BY ELAINE KLAASSEN Sunday night, Dec. 9, I went out into the cold dark night to witness wonderful collaborations—people creating art moments together—at Pillsbury House Theatre, 35th and Chicago. Children in the after-school program there had paired up with professional volunteer performers, playwrights and directors to create the little 10-minute…
BY ED FELIEN Why did the cops have to kill Travis Jordan? They were called to a mental health crisis—a man was depressed. He was talking about taking his life. The cops arrive. He comes out to his front yard. The cops say he had a knife. So, they shot…
BY ED FELIEN Hi Bob, Did you see the latest issue of Southside Pride with your picture on the cover? Was it a fair representation of your ideas? I’d like to take you up on your suggestion that we go over more carefully the police reports and evidence collected in…
BY ASHLEY FRAY I have a chronic mental illness. Schizo-affective disorder. Schizophrenia plus major depression. I am afraid. I am returning to a five-day-a-week work life. There is a problem that worries me. When I am alone, the voices in my head and I have conversations. For me it is…
BY ED FELIEN The following is my correspondence with Michael Schroeder, Assistant Superintendent for Planning: Hi Michael, In your Sept. 21 email, you said: “I have a meeting with MPRB staff next week to look into this further. I understand the boulders were placed to mitigate a head cut in…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE We have a stunning lineup of interesting things to do or alternative ways to shop or give for the 2018 holiday season. In order to have enough space for all, not all details are given for all events. For well-known events and venues, almost no details;…
BY STEPHANIE FOX A few years ago, Roosevelt High School teacher Ben Rengstrof noticed that while classes offered by the Minneapolis School District focused primarily on getting students into college, programs in basic life skills were lacking. He had an interest in cooking—at the time, just a hobby—but decided that…
BY LUZ MARIA FRIAS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, YWCA Minneapolis For years, YWCA Downtown and Uptown locations have charged for parking. We decided to implement a pay parking system at YWCA Midtown to address the misuse happening in our lot, and to ensure there are enough available spaces for our fitness…
BY RICHARD TAYLOR Readers should note that most of the contents of Ms. Frias’ article about the parking situation were plucked from a form letter sent to members two months ago and simply ignores the many criticisms made of her parking extravaganza. She asserts my articles contain “many inaccuracies”—but she…
BY TONY BOUZA Great events cast their shadows before them. Minneapolis is heading for a reckoning likely to affect every person in the city. The Justine Damond killing, in July 2017, will likely result in a settlement costing citizens three dollars each for every million. The lawyer for the family…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The most nail-biting local race was Keith Ellison’s last-minute, quixotic run for Minnesota attorney general. He had an absolute safe seat in Congress, one of the safest, and was deputy chair of the DNC, a leader in the Progressive Caucus, and sponsor of the House version…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN Seward Neighborhood has written an intriguing book about its own history. The project has involved a “cast of thousands,” and took seven years to complete. Its 19 chapters start before the arrival, in 1850, of the first non-Natives who built homes and settled, and end in the…
BY ED FELIEN The tremendous public interest and community involvement around the city’s proposed 2040 Plan has been a great exercise in democracy. And, as my wife continually tells me, “Exercise is what you need to stay alive.” There has been a lively debate on the Minneapolis Issues Forum between…
FROM ST. JOAN OF ARC CATHOLIC COMMUNITY After years of silence, the bells of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Community are ready to bring their joyous sound to the neighborhood again. Church bell ringing goes back thousands of years. Historically, church bells announced the time of day, ringing on the…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta, Ga., and then at age 17 set up as an independent young woman in a neighborhood as close to downtown Atlanta as possible. (Atlanta famously had and still has almost no residential downtown.) I have always loved food—cooking…
