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Imagine stepping into a corner wine bar. As the door closes, the outside world disappears and the soothing tones of a deep cut off a favorite album envelop you. Tables are spaced out, making it easy to slide into an empty space. A sommelier stops by and walks through the family history of a winemaker from a countryside village. Liquid tumbles into the glass, and the first swirl unlocks beguiling aromas. Then, there's the taste; complex and cool. Welcome to Small Hours.

This new hi-fi wine bar, which puts equal importance on wine and sound, is the work of sommelier Sarina Garibovi? and songwriter/musician Sam Cassidy. The duo are hard at work building out the space at 2201 NE. 2nd St. in Minneapolis to create a room with around 30 seats, a sound system bolstered by the room's thoughtful sound construction, and painstakingly curated wine and music lists. With luck and good construction karma, this dream of theirs should be a reality sometime this summer.

Garibovi? is one of the most sought-after wine palates in town. She has a gift for sussing out special bottles with intricate flavors and incredible stories. Until now, we've had to hunt for her picks at local restaurants around the Twin Cities.

Born in Croatia, she had moved to Tempe, Ariz., and visited Minnesota for the first time as an adult. It was springtime — when the trees are budding and the new green is poking through the ground. "I was like, 'Oh, get me out of the beige,' " she recalled. And then she moved here.

Working in the hospitality industry, she made fast friends and built a reputation for being able to weave hospitality magic by matching guests' tastes with wine pours. A certified sommelier, she worked at Blackbird, Restaurant Alma and the Libation Project. Then, when the pandemic hit, the way we drank and enjoyed wine changed. So did Garibovi?.

She, along with two other women, founded Ženska Glava, a beverage collective that taught classes, held pop-ups at wine shops and, once new restaurants started to return, consulted on bar programs, like the one at Herbst Eatery & Farm Stand in St. Paul.

"I grew up in a really diverse environment and restaurants are kind of a microcosm of that. It was people from different places who spoke different languages from different socioeconomic backgrounds. That felt comfortable," said Garibovi?. "And you're creating something together."

But the plan for Ženska Glava had always been to use it as a launchpad.

"While things were closed, I really had a chance to think about what could be different," she said. "I had time to think, what do I actually want to do? What do I want to wake up and look forward to? I'm so passionate about wine and I don't want to have to get up every day and have someone else tell me what to do."

Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

A baseline of trust

Garibovi? and Cassidy met at the wedding of a mutual friend. "His girlfriend is my very good friend," said Garibovi?. "She said you two should talk, you both want to do the same thing."

She was right. The minute the two began talking, ideas and ideals lined up. They met for brunch the next day, and the conversation was electric. Soon Small Hours was conceived.

"Sam is a really kind person who shows up in the world and thinks about others," Garibovi? said. "He thinks, 'What can I contribute to the world,' instead of what he can take away from it. I thought, yeah — I'm in alignment."

"I think it started with a baseline of trust," Cassidy said.

Cassidy is a local songwriter and musician with a carpentry day job. His business dream was more about the profound impacts of sound. When the stages went quiet during the pandemic, he, too, was thinking about what he wanted to do next. The idea was more of an intentional gathering space than a large venue.

As things opened back up, he was watching the rising trend of hi-fi bars, where people go to enjoy the music and atmosphere as much as exceptional wine and food. With his industry connections, lifelong passion for music and appreciation for sound, Cassidy dove deep on how to create a room and music to fill it with a specific vibe.

Small Hours will be intentionally intimate with a small staff, and Garibovi? pouring bottles and telling the stories of each one for those who want to learn more. She's been selecting this wine list in her head for years.

"I think you get to a point where you love it so much that you just want to share that with people," she said. "I want it to be more about the wine producers than the [grape] varietal." And for those who might not know how to order that way, Garibovi? will be there to make introductions.

There will also be a selection of wine-friendly foods for grazing, like fresh-baked bread and an assortment of tinned fish. The menu is still in development.

