BY STEPHANIE FOX On March 16, in response to a rising number of COVID-19 virus cases, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey declared a local public health emergency, closing or limiting access to bars and restaurants except for take-out orders and delivery, until April 1. The same day, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz…
BY ISABELA ESCALONA A coalition of labor unions, religious leaders and social justice organizations held a panel as part of a Week of Action on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at Shir Tikvah Synagogue. Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg led the participants in a traditional Jewish covenant ceremony where elected officials joined in the…
BY SARAH MARTIN This past month, Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro wrote a letter to the people of the world denouncing the latest, treacherous U.S. escalation against that country. When the U.S. government should be entirely focused on the health and safety of U.S. citizens, the Trump administration has once again…
BY TONY BOUZA “That Tony Bouza, he sure is full of himself, isn’t he?” Thus, did a wonderful old lady describe me to her companion as they left a talk I’d given. “You enter a room, big, loud and aggressive and suck the air out.” Thus, did a group of…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Normally, our focus on East Lake Street would include a couple of diverse dining experiences, a quirky little retail shop or two, maybe a race, festival or sports event, or some theaters, music venues or art galleries. In any case, you would be enticed to get…
BY ELINA KOLSTAD Well shit, this is scary. Every day we hear about more cases of the virus in Minnesota. In our community, employees at Seward Co-op’s Franklin store and Mayday Café have tested positive. Museums, schools and retail stores are closed. Grocery stores are still open, but shelves…
BY JAMES ROBB, MD FCAP [Editor’s note: The following article and letter, both written in February 2020, are shared here in the spirit of providing common sense solutions to preventing disease transmission, as well as information on symptoms, testing, and treatment of COVID-19. Please see the CDC website at www.cdc.gov,…
BY STEPHANIE FOX In May of last year, the City Council of Minneapolis announced that there would be new guidelines for funding neighborhood associations. The old guidelines, deciding how much funding a specific neighborhood association would receive, were based on neighborhood size, racial mix and livability, determined by crime statistics…
BY ED FELIEN Sen. Susan Collins justified her vote by stating that the president had learned a “pretty big lesson” from impeachment and that he would be “much more cautious in the future.” City Council President Lisa Bender said, “I think our policy changes in the police department, leadership changes,…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE In Summer Camp world as well as in School Year world, STEM, the acronym for all technical things (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) has been merged with the arts to become STEAM. Although I haven’t found anything labeled as a STEAM camp, there is hardly an arts camp that doesn’t…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Whew! I hardly know where to start. On March 10, a coalition of pissed-off parents marched to demand Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) go back to the drawing board on their Comprehensive District Design (CDD) and this time consult meaningfully and in advance with the community, especially…
BY TONY BOUZA [Editor’s note: I disagree with the argument and the conclusion of Tony Bouza’s analysis. My rebuttal follows.] The first thing that must be said is that racism is America’s #1 problem. Period. The murder of Tyesha Edwards, 11, in 2002, is an unspeakable, unbearable tragedy. Myron Burrell,…
BY PATRICK KERRIGAN Did you know that a longtime Powderhorn Park resident and lifelong food, peace and justice activist is at the forefront globally in solving the climate crisis? And that he has an educational and inspiring new book that is just the resource we as caring world citizens…
BY ELINA KOLSTAD The other day on the Blue Line train, a woman sitting nearby struck up a conversation with my husband and me. She started by commenting on one of the two people sleeping in our vicinity, noting the woman’s nicely done nails. We all agreed that sometimes all…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Welcome to Getting About. This new monthly column will inform you about opportunities for those 60 and older to get out of ruts, make a difference, participate in exciting communities, build new communities, and have more control over your living environment. We’ll be looking at “the…
