Columnists

Regular Columnists

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

 


An argument for compromise

BY ED FELIEN I wrote on a local community blog: I want a compromise. I want something everyone can be happy with. Why can’t everyone have everything they want? Why can’t we take down the artificial barriers that are blocking the outlet to Minnehaha Creek from Lake Hiawatha? Why can’t…

Continue reading

From the quotidian to the sublime

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The business hub around Chicago and 48th Street said good-bye to two casual restaurants this summer, then said hello to their replacements within the past month or so. Pepito’s, the very long-lived Mexican family-style restaurant associated with the Parkway Theatre, closed its doors. But lovers of…

Continue reading

Still out of control

BY ED FELIEN Cam Gordon’s attempt to add more oversight to the Minneapolis Police Department seems to have failed for the moment. The Charter Commission has said it will not hold hearings on the proposed amendment in time for it to be on the November ballot. Gordon was proposing: “Shall…

Continue reading

Very disappointed

BY ED FELIEN We supported Alondra Cano when she ran for re-election last fall. We were proud of her participation in the demonstrations against the police killing of Jamar Clark. We were proud of her when she joined Lisa Bender in trying to suspend the rules at a City Council…

Continue reading

Artsy-craftsy Chicago Avenue

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I finally visited StevenBe. As I mentioned in a previous article, “crafting,” especially needlecrafts, has not really been my thing. Too busy reading, writing and organizing, which are plenty creative endeavors in themselves. But I know a lot of crafters do it more as a form…

Continue reading

ELDERBERRY JAM: School Board elections

BY DAVID TILSEN We just had a primary election. For the School Board at-large, we only eliminated one candidate from the ballot, Doug Mann. In November we will have four candidates on the ballot, we can vote for up to two to elect two at-large candidates. We also will have…

Continue reading

Grand Avenue summer browse

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE We hit up an eclectic mix of shops and galleries all along the 3.5 mile stretch of Saint Paul’s Grand Avenue on a hot summer day in early August. The methodology was to start at an arbitrary point near the western end of the Avenue and…

Continue reading

What’s happening with Lake Hiawatha?

BY ED FELIEN At its meeting July 25, the Park Board finally responded to a question from its Lake Hiawatha Community Advisory Committee. The CAC asked whether future plans for Hiawatha could include an 18-hole golf course. The Board answered: “The Board of Commissioners intends for the CAC to bring…

Continue reading

Unintended consequences

BY TONY BOUZA I came late to the Law of Unintended Consequences, usually believing—naively, as it turned out—that the results of our actions were what folks usually intended. Gradually I came to recognize that the corruptions and abuses of Netanyahu actually lent support to Anti-Semites hungry for evidence of Jewish…

Continue reading