Meanwhile, Cassidy will direct the mood. "There will be a delicately curated record selection and we've acoustically treated the room — which means there are a lot of technical details to make it sound nice," he said. "There will be a good mix of vintage gear — big, old horn speakers and a couple of turntables." Cassidy has compiled extensive plans for what will be played and when.

"I love the idea of playing whole albums," he said. "I love experiencing the whole thing, but that's just not how we experience music now. Everything is so driven by an algorithm — it's all short playlists."

Not only will be music be selected to build the mood, but the room is built to reflect the music. While it's playing, guests will still be able to enjoy intimate conversations.

"We'll create this specific Minneapolis thing in this space, in this historic neighborhood, and turn it into something that's never been done before," Cassidy said.

Experience Small Hours

As a preview, Sarina Garibovi? and Sam Cassidy will hold their first pop-up Feb. 21 at Cafe Alma. Garibovi? will pour wines to pair with an Alma vibe, and Cassidy will be spinning records. Tickets are $25 and will be available on Tock.

Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

As church members rushed to hang red decorations around the auditorium, the dancers were practicing stances and lifts for their lions’ movements.

The 16-day cultural festival starts on Saturday, ushering in the Year of the Dragon and good luck for the new year. But the dancers had already performed at several Lunar New Year celebrations in the Twin Cities area for Chinese and Vietnamese communities, with more scheduled.

“I think at this point, everybody’s very tired,” said Minh Pham, 23, choreographer of Minneapolis-based DTG Lions. “We’re trying to put everything we have into all of the lions that we have, and yeah, just excited for really awesome performances.”

The dance group is based in St. Anne’s Vietnamese church community. It’s mostly made up of high school students, who spend their Saturdays practicing and performing.

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Lion dancing stems from ancient folklore

Lion dance is a complex style of cultural dance that comes from China, but is an art form that is also performed in Vietnamese and Korean culture. Two dancers must be in sync to deliver powerful movements and dynamic lifts, mimicking the actions of a lion. One dancer stands inside the head, pulling strings to make the lion blink and open its mouth, while the other holds the first dancer’s hips and acts as the lion’s behind.

It’s an ancient tradition that stems from an old folklore and is believed to chase evil spirits away.

“Back then, around the Lunar New Years, there used to be demons, these monsters that would come and attack the villages, right. And the story goes, one day, there was these mythical creatures — that look very similar to lions you’ll see today — these mythical creatures, they come in and they save the village, and everybody’s super grateful,” said Minh.

To bring the spirit of the lions back the following year, the villagers started making mascots resembling the mythical creatures — similar to the lions that are seen today. They typically have a mirror on top of the center of the head, which is meant to drive the evil spirits away when they see their reflection.

The tradition has evolved into art performance and is a staple for Lunar New Year celebrations. Lion dance is typically accompanied by music from drums, cymbals and gongs. DTG Lions has a few members who specialize in playing those instruments.

“For the drum part, it helps guide the lions but also is the heartbeat of it. And it sets the tone of the story and also emphasizes that as we have various tempos and dynamics throughout the whole performance,” said Thomas Tran.

DTG Lions means community for young Vietnamese Minnesotans

For the younger generation of Vietnamese Minnesotans at St. Anne’s like Tran, DTG Lions is a special community.

“For me, it’s just nice to have a Vietnamese community that's all similar to me and they all just enjoy the same thing that I do,” said Tran, who’s 17 years old.

Although lion dancing is an old tradition, it’s been a unique way for people in DTG Lions to both connect with their culture and build friendships.

“On the weekdays, these kids are going to American school, they're hanging out with their American friends and all that stuff. But I think the beauty is you have that one day a week where you can come as a Vietnamese community, learn our tradition, hang out with people within our community, and really share that with other people when we go out and perform,” said Minh.

