BY ED FELIEN Well, since my baby left me Well, I found a new place to dwell Well, it’s down at the end of Lonely Street At Heartbreak Hotel —Elvis There are lots of reasons for homelessness. More than half of all working adults in America are a paycheck away…
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,…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN Instead of spending their day-off on desperately needed rest and self-care, Twin Cities nurses staged an informational picket in front of United Hospital in St. Paul, demanding “nurse protections” and protesting “United’s retaliation against workers for trying to protect themselves from the COVID-19 virus.” In the early…
BY DAVE TILSEN The state DFL decided that all Senate district conventions would have to be online this year because of the threat of the COVID-19 virus. This had never been done before, and none of us knew how it was going to turn out. A lot of people put…
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…
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…
BY ED FELIEN On April 29, the Minneapolis City Council agreed to begin paying out more than a million dollars to stop the civil trial of Officer Lucas Peterson, charged with the wrongful death of Terrance Franklin. I couldn’t resist writing to the Council: “Your refusal to hold Lucas Peterson…
BY ED FELIEN If you read (and, you’re reading this) you probably spend a lot of time on the internet these days. There’s a lot of wonderful stuff out there. Here are some things I found recently … But first, what is it you miss most about social isolation? Isn’t…
BY TONY BOUZA It is a bromide and cliché that crises present opportunities—but these are honored mostly in being ignored. The comfortable status quo. The public understands and supports drastic action in a pandemic. The MPD could abandon two-person squads and answer twice the 911 calls—even with a virus-ravaged force.…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN What happens to a child who has been on his own in the world since the age of 5—in the midst of an African civil war? What does he learn? How does he see the world? How does he heal himself from indescribable horrors? Paul Deng Kur,…
Elizabeth Blanchette, communications and marketing manager at Plymouth Congregational Church, writes the following: There are only a few food shelves in the metro area that have been able to remain open during this time of pandemic. Our own Groveland is one of those few, steadfast and committed in its work…
Imprisonment I’m fascinated with jails. I certainly don’t want to be in jail and I must say that my reaction when I was once jailed was far from fascination. At that time, it was wishing that the other inmates would stop talking so loud, depriving me of sleep. It was…
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…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN During this period of time when most of us are not anywhere near the coronavirus, yet closer than we think, we are watching and waiting and wishing the best for our family, friends and neighbors. Finding ways to get through the gloom and worry of this time,…
In-depth news about the California fires I find that in order to understand the news behind the news, I usually have to seek sources beyond the usual sources; mainstream media too often glosses over information vital for real understanding. The recent fires in California are an example. In November 2018,…
