BY ED FELIEN What’s happening with crime? What’s happening with the police? The murder rate is actually down from last year. It feels a lot safer. There’s lots of chatter on Nextdoor about strange cars in the neighborhood and Ring camera videos of people stealing packages from front steps. The…
BY ED FELIEN Shout hallelujah and just get happy We’re going to the promised land We’re heading across the river Soon our cares will all be gone Forget your troubles, come on get happy You better chase all those blues away Shout hallelujah, c’mon get happy Happy days are here…
BY STEPHANIE FOX For most people in Minnesota, getting to the polls to vote means driving (or biking) to an early voting center or to their local precinct on election day to fill out a ballot. Easy-peasy. Minnesota has same-day registration and does not require registered voters to show an…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Eater’s ‘Home for the Holidays 2022’ My favorite online food information source, Eater.com, has a seasonal series of the above name and theme. So far, Bettina Makalintal has counseled us to let go of ironclad tradition and have a different kind of meal every Thanksgiving, Hillary…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Looking for examples In last year’s “Gracefully,” I promised that I would pick up where I left off in illuminating the stories of people who typify the various ways to live gracefully at any age. I mentioned that I had to leave out three great Canadian…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Your holiday events guide – random and quirky There are SO MANY events to share this year, the whole thing will be presented in list format. For online ticket sales, I’ll provide the name (search term) for the website only. If in-person or phone ONLY ticket…
BY ED FELIEN No, not him. The other guy, Charles Koch. Charlie Koch loves doing what he’s doing. He did it to Carter in 1979. Remember the gas shortage, worrying about heating oil supplies for the winter? Then, Reagan promised a Morning in America. It was a clear manipulation of…
BY CAM GORDON In October, a power struggle about how to respond to groups camping outdoors came to a head, not only outside City Hall between city officials and the community, but within City Hall and the City Council itself. Nearly four months have passed since the council voted to…
BY ED FELIEN, PUBLISHER Bill Cottrell wrote to me, “What a one-sided newspaper you operate and write for. I am disappointed with your clear bias and lack of any effort to present a fair and impartial paper.” So I invited Bill to write 300 words to present his point of…
BY ED FELIEN Our ancient mothers and fathers spent a lot of time looking at the sun and the moon. They marked when the sun would be highest in the sky and when it would be lowest. They noted the days halfway between the darkness and the light, and they…
BY TONY BOUZA The days of our lives are numbered. But, short of suicide, we don’t know what that number is. My best estimate would be 26,645 days (73 X 365). So, what to make of it? As I think on it a very few items stand out—triumphs and disasters.…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Closings downtown, openings in South Minneapolis After all the hopeful hype last month about the downtown Minneapolis restaurant scene being back, the two most notable closings in mid-October were downtown. One was trendy and “of this decade” – Seven Steak, Sushi and Rooftop, which has apparently…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The density dilemma In a piece titled “Will density save Dinkytown?” Tina Nguyen for Twin Cities Business magazine examines the impact of 6,000 additional multifamily housing units in less than 10 years, as Dinkytown and other neighborhoods surrounding the University campus undergo massive development booms. These…
BY ED FELIEN If you’re concerned about Republicans taking the House in November, there are a couple of races where your contribution could make a difference. Angie Craig seems pretty safe. The 538 polls on Oct. 10 say she’s ahead by almost six points. Everyone is assuming the Supreme Court’s…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Stan-Eric, then and now This year we’re looking back into the history of the Standish neighborhood and this small business hub. Perhaps we should just go ahead and say the Standish-Ericsson neighborhood. At some point we should officially change the name to “Standish and Ericsson,” in…
