BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The MFT 59 strike aftermath, parts 1 – 4 In March of 2022, as you probably remember, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) teachers, represented by the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers or MFT 59, and Education Support Professionals (ESPs, represented by ESP 59) went out on a historic…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Change in the air at the Market This time last year, things were different at Midtown Global Market (MGM). There were more vacant spaces, and there was an atmosphere of worry among many of the vendors. Since that time, grants have come in, plans have been…
BY DORIS OVERBY Sept. 3, 2022: Today was my first ride-along experience. I drove downtown to the temporary 3rd Precinct building. An officer opened the door, and then I met Sgt. Stanton, who greeted me with a smile and a firm handshake. I had not been inside the facility before.…
BY KATHRYN KELLY The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) finally passed the Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan, which they labeled a “compromise,” saying it will reflect the history of Black golf in Minneapolis. In 1952, the MPRB passed another compromise with the Black community. After a petition by Black…
BY ED FELIEN Why is it important to vote for Keith Ellison? Because he’s doing what’s necessary and right, and he’s being punished for it. He’s getting attacked for being soft on crime in the midst of a crime wave. But the attorney general doesn’t prosecute crimes. That’s the job…
BY TONY BOUZA Managing a police department is not nuclear science or even brain surgery. It is about managing—i.e., Why are we here? What are we supposed to do? And how best to do it, cheaply? Capitalism at its purest. So why is it so damnably difficult to get them…
BY CAM GORDON In what is likely a response to the unusually low number of officers in the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and the recommendation by the mayor’s Community Safety Work Group to “strengthen MPD’s recruitment and hiring process,” the mayor is recommending spending $740,000 on an internship program for…
BY LYDIA HOWELL As 29,000 students return to in-person learning, COVID-19 has exposed undeniable challenges for the nine-member Minneapolis school board. On Nov. 8, voters will elect two at-large (city-wide) seats and three district seats. The board faces a teacher shortage, budget deficits and continued concerns about less than half…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Many new openings to celebrate There are so many restaurants and things opening lately. First up, a plethora of fancy places to eat lunch in downtown Minneapolis (dinner too, in some cases). Several publications have heralded “the return of downtown,” especially the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Rondo – reconnect or reparations, or both? St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood was the center of the Black community in the Minneapolis–St. Paul region for much of the 20th century. The intact Rondo neighborhood was economically active, social and self-supportive. The core of Rondo was demolished between…
BY STEPHANIE FOX The Minneapolis neighborhood celebration known as Open Streets will have its final festival for 2022 with Open Streets Minnehaha, in the Longfellow neighborhood on Oct. 1 from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The street will be closed to all motor vehicle traffic between East Lake Street and…
BY KAY SCHROVEN Commissioner of Public Safety Cedric Alexander is wasting no time getting out to meet the communities of Minneapolis. On Aug. 25 he was introduced to the Phelps community at Phelps Park by Andrea Jenkins, City Council president and Ward 8 council member. It was Alexander’s third week…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Eat, drink, and be entertained The Parkway Theater is having some fun events both cinematic and otherwise coming up this fall. From Sept. 15 – 29 is “Mel Brooks Month.” You can buy a pass to all three special screenings for $27. On Sept. 15 it’s…
Bikester Chronicles There was a proposal before the Park Board to close Minneapolis parkways to vehicular traffic on certain days every month. The Board received so much negative feedback they canceled the proposal in August. BY JOHN DAHL On June 6, Southside Pride published an opinion of Patricia Kelly, Board…
I want to respond to (and ask a question of) Carin Peterson in their letter to the editor dated Aug. 8, 2022. In this letter, Peterson expressed frustration at the city’s Hennepin Avenue redevelopment plan which “turns Hennepin into nothing more than a commuter line.” Peterson insists bike lanes have…
