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 In Summer Camp world as well as in School Year world, STEM, the acronym for all technical things (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) has been merged with the arts to become STEAM. Although I haven’t found anything labeled as a STEAM camp, there is hardly an arts camp that doesn’t…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Whew! I hardly know where to start. On March 10, a coalition of pissed-off parents marched to demand Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) go back to the drawing board on their Comprehensive District Design (CDD) and this time consult meaningfully and in advance with the community, especially…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Welcome to Getting About. This new monthly column will inform you about opportunities for those 60 and older to get out of ruts, make a difference, participate in exciting communities, build new communities, and have more control over your living environment. We’ll be looking at “the…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I was “moaning” (what the Brits say instead of “bitching”— just sounds nicer) to my friend about having to come up with yet another fresh take on Valentine’s Day and mentioned it wasn’t really my favorite holiday. She said, “Oh, really? It IS my favorite.” When…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Standish-Ericsson Neighborhood Association (SENA) hosted an open meeting under the auspices of the Crime and Safety Committee on Jan. 22 at Sibley Park. Executive director of SENA Candace Lopez played host, and two expert speakers—Council Member Andrew Johnson (Ward 12) and Inspector Sean McGinty (Precinct 3)—were…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE In 2008, at age 55, I lived in a small town in England. I had recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure, and my blood glucose and cholesterol numbers were high too, though not demanding treatment. I started an exercise regimen at a private gym in…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE This holiday season, I am contemplating redemption. I am initially inspired by a nontraditional modern Christmas carol by Bruce Cockburn, dating from an album released in the early 1990s, “Cry of a Tiny Babe.” The chorus proclaims, “Redemption rips through the surface of time in the…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Once again, and maybe even more so, the Twin Cities is heaving with winter-themed, holiday-ized markets, activities and cultural flowerings to enhance your mood and social standing as the days darken. As usual, we will focus on both grand traditions and iconoclastic takedowns, and privilege the…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE 1 Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command. Dinkytown is the University of Minnesota, and the Dinkytown experience is quintessentially the student experience. Even if, like me, you first experienced Dinkytown as a fully grown adult almost a decade away from your own college…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE We have come to a point in late-stage capitalism where a lot of the so-called philanthropy vying for well-meaning control of our lives is so inept, so blinkered by ideology, that it has become its own opposite. “Philanthropy” contains two Greek root words that mean, respectively,…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE As a “consumer,” you have three broad things on offer from Midtown Global Market: It’s a place to eat and drink, it’s a place to shop and hang out, and it’s a place with numerous neighborhood-based events to attend. The eating and drinking might seem similar…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE We took a leisurely weekend ramble eastward on Selby Avenue and discovered some delightful places to share. Of course, most Minneapolitans know Selby Avenue is there, a couple of blocks south of Marshall Avenue, which is your handy gateway to St. Paul if you live near…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE We have discovered some interesting goods and services on Chicago Avenue around the 48th Street commercial hub. In general, things are pretty stable around this location, with its prosperous but not flashy real estate, great schools, and strong neighborhood organizations and business owners’ association. The retail…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE We attended the Open Streets on Franklin Avenue a couple of weeks ago and man, there were a LOT of scooters. Scooters were a novelty rarely seen just last year at Open Streets. During my one-week visit to Atlanta this year in early August, that city…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE (Yeah, we’re hoping to sell this piece to BuzzFeed later.) But seriously, this is no joke. We were calmly and methodically doing our research to spotlight two upmarket small businesses and three long-standing nonprofits on Chicago Avenue when—BOOM!—one of the nonprofits, a 17-year-old, high-visibility presence…
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