Nokomis


A leaf flutters to Earth

FROM DICK BERNARD’S BLOG: OUTSIDE THE WALLS My friend Wayne Wittman wasn’t at his Minnesota Precinct Caucus on Tuesday, March 1. My guess is he’d never have missed his precinct caucus. He was always an activist. From his obituary: “Wayne lived every day of his 86 years to the fullest. He…

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Remembering Bill Rowe

William Leal Rowe Oct. 7, 1926 – Feb. 16, 2016 William Leal Rowe, age 89, died peacefully in Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 16, of natural causes. He is survived by his sister, Patricia Bade, and her family; his daughter, Julia Rowe and her husband, Josh Radinsky; his son, James Weldon…

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The architectural legacy of Hennepin Avenue

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Hennepin Avenue has been a vein of history since before it existed as a named road. Like many other main streets of North America, it follows the course of a walking trail of the Native Americans, in this case a route between what the Europeans called…

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Star Tribune has run several editorial columns and letters recently about the morass of gun-inflicted violence in which America is mired.  Every suggestion, reasonable or not, for restricting sales or possession of guns instantly generates controversy and resistance. On the other hand, obviously there does exist a consensus in…

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Caucusing for Bernie

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Sort of like the protagonist in “Orange is the New Black,” when the day finally arrived, I wasn’t ready. I was prepared. But turnout—that was the great unknown. As a volunteer, variously called Precinct Captain, Caucus Captain, and finally, Campaign Rep, for the Bernie Sanders campaign,…

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Houses of Worship Directory

Zen COMPASSION CHANTING FOR DIFFICULT TIMES 3212 18th Ave. S. 612-822-9520 [email protected] Baha’i BAHA’I CENTER OF MINNEAPOLIS 3644 Chicago Ave. S. 612-823-3494 [email protected] www.mplsbahai.org Baptist NEW CREATION BAPTIST CHURCH 1414 E. 48th St. 612-825-6933 UNIVERSITY BAPTIST CHURCH 1219 University Ave. S.E. 612-331-1768 www.ubcmn.org Catholic CHURCH OF THE HOLY NAME 3637 …

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Over 50 people attended the Seward Neighborhood Group Community Development Committee meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at Matthews Park and voted overwhelmingly to close Minnehaha Avenue from Franklin to Cedar Avenue.  Hennepin County will be repaving Franklin Avenue between 16th and 21st Avenues this summer, so this was the ideal time for the community to make that change. Sheldon Mains said, “The neighborhood has been trying to get this intersection improved to provide better safety for people in cars, people on bikes and people walking since at least 2000.”

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Star Tribune has run several editorial columns and letters recently about the morass of gun-inflicted violence in which America is mired.  Every suggestion, reasonable or not, for restricting sales or possession of guns instantly generates controversy and resistance. On the other hand, obviously there does exist a consensus in…

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Voter’s guide to the precinct caucuses

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE March 1, 2016, is Caucus Night in Minnesota. When it comes to presidential elections, Minnesota is not a “primary” state, so there won’t be a Democratic primary for you to vote in. The only way you can register your preference as to the nominee of the…

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Changing Lake Hiawatha into Lake Swampy

BY ED FELIEN Former Mayor R T Rybak started a lively discussion in South Minneapolis by saying, “Sad to admit this, but until I saw this mural in South Minneapolis I didn’t know that what we now call Lake Hiawatha was once a wetland where wild rice grew. So if…

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Accessibility

BY TONY BOUZA It’s 3 a.m. and a black motorist, slightly tipsy, is pulled over by a white cop.  The driver is obstreperous.  This is a challenge to the officer’s manhood.  The cop wants to meet the challenge to his authority: “The asshole needs a lesson.”  That is the usual…

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Poverty pimps and the gentrification scam

BY ED FELIEN Why do poverty pimps push the myth of gentrification? According to Myron Orfield, “Brighton Development made at least a $10 million profit building 3,000 units of low income housing.  We only know this because Peggy Lucas had to disclose her assets when she was on the Sport…

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