Debra Keefer Ramage
Debra Keefer Ramage began writing freelance for Southside Pride in 2012, shortly after returning from a 13-year sojourn in England. She covers progressive politics, education, co-ops and neighborhoods. In 2017 she started doing Southside Pride’s restaurant review column, The Dish.
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE As we have been doing since March, this week’s focus on St. Paul’s Highland Park will be a geographical guide to services available and businesses open (or not) due to COVID-19. In addition, we will talk a bit about libraries, and a bit about homelessness in…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Compared to the parts of South Minneapolis I usually frequent, the area around Lake Nokomis and southward into Richfield looks placid and untouched. I’m sure there is trauma there too, but at least there weren’t as many fires or as much looting. If you get to…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I encountered the above description of this time of this year and I … couldn’t really do better, so I’m “borrowing” it. Actually, things look a lot more normal on Cedar Avenue than most places in South Minneapolis, although nowhere is immune to the changes. Which…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Two weeks ago, we covered the part of Franklin Avenue west of Cedar Avenue. They were having some hard times but meeting the challenges with the resilience borne of centuries of standing against settler colonialism. Some of the denizens of this issue’s focus, the part from…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Longfellow/Seward Healthy Seniors (LSHS) is a nonprofit that helps seniors live their most healthy and independent lives, following the “Living at Home / Block Nurse” model. It is one of three such programs in Minneapolis, the other two being Nokomis Healthy Seniors and Southeast Seniors. LSHS…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE On May 30, the fifth night of all-night protests and associated property damage responding to the racist murder by police of George Floyd, attention turned to the 5th Precinct police station at Nicollet Avenue South and 31st Street. The 3rd Precinct station had been abandoned by…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I have flown to star-stained heights, on bent and battered wings In search of mythical kings, mythical kings Sure that everything of worth is in the sky and not the earth And I never learned to make my way down … where the iguanas play —Dory…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Native American populations, whether in urban areas, or rural communities, or on rural reservations, are hit disproportionately harder by COVID-19 than their white neighbors. In Minneapolis, Native Americans experience homelessness at a much greater rate than their population percentage. And they also have a long and…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE To my way of thinking, the good news is that the Midtown Farmers Market Saturday market started right on time, in early May. If you haven’t been yet, you should go. Geek Love Cafe had been closed, but at some point in late April or May,…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The Nokomis area centered around the business hub of 34th Avenue South and East 50th Street was already experiencing upheaval before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. While some businesses were doing well—the Bull’s Horn, Town Hall Lanes, the hardware store and others—some were teetering, closing, or despite…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE As you may have noticed, for the duration of the pandemic, including the gradual “reopening,” the rebound if any, the aftermath, and the recovery, all neighborhood focus articles will concentrate on pandemic news. So, for East 38th Street, we’ll start with the Nicollet and East 38th…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE What do an instructor from a technical college, a pair of socially conscious small businesses, and a robotics class from a suburban high school have in common? They are all providing creative solutions to the problem of shortages of PPE (personal protective equipment) to healthcare and…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Normally, our focus on the southern part of Chicago Avenue would include a couple of interesting dining or brunch experiences, or perhaps a quirky little retail shop or two. In the past we have highlighted massage therapists, bike races, parks and their activities, and coffee hangouts.…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I got addicted to a computer game called Onnect. Before I deleted it in exasperation, I was playing it an hour a day or more. I loved this game, but not enough to pay for it, so I had to watch some really annoying ads over…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Sadly, while it may be a fact that those over 60 are most vulnerable to contracting severe COVID-19, and therefore most needful of practicing social distancing, this same group has the lowest skill in using and access to online technologies that allow remote social connecting. Even…
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