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ROCHESTER — A few years ago Meredith Tuntland was working tourism jobs in Alaska over the summer and spending winters in Florida. As COVID-19 lockdowns halted the tourism industry in March 2020, it gave Tuntland more free time to tun her attention to trivial matters.
Tuntland began to host trivia nights through organizations including Trivia Mafia and Team Trivia, but having the opportunity to go out on her own and personalize trivia questions was more appealing when she came home to Rochester in late 2020.
“What I like about doing my own trivia is that I can make it my own personalized content, both with the questions, with the formatting and with the music. That's how I really set myself apart from the other companies' trivia. They're all generic questions that are going to be something they use across the country, whereas I try to make mine localized not only to the city but the venue,” Tuntland said.
Tuntland’s day job is working as a real estate agent. Trivia is a fun way to unwind after a day at the office. Since June 2021, Tuntland has been the regular trivia host at Forager Brewery while also rotating among venues across Southeast Minnesota.
“Over the years, we had kept trivia in-house with staff that have worked at Forager,” said Forager co-owner, Annie Henderson. “Meredith is fantastic to work with. She takes ownership over our trivia night, helps promote it each week, keeps each category fresh and relevant and has a lot of loyal regulars. We are lucky to have her.”
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Beginning next week, Tuntland will host her trivia nights at two different venues from her last rotation; Kelly’s Lake House in Lake City on Tuesdays and Zen Fusion in Rochester on Wednesdays. While Tuntland has hosted trivia at Kelly’s Lake House before, it’ll be her first time hosting at Zen Fusion.
Being the first time hosting at that location, Tuntland will not only bring her specialized trivia questions related to Rochester and the surrounding area; some of the questions will be specific to the venue itself.
Tuntland shared an example of how she does this, describing a private trivia event she led at a country club earlier this year.
“It was their golf champions dinner," she said. "So there were a bunch of golf champions. I hosted trivia for them, and did research about the country club and about the people that were golf champions. I ended up having pictures of various people that were in the audience and put into the questions and people really liked that personalization.”
Trivia is more than a fun hobby for Tuntland, it’s become a way to meet people and have an enjoyable time. That has made this secondary gig for Tuntland all the more enjoyable as she travels across Southeast Minnesota testing people’s knowledge.
“I love trivia for how it brings people together and elevates the conversation beyond awkward small talk," she said. "It’s great for groups as well as people who come alone or are on first dates and much more.”
To find out where Meredith’s Trivia is hosted on weeknights, or to book your own private trivia event with Meredith’s Trivia, call 612-619-7522 or email mtuntland9977@gmail.com .
