The battleground that is Lake Street

BY KAY SCHROVEN Newton’s First Law of Motion, sometimes called the Law of Inertia, goes like this: An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. When I think about rebuilding Lake Street, I think about this law. Perhaps the longer the rubble sits,…

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How to observe holidays in the 2020 Weirds

DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I just finished reading “The Plague” (in translation) by Albert Camus. I didn’t consciously do it as a preparation for writing this, but it had that salutary effect. I say salutary because it’s not an easy or pleasurable read, whether you happen to be in a pandemic…

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The way we live today

BY TONY BOUZA A bromide—a crisis can be an opportunity. Can we even see the possibilities behind such inane assertions? The deafening effects of samplers result in comas. I am driven to the NYPD by its size, prominence, utility as a universal example and my own tortured and loving relationship…

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At least this is a start?

BY ELINA KOLSTAD The Minneapolis City Council just approved a “Tiny House Village” to be constructed inside a warehouse in the North Loop to serve as a transition center for homeless people from encampments to a more permanent situation. I am heartened to see steps being taken to address the…

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Hip-hop is an international language of freedom

BY LEANNA SARTIN Hip-hop has its roots in the South Bronx of NYC. Its message has evolved over time. Once offshoring started, it left its whimsy. Sugar Hill Gang was one of the first rap albums that was happy and cheery. Slowly, the manufacturing, canneries, textiles and auto-making industries left.…

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Million dollar boondoggle for bureaucrats

BY KATHRYN KELLY A public data request to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board reveals how much money has been spent, so far, on the Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan. What is the number as of October 2020? $871,759.29 The Park Board is closing in on spending One Million Dollars…

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Think again about your Medicare Advantage plan

Thank you for the article on Medicare in the recent opinion page of Southside Pride. A basic good general overview. However, the section on Medicare Advantage was not accurate. Not surprising since false and misleading information of the wonders of Medicare Advantage are everywhere. It is not Medicare. It is…

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McCarthy Lives

BY TONY BOUZA I was in my 20s during the McCarthy years—roughly the early ’50s. Communist hysteria. Traitors everywhere and a reckless and audacious national figure attacked such supreme patriots as George G. Marshall (of the Plan) and the architect of not just World War II victories, but World War…

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Terrance Franklin Legal brief

Mike Madden Terrance Franklin Legal brief   UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Walter Louis Franklin, II, Trustee For the Estate of Terrance Terrell Franklin, Plaintiff, v. LUCAS PETERSON individually, and in his official capacity; MICHAEL MEATH, individually, and in his official capacity; JANEÉ HARTEAU, Chief of Police for…

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Disarm them with love

BY ED FELIEN There is nothing more dangerous than a cornered rat. It is desperate. It will do anything to survive. Donald Trump knows that when he leaves office there is an almost endless trail of criminal charges he will face. He will pardon his fellow felons: Manafort and Flynn…

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Dinkytown in the 2020 Weirds

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Dinkytown, as you know, is not like other neighborhoods. It’s not even like other college campus-adjacent neighborhoods such as those in St. Paul, or in smaller college towns. So Dinkytown’s response to things like the COVID pandemic is also a little bit different. Dinkytown, with its…

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President’s response to virus unacceptable

The picture of the workers in their hazard suits and spraying the White House reminds me of the answer Senator Kirsten Gilibrand gave when she was running for president and she was asked, “What would be the first thing you would do if elected president?” and she said, “I’d clorox…

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Robin Wonsley Worlobah for City Council

I was thrilled to see the news that Robin Wonsley Worlobah announced her candidacy for Minneapolis City Council for 2021. I met Robin in 2016 during the campaign fighting for a $15 minimum wage in Minneapolis. She was leading a large political meeting, energizing a room of diverse working class…

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