The world's best pickleball players are competing in Lakeville this week

The PPA Tour Indoor National Championships run today through Jan 25th at Life Time in Lakeville.

This is the highest level of competitive pickleball. Anna Leigh Waters (world #1), plus all the top pros. You can watch matches throughout the week, but Sunday January 25th is championship day. That's when the finals happen.

You can meet the players after their matches too. It's not often you get to watch world-class athletes compete right here in the South Metro, then actually talk to them afterward.

Rosemount's Getting a $1 Billion Aerospace Testing Facility (Yes, Really)

We've been talking about this one for a couple months now, but last week was the official kickoff: The Minnesota Aerospace Complex is happening.

It's a $1 billion hypersonic testing campus coming to 60 acres at UMore Park in Rosemount, the old WWII munitions site just south of Meta's data center.

St. Paul–based North Wind is leading the project with the University of Minnesota, and when it's done around 2030, it'll be one of the most advanced facilities in the country for testing aircraft that fly at Mach 5+.

That's five times the speed of sound. Roughly 3,800 mph. The kind of speeds where normal engineering just doesn't work anymore.

The complex will have nearly 250,000 square feet of wind tunnels, engineering labs, and support buildings. The U of M is building a 60,000-square-foot advanced engineering facility on site.

Here's what it means for Rosemount and Dakota County:
✅ The contaminated site gets cleaned up.
✅ Thousands of construction and permanent high-skilled jobs.
✅ A massive addition to the tax base—not just from the complex itself, but from the aerospace and advanced manufacturing companies expected to locate around it.

The work will focus on testing for NASA, the military, and commercial aerospace companies—basically anyone developing vehicles that need to fly absurdly fast.

And just for context: This is the kind of technology that could eventually make it possible to take off from MSP and reach Hawaii in about an hour.

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10391 188th St W, Lakeville

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Free State Parks Day (Minnesota State Parks)
Today’s one of only four free admission days at Minnesota State Parks this year, but with a feels-like temp of -25° and highs barely hitting 2°, you'll earn serious bragging rights for braving it. See future dates.

Hockey Day MN First Week Kicks Off (Hastings)
Hockey Day kicks off Monday with USA vs Canada military matchup and high school showdowns, Tuesday brings Hastings vs Edina bantam action, and Wednesday's the big night, NHL Alumni game (USA vs World) plus celebrity meet-and-greets. See full week schedule.

Viking Lakes Ice Festival (Eagan)
8,000 sq ft ice walkthrough, full ice bar, lumberjack shows, live music, skating, and winter fun from Jan 16-25, just $8 weeknights, $13 weekends (5 and under free). See more details.

Jazz Night (Southern Social, Eagan)
Live jazz with Leighton Tuenge and themed cocktails from 6-9pm, perfect Monday night vibe to shake off the cold. Directions.

Reality TV Trivia (OMNI Brewery at 7pm, Rosemount)
Test your Real Housewives, MTV, and Love Island knowledge while the tea stays hot inside, prizes for top three teams, max 6 players. Get directions.

Closet Clean Out & Shop (Rhino Wine Bar, Prior Lake)
Bring clothes to donate, save 20% on your entire Ali Madi Boutique purchase, sip wine (or non-alcoholic options), and support women in need. Get directions.

Music Bingo (Boardwalk Kitchen & Bar, Shakopee)
Tuesday night music bingo in The Stable starting at 6pm, drinks, tunes you know, and prizes you'll win. Win big.