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…

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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…

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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,…

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A question of balance – Letter to the Editor

Hi Ed, I was just at the Washburn library and grabbed a copy of the Southside Pride. I remember reading it when I lived on Chicago Avenue many years ago. Your front-page article (“Please, go to your DFL precinct caucus”) led me to suppose there would be a second article urging…

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Cleaning up our lakes and ponds

BY KATHRYN KELLY The winter, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) planned to dredge the Nokomis ponds. These ponds are called constructed wetlands and sequester sand and debris. The vegetation growth also takes up phosphorus before the water travels into Lake Nokomis. These constructed wetlands need periodic maintenance which includes…

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Hey, Jason, can we talk?

BY ED FELIEN Hey, Jason, can we talk? I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks. But you won’t answer my emails or return my phone calls. On Jan. 4, I sent you the eight-point proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza we had just published in the January edition of…

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Please, go to your DFL precinct caucus  

 BY ED FELIEN Please go to your DFL Precinct Caucus on Feb. 27. It’s a matter of life or death for Palestinian children. More than 10,000 Palestinian children have been murdered by U.S. bombs dropped from Israeli planes or from U.S. missiles shot from Israeli bases. A caucus is a…

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Mr. Smith leaves City Hall

BY CAM GORDON Part 2 (continued from “Mr. Smith goes to City Hall,” Southside Pride, January 2024) On July 7, 2023, just a few weeks after Brian K. Smith retired from his position working in City Hall, I met and talked with him about his experiences. Last month in this…

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Find your perfect summer camp

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The past – another country When the pandemic struck a few years ago, planning for summer camp experiences became a huge challenge for both summer program providers and for families wanting their kids to attend them. It was especially so in 2021, when we still didn’t…

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Valentine’s Day – how to celebrate this year

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Romantic dining Having a candlelit dinner at a romantic restaurant is a tried-and-true method of celebrating Valentine’s Day, and if that’s your thing, you can choose from a plethora of dining establishments in the Twin Cities. But cooking and dining in on something special is also…

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Trump, the avenger of white male grievance

BY ED FELIEN “You gotta fight like hell, or you won’t have a country anymore!” “Immigrants are poisoning the blood of America.” Trump’s racist and nativist appeal is not new. It was the crusading ideology of the Know Nothing Party prior to the Civil War. From “Mitch and John” by…

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South High – second in State 

BY SKYE SPINDLER The Minneapolis South High School debate team had phenomenal success at the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) State Debate Tournament in January. Students from all across Minnesota got together for high quality, rigorous debate. Across two long days of competition, the partnership of Sofia Burgess and Noah Winters…

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A new community in the community

BY KAY SCHROVEN On Thursday, Jan. 18, a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at Calvary Lutheran Church at 39th Street and Chicago Avenue in South Minneapolis, the conclusion of an exciting and challenging $15 million project. This event was followed by a celebration as the newly transformed property was introduced to…

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