Phillips/Powderhorn


Go be poor somewhere else!

BY ELINA KOLSTAD Homeless encampments are popping up in more and more Minneapolis Parks. One of these sites was just bulldozed by the city in Powderhorn Park, where the phenomenon began over a month ago. To be clear, the city left one of the two encampments in the park in…

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The Dream Deferred

BY ED FELIEN The dream is over. The East Powderhorn Sanctuary has been cleared. The campers evacuated. Protesters were arrested and then released. It ended the way it always ends, according to longtime homeless advocates. Some criminal elements start to get violent. The camp becomes unsafe. And the authorities have…

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July new neighbors

BY KAY SCHROVEN Shopping carts, clotheslines, outdoor cooking grills, mattresses, blankets, coolers, lawn chairs, backpacks, boxes of diapers, baby strollers piled high with supplies, wheelchairs, bikes, tikes on trikes, people in swimsuits lining up to shower in the facility provided by NECHAMA (the Jewish disaster response organization) and tents of…

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Say their names

BY ED FELIEN    Terrance Franklin    Jamar Clark    Thurman Blevins    Travis Jordan TerranceFranklin: The city just agreed to pay $795,000 to the surviving family of Terrance Franklin rather than contest the wrongful death suit against MPD Officer Lucas Peterson. Peterson claimed in his police report that Terrance…

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Cedar Avenue and environs during the 2020 weirds

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I encountered the above description of this time of this year and I … couldn’t really do better, so I’m “borrowing” it. Actually, things look a lot more normal on Cedar Avenue than most places in South Minneapolis, although nowhere is immune to the changes. Which…

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Eliminate the police?

BY DAVID TILSEN In response to the groundswell of action, grief and political pressure, the Minneapolis City Council has finally decided that it must do something about the Minneapolis Police. The City Council has proposed two things. First, the council has committed to do a deep community engagement on what…

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The ‘rotten apples’ theory

BY TONY BOUZA Throughout my involvement in policing—since 1953—I’ve been periodically reminded that every police department harbors a few rotten apples and, if we can only excise them, the entire barrel can be rescued. An attractive notion, but flawed. Those apples are the alpha males that set the tone and…

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Meeting our new neighbors

BY KAY SCHROVEN Since early June, we have new neighbors in Powderhorn Park. The media called it “the tent encampment,” described then as over 100 (and growing) homeless people living in tents, some evicted from the local Sheraton Hotel where they were being temporarily housed, post protests/riots and the associated…

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The Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan Survey

BY KATHRYN KELLY The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board published the results of their survey for the Hiawatha Golf Course preferred plan. The responses have been compiled to try and quantify the results. This assessment is a best effort considering the vast variety of responses. The top 11 responses were:…

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Generative chaos

BY ELINA KOLSTAD I have never appreciated having a garden more than I have this year. In 2020 my garden is a sort of destination in our new socially distant reality, therapy in turbulent times, and supplements groceries from the store, allowing me to stretch out shopping trips a little…

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Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute

Dedicated to transforming psychological trauma into nonviolent power Registration info: https://www.mnpeace.org/ July 2020 online trainings and talking circles specifically designed for people who live, work, and/or play in Minneapolis, Minn. Everyone is welcome. 1) STAR Training – Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience – STAR Training is an evidence-based trauma…

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Cry

BY AMY BLUMENSHINE Cry, the Beloved Community. It’s really different watching breaking news when it’s your own neighborhood and your own heart that’s breaking. The Southside and my neighborhood, Powderhorn Park, in particular, have been full of heartbreak in recent weeks. We feel in the center of an erupting maelstrom…

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Governor Walz, you can do this!

BY ED FELIEN I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, but there are some concrete things you can do to help end homelessness and take some of the pressure off the encampment at the Powderhorn Sanctuary. Hennepin County is buying hotels for the homeless. You can do that,…

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