Home Who is Frank and How do I Contact Him?
Who is Frank and How do I Contact Him?
Born on January 24, 1981, Frank likes to exaggerate the suspense of his birth by telling friends he was-
Wait, you just wanted my e-mail? Fine. frank@minnesotaskinny.com.
Where were we? Ah yes.
Born on January 24, 1981, Frank likes to exaggerate the suspense of his birth by telling friends he was born in a blinding blizzard through which his parents bravely drove to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning. In reality, his parents probably don't remember the weather that night.
Frank spent his childhood in and around Duluth, Minn., graduating from Wrenshall High School in 1999. Highlights of Frank's high school years included the creation of two novels (lost to cyberspace) and a senior year stead at the Cloquet Journal.
In college, at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Frank was recruited to write for the Promethean by then-editor Aaron Brown. Brown once told him, "I can see you running the Promethean someday." Three years after dismissing that statement as an empty recruiting pitch, Frank was elected Editor-in-Chief. What changed his mind? A failed date with an out-of-his-league Latvian woman one rainy night in New York City. True story.
With the help of a wise advisor and a rich vein of student talent, Frank turned the Promethean into a quality publication—and a profitable business. Highlights included issues ready for students on the first day of semesters, beating local news gorilla Duluth News-Tribune to the street with the 2008 presidential election results, and winning a third-place column writing award in 2003 from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
Frank finally went pro in 2006, as a sportswriter for the Mesabi Daily News. He'd return to Duluth in 2008, eventually taking his pen to PolarLeague.com in September 2009 and became the Managing Editor of the company's upstart Floodwood-based newspaper, The Portage News. He picked up another fancy wall hanging along the way, a second-place sports reporting award from the Minnesota Newspaper Association.
Frank moved to the Twin Cities in February 2010, with nothing but a friend's couch for a bed and whatever could fit into the back of his car. Now, he works for a medical device manufacturer during the day and writes a blog at night.
What began as a column site just for funsies, The Kinked Slinky The Minnesota Skinny evolved in 2014 to focus on food and beer across Minnesota and beyond. It also spawned an Internet radio program for a short time. Despite no broadcast education or experience whatsoever, and no previous background in the beer or food industry, The Minnesota Skinny Podcast reached thousands of fans and led to interviews with leading names in both industries until Frank ended it in 2017.
Frank now lives in the Twin Cities' southeast metro. The blog is running strong and he still gets his day hustle on with his big-boy medical device company gig. Where does the road lead next? It's hard to say. There are too many things in here I was so certain would never come to pass. If nothing else, I suppose, it's proof that we truly never know what the next day brings.