BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Once again, and maybe even more so, the Twin Cities is heaving with winter-themed, holiday-ized markets, activities and cultural flowerings to enhance your mood and social standing as the days darken. As usual, we will focus on both grand traditions and iconoclastic takedowns, and privilege the…
How Can We Protect Our Children? I suspect that the overwhelming majority of American women could come up with a childhood experience like mine. It occurred when I was in grade school and involved our next door neighbor, Mr. Blank, who owned the biggest lumber yard in the town. Every…
By Tony Bouza Erica, telling me a friend of ours—educated and sophisticated—had consulted a psychic, set me to thinking—after overcoming nausea. Psychics are clever scoundrels, preying upon our gullibility using their study of human nature. They observe the external (appearance, body language, etc.) and exploit our hopes and dreams. With…
BY DORIS OVERBY On a stroll down a stretch of emerging 38th Street businesses this August, I stepped into Courageous heARTS, a youth-led nonprofit art studio at 2235 E. 38th St., and discovered teen artists selling their work during their organization’s summer “Show and Sell Pop-Up” art sale. Nothing inspires…
BY ELINA KOLSTAD Years ago, my husband and I stayed with some family friends in Saint-Etienne in France. They live in an apartment built before the advent of car culture, so when they were going to show us some regional attractions, George walked a couple of blocks to the parking…
BY JOHN CHARLES WILSON The Twin Cities Transit Riders’ Union (TRU) has been recently advocating that Metro Transit quit charging fares and become a free service, like the public library. In this column, I would like to discuss the pros and cons of free transit. First of all, free transit…
BY AMY BLUMENSHINE County Commissioners Angela Conley and Irene Fernando, a new “Squad” of women of color, are pushing the county to seriously step up to address the needs of the public. The Hennepin County Board, made up of seven commissioners, approves the second largest government budget in the state.…
BY HARVEY WASSERMAN Despite the corporate hype, Democratic Socialism and Social Democracy are deeply rooted in the mainstream of our nation’s history. The lie that they’re “foreign ideologies” starts with the fascist assault Woodrow Wilson waged against them during and after World War I. Their marginalization today by corporate Democrats…
BY STEPHANIE FOX Jake Reber is a man on a mission, focused on a campaign to get his city government to come up with solutions to fight the rising crime rate in South Minneapolis. Earlier this year, he started talking with his neighbors, hearing about their personal experiences with property…
Minnesotans stage a “funeral for the Earth” at the home of David MacLennan, CEO of agribusiness giant Cargill, for complicity in Amazon fires In the pursuit of profits, Cargill facilitates the destruction of the Amazon for soy and beef production. Across huge expanses of the Brazilian Amazon and the adjacent…
BY AMY BLUMENSHINE Burt Berlowe’s chair was empty as his colleagues gathered for the monthly meeting of the Peace and Social Justice Writer’s Group. Burt had passed away that afternoon, Oct. 28, from consequences stemming from his most recent fall. As a candle was lit and libations were poured, those…
BY ED FELIEN Do we need more cops? Yes, and no. Yes, we need a greater police presence downtown and on Lake Street and Franklin Avenue. It is intolerable that violent gangs are beating and robbing people in broad daylight downtown. This has to stop. When Tony Bouza was chief…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Last Thursday we went to a Community Meal at Roosevelt High School, just north of 42nd Street on 28th Avenue South. I mainly know Roosevelt High as my caucusing and voting place. Also, I know a woman who was until recently employed there, and a key…
BY ELINA KOLSTAD As Minneapolis becomes increasingly urban, more of our residents will live in apartments with little access to green space. The dynamic and rhythms of our city will change drastically. The great changes we are about to face could also be seen as a chance to see possibility…
BY LAURA HALL Meena Natarajan, the artistic and executive director of Pangea World Theater, greeted me warmly outside their offices on Lake Street. She then guided me to the neighboring coffee and tea shop where we spent the next hour discussing Pangea’s ambitious artistic mission: a mission, as stated on…
