BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Chances are, if you know 10 people who consider themselves environmentalists or some version thereof (ecosocialist, ecofeminist, environmental anarchist, left-wing prepper) you will notice that they all have different approaches to their activism, and often different “takes” on what informs their beliefs, what matters the most,…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE So many changes, so few column inches What a year this has been for Lake Street! I have to warn you right at the start, there is no way we can cover everything new and different since April 2021 along South Minneapolis’s most vital street. It’s…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN Disco T was a well-known DJ in Minneapolis. He died of brain cancer on Dec. 31, 2021. At his memorial event, on his birthday, Feb. 19, everyone spoke of him as a legend, an icon. He was beloved and admired. I knew him by his given name…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Closings in food and drink From Racket.com and other sources we learned that Tin Whiskers, one of the original artisanal Minnesota breweries, is closing this year. Buy up their inventory while you still can, if you’re a fan. From Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, we learn that 35-year Dinkytown…
BY LYDIA HOWELL The Ukrainian language demeaned as a dialect, “Little Russian,” or censored; a beloved folk musical instrument suppressed; prison or death for poets, artists and dissidents since the 1860s – all these things have been done to maintain Russian domination of Ukraine. Whether under czars or Soviets, from…
BY TONY BOUZA I’m given to hyperbole. Can’t seem to help it. “Best this,” “greatest that,” whatever. The U. S. has earned my devoted study. It has, to put it modestly, really lifted me out of certain defeat. No small feat. I owe this great country. So, what would a…
BY TOM O’CONNELL “Curb cut: (noun, North American) A small ramp built into the curb of a sidewalk to make it easier for people using strollers or wheelchairs to pass from the sidewalk to the road.” – Lexico.com I never paid much attention to curb cuts until a few years…
“Raise Your Voice, Silica Dust & Molten Iron” first appeared in the March 2022 edition of the alley community newspaper. It is reprinted here by permission. By Peter Molenaar Upon retiring from Smith Foundry, this writer undertook distribution of the Alley to the various agencies and businesses of the Phillips…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The big story In a deliberately coordinated effort, MFT59 and MFT59-ESP, representing teachers and other professionals in the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) respectively, and SPFE (SPFT 28) representing both sections in St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS), filed “intent to strike” paperwork on Wednesday, Feb. 23. As…
BY MAGDALENA KALUZA Our neighbor, Miss Linda Taylor, is facing the immediate threat of displacement from her Powderhorn home of 18 years. As her neighbors, we are clear: We will not allow her to be intimidated and displaced by a landlord who already owns far more homes than they need!…
BY ELINA KOLSTAD “We’ve gotta keep the schools open. … When we don’t have [open schools], boredom sets in. And boredom is no excuse for carjacking.” These were the words of Mayor Frey in January of this year when he advocated keeping schools open during the recent omicron surge. He…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Now we know what’s going where Augustine’s was A new restaurant under development by a couple with a recognized track record of great restaurants has been announced for the space on Selby Avenue in St. Paul previously occupied by the French bistro Augustine’s. Kalsada, which means…
BY ERIC SKOGLUND I saw the kindness of middle school boys make a grandmother cry. It happened on a hockey rink, at a pickup game at Hiawatha School Park a few hours before the Cincinnati Bengals would win a football game and advance to the Super Bowl. Pickup hockey is…
BY CAM GORDON On Feb. 2, the City Council received a report on police department staffing that recommends steps the mayor and Council could take to improve public safety in Minneapolis. The $170,000 study grew out of a City Council directive from 2019 and its results are reminiscent of the…
BY TONY BOUZA The Greeks were the finest expression of civilization ever. Why? Because they made their citizens better humans. How? By cautioning against hubris (pride) and avoiding hamartia (the critical flaw). The antidote? Merciless introspection. Oedipus was the toughest, smartest, most admirable—yet, came a cropper, wandering blindly in the…
