Dorothy, after Oz

BY BARNABY DEVITT She came back to her senses.  She woke up.  All her friends were there.  They all worked together on the farm. And Dorothy could see how the world she lived in could be changed into an Emerald City. She needed to follow the Yellow Brick Road. Follow…

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QUEEN OF CUISINE: Vive la France!

BY CARLA WALDEMAR Barbette 1600 W. Lake St. 612-827-5710 barbette.com What was all that ooh-la-la-ing coming my way from street bands and sultry chanteuses on a recent July weekend? Oh, right: the annual Bastille Day celebration at Café Barbette. Good reminder that I hadn’t supped there in ages, and it…

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Occupation of Peavey Park

BY DWIGHT HOBBES Summer 2011 the Minneapolis Police Department struck at the South Minneapolis intersection of Chicago and Franklin. Crack dealers, along with hookers and other junkies, accustomed to complacently setting up camp at the Thrones Plaza entrance to Peavey Park, hardly knew what hit them.  Literally overnight, coordinating undercover work, camera surveillance and snitches, …

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Asking for help

BY CHRISTOPHER HARRISON ELDRIDGE Violet Barnes exemplifies the wide range of people who spend time panhandling in an effort to make ends meet. She lives with her daughter not far from the Lake and Hiawatha intersection, having moved to the cities from South Dakota with her family in hope of…

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Why you should vote ‘Yes’ to more taxes

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Howard Zinn once said “Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens.” He was talking about trying to affect militarism and foreign policy, after acknowledging that there were times when the margin between…

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NENA sets its ‘sites’ on a community garden

BY STEPHANIE FOX Nokomis East—the Keewaydin, Wenonah, Minnehaha and Morris Park neighborhoods—is one of the few neighborhoods in Minneapolis without a community garden. But that might change, maybe as early as next spring. The Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) started discussing the possibility of sponsoring an official garden at its…

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Vote November 8

BY ED FELIEN President:  Vote for Hillary.  OK, she’s not Bernie.  I’m not Bernie.  You’re not Bernie.  Bernie says vote for Hillary.  It’s the best chance we’ve got to make some changes that can protect people at the bottom from greedy clowns. Congress: Vote for Keith.  He stood with Bernie. …

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East 42nd Street: the Main Street of ‘Stan-Eric’

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The concept of a virtual town or neighborhood was actually born right here in Minneapolis decades ago with the founding of an online “community” called e-democracy. It seems old-fashioned now, but that’s because it’s so imitated, yet still around. Global now in its reach but much…

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Living on the wind: Carnival de Resistance

BY ELAINE KLAASSEN A group of young artists from the Americas (roughly between the ages of 20 and 40) have found companionship, joy and common cause as they work to save the Earth. They are part of a relatively new organization, founded in 2013, called Carnival de Resistance. They convene…

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Occupation of Peavey Park

BY DWIGHT HOBBES Summer 2011: the Minneapolis Police Department struck at the South Minneapolis intersection of Chicago and Franklin. Crack dealers along with hookers and other junkies, accustomed to complacently setting up camp at the Thrones Plaza entrance to Peavey Park, hardly knew what hit them.  Literally overnight, coordinating undercover…

Continue reading

Vote Nov. 8

BY ED FELIEN President:  Vote for Hillary.  OK, she’s not Bernie.  I’m not Bernie.  You’re not Bernie.  Bernie says vote for Hillary.  It’s the best chance we’ve got to make some changes that can protect people at the bottom from greedy clowns. Congress: Vote for Keith.  He stood with Bernie. …

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Queen of Cuisine: Uncommon food finds

BY CARLA WALDEMAR Picture a perfect Minnesota meal: Salad of heirloom tomatoes and micro greens dotted with fresh mozzarella; Fisher Farm barbecued pork ribs with mashed potatoes rich with local Hope Creamery butter and cream; grilled and roasted summer vegetables and ears of corn. And pies! Pies celebrating blueberries, strawberries,…

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