Any can't-miss spots for a day plus evenings in Minneapolis?

The Minneapolis institute of art is fantastic but if you don't manage to make it there the Weisman (another art museum) could be worth a stop one evening. It is on the UofM campus.

If you enjoy live music there are a plethora of places around Minneapolis. First Ave is probably the most well known but there are tons of other venues as well. The cabooze, Icehouse, the Dakota, fine line, etc.

You could check out the mill city museum and learn about the history of the flour industry. It's more interesting than it sounds, I promise. While you're in that area also check out the stone arch bridge i believe it just opened back up recently. Or you could walk over to the Guthrie and look in to getting rush tickets if you're interested in theater.

Minnehaha falls is neat to see even during the winter if you don't mind being out in the cold for a bit.

There are more breweries than you can shake a stick at if that's your thing. I won't even try to put a list together, there are too many great options. One of my favorites right now is forgotten star though. They also have some mini curling sheets outside during the winter which can be fun.

This is going to sound dumb and it kind of is and it's been awhile since I've done this so Im not sure how well things have bounced back since covid but if you are already downtown and have some time during the day go to the second floor of one of the larger buildings and start walking around. A lot of the buildings are connected by the skyway system. There's lots of restaurants and some little shops around that you can check out. This might scratch your travel companions itch for a mall like experience without going to "the mall".

On to the mall though. A lot of native Minnesotans are gonna discount the mall but honestly it's a neat place to wander around if you're from out of town and haven't done it before. Yes, when you get down to it, it's a mall. but, it has an entire amusement park inside of it, an aquarium under it you can go mini golfing, there's a movie theater, an arcade all of the food and shopping options, plus lots more.

I just noticed you added on the daytons market. There is also a Christmas market over at Union depot that runs until the 17th if you don't mind making a trip over to St. Paul.

Spongey had really great recommendations that I would second. I lived in St Paul for several years which is my preferred city of the two. The light rail (the Green line) is really easy to use to get between the two.

If you're into sports, the Wild are close by in St Paul, and right across the street is a really cool science museum.

Tons of breweries on the St. Paul side too, of course!

I'm not fully sure what survived covid in the area, but we always liked driving into Uptown to go to UpDown arcade bar (which truthfully I think is a chain).

If you happen to be there in nicer weather some time, the Como Zoo was always our free recommendation for folks in the area. The Minnesota Zoo is also nice, but not free, but a good stretch of it is indoors.

Art:
Minneapolis Institute of Art is a very nice, very large museum with a huge variety of permanent collections and temporary exhibitions, you can't go wrong there.

Personally, I would recommend going to the Walker art museum if you are at all interested in modern art. I was there last week and the current exhibitions are probably the best I've seen in all the years I've visited - one is a nicely curated version of their permanent collection, and the other is a large exhibition focused on experimental art in the eastern bloc during the USSR. (My favorite takeaway from this exhibition was getting to see how the restrictions on art in the soviet union actually encouraged/forced artists to push boundaries, delve into new mediums, and find entirely new ways of expressing themselves. Heavy focus on subcultures, queer history, etc.)

I'm getting carried away now, but I really liked what they have going on there and highly recommend checking it out. It's close to where you're staying, and is free on Thursday nights but is currently well-worth the $18 admission price on other days. Also, it's Minneapolis, so even our free museum nights aren't overly crowded.

Mall of America:
I'm going to echo the other commenter and say that I won't be convincing you not to go to the Mall of America. :) I genuinely believe it's one of the only truly fun malls in existence, they really focus on experiences more than smaller malls. A day at MOA can include: going to an amusement park in the middle of winter (in sunlight due to the skylights,) getting actually good food at one of the multiple courts, going to the aquarium, go-karting, seeing a comedy show, going to one of the multiple arcades, etc. I've spent many full days of fun at MOA as an adult, and haven't actually gone shopping there in many years. (The only shopping I do there is at the IKEA next door, which is a destination in itself if you don't have an IKEA where you live and like shopping there in person.)

It will be crowded if you go on the weekend during the holidays, but MOA is literally the largest mall in the country so there's usually plenty of space to feel comfortable, and the crowds are nothing like they used to be in the 90s/00s.

Movie Theaters:
I would normally not recommend seeing a movie while on vacation and usually don't do it myself, but Minneapolis has a great culture around film and we have a number of small, locally owned theaters that deliver a high-quality experience. Most importantly, people in Minneapolis know how to behave when in a movie theater - I simply can't relate when I see the many complaints online about poor behavior in theaters. I saw a sold out screening of the new Ghibli movie last night, and not a single person spoke a word, looked at their phone, or did anything disruptive during the run time.

If you're interested in checking out any indie films or even mainstream films at a nice theater, you'll want to look into the Main Theater, Trylon Theater, Heights Theater, or Riverview Theater. They're usually incredibly affordable compared to chain theaters, and they don't overcharge for concessions.

Markets, Breweries, Misc. Events:
Finally, here's an article from a respected local paper that has a bunch of recommendations for winter activities specifically. (Lots of ideas for January too, if you end up coming back.) Here's another focused on holiday markets. You definitely have to look a bit harder for winter recommendations since people generally aren't visiting MN in the winter, but we certainly stay busy and there's plenty to do. I'm actually glad you posted, since I didn't know most of this stuff from the article was happening! Might check out a few of the events myself.

When in doubt, just pick any random brewery event - pretty much all of them will have free music or comedy, along with a holiday market with vintage/handmade goods. Too many good ones to name them all, but I always like the events put on at Bauhaus, Sociable Ciderworks, Pryes, and Indeed, which are basically all in Northeast not far from the U of M.

I hope you enjoy your time here! I absolutely love living in Minneapolis.

Edit: Forgot to mention - bring winter gear if you have it! Winter fun in Minneapolis often does not involve staying inside, we absolutely love doing crazy artsy and/or sporty outdoor events, as you'll see if you check out that article above. You might want the option to partake in an outdoor event, especially since we're having a crazy warm winter right now.