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 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…
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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…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Why keep small and unusual pets? Not everyone can keep a dog or a cat in their living space. For reasons ranging from disabilities to allergies to rules for renters, sometimes if one wants an animal companion, they have to look for other alternatives. I have…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The outlook for the third summer of COVID In 2020, virtual summer camps were born. But when we published our piece on summer camps in early March 2020, we had no idea what was to come. And neither did the organizations offering summer camps, many of…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Resisting diet culture If you feel the alluring pull for a dietary “renewal” every January and have a vague feeling that you’re being played, you need to read this excellent piece by dietitian Christy Harrison in the Eater – “How to Avoid the shameless creep of…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE COVID-19: Both cities implement vaccine, test result checks On Jan. 12, both Minneapolis and St. Paul, reeling from the high rates of new COVID-19 omicron variant cases, announced mandates for restaurants and bars to check either vaccine status or a negative COVID test within two days…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Home safe home These days, for a lot of us, our homes are a refuge from the dangerous world out there. The experience many of us had of “sheltering in place” has possibly given us a new appreciation of the good points as well as the…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE A little over a year ago, I heard of an effort to launch a Democratic Socialist Caucus in the DFL. I have called myself a democratic socialist since about the mid-1980s. I made the transition from anarchist (because of Ursula K. Le Guin, Emma Goldman, and…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Owamni is everywhere The January issue of The Dish may strike a discordant note. Written, as per the iron deadlines of local journalism, in the dying days of a year too full of dying, it still strives to strike a note of hope for 2022, and…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The connection For the past decade or so, I have been thinking a lot, and acting – a bit less, but still acting – on ways to reduce my personal harm to the environment in the process of consumption. As the four “R”s tell us (reduce,…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The title of this article is meant to gently lead you into a dark place. If I had titled it “Dying During the Holidays” you probably would have skipped it, right? Sorry about that. But now that you’re here, let me explain. If you’re one of…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Restaurant news Have you heard of Goldbelly? I first heard of it last week, when I did a search to find where I could get good latkes without having to make or cook them myself. Of course, I meant to be searching for a local deli…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The case for a spiritual practice for good mental health In recent years, there has been a merging between the body of knowledge of spirituality and spiritual practice and that of mental health and wellness. In a way, they were never separate. After all, the root…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The difference a pandemic makes In contrast to last year, even though the pandemic is still very much in force, there are quite a lot of in-person events to attend to enjoy the holiday season this year – if you are so inclined, and if you…
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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Restaurant news – BIPOC owners on the rise In New York City and many other major metropolises, pizza sold by the slice is more common, and “slice shops” abound. They are pretty rare in the Twin Cities. Becoming less rare, but still a definite minority, are…
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