Minh leads DTG Lions with Michael Pham, 24, who is in charge of physical training for the group. They both have been with DTG Lions for at least five years and remember a time when they had only a handful of people performing in the group.

Now, it’s grown rapidly over the past two years as they’ve expanded to performing outside of their church community.

“What sets us apart is the amount of youth, the amount of kids that we have in our group. And we're always growing,” said Michael.

Al Nolen was barely removed from playing for the Gophers and pro basketball overseas in 2013, when he was hired as dean of students for seventh grade at Anthony Middle School in Minneapolis.

Sitting in his office to start his new job, Nolen received a surprise visitor. It was fellow Gophers alum Clyde Turner, a former Big Ten champion and longtime humanitarian with his Twin Cities youth camps.

Nolen, the new Gophers men's basketball radio analyst this season, learned then how to use his platform to make an impact in the community. The Al Nolen Foundation has helped to continue Turner's legacy of providing training and educational opportunities for inner-city youth after his death in 2022.

"Clyde was integral in helping guide me," Nolen said. "He played a huge part in my life as far as being able to see somebody — a role model that I can follow once I was done with basketball. Someone to show me how I could figure out ways to give back."

Nolen, a point guard for the Gophers from 2007-11, joined more than 50 former men's basketball players and staff during an alumni celebration Saturday at Williams Arena.

Among the Gophers alum on the raised floor, Nolen wasn't the most accomplished as a player.. But he did reach the NCAA tournament with the Gophers in 2009 and 2010 under then-coach Tubby Smith.

Voice of the Gophers Mike Grimm, who worked with ex-player Spencer Tollackson for 13 seasons, admired Nolen from his playing days. Grimm remembers Nolen, a former Minneapolis Henry standout, carrying the Gophers to a win vs. Rick Pitino's top-10 ranked Louisville team in 2008.

"He's one of the better perimeter defenders Minnesota's ever had," Grimm said. "But they couldn't stop him from penetrating. He would penetrate, dish, and get to the line. I think he had 18 points and that stayed as his career high. That win was probably what got them in the [NCAAs]. Louisville was the No. 1 overall seed."

The Gophers were ranked 16th nationally with six weeks left in Nolen's senior year, but they failed to reach a third straight NCAA appearance after he broke his foot.

This season, when the Gophers played at Michigan on Jan. 4, it was Nolen's first time back at Crisler Arena since he injured his foot there in the final game of his college career. It was an eerie feeling, but he was excited about the new chapter in his basketball life.

"It was a full circle moment," Nolen said. "To see the gutsy road win they had and to see the great guard play from [Elijah] Hawkins, [Mike] Mitchell, [Braeden] Carrington and [Cam] Christie was really a sight to see. And to be calling it there was a dream come true."

Nolen said Grimm has been patient with him as he develops his in-game analysis, since he's still a rookie, but their on-air chemistry is blossoming.

"I've been really enjoying it a lot," Nolen said. "This is an exciting team. Coach Johnson is doing an amazing job coaching and managing his whole program. Working alongside Mike Grimm has been really good. He's teaching me a lot."

Turner taught Nolen a lot, too. Nolen's father remembered when Turner was a 6-7 forward who started with fellow legends Dave Winfield and Jim Brewer on the Gophers' 1972 Big Ten championship team.

Decades later, Nolen's parents sent him around the corner from their North Minneapolis home to Fairview Recreation Center to attend Turner's summer basketball camps that ran for more than 30 years.

"[Turner's] sports playing career even kind of got lost in the background," Nolen said. "Because all the kids in the community knew him from Clyde Turner Basketball Camps."

Nolen started a basketball training business with his first clinics at St. Croix Prep in Stillwater in 2014, but he eventually moved to his hometown of Minneapolis. Through donations and fundraising, kids would attend his clinics for free. His foundation started at Northside Park in 2019, the same year Turner's camp ended.

