BY TONY BOUZA It is a bromide and cliché that crises present opportunities—but these are honored mostly in being ignored. The comfortable status quo. The public understands and supports drastic action in a pandemic. The MPD could abandon two-person squads and answer twice the 911 calls—even with a virus-ravaged force.…
BY SHAWNE FITZGERALD Longtime South Minneapolis activists Dick and Dorothy Pitheon died this past month. Dick was 87 and Dorothy, 82. Dick was a lifelong Powderhorn resident, and Dorothy, a Faribault native, came to Powderhorn when she was 16 to attend Holy Angels. Dick was a graduate of Holy Name…
BY KATHRYN KELLY The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s (MPRB) latest Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan is another example of pie-in-the-sky ideas with little ability to pay for them. And it lacks answers for many of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) requests. And, since the CAC has been disbanded by…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN During this period of time when most of us are not anywhere near the coronavirus, yet closer than we think, we are watching and waiting and wishing the best for our family, friends and neighbors. Finding ways to get through the gloom and worry of this time,…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Normally, our focus on the southern part of Chicago Avenue would include a couple of interesting dining or brunch experiences, or perhaps a quirky little retail shop or two. In the past we have highlighted massage therapists, bike races, parks and their activities, and coffee hangouts.…
BY STEPHANIE FOX While most in Minneapolis agree that a shutdown of all but essential businesses is necessary, it is rough on many shops and restaurants now struggling to survive. While owners, workers and customers speculate when the governor will ease restrictions, businesses are finding their way through the crisis.…
The mourning of Mother Earth You, unfeeling creatures Who call yourselves human, You, fleeting bubbles of reason, Accidental parasites of time, You, filthy microbes of cancer, Ephemera of invincible eternity, You, who try to fill your vanity With abominable crimes, You, insensible butchers of animals, Notorious destroyers of pastures, You,…
BY ED FELIEN April. “When April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all The veins are bathed in liquor of such power As brings about the engendering of the flowers.” —Chaucer “April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I got addicted to a computer game called Onnect. Before I deleted it in exasperation, I was playing it an hour a day or more. I loved this game, but not enough to pay for it, so I had to watch some really annoying ads over…
BY ED FELIEN Twenty years ago, Marty and Martha Roth used to write reviews of films and theater for Southside Pride, and their son, David, used to go to First Avenue. Now David works for KTCA and has produced a 60-minute documentary of what First Avenue meant to his generation.…
BY STEPHANIE FOX On March 16, in response to a rising number of COVID-19 virus cases, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey declared a local public health emergency, closing or limiting access to bars and restaurants except for take-out orders and delivery, until April 1. The same day, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz…
BY ISABELA ESCALONA A coalition of labor unions, religious leaders and social justice organizations held a panel as part of a Week of Action on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at Shir Tikvah Synagogue. Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg led the participants in a traditional Jewish covenant ceremony where elected officials joined in the…
BY SARAH MARTIN This past month, Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro wrote a letter to the people of the world denouncing the latest, treacherous U.S. escalation against that country. When the U.S. government should be entirely focused on the health and safety of U.S. citizens, the Trump administration has once again…
BY JOE HESLA Minneapolis is an unaffordable place to live for those who are poor and of moderate income. Since 2011, the metro has a net loss of nearly 1,300 affordable units annually. Meanwhile, our rents are skyrocketing. In 2010, the average rent was $941/month. In 2019, the average rent…
BY TONY BOUZA “That Tony Bouza, he sure is full of himself, isn’t he?” Thus, did a wonderful old lady describe me to her companion as they left a talk I’d given. “You enter a room, big, loud and aggressive and suck the air out.” Thus, did a group of…
