Columnists

Regular Columnists

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

 


Let’s talk about Jesus

BY ED FELIEN I grew up Roman Catholic. St. Helena’s Church in South Minneapolis. I was a good Catholic, went to Mass, took Communion. It fell apart for me in my freshman year at the U. I started reading James Joyce, “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.” Then…

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District 62B

BY ED FELIEN The 62nd District DFL endorsing convention will be Sunday, April 14, at Washburn High School. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the convention will be called to order at 10 a.m. There are four excellent candidates seeking DFL endorsement: Bill Emory; Londel French; Ira Jourdain; and Anquam…

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Making the case for an elected Met Council

BY CAM GORDON Do you know the name of your Metropolitan Council member? Do you know their priorities? Do you see them at community meetings or reaching out in other ways to talk to you and your neighbors? Chances are, you don’t. Some people have been trying to change that.…

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Earth Day 2024

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE How do you ‘celebrate?’ There are two major ways to relate to Earth Day, among those who are not climate-deniers or otherwise pooh-pooh the whole idea. One way is more for people who are broadly supportive of green solutions, climate concerns, voluntarism, and the environmental movement…

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Spring on East Lake Street

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Where the action is (mostly) these days Quietly, but there if you look for it, a lot of new places have come into being in the stretch of East Lake Street from Minnehaha Avenue to the Mississippi River. One big project that is not open yet…

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Spring on 48th and Chicago

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Chicago Avenue in South Minneapolis is an interesting street filled with loads of interesting places. We’re focusing right now on the section that goes from 46th Street south to the Richfield border. This is a stretch that’s a little more than half residential, especially toward the…

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Spring on Hennepin Avenue

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The decline and fall The big debate in local media is, “Is Uptown dead and if so, whose fault is it, and why are they not getting as much help as downtown?” OK, technically that’s three debates. But only if the answer to the first one…

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Trash into treasure

BY STEPHANIE FOX Most people in Minneapolis know that those blue trash bins, the ones next to the gray garbage cans, are the place to toss recyclables. The trucks come by every two weeks, some with side-loading mechanical arms and others with two-member teams with a driver and a worker…

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Hodan Hassan is not running for re-election

BY ED FELIEN Hodan Hassan was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018, and she’s been re-elected ever since. She and Rep. Aisha Gomez have introduced a bill in this session of the Legislature to spend $10 million on construction of the Neighborhood Development Center on Lake…

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Big education news for 2024

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE From the ridiculous (Moms for Liberty) to the sublime (Notorious D.O.T.) The school board beat is not usually this tabloid-worthy, but have you all been following the (ahem) “career” of Bridget Ziegler of Sarasota, Florida? This fine, upstanding lady is married to Christian Ziegler, who was…

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The quite interesting history of summer camps

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Too many pioneers! The history of summer camps goes back further than you would think. Maybe that’s why I came across many camps for “pioneers” while researching the topic. Created by Canadian Anglicans, the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, Jewish Community Centers, Mormons, Lutherans, Southern Baptists,…

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