Turner's outreach strived to empower youth through education as well as basketball. Nolen's foundation hopes to keep that idea going strong – and help at-risk youth tackle other challenges, too, such as mental health, financial literacy, social justice and wellness and nutrition.

"Trying to follow in the footsteps of Clyde Turner and continue to support our community," Nolen said. "That's really been huge for me to pay it forward and mimic what our greats and alums have done."

FULLER'S FIVE

Kamil Krzaczynski

Five Minnesota ballers who stood out:

Cam Christie, Gophers

The 6-6 freshman guard backed up the Big Ten freshman of the week honor Monday by scoring 19 points in Tuesday's win against Michigan State. He has 51 points combined in the U's three straight wins.

Lauren Jensen, Creighton

The 5-10 senior from Lakeville has scored at least 17 points six times during Creighton's nine-game win streak, including 19 in back-to-back games vs. Marquette and Butler last week.

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, Totino-Grace

The 6-7 senior and Miami recruit had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the No. 1 Class 3A Eagles in a win last Friday at No. 1 Class 4A Park Center. Junior Chase Watley also had 27.

Kyle Jorgensen, Washburn

The 6-9 senior and Colorado State recruit had 24 points and 19 rebounds in a win Monday vs. Minneapolis South. He has scored at least 20 points in nine of 10 games.

Amy Thompson, Stillwater

The 5-11 senior and South Florida recruit erupted for 92 points and 15 threes combined in back-to-back wins last week, including a career-high 48 points for the Ponies at Forest Lake.

NUMBERS GAME

Alex Kormann

3,000 Career points milestone for Providence Academy sophomore Maddyn Greenway, the second-fastest girls player in state history to achieve the mark.

500 Career assists for Elijah Hawkins, reached Tuesday vs. Michigan State. Hawkins leads the nation with 7.7 assists per game.

50 Points reached in back-to-back games for Duluth Marshall's Brooks Johnson, brother of star eighth-grader Chloe Johnson. He has five 50-point games in his career.

30 Points scored in back-to-back games for sophomore Amber Scalia during St. Thomas women's three-game win streak.

13 Three pointers made by Annandale junior Emerson Helget, tying the state single-game record last week in a win vs. Dassel-Cokato. She had 19 attempts.

. . .

Basketball Across Minnesota will be published weekly on startribune.com. Don't be a stranger on X after reading — chatting about these stories makes them even more fun to share. Thanks, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on X).

Minneapolis Animal Care and Control got a funding boost this year that will help to expand the shelter's hours and hire more staff.

The city-run shelter and animal control unit is getting more than $600,000 from the city — more than half of which is for hiring animal care technicians and staff.

More than $365,000 of the funds will cover hiring two animal care technicians, one customer service representative and increasing the shelter’s food, materials and supply budget by $90,000. Another $250,000 will be used to help renovate the shelter.

“We have seen an increase in cruelty cases and neglect cases and abuse and it's taking a toll. We have to be able to respond,” said Enrique Velazquez, the city’s regulatory services director. “We have to respond with our staff, with our hours, with how we do our work. That also takes money and investment.”

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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey visited the shelter Tuesday to talk about the additional funding. He said during the pandemic, a lot of people got pets. Now, some of those pets are being abandoned or turned in.

“What's happening increasingly is that Minneapolis Animal Care and Control is at capacity and even sometimes overwhelmed,” Frey said. “And so these incredible people behind me are doing amazing work to make sure that all of these loving animals back there get adopted.”

The shelter has been running at capacity for much of the year so far. The city is cutting fees for Minneapolis residents looking to adopt animals — the fee for adopting a dog or cat is now free. Non-Minneapolis residents who want to adopt either a cat or dog will see reduced adoption fees, and all exotic birds or small animals at the shelter will have reduced fees to adopt as well.

For more information on the shelter and the adoption process, visit their website. You can also visit the shelter at 212 17th Ave. N, between 1 and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Thursdays.