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Nancy Yang
St. Paul

St. Paul's skyscraper raccoon spawns fan art -- and merchandise

Scott Spinks created this illustration of the MPRraccoon.
Scott Spinks created this tribute to the #mprraccoon. It's now available on T-shirts, tote bags and more.
Courtesy of Scott Spinks

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Updated: June 15, 6:19 a.m. | Posted: June 13, 2 p.m.

The saga of the #mprraccoon was the summer blockbuster drama we didn't know we needed. And now the hashtag will soon become a tote bag.

The daredevil brought worldwide productivity to a halt Tuesday as it scaled the UBS Plaza skyscraper in downtown St. Paul. Tweets, videos and photos of the critter took over social media.

Some channeled their hopes into creative masterpieces:

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*scroll left and haters will say it's photoshopped. They can't stop your shine homie #MPRraccoon #SKYSCRAPER

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Jun 13, 2018 at 11:58pm PDT

✨?✨?✨?✨?✨?✨?✨?If you haven't heard, a raccoon in St Paul MN has scaled a 25 story building and is both incredibly brave and incredibly cute. It was found out that he in fact reached the roof this morning. I was inspired (an opportunity to create fluffy animals AND the recent flower sketch!) to create something so we never forget. So INTRODUCING a commemorative T-Shirt in black or white, and a grocery canvas bag. LINK IN BIO! You're directly supporting the artist from my shop so thank you for considering!!! ?✨?✨?✨?✨?✨?✨?#mprraccoon

A post shared by Daniella Tarantula Attinella (@_danielle_and_loop_and_laurel) on Jun 13, 2018 at 5:48am PDT

Star Tribune metro columnist Jennifer Brooks, whose homemade dumpster fire ornament went viral in 2016, admitted to staying awake all night making a felt raccoon and tower she then transformed into a mini-drama:

MPR employees were the first to realize what was happening, which led to the #mprraccoon hashtag.

And that tote bag is happening. Well, that not exact tote bag, but a tote bag.

In the middle of all the excitement Tuesday, Aesthetic Apparatus tweeted a design for a #mprraccoon tote bag. A day later, MPR announced you can get the tote, designed by Michael Byzewski, as a thank you gift after becoming an MPR member contributing $5 a month or after giving a one-time donation of $60.

And, two different T-shirts are on sale now on Public Media Market — with a portion of those sales going to The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota, which supports injured and orphaned wildlife.

Meanwhile, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is now taking orders for — you guessed it — the #mprraccoon. But you'll have to wait to get your hands on it — it's not expected to ship until October.

How fans have immortalized the #mprraccoon

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I'm not ashamed to admit the first thing I did when I woke up was check on the #mprraccoon #raccoon #lunchbags #lunchbagart

A post shared by bryan Draws (@bryan_draws) on Jun 13, 2018 at 10:29am PDT

MPR News digital producer Sara Porter contributed to this report.