Heart of the Beast needs your help!

Donate at www.hobt.org or by texting “Puppet” to 243725. In the Heart of the Beast is a puppet and mask theatre that has proudly served the Powderhorn and Phillips neighborhoods for 50 years. From a small group of street theatre artists and activists, HOBT has become a world-renowned theater recognized…

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Hundred Flowers

BY ED FELIEN Let a hundred flowers blossom, let a hundred schools of thought contend. For those of you who are irretrievably nostalgic about your wasted youth and want to relive the resistance to the war in Vietnam, the music and the fog of psychedelia (when you could pull up…

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‘Ironbound’ – chasing men, money and the American dream

BY KAY SCHROVEN The Minneapolis Frank Theatre players in “Ironbound” subtly and eloquently connect us to important matters of our time – immigration; women’s independence or lack thereof; domestic violence; class; economic issues; relationships; addiction; and parenting. Love is a luxury for Darja, a 30-something mother and Polish immigrant living…

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‘Dial M for Murder’

BY KAY SCHROVEN This iconic thriller has had multiple lives since it was first written in the early 1950s by Frederick Knott, an English playwright. Seventy years later the story still resonates and fills theaters. It is best known in the U.S. for the 1954 film version directed by Alfred…

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Stop the war on Palestine, now!

BY ED FELIEN 1. The U.S. is in the unique position, as Israel’s storehouse of ammunition and weaponry, to demand an immediate end to hostilities. 2. With support from the U.N., the U.S. must commit to the restoration and rebuilding of Gaza. 3. The U.S. and the U.N. must recognize…

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Mr. Smith goes to City Hall

BY CAM GORDON Part 1 – The Rise Last year, the city of Minneapolis saw an exodus of staff in two of its smaller and newer departments: Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, and Performance Management and Innovation. Both lost all their staff in 2023. One of those who left was…

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Erica Bouza – Passing

BY ED FELIEN Erica Bouza Fragile and delicate. The last time I saw her was in their bedroom. I looked at her and almost wept. The sadness and loss she read in my eyes frightened her. But she was strong as steel when convinced of a righteous cause. I wrote…

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Stop the war on Palestine

BY MIKE MADDEN Veterans for Peace Chapter 27 joins Southside Pride in its call for a cease-fire and an end to the war on Gaza. Like Editor Ed Felien, we recognize that the United States, functioning as Israel’s arsenal, is in a unique position to accomplish this goal by simply…

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Medical Assistance program confuses everybody

BY DIANE J. PETERSON AND JOHN KOLSTAD Our Minnesota Legislature keeps allowing ever-increasing billions of our tax funds to pay private corporations to manage the health care of people who cannot afford their own medical care. However, most legislators and patients do not comprehend how this government function operates. On…

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Donald Trump, the racist

BY ED FELIEN The Star Tribune missed an opportunity to fully explain the extent of Donald Trump’s connection to the white supremacy movement when it published “Trump denial strikes familiar tone; Professing ignorance on Hitler similar to remarks about Klan, QAnon, Proud Boys” by Jill Colvin on Dec. 28. They…

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Spirits in the Coliseum

BY KAY SCHROVEN “It’s not the strongest of the species that survive but the most adaptable.” – Charles Darwin Chris Montana and his wife Shanelle of Du Nord Social Spirits are a living example of Darwin’s theory. When Du Nord’s well-laid plans were interrupted in 2020 because of the global…

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