BY DAVID TILSEN The effort to cause fear and division under the guise of protecting Minneapolis residents from each other during the Derek Chauvin trial has now been revealed to be more extensive and more ongoing than we were told. A recent article in the MIT Technology Review outlines a…
BY STEPHANIE FOX At first glance, the Children’s Theatre’s latest production, “Something Happened in Our Town,” seems to have been written for the Twin Cities, but it’s bigger than that. The plot revolves around two families, next-door neighbors. The Perkins family is Black, the Hartleys are white, and the play…
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…
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…
BY CAM GORDON On Feb. 2, the City Council received a report on police department staffing that recommends steps the mayor and Council could take to improve public safety in Minneapolis. The $170,000 study grew out of a City Council directive from 2019 and its results are reminiscent of the…
BY TONY BOUZA The Greeks were the finest expression of civilization ever. Why? Because they made their citizens better humans. How? By cautioning against hubris (pride) and avoiding hamartia (the critical flaw). The antidote? Merciless introspection. Oedipus was the toughest, smartest, most admirable—yet, came a cropper, wandering blindly in the…
BY ED FELIEN Just before sunrise on Feb. 2, the MPD SWAT team bursts into a downtown apartment: “Police!” “Search warrant!” “Get on the ground!” Amir Locke is asleep on a couch, under a blanket. They kick the couch. Amir gets up, turns to the officers. He is holding a…
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…
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…
BY STEPHANIE FOX Think of the Parkway Theater’s monthly event, “SCREAM it off SCREEN,” as a combination of the Gong Show and a night at The Rocky Horror Picture Show. But more fun. Unlike Rocky Horror, you don’t need be part of the club or know all the lines, and…
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…
BY DAVID TILSEN Clyde Bellecourt Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun, “Thunder Before the Storm,” left his mortal body on the evening of Jan. 11, 2022. He left behind an Indian community, a city, and a world that is changed for the better because of his work and sacrifice. A man of principle, a man…
BY DAVID TILSEN Sixteen urban Indian organizations recently announced they are seeking private and public support to construct buildings to increase the capacity of organizations dealing with education, health care, affordable housing and Native culture. The junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers was originally an important intersection of commerce…
BY CAM GORDON On Jan. 10, the new Minneapolis City Council met for the first time, elected new leadership and approved new committee assignments. It also revealed an interesting council divide. While the historic election of former vice president and Ward 8 council member Andrea Jenkins as the new council…
BY STEPHANIE FOX The time is 1950 and all of Korea is involved in a war between the North and the South, each side supported by large armies. Bina, at age 10, is the youngest of her family of apple growers. They produce some of the best apples in Korea,…
