"I opened Common Good Books because I loved the bookstores I knew around the U,” owner Garrison Keillor stated via the announcement. “And now I'm leaving town and am busy writing a book of my own so it's time to turn over the business to someone else."

The sale marks another “retirement” of sorts for the embattled former Prairie Home Companion host. Last year MPR cut ties with Keillor after it was reported that he had been accused of dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents. Since then, Keillor has taken to social media to talk shit about liberals, the #metoo movement, and MN Rep. Ilhan Omar.

As shop owner, Keillor could often be spotted writing limericks on a chalkboard on the wall. And yes, often they were double-entendres.



Common Good Books first opened in 2006 in a small space beneath Nina’s Coffee Cafe at Selby and Western in St. Paul. Six years later, the business moved to 38th S. Snelling Avenue, where it also serviced students at Macalester College; many of its employees also went to the school.

Like any community-minded bookstore, Common Goods has also hosted a variety of readings, special events, and book clubs. Past guests have included Cheryl Strayed, David Sedaris, and Hillary Clinton.

Interested parties should contact David Enyeart at 651-225-8989 or [email protected]