Riverside


The games we play

BY TONY BOUZA The prosecution of Justine Damond’s killer will start soon and end badly. Kibbitzing comes naturally to dumb onlookers like me. Getting a jury to convict is gonna be a hard—maybe impossible—sell. After all, the shooter is their protector. He stands between the juror and them, and we…

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‘Not Guilty!’

BY AMY BLUMENSHINE Remember when the first Muslim travel ban abruptly and chaotically hit the airports? On January 29, 2017, many Southsiders were among those who flocked to MSP with the idea of trying to prevent harm to those caught in the confusion and to protest the president’s action. In…

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Minneapolis pushes for blanket upzonings

BY LARA NORKUS-CRAMPTON Look around and it is not hard to see that Minneapolis is being transformed—corridor by corridor, neighborhood by neighborhood. This is a stated goal of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. We are told that the special permits and upzonings to allow many of these oversized developments are necessary…

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Only on Franklin Avenue

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Franklin Avenue in the Seward neighborhood has so much to offer: one of the oldest worker-owned co-op restaurants in the world, a bookstore with bicycle delivery, a playwrights’ center, a Somali cafe, a sushi and karaoke bar. But this article is not about them. It’s about…

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Go-To cards?

We asked candidates for county commissioner for District 4: Should Hennepin County have outreach workers working on the street with the homeless, the unemployed begging at highway entrances, prostitutes and drug dealers? Peter McLaughlin was the only candidate who responded: “Yes, coupled with investments in housing with services to end…

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ELDERBERRY JAM: Who will serve on the School Board?

BY DAVE TILSEN We are electing School Board members this November: two citywide candidates and three in districts—two of these districts are Southsiders. Incumbents Nelsen Inz and Said Ali from the two Southside districts are currently unopposed DFL- and union-endorsed and seemed positioned to cruise to reelection. Opponents will likely…

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FINDING MY WAY: End of my rope

BY ASHLEY THE GREY As a former attorney, I have walked in powerful shoes. Gained respect by the mere title “Attorney at Law.” People wanted to know me. I was asked to sit on boards for nonprofits and odd museums. I had been taught that being a lawyer was the…

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Summer Song (love)

BY ELAINE KLAASSEN “I’m having an affair with a married man,” my friend Allie, who is a pillar of respectability, told me. “What???” I said. Of course I had to act surprised, but anybody who ever saw her and her husband together would NOT be surprised. Could they ever laugh…

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Protest on May 15

More than 100 demonstrators showed up at Senator Klobuchar’s office on May 15 to protest her refusal to speak out against the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza by Israeli troops. They came. They complained. And they left. And nothing changed. Polly Mann challenged Skip Humphrey for the DFL endorsement for…

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What’s happening with Snelling Yards?

BY ED FELIEN Snelling Yards is a vehicle storage lot for the city at 3601 E. 44th St. between Snelling Avenue and the railroad tracks. In the 1930s the city had storage facilities in every ward especially for snowplowing equipment that would be watched carefully by the two aldermen from…

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Comings and goings on Minnehaha Avenue and nearby

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE When it comes to Minnehaha Avenue, the antique stores get most of the attention. That’s not right, because this area is rich with other innovative businesses and cultural resources for enlightenment and entertainment. So here we’re going to focus on some of the other players in…

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THE DISH: Lunch Around the World (Delights of Ethiopia)

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Dilla’s Restaurant 1813 Riverside Ave. 612-332-2898 dillasethiopianrestaurant.com The Dish continues our pursuit of international lunch options with a visit to Dilla’s Ethiopian on Riverside Avenue. We’re attracted by the restaurant’s terrific reputation and the reasonably-priced vegetarian lunch buffet. I was accompanied by Mary, who is an…

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