BY STEPHANIE FOX The original plans were for a huge ceremony and celebration to mark the literal groundbreaking at the Friendship Academy of the Arts site in March. But the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 virus made large gatherings and public celebrations impossible. Instead, the groundbreaking ceremony on April 17…
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 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…
In spite of significant public opposition, and amid growing concerns surrounding the short and long-term impacts of COVID-19, six members of the nine-member Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Board voted to approve an expensive, confusing, and controversial Comprehensive District Design Plan (CDD) on Tuesday evening, May 12. Full implementation of the…
BY ELINA KOLSTAD Many hoped that our city’s 2040 Plan would be a solution to our affordable housing crisis, the idea being that an increase in housing stock would drive down prices through the market pressures of supply and demand. In the wake of this global pandemic, any weakness in…
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 SHAWNE FITZGERALD Longtime South Minneapolis activists Dick and Dorothy Pitheon died this past month. Dick was 87 and Dorothy, 82. Dick was a lifelong Powderhorn resident, and Dorothy, a Faribault native, came to Powderhorn when she was 16 to attend Holy Angels. Dick was a graduate of Holy Name…
BY KATHRYN KELLY The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s (MPRB) latest Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan is another example of pie-in-the-sky ideas with little ability to pay for them. And it lacks answers for many of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) requests. And, since the CAC has been disbanded by…
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,…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Normally, our focus on the southern part of Chicago Avenue would include a couple of interesting dining or brunch experiences, or perhaps a quirky little retail shop or two. In the past we have highlighted massage therapists, bike races, parks and their activities, and coffee hangouts.…
BY STEPHANIE FOX While most in Minneapolis agree that a shutdown of all but essential businesses is necessary, it is rough on many shops and restaurants now struggling to survive. While owners, workers and customers speculate when the governor will ease restrictions, businesses are finding their way through the crisis.…
The mourning of Mother Earth You, unfeeling creatures Who call yourselves human, You, fleeting bubbles of reason, Accidental parasites of time, You, filthy microbes of cancer, Ephemera of invincible eternity, You, who try to fill your vanity With abominable crimes, You, insensible butchers of animals, Notorious destroyers of pastures, You,…
