BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Do you realize what an insane month August was? Locally, we had merely days before the statewide party and non-partisan primaries, an allegation against a major DFL candidate—Keith Ellison, currently 5th District Congressperson, but running for Minnesota Attorney General—of domestic violence. Ellison won his primary, and…
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…
BY TOM O’CONNELL Ask your neighbors why Minnesota’s Democratic Party is called the Democratic Farmer Labor Party, and as often as not you will get a sheepish grin, and an “I really don’t know.” Minnesota’s Farmer-Labor Party had its immediate origins in the spring and summer of 1918, when the…
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…
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…
BY BRADLEY GREENWALD Like many of you, I’d imagine, this South Minneapolitan’s inner monologue is interrupted by frustrations. While ripping out invasive bellflower on the boulevard, giving a Paddington stare to the redlining commuters 10 feet away tearing down Park Avenue and wishing he had a rock to throw, thoughts…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Sonora Grill 3300 E. Lake St., Mpls. 55406 Open 7 days from 10:30 a.m. (9 a.m. on Sunday) sonoragrillmpls.com Sonora Grill started out in the Midtown Global Market incubator as a from-scratch and innovative Mexican/South American food place with no booze and run by real Mexicans—two…
BY ASHLEY GRAY Thoughts on the ring of power by a schizophrenic mind. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is in many ways my life. I am Smeagol before I came down with symptoms of schizophrenia. Smeagol was human. Fully human. Smeagol came upon the Master Ring of power. The…
BY DEANNA BOSS It’s election season but it’s not candidate yard signs dotting the streets of Minneapolis—it’s signs advocating for certain positions on issues. The “Save Hiawatha Golf Course” are most popular in my neighborhood, but now I’m seeing the red and white “No Bulldozers” taking a stand against the…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE As I was on my way to check out Encore Music, I had to walk through a deep mud patch on the sidewalk, because some heavy construction was going on. It seemed to be one of the stately old mid-size houses that liberally dot Lyndale all…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE • On July 13, Sen. Bernie Sanders played First Avenue. To be specific, Sanders appeared to speak on behalf of longtime close ally Keith Ellison, who is quitting the Congress to run for MN attorney general. The two politicians’ rousing speeches were preceded by musical acts…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Himalayan Restaurant 2910 E. Lake St., Mpls. 55406 612-332-0880 www.himalayanmomo.com Himalayan Restaurant—Nepalese, Tibetan, and Indian cuisine—has been in South Minneapolis for about 10 years. It started out in the Seward neighborhood and after about six years, at the end of 2014, moved to its present location…
The widespread influence of the Koch brothers Without question the Koch brothers, David and Charles, exert more influence over legislation—both federal and state—than any other entities in this country. Rock-ribbed conservatives, they are the protectors of corporate power. Their dollars support the removal of a ban on flavored tobacco. a…
BY ED FELIEN Halfway through my two-year term as City Council member I had to start running for re-election, and I was so obtuse I didn’t realize I’d made just about everybody mad at me. Good friends of mine who had started the co-ops were now Maoists and members of…
