BY ED FELIEN By the time of the March on Washington I was already too radical to believe I was needed or wanted.  It was to be a mostly black affair, and communists and Marxists weren’t invited.  Organizers of the March had been fending off criticisms that the March was…

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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE In a stunning reversal, after initially defending the choice of a $1.25 million contract with publisher Reading Horizons, the Minneapolis School Board reversed its decision and cancelled the contract at its meeting on Oct. 13. The meeting was packed with angry parents and community members who…

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BY ED FELIEN Last month Council Member Alondra Cano organized a meeting in her ward (9th Ward) to discuss gentrification.  More than a hundred people showed up to listen to experts talk about how gentrification of neighborhoods prices poor and working people out of their homes. Most people when they think…

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BY ED FELIEN On Tuesday, Oct. 20, at about 6:45 p.m., in the bus shelter at Lake Street and Park Avenue, Jessica Denise St. Marie was shot multiple times in the head.  She was 28, African American and homeless.   Adopted when she was 8, her adoptive mother said, “There was…

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BY JOHN KARRIGAN I might have more travel adventures to write about this month. Or I might not. The world-renowned Powder-horn Lake actually receded enough that the concrete walls around some of the lake were again visible after being underwater for most of the summer. The water has again come…

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BY KARI ANDRADE Rice is the single most important grain worldwide for human nutrition.  Rice accounts for one- fifth of all calories consumed.  As a hippie child I learned the macro-biotic diet was the healthiest way to eat; as a result I hated brown rice and veggies for a long…

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How can we save our environment and save our environment at the same time? We need the light rail in order to eliminate the use of fossil fuels and we need the trees so we can breathe. But can we sacrifice the trees for the light rail? Isn’t there a…

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MEL REEVES WITH TEDDY SHIBABAW AND 19 OTHERS Hollywood, Calif. “Straight Outta Compton” is a great movie, entertainment at its best. And, while depicting the lives of poor Comptonites who come out of the so-called underside of American life, the movie is as American as you can get. It’s a…

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A REMEMBRANCE FROM CAM GORDON I was saddened to learn that Chester, a West Bank icon, has died.  Chester was a gentle man, and was well-known and well-loved by the West Bank community, especially some of his nearest neighbors in the Riverview Tower apartment building. One of the most interesting…

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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE You may already be familiar with University Baptist Church, which commands the major corner in Dinkytown of 13th Avenue SE and University. It’s an imposing building, and it has a long history in Dinkytown. The current pastor, Doug Donley, has been there since March 2001. The…

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BY COOPER My name is Yonci Jameson. I’m 17 years old, born and raised in North Minneapolis and I’m a senior at Southwest, taking college classes at MCTC. I am a poet/spoken word artist and a musician, as well as a cultural artist, with my African drumming and dance. SSP:…

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BY ELAINE KLAASSEN The organic gardening project of Hope Community, at the corner of Portland and Franklin, is a work of love and cooperation. It serves the interests of related parties, but it is not competitive and doesn’t seek to turn a profit. There is no money involved. It produces…

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BY CARLA WALDEMAR Think globally, eat locally. Healthwise, it’s a boon, because when food is harvested close to home, preservatives aren’t needed. As a socio-political statement, the practice lends support to smaller, local producers rather than vast agri-conglomerates. Eco-conscious diners have adopted this mantra to cut back on use of…

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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE In the wider world of public education, education reform and associated politics, things are heating up. In the state of Washington, the state Supreme Court struck down Seattle’s charter school amendment as unconstitutional. In LA, there is concern over a semi-invisible player in the high-stakes school…

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BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE As one of the smallest libraries in the Hennepin County system, Roosevelt has to make a little noise to get what it needs. It is one of only two or three libraries in the system to have a very restricted schedule of 24 hours a week—eight…

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