New pay parking at YWCA Midtown

BY LUZ MARIA FRIAS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, YWCA Minneapolis For years, YWCA Downtown and Uptown locations have charged for parking. We decided to implement a pay parking system at YWCA Midtown to address the misuse happening in our lot, and to ensure there are enough available spaces for our fitness…

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Response to the YWCA Board

BY RICHARD TAYLOR Readers should note that most of the contents of Ms. Frias’ article about the parking situation were plucked from a form letter sent to members two months ago and simply ignores the many criticisms made of her parking extravaganza. She asserts my articles contain “many inaccuracies”—but she…

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The roar ahead

BY TONY BOUZA Great events cast their shadows before them. Minneapolis is heading for a reckoning likely to affect every person in the city. The Justine Damond killing, in July 2017, will likely result in a settlement costing citizens three dollars each for every million. The lawyer for the family…

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Resist, relief, persist

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The most nail-biting local race was Keith Ellison’s last-minute, quixotic run for Minnesota attorney general. He had an absolute safe seat in Congress, one of the safest, and was deputy chair of the DNC, a leader in the Progressive Caucus, and sponsor of the House version…

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It takes a neighborhood to write a book

BY ELAINE KLAASSEN Seward Neighborhood has written an intriguing book about its own history. The project has involved a “cast of thousands,” and took seven years to complete. Its 19 chapters start before the arrival, in 1850, of the first non-Natives who built homes and settled, and end in the…

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What about the 2040 Plan?

BY ED FELIEN The tremendous public interest and community involvement around the city’s proposed 2040 Plan has been a great exercise in democracy. And, as my wife continually tells me, “Exercise is what you need to stay alive.” There has been a lively debate on the Minneapolis Issues Forum between…

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Bells Chime Again at St. Joan of Arc

FROM ST. JOAN OF ARC CATHOLIC COMMUNITY After years of silence, the bells of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Community are ready to bring their joyous sound to the neighborhood again. Church bell ringing goes back thousands of years. Historically, church bells announced the time of day, ringing on the…

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My thoughts on Keith Ellison

BY DAVID GILBERT-PEDERSON As a survivor of intimate partner violence and sexual assault (the #MeToo Movement), I take the allegations very seriously, and believing survivors isn’t an abstract idea for me. However, this election is not a referendum on whether we believe Karen, or the #MeToo Movement; this election is…

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Against fear and hatred

BY ED FELIEN I awoke from a horrible nightmare last week. My wife and I and Keith Ellison were walking in the dark and we were attacked by a man with a knife. I screamed to my wife to call 911 and I tried desperately to reach Keith. He cried…

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What about the 2040 Plan?

BY ED FELIEN On Oct. 8, Council Member Cam Gordon wrote on neighborhood forums: “The second draft of the new Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan is now published and you are invited to a Second Ward Community Meeting to learn more, ask questions, share thoughts and hear from others on Monday,…

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