Million dollar boondoggle for bureaucrats

BY KATHRYN KELLY A public data request to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board reveals how much money has been spent, so far, on the Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan. What is the number as of October 2020? $871,759.29 The Park Board is closing in on spending One Million Dollars…

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Think again about your Medicare Advantage plan

Thank you for the article on Medicare in the recent opinion page of Southside Pride. A basic good general overview. However, the section on Medicare Advantage was not accurate. Not surprising since false and misleading information of the wonders of Medicare Advantage are everywhere. It is not Medicare. It is…

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McCarthy Lives

BY TONY BOUZA I was in my 20s during the McCarthy years—roughly the early ’50s. Communist hysteria. Traitors everywhere and a reckless and audacious national figure attacked such supreme patriots as George G. Marshall (of the Plan) and the architect of not just World War II victories, but World War…

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Disarm them with love

BY ED FELIEN There is nothing more dangerous than a cornered rat. It is desperate. It will do anything to survive. Donald Trump knows that when he leaves office there is an almost endless trail of criminal charges he will face. He will pardon his fellow felons: Manafort and Flynn…

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Dinkytown in the 2020 Weirds

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Dinkytown, as you know, is not like other neighborhoods. It’s not even like other college campus-adjacent neighborhoods such as those in St. Paul, or in smaller college towns. So Dinkytown’s response to things like the COVID pandemic is also a little bit different. Dinkytown, with its…

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President’s response to virus unacceptable

The picture of the workers in their hazard suits and spraying the White House reminds me of the answer Senator Kirsten Gilibrand gave when she was running for president and she was asked, “What would be the first thing you would do if elected president?” and she said, “I’d clorox…

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Robin Wonsley Worlobah for City Council

I was thrilled to see the news that Robin Wonsley Worlobah announced her candidacy for Minneapolis City Council for 2021. I met Robin in 2016 during the campaign fighting for a $15 minimum wage in Minneapolis. She was leading a large political meeting, energizing a room of diverse working class…

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Do your job!

To the City Council Public Health and Safety Committee on “the current model of community safety and opportunities for change:” There are some very simple things this council, working with the mayor, could do to improve the efficiency and restore public confidence in the Minneapolis Police Department. First, return to…

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Fighting the police unions

BY TONY BOUZA On my birthday, The New York Times’ lead editorial centered on police impunity and labeled arbitrators as the villains. Quite a gift. Thank you. The Times are idiots. Union problems got so bad here that they (city leaders) undertook a desperate nationwide search for a chief in…

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VOTE

BY CONNIE SULLIVAN MPLS ISSUES FORUM There is absolutely no proof at all that the only “safe” way to vote is in person at a polling place on the day of Nov. 3. In Minneapolis, as in Minnesota as a whole, our voting system is intact andcarefully monitored. Ballots do…

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Minneapolis Schools’ other issues on the back burner, but not CDD!

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE It’s a complex landscape. You have the institutions—district public schools, public-private charter schools, alternative, private and parochial schools, as well as the districts themselves and some contractors that fill in essential services, like food preparation or bus transportation. Then you have the stakeholders—students, families, teachers, other…

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Meeting at George Floyd Square

BY ELAINE KLAASSEN At 38th and Chicago, where George Floyd was killed on May 25, the streets are blocked off so traffic can’t go through the intersection. Inside this space are many flowers, murals, a medic tent, daily community meals, a library, food giveaways and a group called Agape (unconditional…

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Hard truths

BY TONY BOUZA The writer has a unique series of responsibilities. The first is to truth. Relevance and humility follow. Gratitude and respect for the reader, and I’m sure there are more. Facile, no? No. If our President has reminded us of nothing else, he has reminded us of the…

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Keep it closed

BY ELINA KOLSTAD The city has tried and failed to reopen the intersection at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue off and on since it was closed down by protestors after George Floyd was killed in May. These efforts have been unsuccessful and I, for one, am grateful to those protecting…

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What is Medicare?

Medicare isn’t just a single health plan. There are various parts, some of which you get from the government and others that you can purchase from private insurance companies. Parts A and B make up what’s known as original Medicare, which comes directly from the government. Part A. You can…

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