Columnists

Regular Columnists

Ed Felien  •  Elaine Klaassen  •  Polly Mann  •  Tony Bouza  •  David Tilsen  •  Debra Keefer Ramage  •  Stephanie Fox  •  Johnny Hazard 

 


Small business street parking is one man’s concern

BY STEPHANIE FOX You may not know Phil Vandervaart personally, but you know his work. He has been a Twin Cities professional sign painter since 1983, creating artistic and imaginative signage for hundreds of small businesses in Minneapolis since moving here from Chicago. Some of his works include Palmer’s Bar,…

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March in Mexico against Israeli aggression

BY JOHNNY HAZARD On Saturday, Oct. 28, I walked in the march against Israeli aggression in Mexico City. It was the second march to be held here since the events of Oct. 7 and the Israeli reprisals. Between 2,000 and 4,000 people marched from the Ángel de la Independencia (near…

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Marty and Martha Roth

A fond remembrance by Ed Felien My earliest memory of double dating with Marty and Martha was taking our kids (in strollers) to the Minnesota State Fair. Jennifer lost her pacifier and Marty wondered what archeologists a thousand years from now would make of it. That was almost 60 years…

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City Council elections 

BY ED FELIEN City elections are coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 7.  All 13 seats are up for grabs.  Here’s who we like: Ward 1—Elliott Payne.  He votes right all the time, very progressive, without grandstanding.  Besides, he’s a Black Diaper Baby.  Children of communists and leftists are called Red Diaper Babies.  Children of Black Panthers…

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Is Avivo the answer?

BY CAM GORDON The Minneapolis City Council has taken a step toward bringing a new tiny-home shelter housing project to the Southside. On Sept. 21, they voted unanimously to provide $1 million as a match for state funds for a new Avivo Village South Project. The money would come from the city’s…

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Open Streets Lyndale is an autumn celebration

BY STEPHANIE FOX Open Streets Lyndale, the final Open Streets event for the season, will be held on Oct. 8 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lyndale Avenue will be closed to motor traffic from 42nd Street to 22nd Street, and open to pedestrians, bikes, rollerblades and skateboards. The street…

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The state of public education

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE What does the internet say? I don’t watch TV anymore, so I never see TV news; I never did listen to the radio much and I can’t afford the Strib. How do I stay so well-informed, you ask? I have learned to maximize the internet. It’s…

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Autumn at Midtown Global Market

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Here’s your yearly update on how things are going at Midtown Global Market and its nearby environs. I visited the Market in mid-September, and I hate to start out on a sad note, but it was partly to say goodbye to two businesses I heard were…

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Celebrate Fall in Dinkytown

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Identity housing scandal This fall, as students flock to Dinkytown to inhabit the new high rises, low rises and co-ops that have been built in the last few years, a scandal is unfolding. (I’m the only one calling it that, so I had to drop the…

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‘Consent of the governed’— gone!

BY ED FELIEN Frey’s budget Mayor Frey is proposing a $1.8 billion budget for 2024, with a property tax increase of 6.2%. Where does all that money go? Mostly to the suburbs to pay staff to come in here and tell us what’s wrong with us. Consent of the governed?…

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MPD falls short on domestic violence response

BY CAM GORDON A new report released this spring by the Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization Global Rights for Women confirms that the city’s response to domestic violence calls continues to fall short. The report, “An Institutional Analysis of the Minneapolis Police Response to Domestic Violence,” was presented to the Community Commission on…

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