laughter] In this building on the corner of 90th and Penn Street in Bloomington, Minnesota are some of the most precious pieces of African art.

This is Mhiripiri Gallery, and it's a one-of-a-kind place.

The story began in 1986 that led this husband-and-wife team to this building in 2005, a building that they now own.

They have collectors from all over the world that shop here.

This is an unexpected, incredible find right here-- a gem in Bloomington, Minnesota!

- Bloomington can claim another title in Minnesota.

They have one of the longest murals in the state.

So it's near the Mall of America in what's called the South Loop.

The "WE Mural" was created in 2021, and it showcases storylines of diversity.

It's all part of an interactive art exhibit that you can navigate all using an app.

The community wanted more areas to walk around, but good news, the app isn't just for Bloomington.

There are other spots across the U.S. that you can use it for.

- So I've got the right address, but this feels like an industrial park.

Could this place be in an industrial park?

It's the home of Nine Mile Brewing Company.

Take a look at this place.

It's just so not what I expected.

So we heard that this was the first taproom that opened in the city of Bloomington, and it was 2019.

We were like, "That's gotta be wrong."

- It's a little crazy, isn't it?

- It is.

- Exactly.

- Tell the story.

- Bloomington had a city charter that was way back from the old days.

So there's three ways that you can sell alcohol in Bloomington.

You can be a restaurant/bar, you can be a private club, or you can be a hotel restaurant.

Taprooms did not fit into that whatsoever.

So we actually had to get a question put on the ballot in 2019, and we needed 55% of the people to vote 'yes' to remove that language, and 78% voted yes.

- 78%.

- Yes, so people were ready for taprooms.

- Is your history beer?

- My history is in insurance.

So, I asked my wife.

I said, "Would it be crazy if I quit my job and did this?"

She, of course, said, "That would be crazy."

But so far, it's been really fun and a great success.

Taprooms have an industrial feel.

We're a manufacturing facility technically, right?

We're making beer, so we like the fact that it's industrial, and we try to put some soft touches in there.

- Are there any other taprooms in town?

- No other taprooms in Bloomington.

- This is it.

- And as far as I know, no one's planning one, but I've said, and I will stand by this, I would be fine with two or three more 'cause I think Bloomington is big enough.

- Right.

- Focus is interacting with people, playing games, a sense of community, just sitting down and having a conversation over a really nice beer.

- Like, a beer garden on the side is perfect.

- Absolutely.

- We've got the little game area down there.

- Cornhole, of course.

- Yep.

- But we really should talk about your beer a little bit, don't you think?

- Yes.

We have four core beers, but then we do want to have things that rotate through, especially seasonal.

- And so it's really fun to watch these guys start to be creative and do a lot more different.

– John Leingang: We knew we'd be busy, but I didn't think we'd be this busy.

- Oh, is that right?

- Especially, like, the first, you know, few weeks, month.

- First couple months.

- Yeah, it's been great.

- Minnesota knows a thing or two about blizzards, and not just the kind that give you a snow day.

What restaurant scooped up this big building in Bloomington, Minnesota and made it its corporate headquarters?

[quirky music] - That would be Dairy Queen International.

The new office space opened in 2019, and get this, you might think that the largest Dairy Queen restaurant would be in Minnesota, but it's not.

It's actually in Illinois.

Finally, me and my Blizzard.

Mm!

Gosh, I so love this job.

- I've been looking forward to visiting this building since I arrived in Bloomington.

I bet you're thinking, "Oh, John, are we going to the doctor with you?"

No.

We're going to Wally's Roast Beef.

Yeah, take a look.

You didn't see that coming, did you?

- We can't come to this community without coming here, right?

– Tyler Wagner: That's right, staple.

- We heard that.

How long has it been around?

- It's been in this location about 15 years, and it's been in existence about 50 years.

- And who's Wally?

- Wally was the original owner.

All the kids would come over after high school and get sandwiches for a dollar.

- And lunch is what you had.

- Just lunch.

- Yeah, what's special about your roast beef?

- How long we take to cook it.

We cook it overnight, we cook it slow, and we make sure it's nice and tender when it comes out.

- Good to see you.

What we gonna do?

– Eduardo Reyes: We make, prep sandwiches... roast beef.

We have 2.5 ounces for sandwich.

- And how many of these do you go through a day?

- About 300 or 400 sandwiches.

- 300 or 400?

- Yes.

- A day?

- Yeah.

- Perfect.

- Yes, perfect.

- How do you do this now?

- Fold it like Christmas gift.

- Like a Christmas gift.

[laughs] In the window.

What's on a blue plate?

We put in about 4 ounces.

- 4 ounces.

- Almost, yeah.

- And now we're putting the au jus a little bit.

Wet 'em up in the au jus.

- Oh, okay.

What is it seasoned with?

- Secret recipe.

- Secret recipe.

- Secret recipe.

Yeah, the restaurant-- - Are you gonna tell me?

[laughs] - [speaks Spanish] - [laughs] There we go.

- [speaks Spanish] - For you.

- [speaks Spanish] - For you.

- Oh, it looks great.

What's on a red plate?

Oh, is it meatloaf?

- Meatloaf, meatloaf.

- Okay.

Oh, that looks good.

- Yeah, it's that red plate.

- What's green?

- Green is turkey.

- Turkey.

- Yeah, turkey.

- Let me help you.

- Yes, thank you.

- Do you make the gravy?

- Yes, everything.

- You make-- - I make everything here.

[laughter] - So I got a question.

Instead of saying it's a blue plate or a red plate or a green plate special, couldn't they just say turkey, meatloaf, or beef?

Hmm?

Perfectamente, see?

- Yeah.

- Ta-da.

Delicious.

Could have this every day.

You know I could.

Driving around Bloomington, you quickly go from growing business development to the middle of nature.

That's what makes Bloomington so unique and unexpected.

It's great.

- There's nowhere else I'd rather be The heart and soul of community's right here - This is what dreams are made of.

[laughter] I couldn't think of it.

- I have no Oreos in my teeth, right?

- I'm gonna stare deeply into your eyes.

- Yeah, don't do that.

- No, no, I won't.

[laughter] - I don't know what I'm saying.

- Whoo!

Let's go, baby!

- Go, baby, go, baby!

- "John McGivern's Main Streets" thanks the following underwriters.

[pleasant music] - Greendale is proud to be the inspiration for "John McGivern's Main Streets."

This historic village is a real place where all are welcome to gather, to shop, to enjoy.

Charming, vibrant, joyful, welcoming.

You've just gotta see Greendale.

[exciting music] - I'm on my way Oh, it's time to hit the road I'm on my way This is the freedom I live for - Remember when the American dream was being able to say, "I made that.

I built that."

Wouldn't it be great if your kids and grandkids chose a career that provides that kind of pride, with good pay, but without a ton of student loan debt?

A four-year degree isn't the only path to success.

We need talented people to make and build on main streets everywhere.

Skilled work isn't a thing of the past; it's a bright future.

- Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Plum Media and the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Thanks, friends!

- I bet you got some muscles, too, don't you?

'Cause I'm kind of like, "Oh, my God."

- You've only been doing it for one minute.

- I know!

How long?

- No, you can't join my crew, sorry.

[laughter]