BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Kristi was dead, there was no doubt about that. Her passing was sudden and cruel, and it was also 35 years ago. But I only say there was no doubt that I wasn’t seeing a living but long-lost sister in the struggle to make it clear…
BY ED FELIEN In 1970 I was publishing Hundred Flowers, a weekly underground newspaper, an anti-war, anti-racist, early feminist, psychedelic fun rag that sold for a quarter. Some people were having a demonstration somewhere on Harriet Avenue protesting the demolition of houses to make room for a two-and-a-half story walk-up…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN There’s a special place in heaven (or, at least in my heart) for people who make music a reality in the lives of children. Such people are found at St. Helena Catholic School, a PreK-8 in South Minneapolis. The music program at St. Helena isn’t what it…
Are you feeling helpless and hopeless because of the madness in Washington? Take some time this holiday season to speak out for peace: No War for the Holidays is the theme for the peace vigil on Dec. 20. Several Twin Cities area peace and anti-war groups have issued a call urging people…
BY TONY BOUZA The job sucks. The Chief is a psycho. We’re going to hell in a handbasket. Morale has never been lower. These are a few of the bromides that drive police thinking. Civilians, though, are looking at Atlantis and don’t know it. An unfathomable world, several fathoms deep.…
BY STEPHANIE FOX In December, Christmas takes over everything. Christmas music is everywhere, dozens of TV specials and shows have Christmas themes, decorations with Christmas themes fill homes, stores and the streets. Anything winter related becomes a symbol of Christmas, from toy soldiers to snowflakes to bells to stars to…
A wrongfully-convicted man’s vision During these depressing “Days of Trump” a little positive news is helpful. Therefore with anticipation I began to read the Oct. 6 New York Times article entitled “An Innocent Man Who Imagined the World as It Should Be.” His name was John Thompson, a resident of New…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Saturday and Sunday Brunch. For some people they are a special occasion, for others they’re just a way of life. Especially if you’re in the second category, you probably won’t want to spend a lot of time waiting, or spend more money than you need to.…
It’s good to open a discussion on poverty. I appreciate Joe Selvaggio’s article in that regard. However, his tone makes one think that he lives miles and miles from the people who find themselves, for many, many different reasons, without the means to survive. His deprecating tone is disturbing. And…
BY JOE SELVAGGIO Upon reading the amazing book “Amazing MN” by Lee Lynch, I found myself smug and proud of my adoptive state, Minnesota. Fact after fact, picture after picture evoked, “Wow, I’m lucky to live here.” We have invested wisely in literacy and education, recreational sites, arts, sports teams…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN The federal government is planning to spend $2.1 billion on four new immigrant detention centers in the U.S. One of them will be in Minnesota. There are already 200-plus existing sites in the country. According to Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC), in 1996 there…
BY DEANNA BOSS On Thursday, Nov. 30, about 40 people filled a room at the Nokomis Community Center to learn more about the proposed Lake Nokomis Shoreline Enhancements project. The meeting was hosted by the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board and representatives from the contractors selected to do the work.…
If you want to be part of a citizen’s advisory committee (CAC) to hear plans for the use of Hiawatha Golf Course, then you should call the Park Board at 612-230-6400 before Dec. 22 and tell them you’re interested. But Commissioner Musich probably already controls the CAC. The eight community…
There is a dam/weir blocking the outlet to Lake Nokomis. This has caused the water table in the neighborhood to rise. The dam/weir was built in 1964. South Minneapolis mythology has it that Vice President Humphrey had the U.S. Corps of Engineers build the dam/weir to hold back the water…
BY ED FELIEN First, let’s look at the facts. Leanne Tweeden wrote to Al Franken: “You forcibly kissed me without my consent, grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it.” Tweeden agreed to rehearse a skit with Franken in which he kisses her. This was…
