NWA always had a bit of an acrimonious relationship with the state, MAC , and the media. That was also the case when RA was CEO. Having their headquarters there was probably one of the main reasons it had the presence it did and the merger probably relegated MSP to the second tier hub it probably would or should have been all along.
I've been based there my whole career and I doubt it's going anywhere as far as a base is concerned. Seems to be getting very senior on some equipment as many (like me) are unlikely to do a two leg commute, or start commuting just to chase an upgrade. I doubt there will ever be a widebody base in MSP again.