BY POLLY MANN This May President Barak Obama bestowed another medal on Henry Kissinger—one of, at least, four he’s received, including the Nobel Peace Prize. If one were to choose one event that exemplifies the use of the word “oxymoron,” this would be it. (Oxymoron: a figure of speech combining…

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BY POLLY MANN If you believe as I do that climate change is a real threat to continued life on this planet, a recent New York Times half-page article about the issue is encouraging. For example, in April 2016, 21 teen-agers and children, members of the environmental organization Our Children’s…

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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Nicollet Avenue has a big gap in it. You knew that, right? Maybe you even fought the battle to keep the gap from forming, back when it was a whole and continuous avenue. Well, in case you haven’t heard, it may be continuous again in the…

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BY ED FELIEN Before driving out to Smith College in Northampton, Mass., I stopped at Chicago for the New Left Convention.  I went to Old Town, met some lovely people and we decided to bring a little bit of the Summer of Love to Chicago.  We talked a liberal church…

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BY TONY BOUZA Humans have extolled the virtues and memories of their heroes by naming things and places after them.  This serves as a gentle prod to memory as to the qualities we cherish and celebrate.  As with every other human activity this can be a fraught and complicated process.…

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BY JOHN KARRIGAN I will start this month with the item from last month about the very big goldfish school about which some people are wondering. I have seen several more goldfish schools in May but none as big as the one I saw in April. Yes, the goldfish come…

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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE White men may have physically built Franklin Avenue, but it was, to a large degree, Native Americans, since the 1960s, who made it what it is today. The unique paradox of the Avenue is that it attracts immigrants, whatever the newest, most vulnerable wave is, and…

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BY ELAINE KLAASSEN Polly Pockets was born Paulina Griffiths.  She lived in the neighborhood at Portland and Franklin all of her 60 years.  She was a humble woman who made it her mission in life to “love on people.” Papa Bear (Pastor Todd Finney) of Every Tribe and Tongue Church,…

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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The theme this year tying all the Minnehaha Avenue news together is the fusion of culture and sustainability. Minnehaha Avenue is sustainability city, from its start in the Seward neighborhood, to its end at the beautiful waterfall and park from which it gets its name. Last…

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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The DFL’s Fifth Congressional District Convention was held at South High School on Saturday, May 7. A little over 200 delegates from a total of 230 precincts attended. As a Bernie Sanders pledged alternate, I got upgraded to delegate just before lunch time when one of…

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April 21, 2016 It was a very unusual day … an extraordinary day.  I was in the mood for quiet time so the computer, TV and radio remained off while I sipped on “cold press” and read the morning paper after which I headed for the basement to do some…

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BY ADAM M. SCHENCK ‘Kid-Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh’ Swandive Theater’s production of “Kid-Simple” at the Southern Theater has much to recommend it. Co-directors Meg DiSciorio and Damon Runnals create an intricate set with the best sound design I have seen, or rather heard, in local theater. Sound…

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BY ED FELIEN I accuse Dustin Schwarze and Mark Ringgenberg of Murder in the Third Degree for the killing of Jamar Clark. According to Minnesota Statutes 609.195, Murder in the Third Degree happens when “Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by…

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BY CARLA WALDEMAR The Lowbrow 4244 Nicollet Ave. S. 612-208-0720 thelowbrowmpls.com Here I am, eating fish sticks—something, after being liberated from my mother’s cooking, I swore I would never again do. But these didn’t come from a freezer box, they’re from the scratch kitchen of The Lowbrow, the in-town roadhouse…

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