BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Openings and closings A sad closing happened in late July but didn’t make it into the August Dish – Pie & Mighty on Chicago Avenue. We are so sorry to see them go. Another big favorite that closed recently, not so close to home, was Mort’s…
BY JOHNNY HAZARD Monterrey is an industrial city in the north of Mexico with, obviously, a large industrial working class and also one of the largest concentrations of wealthy people in Latin America. This summer, water shortages there have reached the point at which, while the wealthy suburb of San…
BY ED FELIEN The DFL won the DFL primary last Tuesday. DFL-endorsed candidates beat challengers up and down the ticket. At the top of the South Minneapolis ticket, Ilhan Omar beat Don Samuels for a seat in Congress by a little more than 2%, in spite of her support for…
BY ED FELIEN Ian Young, in a Star Tribune editorial published Aug. 5, said, “Those commissioners voting to advance the nine-hole master plan are the ones who have done their homework and understand the reality of the issue.” Really? Young says any proposal to save Hiawatha Golf Course would “not…
BY ED FELIEN After a long and painful two-month inquiry, the Minnesota Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct cleared state Sen. Omar Fateh of any serious wrongdoing, but they did find that Fateh didn’t disclose the $1,000 he paid Somali TV for campaign advertising. His statement: “The unanimous decision reached today…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE For this review of things in the neighborhood, we’ll go geographically down Lyndale Avenue, starting just north of Franklin Avenue, and ending just south of Minnehaha Creek. The first organization to check out is called Vision Loss Resources, a nonprofit that provides just what the name…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE An opening The long-vacant Viking Bar location on Riverside Avenue has finally attracted a new resident: TAMU Grill and Catering, with a Kenyan fusion menu. Owner George Ndege, aka Chef JoJo, was formerly known as both the host of KFAI’s African Rhythms and a caterer of…
BY ED FELIEN [Ed Felien’s remarks to the Park Board on July 20] In a promotional video having something to do with the Hiawatha Plan, Michael Schroeder is shown saying, “My mission is to de-Wirthify the Minneapolis Park System.” The crown jewel of his plan is to turn the Hiawatha…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Retail shops on Bloomington Avenue Mercado Central, a nonprofit venue on the corner of Bloomington Avenue and Lake Street, contains several retail businesses. It serves as a business incubator specifically geared toward Latinos, as both business owners and customers. There has been some turnover among the…
BY TONY BOUZA The Floyd case is marvelously instructive for all the awful lessons it provides. A latter-day “Rashomon.” Racism is number one, but forgive me, not the issue that grabs me. I monitored the Chauvin-types very carefully through Internal Affairs and gave the others ample room for caution in…
BY CAM GORDON The mayor and City Council are moving quickly to restructure city government. Substantial ordinance amendments, which have yet to be shared with the public, could be approved by the end of August. The timeline presented by Mayor Jacob Frey in June called for the public hearing on…
BY LYDIA HOWELL For the last three elections, Minnesota was number one in voter turnout, at almost 80% participation. One reason for such high participation is Minnesota’s Election Day (“same day”) voter registration, passed in 1973. “It’s not just the absence of obstacles, but the presence of good laws. I…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN Steve Floyd is a man with a heart for others. He has raised four children—the fifth is still under his supervision; he nurtures dozens of other youth through the Agape Movement and through his work as a mental health counselor at Change, Inc.; he makes award-winning photographs;…
BY STEPHANIE FOX Open Streets is back after a pandemic pause. One of the most popular of these (usually) annual events is Open Streets East Lake, held this year on Aug. 13, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This area of Minneapolis is recovering not only from COVID-19 but also…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Highland Bridge updates The development of Highland Bridge, the official name for the former Ford plant site on the banks of the Mississippi, is making massive strides toward completion this year. You can follow the progress through the dedicated website at highlandbridge.com, print out periodic progress…
