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As always, your advice is top notch and wise.1st clue is usually meant to be vague, with some rules. And staying 6 feet apart during the hunt is what they are mostly impressing. The only thing that caught me was the "Ball" reference, and I am going to throw this out that I am guessing that inference is to a "ball" field within a park, which only just narrows it down a tiny smidjen. Or the puck is in a ball of sorts, rubber toy ball, plastic kick ball, flat football, etc...for a 2nd option, and a 3rd option would be near an area of a ball room near by, but that just seems too specific for the first clue but the vagueness is there, lol. Some parks dont have any ball fields, and option 1 is my thought so far, but like mentioned, vaguer options do come into play. The whole swimming pool in someones back yard adjacent to Highland Park lining up with the location, yeah, ummmm, really? I do think they will keep it vague, keeping people spread out as long as they can. So vague ides maybe the way to go, thinking outside the box might be THE WAY to go. Some clues go so deep you couldn't begin to tie them in. So here are a couple of other theories to chew on.Ball, we have CHS park down by Bruce Vento Nature Park, Swede Hollow or Mears Park, paying tribute to the BIG HUGE DEAL the St. Paul Saints just signed a HUGE deal with the MInnesota Twins becoming their official AAA Minor Ball team. That is absolutely the hugest NEWS worthy thing for St Paul since, I don't know..Its huge so keep the CHS field in mind. The other thing, is across the river from there, is Ball Manufacturing, an aluminum can company, Harriet island side, Raspberry Island? I love playing the brain game, but when it gets too deep, I just go, uhhhhh really guys? Hoping they keep it real, but never really do with about at least half of the clues. Happy Hunting, I'm a 2 hour drive away.Flippster

The physical copies of the Sunday edition usually hit retailers (grocers, gas stations etc) mid morning on Saturday. Not sure when folks who get it delivered get it.

The PiPress has historically waited to update the hunt clues at midnight online - leaving those who seek out the early Sunday editions an advantage on clues #1 and 8.

I made a topic called “Clue 1” in this group with the transcribed clue.

Where is the first clue? I went to TwinCities.com (which I had to subscribe to) and there's no clue there.

Sorry David, l didn't see this till late so will not attend. However...Happy Belated Birthday!

The first clue is out. As usual it doesn't seem to say much more other than announcing that the hunt has begun and making a few current event references. Perhaps there is more to it, though it's hard to say at this point whether any theories you may come up with are right or wrong. It does take two points to make a line. This is particularly true after last year. I remember sitting at Shamrock's last year *after* what would be the final clue of that hunt had come out, and I still wasn't sure which park it was in. I don't think anyone else was either. Even those who were thinking Highland weren't absolutely sold on it. I was actually quite convinced it was at Phalen. I heard arguments for other parks that were also quite convincing. I would rate the actual clue explanations as only the 5th or 6th best explanation for what the clues meant last year. So if there was that much uncertainty on (and even after) the final clue last year, I would certainly recommend caution on the first clue this year. Last year's hunt with people scattered all over and hardly anyone in the right vicinity when it was found would have been ideal for this Covid-affected hunt, so I would look for them to try and duplicate that for this year. Consequently I strongly recommend keeping an open mind with these clues. I was sure last year I had the clues perfectly figured out and I was perfectly wrong (as was most everyone else). So listen to all the theories, even if you think you already have the answer. That would be my recommendation.

Also, now that the first clue has come out, the Allison Wonderland Park Pick Pool moves to Stage 2. I see some of you have already made your guesses for this new round. You have until Clue 2 comes out at midnight tomorrow night to make or change your next guess. If you missed out on the pre-hunt guess, don't worry too much. While that guess could determine the winner, it rarely ever has, so you still have plenty of time to still jump in.

Tonight is the Pre-Dig Gig to kick off the hunt. Though with the prohibition on large gatherings, this one will be virtual, as most things in life are today. People will gather on Zoom starting at 7pm. There will be breakout rooms so not everyone has to be in the same chat all talking over each other. The link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87125764424?pwd=cU5qV1V4M3ZleHBIdmNpQkwyNG04QT09&fbclid=IwAR15kOLYNh3TVrLSLsqjnNQe0aSO-bTFeIAyhVdU_XlizjsrjGVC0dTiOTQ#success if you wish to join (but don't expect any technical help if you have trouble as I'm just a data person).

Hi AW

5 Crosby
5 Hidden

Ty

CM

A lot to unpack for a first clue.

Sports references abound.
Don’t be odd = be even?
Stay in your pod = in the city proper? 
safe from danger= shelter?

Be it turmoil endemic or global pandemic

It’s been a tough year for us all.

So rather than punt, we renewed this year’s hunt:

Join us, it’ll be a ball!

 

Don’t be odd, stay in your pod.

Keep six feet away from strangers.

Wear a mask when on your task

To keep all safe from dangers.

I'll put 10 on Central Park in Roseville.

Secretrose picks 10 for Battle Creek

5 Phalen; 5 Como

5 for Battle Creek
5 for Central Park (Roseville)

Ben Fischer

Now that I have told you about the Pioneer Press Medallion Hunt for 2021, I want to tell you about another *different* hunt going on that is being put on by the Winter Carnival. It's being called a Scavenger Hunt because it requires you to do different things at different places to win, but in a way it's really more like a collection of 30 one clue treasure hunts with the winner being the one that solves the most. You might also be interested to know that I am the cluewriter for this!

