MINNEAPOLIS — The city of lakes will be a sea of jerseys with Minnesota’s top teams in town and in action.

On Saturday, the Minnesota Golden Gophers take on the Nevada Wolf Pack at Huntington Bank Stadium, the Twins are looking to knock it out the park against Cincinnati Reds and the Red Bull Showrun is turning downtown Minneapolis streets into a racetrack.

Legendary Driver David Coulthard will zoom through a predetermined route in the championship-winning RB7 car.

Street freestyle motorcyclist Aaron Colton and former F1 driver and rally car champion, Scott Speed, will also be there to entertain the crowd.

“It gives you an opportunity to get up close to an F1 car in a way you never get unless you went to the Singapore Grand Prix,” Coulthard said.

The event starts at noon and is free to attend.

All the excitement comes to a head on Sunday as the Vikings take on the 49ers.

Jesse Manriquez is a lifelong fan and flew in from California just for the game.

“I would like to tell you I fell in love with the color purple, but in those days it was black and white TV,” Manriquez said. “I just fell in love with the Vikings.”

He’s typically surrounded by 49ers fans like his son, who was in red and black outside US Bank Stadium on Friday.

No matter who you cheer for, Manriquez made one thing clear.

“The fans and ‘Minnesota nice’ can’t be beat,” he said.

The cheapest tickets to the game are about $100. If you can’t make it inside don’t worry, we’ve got you covered here on WCCO with kickoff at noon.

More than 200,000 people are expected to be in Minneapolis this weekend.

Minneapolis hotels have recorded more than recorded more than $42.1 million in total guest room revenue in August — the third straight month with revenue above $42 million.

Chicago’s Taste Authority, a south Minneapolis staple for Chicago dogs, chili dogs, and Italian beef sandwiches, made good on its summertime announcement that it would not renew its lease: The restaurant will officially close September 21, per a post on its Facebook page. In July, owner Rob Dubnecay told Minnesota Monthly that rent increases had driven the business out — when he opened 20 years ago, his rent was $1800, but these days, he’s staring down $6000 per month, he claims. Or, as it was phrased in the Facebook post: “Our rent soared higher than a foul ball at Wrigley Field.” Dubnecay told Minnesota Monthly that the closure he’s actively looking for a new space to rent, so there’s a chance that CTA will rise again. “Our leaving does not have anything to do with South Minneapolis,” he said at the time. “We have enjoyed and grown up here. The neighborhood has always supported the business, just as we have supported the neighborhood.”

Travail schemes up new Northeast plans

Travail Kitchen and Amusements is opening a cocktail bar in Northeast Minneapolis, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine reports, at the same burgeoning intersection that’s home to Young Joni, Vinai, Oro by Nixta, and Anchor Fish & Chips. Stargazer, as the new spot is named, is nestled into the narrow space that was once Dangerous Man’s growler pick-up bar, right next to Vinai — it’ll seat 40, with a horseshoe bar, a handful of booths, and a midnight-black interior, plus a ceiling studded with stars. Travail brought Meteor’s Robb Jones as beverage director: At Stargazer, he’s eschewing batched drinks, emphasizing instead a made-to-order cocktail experience. There will be snacks, too. Look for an opening sometime in October.

Federal labor complaint filed against Kim’s

Unite Here Local 17, the hospitality union that represents former workers at Minneapolis restaurant Kim’s, which closed in August, has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the restaurant and chef Ann Kim’s restaurant group, Vestalia Hospitality. The charges will be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board. Unite Here alleges that Vestalia failed to give workers the opportunity to bargain about the closure, as businesses are typically required to do according to federal labor law. The union also alleges that it has submitted requests for financial information about the restaurant, given that Vestalia cited “ongoing financial losses” as the reason for the closure, but that the restaurant has not fulfilled those requests. The charges include “issues” during the workers’ election period when Kim and Vestalia management “repeatedly expressed their anti-union position within and outside the workplace,” Unite Here alleges. Vestalia did not respond to a request for comment.

Vellee Deli navigates a new path

Vellee Deli — the food truck-turned-full service restaurant and skyway hit known for its Mexican and Asian fusion tacos, burritos, and banh mi — has had a hell of a week. On September 8, owners Will Xiong and Joyce Truong announced on Instagram that they are facing eviction at their Northeast restaurant, temporarily closing all three Vellee Deli locations (in Northeast, the downtown Minneapolis skyway, and Brooklyn Park), and launching a fundraiser to keep the business open. On September 12, the owners announced that they would reopen the downtown Minneapolis skyway location. “We can either take the easy path — sign the papers, close our Vellee journey, and start fresh — or we can choose the hard road: grind every day and fight until they knock on our door and say it’s over,” they wrote. Per the updates on their fundraiser, however, it seems that negotiations for the Northeast location are not going well. Keep an eye on Instagram for the latest.