Bluff native is Blues superfan

O’FALLON, Mo. — There are many things Poplar Bluff native Dennis Minner Jr. is known for, but one of them arguably is his love of St. Louis Blues hockey.

“I’ve been a Blues fan since I was in college at SEMO in the mid-90s,” Minner, a 1991 graduate of Southern Missouri Christian School, said. “Then once I moved back to St. Louis, I was living in Soulard — and being so close, I started attending more and more games. I’ve now been a season ticket holder for eight years and my passion has exploded.”

How much does Minner love the Blues? Not only is he a season-ticket holder, but he has converted the basement of his home into a scale replica of the Enterprise Center — the Blues’ home rink — which he has named Minner Arena.

“Minner Arena started really as me jokingly telling my wife I needed a hockey rink in our basement,” Minner said. “I have to give her the credit for letting my insane dream become real. So I’m talking to my neighbor one day and the next thing I know we barter — I agree to photograph his daughter’s wedding and he agrees to build my dream.”

Minner has even added a lobby area to Minner Arena for the overflow when he has friends over, while his children roller blade on the arena’s floor “all the time.” Louie, the St. Louis Blues’ mascot, has visited Minner Arena a few times, as has several former Blues hockey players, including Tony Twist. The arena has a large TV in it for watching Blues games and a ton of memorabilia which Minner has collected over the years.

“Once we moved to O’Fallon, we had a large basement and thought it would be a perfect place to start collecting more memorabilia,” Minner said. “As a full season-ticket holder, you are given a lot of chances to meet players at events. Combine that with my photography and all of the sudden I started having a really large collection.”

Minner Arena not only has its own Facebook page and Twitter account, but has been profiled by several St. Louis news outlets, including KSDK-TV and St. Louis Public Radio.

“The Blues social media started talking about it and they did a couple videos at games, and next thing I know it explodes,” Minner said. “I have tons of sponsors and it opened so many doors I never imagined. For one season, I was a weekly guest on KMOX radio and for two years have had my own segment on the Blues NHL Podcast. It’s been on TV more times than I can count. During the Stanley Cup Finals [in 2019], we had three different local channels filming morning shows here and even the local public radio do a story. The NHL has even picked it up a few times. It’s been crazy and so much fun.”

However, Minner is not just a St. Louis Blues superfan. He is also a top-notch photographer, something he has always enjoyed, but kicked into high gear when he was living in New York City and pastoring a church in the late 2000s.

“I began exploring more and more abandoned locations, and in the midst of personal crisis, I began shooting more and more images,” Minner said. “I began engulfing myself in these abandoned places, knowing that so many that saw these places from the outside looked upon them with disgust or ignorance. People looked as though there was nothing left and should be simply discarded. Going into these buildings and finding beauty on the inside made me realize I too needed that in my personal life. I needed people to understand my journey and trust that life would turn around for me. For me, it’s about grace and redemption.”

Those photos led into Minner’s first private art show in New York City. When he moved to the St. Louis area, he started expanding my passion and began photographing people — and even circled back to his love of the Blues.

“At first it was families, but now primarily I only do senior photos for portraits,” Minner said. “It’s been incredible as my experience has gained me attention. I’ve done portraits for Cardinals, Rams and several Blues — and instead of charging them, I would trade for signed memorabilia.”