Today is a monumental anniversary. But we’re not looking back to the release of a classic album or the birth of an influential musician. This time, it’s all about the heroic — and let’s admit it, baffling — climb of a raccoon. Five years ago today, it scaled up the side of the UBS Plaza office tower, a building visible out the window from Minnesota Public Radio. From that day on, #mprraccoon became a big thing for a time. (And a year later, many parties involved reflected upon this peculiar happening.)

Eventually, the raccoon reached the roof, and this narrative arc reached a satisfying conclusion. To celebrate an animal that triumphed over a 25-story structure and inspired many along the way, we are looking for songs about never giving up.

MPR News reporter Tim Nelson even stopped by to reminisce about that day. You can listen to Tim’s interview with Jill using the audio player above, and read a transcript of their conversation below.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: The Current, and you are listening to today's 9:30 Coffee Break. And you know, I have to think, was it the use of that song in the movie Footloose during the tractor chicken race? Or was the real triumph, the use of that song in the movie Short Circuit 2 when Number Five is bleeding out battery juices while trying to fight the bad guy? Oh, there you go. If you thought you were the only one who had seen Short Circuit Part Two more than once, you're not alone. And that's the message today, really: you're not alone. Actually, the bigger message is songs of determination and triumph. And wow, that's a pretty big one, Bonnie Tyler, "Holding Out for a Hero." And to kick off the Coffee Break with the story of a raccoon who remains probably the most famous raccoon in music, because that's an easy competition, "Rocky Raccoon" from The Beatles. So I'm Jill Riley, The Current's Morning Show. Today is the fifth anniversary of hashtag MPR Raccoon. You remember that story? Do you remember it went viral? It became a big international story. I think when the BBC picked it up, that's when I went, "OK, this is clearly the story that we needed today." I just remember thinking that five years ago. I also remember thinking at first that that raccoon was a cat. And so my concern was at kind of a peak level. But I do remember one of my colleagues here at Minnesota Public Radio, I remember seeing him outside just like with all of the reporter equipment in hand, ready to cover this story. My colleague who oftentimes will check in with me here on The Current's Morning Show, NPR news reporter, Tim Nelson. Happy fifth anniversary of the MPR Raccoon.

Tim Nelson: I'm still celebrating, Jill.

Jill Riley: Just when you think that we just don't have anything left to celebrate anymore, and here we go: Five years ago, you know, Tim, for anyone who doesn't remember that story, maybe wasn't around or wasn't living in the Twin Cities...

Tim Nelson: Or on the planet, at the time.

Jill Riley: Or on the planet because it was a huge story that day. I still can't believe how big it was. Can you just give us like, just give us a little recap of the MPR Raccoon, how the day started, and how the day ended because it was a happy ending.

Tim Nelson: Right! It actually started the day before. You know, there's some office buildings here in downtown St. Paul, and they have some unusual features like a little ledge built into the side of one of them. And I believe it was a Tuesday that this actually happened. But it started on Monday when a colleague and I were walking through the Skyway and noticed this raccoon stuck in this little alcove on the side of a building. And we didn't think much of it. But when we went back the next day, it was still there. And my colleague then, Chris Graves said, "You know, Tim, you know a lot about the city. It's a shame that this poor animal has to suffer here. Can't you do anything about it?" And I said, "Unfortunately, I probably do know what to do." So I called Animal Control here in St. Paul. And they said, "Well, this really doesn't fall under our purview. It's on private property." So I walked next door and talked to the management of the building over there and they said, "Oh, sure, we'll get to it." 

Jill Riley: "We'll put it on the list." Right.

Tim Nelson: And they called the Animal Control person, but one of their maintenance people decided instead to rescue the raccoon by themselves, and screwed together three pieces of two-by-four with drywall screws and took it outside and poked the raccoon with it. I think the idea was it was going to run down the ramp, you know, toward the maintenance person. Which you can imagine how that worked out. And instead, much to our astonishment, the raccoon started to climb the vertical bare face of the building. We didn't even know this was possible. It's just a concrete building on the other side of the street. It's sort of like a birthday cake. It's got a very large block-sized base, and then a 21-storey tower that goes out of it and it got up on the roof of the first level. And we thought that was the end of it. And lo and behold, it was not. That raccoon started to climb floor by floor the rest of the day.

