St. Paul’s Clutch Brewing Company announced on social media that it is going out of business at the end of the year.

The brewer, which is one of the main tenants in the Keg & Case Market at the old Schmidt Brewery on West Seventh Street, said it’s had a wild five years in business and made the announcement with a “heavy heart.”

“So many good times were had and providing a one-of-a-kind, safe, accepting, warm place to enjoy a delicious, locally-made beer has been an absolute honor for us.”

The brewery noted that were many factors in the decision to close, but ultimately it was not “sustainable” to keep the brewery running.

“Also, we still have plenty of beer to be consumed! Stop by and help us go out the right way: with a craft beer in hand and good times shared with friends and family. Thank you all!”

Keg & Case opened to much fanfare in 2018, with Clutch Brewing as one of the anchor tenants of the food hall.

However, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic led to a prolonged closing that took a toll on many of the vendors that leased space in the reclaimed brewery warehouse, which was rated the nation’s “best new food hall” by USA Today in 2019. Among them were In Bloom and Woodfired Cantina, which closed in succession after occupying Keg & Case’s only sit-down restaurant space.

— Kristi Miller

Metro Transit rides are free on Vikings Sunday

The Molson Coors Free Rides program will be back again Sunday with free rides on Metro Transit buses and trains for the Vikings vs. Saints game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The free rides will be available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on all Metro Transit bus and rail routes, as well as the Northstar Line, to and from the U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Free Rides program was first launched by the producers of Miller Lite in the Twin Cities in 1997. According to a press release, last year’s program provided free rides for 47,572 people for the Vikings vs. Cowboys game on Nov. 20, 2022.

“Metro Transit is pleased to partner with Molson Coors to offer free rides across our system, providing loyal and first-time riders alike another reason to make transit a part of their gameday experience,” Metro Transit general manager Lesley Kandaras said.

— Caleb Hensin

Hozier books Xcel for August show

Irish singer/songwriter Hozier will play his largest show in the metro to date when he headlines St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center on Aug. 17.

Tickets go on sale at noon Nov. 17 through Ticketmaster. Neither the promoter nor the venue announced ticket prices. Hozier has chosen to make the tickets mobile only and restricted from transfer in an attempt to stop scalpers. Fans will have the option to sell their tickets for the price they paid through Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange.

Born Andrew Hozier-Byrne, Hozier was just another struggling musician in 2013, playing open mic nights in Dublin and writing new material whenever he could. His song “Take Me to Church” grew out of his frustration with the Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality. A low-budget video for the song went viral, leading to a major label record deal.

“Take Me to Church” went on to become a worldwide smash, hitting the Top 5 in more than 30 countries, including the U.S., where it went platinum 13 times and earned airplay across multiple formats. Hozier has never come close to replicating that success, but he has maintained a faithful following through a series of EPs and three albums, including “Unreal Unearth,” which entered the Billboard charts at No. 3 in August.

This year, Hozier sold out his North American tour, which included a First Avenue stop in May, and played to nearly 250,000 fans in 30 shows across 27 cities.

— Ross Raihala

Star Tribune names new leadership team

The Minneapolis Star Tribune on Wednesday named Maria Reeve managing editor for daily news.

Reeve, who previously worked as a reporter and editor at the Pioneer Press, will oversee the Minneapolis-based newspaper’s daily news operations, including a new team focused on breaking and trending news, according to a news release issued Wednesday.

A native of Charleston, S.C., Reeve served as assistant managing editor of news at the Star Tribune before leaving the Twin Cities in 2019 to join the management team at the Houston Chronicle, eventually becoming the first person of color to serve as that newspaper’s executive editor.

“I am beyond thrilled to be back in this newsroom and back in the Twin Cities,” Reeve said in the news release. “I’m looking forward to working with the many talented journalists across our newsroom — all with the aim of serving this community.”

Also on Wednesday, the Star Tribune announced it had promoted deputy managing editor Eric Wieffering to managing editor for news verticals and assistant managing editor Chase Davis to head of newsroom strategy and transformation.

Wieffering, a former Pioneer Press reporter who has worked at the Star Tribune since 1997, will oversee the paper’s content teams. Davis, who joined the paper in 2017 from the New York Times, will “lead the company’s efforts to improve its digital presence, hone analytics and content, and explore promising new technologies,” according to the news release.

— Staff report

Former justice ordered to reveal talks with Vos

A Wisconsin judge on Friday ordered the former chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to produce records related to her work advising the Republican Assembly speaker on whether to impeach a current justice.

Former Chief Justice Patience Roggensack was one of three former Supreme Court justices asked by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to give him advice on pursuing impeachment. Vos has floated impeachment against liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz based on how she rules on a pending redistricting lawsuit Democrats hope will result in new legislative electoral maps.

The liberal watchdog group American Oversight filed a lawsuit seeking records from Vos and the three former justices. Vos and two of the former justices, David Prosser and Jon Wilcox, turned over records. That included an email from Prosser to Vos advising against impeachment. Vos turned over more than 20,000 pages of documents last week, American Oversight attorney Ben Sparks said at a Friday hearing.

Wilcox told the Associated Press he did not produce a report, but verbally told Vos impeachment was not warranted.

The only former justice who did not produce any records was Roggensack. She has not said what her advice was to Vos and he has refused to say what it was.

On Friday, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington issued an order giving Roggensack 30 days to produce any records she has.

Roggensack’s attorney, Robert Shumaker, did not return a phone message or email seeking comment.

— Associated Press