Rapp Strategies Rundown – June

What we did, read, watched and thought about this month.

Todd R.: First, an RSI Rundown shoutout to Indianapolis, Indiana. The convention center area has state government, museums, NCAA headquarters, Lucas Oil Stadium, the Zoo, minor league baseball, the canal walk and a ton of great restaurants. Easy to walk, filled with energy and St. Elmo’s is as good as they say. Just finished Zero Fail, a story of the troubled record of the modern Secret Service – excellent behind-the-scenes look at an underfunded organization that is struggling to adapt in many ways. Our favorite teams are no longer in the Stanley Cup playoffs, so we are trying to finish Mare of Easttown and a few other binge-worthy selections. And, more walks and visits with friends now that the weather is so great!

Alyssa: Other than following the plight of poor Britney Spears and the never-ending Minnesota legislative session (...maybe there are commonalities between the two - I think we all just want our lives back), there has not been a lot of media consumption on my part this month. June has been consumed by my oldest daughter's graduation from Blaine High School and we’ve been on the graduation party circuit ever since.

Rich: June felt like getting back very close to normal. With high vaccination rates and low levels of infection came more face-to-face meetings, and dinners out of the house. I also played a lot of golf in June, highlighted by partnering with Todd Rapp to play well in the Edina Invitational.

Kari and I travelled to Chicago for a wedding; our third time on an airplane since being fully vaccinated. We attended several graduation parties filled with energy and excitement.

Our family will be leaving Sunday for the Hamptons for the July 4th holiday. Since Christmas 2019, we have only been together once; in May, 2021. This trip will be the second time. I plan to finish reading A Promised Land on a beautiful beach.

Todd S.: We are on fumes after a month of soccer tournaments and recognizing big dates. From mid-May to through the third week in June, we celebrated Mother’s Day, my wife’s birthday, our wedding anniversary, the birth of our first child and Father’s Day. Looking forward to using my Father’s Day gift — an outing with the family to see a St. Paul Saints baseball game. Should be fun.

Sarah: I’m going to cheat a bit and include the end of May. Our wedding day was incredible and exactly what we both wanted. The first week and a half of June we spent in Croatia on our honeymoon. Having family ties to Croatia has always made it high up on my bucket list, but it surpassed all our expectations. Because tourism just opened there, we often felt like we had Dubrovnik (famous for Game of Thrones and over-tourism!) to ourselves. We loved our time at the Hotel Excelsior, swimming in the Adriatic, renting a private sailboat to see the Elafiti Island, eating gelato and taking in one of the best sunsets of our lives from the top of mount Srđ. In Zagreb we really dove into Croatian cuisine – the food at Restaurant Agava is something we’ll talk about for the rest of our lives. We tried Zagorje Strukli (a regional food made from dough and cottage cheese), sok od bazge (elderflower juice), medica (honey brandy) and risotto with Pag island cheese.

You might think after all that, coming home would be boring! But we’ve had an exciting month home, too! My garden is starting to bear a harvest – lettuce, onions, flowers – and my younger sister got to have her wedding day “post” COVID. When we’re not unpacking, we’ve been enjoying the second season of Lupin and started Manifest, both on Netflix.

Anna: The word that comes to mind for June is humid! Despite the Southern heat, I found ways to stay active this month, including walks and runs around the neighborhood (where I’ve spotted an armadillo, coyote and countless geckos). Puzzles featuring European landmarks are a new favorite pastime, and I enjoyed reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. The Instant Pot has been handy when I’d rather not warm up the house – best healthy recipes from the month included butter chicken and Mediterranean quinoa. Of course, life is all about balance, so a trip to Waffle House was also in order to celebrate my husband’s first flight as a helicopter pilot.

Cullen: Another month, another packed calendar. June kicked off with weddings on back-to-back weekends, followed by a road trip out to Colorado Springs, CO to participate in the Colorado Spartan Race. No running for me (ACL is still on the mend), but I had a blast playing support staff while two of my good friends placed top 15 in their age group. We also made time to check out the Garden of the Gods and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum.

I celebrated my (golden!) birthday on the 23rd with a delicious family dinner before spending the weekend in Madison, WI where I made an obligatory stop at the Capitol Square Farmer’s Market. My girlfriend and I also checked out the dueling pianos at the Ivory Room, which I couldn’t recommend more highly.

I chose In The Heights as my first movie to see back in theaters, and it did not disappoint – colorful, energetic and phenomenal music (a given, with Lin-Manuel Miranda). I also thoroughly enjoyed Bo Burnham’s new special, Inside.

Jessica: Wow, June absolutely flew by! My birthday was on the 2nd (cheers to 23!), and I celebrated with friends by enjoying wine slushies at Wine Haven in Chisago and brunch in downtown Minneapolis on CRAVE’s rooftop. I’m currently testing my luck with trivia nights at different breweries throughout the Twin Cities. So far, my team has been cruising into 3rd place consistently and we’ve enjoyed some great brews at Utepils and Lakes and Legends. I also traveled up north to Alexandria, MN for some much-needed time on the lake and on the jet skis. In my downtime, I’ve been enjoying The Bachelorette, I Think You Should Leave, and Bo Burnham’s Netflix special Inside (multiple times).

Jayme: My very first rundown! June was packed with outdoor activities and spending time with family since we’re all vaccinated and itching to take advantage of the Midwestern summer weather. And of course, I started at Rapp Strategies halfway through this month! In the weeks leading up to my start date I spent much of my time reading at the park or on the beach - I live five blocks from Lake Michigan, which makes lounging in the sun hard to resist.

I also made a weekend trip out to the Twin Cities, where my husband and I got to explore different areas to live, tried some local BBQ at Bark and The Bite, drank lots of coffee from Spyhouse and Claddagh Coffee and made a stop by the famous Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The area is beautiful, and we look forward to more explorations in our new city! (Although, I will forever remain a Green Bay Packers fan - you can take the girl out of Wisconsin, but...you know the rest). 

We celebrated Father's Day by mini golfing with my family in Appleton, WI, where I came in last place...what can I say? I have never been great at sports that involved hand-eye coordination, but at least I try! We also celebrated my mom’s birthday by treating her to one of our favorite restaurants in Milwaukee, La Merenda.

I am currently on a collection of short stories kick and have really enjoyed Salt Slow by Julia Armfield and When Watched by Leopoldine Core. When I’m not reading, I’m bingeing Schitt’s Creek and re-watching Survivor on Hulu. The rest of the month included enjoying the remaining time we have in Milwaukee and plenty of packing as we get ready for our move to the Twin Cities. Looking forward to eventually being in office!