There are three different hunts you can choose from (or if you're feeling ambitious, you could do more than one). One is the Park-e-mon-Go Hunt. It is a tour of St. Paul parks that is aimed at families and is free to play. We worked with the St. Paul Conservancy on this one and they have provided $800 worth of prizes. I suspect all of you with your familiarity with St. Paul parks should do well on this one. Or if you're tired of being cooped up inside we have the Shop, Dine, and Play Hunt. This will take you on a tour of places around the city that are fun to go to, offer good food, and/or are interesting to behold. To complete this hunt you won't have to go indoors anywhere, but if you choose to patronize these establishments, it should be a good time. Finally there is the St. Paul Past & Present Hunt for those of you who think you're up on your local history. This is the most challenging of the three hunts and will take you not just across the space of St. Paul, but also across time as you explore it's history and the sites where that history took place. These latter two hunts do have a cost of $20 per team. We're still working out the exact prizes, but they will be worth at least $500 each.

The way it works is you can register at https://www.wintercarnival.com/events/saint-paul-scavenger-hunt/ for any and all of the three hunts. After you are registered you will get a code for your team. We are using an app called Goosechase which you will need to download to the phone you want to designate as your team's official phone. At 5pm on January 28th the hunt will go live and you will enter in your code. You will then have until 5pm on Sunday, February 7th to solve as many of the 30 missions as you can. There are three types of missions. One type will ask you a question and you must enter the correct answer to score points. Another will describe a location and you must go there and take a photo or video of at least one member of your team that includes something specific mentioned in the clue. The third type of mission will require you to simply visit a location and submit your GPS coordinates. All answers will need to come from the designated phone that you entered your code into.

The team that has scored the most points by the end of the hunt will be declared the winner in each of the three hunts. In the case of a tie, there will be one mission that was designated as a tie-breaker. Whichever of the tied teams completed that one first will be the winner. If there is still a tie, there will be a random drawing. The registration will ask you to name official team members, but you are free to solicit help from as many people as you wish, depending on how many people you potentially want to split the prize with.

Having seen where each of these hunts will take you, I think it's going to be really fun. I've had some people testing out the clues and they liked them. Depending on how long the Medallion Hunt goes there will be some crossover. However you may want to take a break or perhaps you'll want to do some more hunting after the Medallion is found. So I hope you'll give it a try!

As you may have already noticed, I am once again sponsoring my Park Pick Contest for this year's Medallion Hunt. Will it be a big park or little park? In the city or outside? Familiar territory or a brand new location? None of us know, but we may think we know. So let's see how good you are at guessing (for now) and deciphering the clues (as we go). The prize for the winner will be $100.

As in past years the way it works is you get 10 guesses at each Stage. The first Stage is prior to the hunt, and then there is a new Stage after each clue is released. You can divide up your guesses as you wish. You can put all 10 towards one park if you are feeling confident or you could put one guess towards each of 10 different parks, or somewhere in between. As each clue comes out, it may change your thinking and so you're free to change your guesses at each Stage. If you don't make a new guess, then your previous guess will carry over (but all guesses must be posted to the message board).

The scoring is a little tricky, but it is designed to reward those who got it right early on. Once the medallion is found and the correct park is determined, I note what clue it was found on and then add 1 to that number for the total number of Stages. Each guess you put towards the correct park prior to the hunt (if any) will get points equal to the number of Stages (S). Each correct guess after clue 1 gets S - 1 points. Correct guesses made after Clue 2 get S - 2 points and so on with guesses made the day of the find getting just 1 point each. Then the person with the most points wins. If there is a tie, then the person who had the earliest guess for that park wins.

So should you guess 10 parks right now, hoping to get the edge on a tie breaker? Or is better to go all in on one park and try to lock it down? That's up to you to decide. It's free to play, other than having to publicize which parks you are thinking. But then there is a bit of a game there too. 

Greetings everyone! Many of you are probably already following what is happening with this year's hunt on Facebook and other places, but for anyone who isn't quite in the know, let me sum up what is going on this year.

First off, there will be a hunt. Officially it starts on Sunday the 24th, but of course we will probably see the first clue on the 23rd.

The prize will again be up to $10,000. If you find the medallion, you need to call the PP right away (rather than bring it in). It sounds like they will verify the find over the phone and that will get you $2,500. Then for the next $2,500 you will need to have all of the published daily clues, clipped or copied from the Pioneer Press or printed from TwinCities.com, and provide them along with the found medallion. And for the final $5,000 you will need to have a medallion from the Pioneer Press. This light up medallion is different from the Winter Carnival button. Buying a WC button helps support the Winter Carnival, but it won't help you if you find the Medallion. You can get them at pioneerpresstreasurehunt.com

Some things will naturally be different this year. First off the online clues will come out at midnight. There will be no early clues in paper form this year, nor any scrambled clues. Nor are they using an app this year. There will also be no Pre-Dig Gig this year, nor an event at Bad Weather Brewing. Neither will there be nightly gatherings at Shamrock's. In that same vein they are saying people shouldn't hunt in groups larger than three, they should maintain a six foot distance, and they should wear a mask (and definitely not hunt if you are sick!). If they find people breaking those rules, they reserve the right to end the hunt. However, we can certainly discuss the clues here and elsewhere online.

Another thing that will be different this year is I won't be hunting for the medallion. I have joined the Winter Carnival committee. That alone doesn't bar me as the Winter Carnival and the medallion hunt are no longer officially connected, but I will be busy with the Winter Carnival. That said, I will endeavor to keep this board going, and will offer my ideas, but I'm not sure yet how much time I will have once the Carnival starts. But I do wish good luck to all of you.

10 tony schmidt
Thanks 

I'd like to rescind my original guess for Rice Creek Regional Park.  I thought it was in Ramsey County, but it's in Anoka.  
So ... my next guess is 6 - Battle Creek3 - Central Park in Roseville1 - Highland (I know, but they've never done that before).

I'm calling Central Park Roseville 

10 como
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Michae kealy