Columnists

Regular Columnists

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

 


‘The beatings will continue until morale improves!’

BY ED FELIEN This map, produced by a team of geographers, historians and social activists at the University of Minnesota (https://www.mappingprejudice.org/), shows the areas of South Minneapolis that had restrictive covenants written into the deeds of homes for sale: “That the said land or buildings thereon shall never be sold…

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China has already won the Trade War

BY ED FELIEN A trade war is when a country raises tariffs (taxes) on a product coming into the country. The business selling that cheaper foreign product then has to pass that tariff (tax) on to the consumer, and this can make the product cost the same as an American-made…

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Justine Damond: Post mortem

BY TONY BOUZA The Damond case is a one-in-several-decades of events. Bound to be pored over, examined, analyzed and judged. I admit to rapt fascination with its facets. Frequently overlooked—and to my regret, by me—is the origin of it all. Justine Damond was coming to the rescue of a human…

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Northern Spark 2019 comes to the Avenue

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE For this year’s Northern Spark event, the American Indian Cultural Corridor on Franklin Avenue will be one of three “nodes” of explosive and transformative art activities. If you’re unfamiliar with Northern Spark, now in its ninth year, this started out as a moving art festival that…

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Cheesy pleasures at All Square

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE All Square 4047 Minnehaha Ave. S. Minneapolis 55406 Hours: Wed. thru Sun., 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. All Square is not like other restaurants; it’s not even like other small neighborhood diners with an excellent but limited menu and a family-friendly vibe, though it is all…

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Peace of Pie Festival

BY ELAINE KLAASSEN One day a member of Minnehaha Communion Lutheran Church (MCLC) said out loud, “I want to feed people pie,” and her thought did not fall on deaf ears. The Peace of Pie festival was born, and will be held in the fruit tree orchard of Adams Triangle…

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What’s new on 34th Avenue?

BY ED FELIEN You can’t see it, but the change has been profound. Drive down 34th Avenue and it looks like nothing’s changed (other than the encroaching construction!). The houses, the commercial buildings, everything looks the same, the way it’s always been. But it won’t be that way forever. The…

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Big Beasts

BY TONY BOUZA Editor’s note: Once again, I vigorously disagree with Mr. Bouza’s analysis. Please read my note at the end of his essay. Cineaste. Today’s word—and, since confronting the English language on Dec. 22, 1937, I’ve grown increasingly fond of this really powerful tool. At about that time I…

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Fire Bob Kroll!

BY ED FELIEN When Mayor Frey announced an end to fear-based warrior training for Minneapolis police, Police Federation President Bob Kroll announced his Federation would offer that warrior training free to Minneapolis police officers. Warrior training was cited as the principal cause of Officer Yanez’s killing of Philando Castile. It…

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New green deals on East 38th Street

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Despite my best intentions, I did not make it to Tare Market’s opening day (April 19) until 1p.m. or so, three hours after they first opened the doors. I felt better about that when they told me there had been a pretty big line of people…

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The Democrats and the Farmer-Labor Party

BY STEPHANIE FOX While most states have their Democrats, only in Minnesota do we have the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, the DFL, the result of the coming together of the far left Farmer-Labor Party and the more moderate Democrats, 75 years ago this month. On April 15, 1944, the two parties…

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