The world cried out when musical icon Prince passed on April 21st at his Paisley Park residence in Chanhassen, Minnesota. While the tragedy of Prince's death has impacted so many, Minnesotans have truly felt an immense depression with the loss of their hometown hero.
Minnesota is a different kind of state. While it is quite large in both size and population, the state is very tight-knit, so much so that it's more of a small town in feel than 86,943 square-mile home to 5.457 million people.
To understand the heartache of the state, you must understand Minnesota is quick to claim and support other Minnesotans. The fact that Prince still lived in Chanhassen, Minnesota was very important to our state. He was regularly spotted at little spots in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and he held performances at his Paisley Park residence every so often. He was a Minnesotan legend, and he believed in the simplicity yet magnificence of our state.
When news broke that the emergency vehicles were spotted at Paisley Park, Minnesota news stations and radio reporters all began speculation. Meanwhile in Chicago, I am receiving countless texts from my mother in Minnesota with updates on whether it was an employee or Prince himself who has found dead. She finally called me a few hours later to inform me that it was Prince who was found dead at the Paisley Park residence. It was an immensely sad moment for my mother and I as we were planning to attend a performance at the very location of Prince's death in the near future. It was a bucket list item for my mother, and for many, to attend a concert at Paisley Park.
After the announcement of Prince's death, the whole world reacted, but Minnesotan's wanted more information. They wanted to grieve publicly. They needed to let go of their legend. Because to Minnesotans, Prince was not just a celebrity or a musician; he was one of us.
Minnesota news stations interviewed just about anyone who knew Prince. My mom is a MyTalk 107.1 radio station listener, and she would call me with any new information. They interviewed Prince's first manager who apparently stated he was talking to Minnesota news outlets first because of his state loyalty which of course, our entire state loved. It didn't seem like he had any new information, but hey our state wants to learn about Prince! He's our man! Then, the MyTalk crew talked to the police department that was responsible for Prince's investigation. They couldn't really share much information except that he was found in an elevator, and friends had become concerned when they had not heard from Prince. So basically another pointless interview in our attempt to grieve. I think the whole state just needed information. It is like when a family member passes unexpectedly. You know you can't get your family member back, but you want to know every reason they passed perhaps because you feel like you could have saved them. Minnesota wanted to save Prince because we love him.
The state began to grieve and celebrate the life of Prince. My mom bought a cupcake from our local bakery, Nadia Cakes, which is featured in the image below. It is a "Purple Rain" Cupcake with "Raspberry Baret" inside. My cupcake is currently in the freezer awaiting my return from Chicago.
The city celebrated Prince's life in a Street Memorial in Minneapolis. Thousands gathered to sing Prince songs and dance on First Avenue.
Local street Artist, Rock “Cyfi” Martinez, created a beautiful mural of Prince in Uptown Minneapolis. He painted this "as a present to the city of Minneapolis".
The culture of Minnesotans is unique. Prince was a leader in our community, and we are eternally devoted to loving him. So while the whole world is mourning the loss of this legend, Minnesotans are mourning the loss of a close friend and neighbor.