Jill Riley: Yeah. I'm talking with MPR news reporter Tim Nelson. We're just reflecting on the MPR Raccoon. And it wasn't the building of Minnesota Public Radio; it was across the street to the UBS Plaza office tower, but the the story that went viral was you know, hashtagged the MPR Raccoon. Now I remember Tim, you know, I remember seeing this scared little animal that day, and I was standing with a colleague — we've got this fourth floor little balcony — and we were looking over the side, and I was like, "Is that a cat? It looks like a tabby cat. Wait — that tabby cat is wearing sunglasses. Wait a minute — those aren't sunglasses, that... Nope! That is definitely a raccoon." And I remember watching the maintenance folks, you know, or facilities, whatever they were, across the street, you know, put up this like makeshift ramp, and we're yelling, "That's never gonna work!" And people were starting to gather. So Tim, you know, what happened is this raccoon was climbing and climbing and climbing, and then, you know, stopped for a break on a windowsill. I don't know what floor, but it was starting to be a little scary because it's like, either this raccoon is gonna make it, or we're gonna watch a tragedy. But Tim, the raccoon made it.

Tim Nelson: It did. You know, it took most of the day. It stopped multiple times. I think we went actually to a law firm on the 16th or 17th floor and saw it snoozing, taking a nap just outside their window. And it just, you know, I think everybody expected it to plummet onto the street and become sort of a fur sandwich down there. We stuck it out. About 11 o'clock that night we saw her — we discovered it was a she later — go over the top of the building and onto the roof, apparently safely. And the building maintenance called in Animal Control, they went up there with a live trap, and apparently, raccoons really liked cat food. So they put some cat food out, and she went into the trap, and away she went; she rode down in the elevator instead of plummeting to her death.

Jill Riley: So Tim, now did you get in your car? I have heard this — I don't know if this is part of it — but did you actually follow Animal Control to make sure that she made it to a safe spot? Or is that all part of the lore of the story?

Tim Nelson: Being the reporter I am, I wish I would have done that. But the trouble was, I wanted to get video of the pickup truck leaving the building. And I couldn't do that for my car. So I raced down into the parking lot, and photographer Evan Frost and I went down and waited for the truck to emerge and took video of the final ride of the — probably the only and final ride of the MPR Raccoon anywhere — they drove her out to Shakopee, they said; we have no idea of no of it whether that actually happened; and released her. So that was the last we saw, that's the last public saw of the MPR Raccoon. You know, I've looked it up, the chances are she is probably not around anymore; they are rather short lived. But she had great fame while she was here.

Jill Riley: Yeah, five years ago. And I was thinking about that; like, I don't know if I know the life expectancy of a raccoon or wild raccoon, and so she may be out there somewhere in the woods of Shakopee. She may be passed on by now. But what she left, Tim, is a legacy of inspiration and determination. And I'm wondering to this day, of all the stories you have covered in your career as a news reporter, is this the one that you still get asked about the most?

Tim Nelson: Nothing like it.

Jill Riley: Nope?

Tim Nelson: Nothing like it! You know, I remember, I had like 8,000 Twitter followers at the time, and by the end of the day, I had 17,000. I mean, I had covered legislators and important policy and celebrities and sports and everything else, and I had gotten 8,000 people, and suddenly I had 17 [thousand]. So it was quite a quite a development.

Jill Riley: Tim Nelson reporter for Minnesota Public Radio News, checking in with me here during the Coffee Break, just kind of reminiscing, the fifth anniversary of the MPR Raccoon — which, Tim, I wore my T-shirt today.

Tim Nelson: I still have mine! I actually have a Saints jersey, because a couple of weeks later, the Saints — the St. Paul Saints — changed their official mascot to the MPR Raccoon, and I went out and threw out the first pitch that day. My mom and dad came, my kids came, it was... I think it was the — you know, my son, who remains horrified to hear me on the radio — it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen of me actually being recognized in public.

Jill Riley: Wow. And you never know what the story is that's going to bring you to international attention for a news story. But you look at that, you're like, "Yeah, guess what? Guess what, Dad? I made it!"

Tim Nelson: Well, I mean, one morning, I was going to get coffee, and the next morning, I was on Good Morning America live, you know? I mean, it was crazy.

Jill Riley: Yeah. Well, all right, Tim, thanks for checking. It was good to talk with you.

Tim Nelson: All right. Thanks much.

For today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, which songs celebrating perseverance should we play?

Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

Have an idea for a Coffee Break topic? Submit your idea for a future theme and browse past Coffee Breaks in our archive.

Songs Played
The Beatles - Rocky Raccoon
Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out for a Hero
[Interview with MPR News' Tim Nelson about the MPR Raccoon]
Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
David Bowie - Heroes
Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down (bonus)