Riverside
Make corporate medical insurance conglomerates accountable
BY DIANE J. PETERSON AND JOHN KOLSTAD April 15 is our all-American date for financial accountability on our taxable income. Therefore, this is an appropriate time to consider the Minnesota corporations that are evading similar accountability. The IRS requires documented proof of our personal income and expenses. Currently the state…
Save downtown by drinking there
PASSING: Robert Millard Baum
Robert Millard Baum Robert Millard Baum passed peacefully on the day of his birth, March 6, 2024 at Good Samaritan Society in Maplewood, Minnnesota. He is survived by his beloved wife of 58 years Heather, daughters Jennifer Kenna (Ron) and Jessica Baum, two grandchildren Nicholas and Bianca Kenna. Sisters Nancy…
‘Babble Lab’ – a celebration of the curious spirit
BY KAY SCHROVEN In “Babble Lab,” the Children Theatre Company’s new play running now through April 14, letters become characters and take over the Babble Lab! The Scientist whose experiment goes wrong, played by writer and actress Autumn Ness, can’t control them. They bounce, pop, fly, crawl, spring and leap.…
Trash into treasure
Future density! Farewell, neighborhoods?
Hodan Hassan is not running for re-election
BY ED FELIEN Hodan Hassan was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018, and she’s been re-elected ever since. She and Rep. Aisha Gomez have introduced a bill in this session of the Legislature to spend $10 million on construction of the Neighborhood Development Center on Lake…
New term, new leadership – will a new vision follow?
Big education news for 2024
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE From the ridiculous (Moms for Liberty) to the sublime (Notorious D.O.T.) The school board beat is not usually this tabloid-worthy, but have you all been following the (ahem) “career” of Bridget Ziegler of Sarasota, Florida? This fine, upstanding lady is married to Christian Ziegler, who was…
The quite interesting history of summer camps
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Too many pioneers! The history of summer camps goes back further than you would think. Maybe that’s why I came across many camps for “pioneers” while researching the topic. Created by Canadian Anglicans, the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, Jewish Community Centers, Mormons, Lutherans, Southern Baptists,…
‘Never again!’ Again!
Process as punishment in Assange case
BY MIKE MADDEN A hearing in London to determine whether Julian Assange can appeal his extradition order concluded on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Assange, whose health is deteriorating, was not well enough to attend the proceedings in person or by video link. He will continue to languish in Belmarsh Prison, also…
EPNI builds community ownership of Urban Farm
BY DANIEL COLTEN SCHMIDT Far too often, development means gentrification, displacement and exploitation. The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI), the group which made state and national headlines through the environmental justice campaign to save the warehouse building formerly called the Roof Depot, is now engaged in developing a community ownership…
Phillips fights back on Smith Foundry
BY LUKE GANNON On Feb. 7, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) convened its second public community meeting on Smith Foundry following the damning findings by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in May of 2023, which revealed multiple egregious violations of the federal Clean Air Act. During this public forum,…