Phillips/Powderhorn
Can transit appeal to the middle class?
BY JOHN CHARLES WILSON Metro Transit has recently announced an initiative to get control of bad behavior on our transit system, especially on the light rail trains. The idea is to make the system more appealing to “choice” riders—that is, those who have a choice as to whether or not…
Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church hit with hateful graffiti in March; May be part of a deeper problem
BY STEPHANIE FOX Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis, with a membership of 12,000, is the largest Lutheran Church in the country, perhaps in the world according to some accounts. It’s not the kind of church that actively courts controversy. Located on 50th Street in a liberal section of…
Reader hurt by Methodist Church decision
I was raised as a Methodist at a church in southwest Minneapolis and converted to Unitarianism about a decade and half ago. I know the mainline Protestant churches have struggled with GLBT issues recently (or GLOW, which I like more—the Gay/lesbian/or whatever label, which is even more open to others).…
PRIDE program helps sex trafficking survivors

BY LORENA PINTO As a native of Peru, I never imagined living in sub-zero temperatures, let alone walking snowy streets to provide outreach to sex trafficking survivors. But every week, staff from The Family Partnership’s PRIDE program and the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC) walk in the Phillips and…
Minneapolis 2040: Let’s define affordable
BY ELINA KOLSTAD Many people support the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan because they believe it will increase “affordable” housing in the city. Two arguments are put forward to support this claim. The first is that removing the requirement to provide off-street parking will reduce the cost for developers to build…
The 2020 Plan to stop funding neighborhood organizations
BY ED FELIEN Funding for neighborhood organizations has come mostly from the increased property taxes on downtown development. In 1989 the city gave developers a huge tax break to encourage development. Tax Increment Financing meant they would only have to pay property taxes on the value of the buildings they…
Letter to Amy
Letter to Amy, Part Two
We are fighting for the future we deserve
Minneapolis 2040, the toxic greenwashing of a city: ‘Climate Change is NOW’

BY ELINA KOLSTAD The Minneapolis 2040 Plan is not just an example of greenwashing, its advocates have also created a toxic atmosphere in our city which negatively impacts future efforts to achieve true climate justice. Polar Vortex, Atmospheric River … as our climate changes so does our language. We have…
Bonnie Rae says thank you to friends and neighbors
IN TRANSIT: New bus stops for old

BY JOHN CHARLES WILSON Aladdin promised new lamps for old. The federal government, despite Trump’s recalcitrance, has decided to fund new bus stops for old, including on Routes 5 and 21 in the Southside Pride readership area. Planned improvements for these stops include: new shelters with heat and lights, electronic…
Offering (gratefulness)
FROM WHERE I STAND: Notes from the desk of peace activist Polly Mann (b. Nov. 19, 1919)

Hope for the Earth, our home The New York Times of Jan. 7 carried a full half-page ad signed by Michael Kurtyka of the Polish National Foundation and president of the environmental group COP24, describing the most recent U.N. climate policy conference, the Katowice Rulebook. Negotiators from 196 countries and…