The Journal, July 26–Aug. 8, 2018 by The Journal

THE NEWS SOURCE FOR DOWNTOWN & NORTHEAST MINNEAPOLIS RESIDENTS JULY 26–AUGUST 8, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS

2040

INSIDE

PAGE 5

NOW OPEN IN NORTH LOOP: BASEMENT BAR

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SPOTLIGHT: NORTH LOOP SWEET CHOW PAGE 20

THOUSANDS WEIGH IN ON CITY PLAN FOR GROWTH LORING PARK ART FESTIVAL

Photo: Mark Herreid / shutterstock.com

By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@journalmpls.com

s the sun set on a July 22 deadline for community input, residents worked up until midnight to flood the city with feedback on its draft long-range plan. City staff estimate that since late March they received 10,000 comments. Set to be revised and adopted by the City Council this year, the draft plan would allow more housing units and commercial space throughout the city and would design streets with pedestrians as first priority. Critics and supporters alike often express

support for the city’s overall goals, such as reduced racial disparities, affordable housing and a clean environment. But how the city meets those goals is contentious. Much of the pushback relates to the potential scale of new buildings. The council may allow single-family homes to split into multiplexes, two- to six-story buildings along transit corridors like Nicollet Avenue and eight- to 30-story development in busier spots like Lake & Excelsior or Central & 1st avenues northeast.

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Three vie in county’s District 4 primary Two candidates will advance to the general election

Hennepin County District 4 covers the southeastern third of Minneapolis. Submitted image

By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@journalmpls.com Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin is seeking re-election this November for a seat he has held since 1991, but two challengers say it’s time for fresh blood in District 4. One is Angela Conley, a county employee who nearly won the DFL endorsement for McLaughlin’s seat in May. Neither passed the 60 percent threshold at the endorsing convention, but Conley came closest, winning support from 57 percent of delegates after 10 rounds of voting. The other is Megan Kuhl-Stennes, who worked in zero-waste education and policy development at Eureka Recycling until May, when her position was elimi-

nated. Kuhl-Stennes has the Green Party of Minnesota’s endorsement. The race will narrow after the Aug. 14 primary. Only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election. District 4 covers much of the east side of Minneapolis, including parts of downtown, the University of Minnesota campus and most of South Minneapolis between Interstate 35W and the Mississippi River. At the southern end of the district are Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Fort Snelling. Voters in Hennepin County districts 2 and 3 also elect commissioners this year. Both include portions of Minneapolis.

SEE DISTRICT 4 PRIMARY / PAGE 18

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News By Eric Best ebest@journalmpls.com @ericthebest

Find Your spot for summer

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A drinking tour of Minnesota doesn’t require a road trip across the state. Michele Ross has managed to fit one in a 1,000-square-foot space on East Hennepin Avenue. Ross and her husband, Kevin, are the owners of Ombibulous, a craft libations store run out of a renovated gas station featuring Minnesota-made beer, wine and spirits. “We think about it as a welcome center for Minnesota products,” Ross said. Ombibulous, a term coined by H.L. Mencken that means one who enjoys alcoholic beverages of all sorts, is a fitting moniker. Whereas other places may carry a handful of local brews, Ombibulous is dedicated to the principle of drinking local, whether it is limited-edition seasonal beers, wine with locally grown grapes, handcrafted gin or artisan mixers. One thing folks won’t find: Miller Lite, or any other out-of-state concoction for that matter. “We try not to carry what everyone else carries,” Ross said. “People can break out of their habits of drinking.” She is eager to help customers find a replacement, or more likely, an upgrade, for their go-to beverage. Lucky for those less familiar with local drinks, the couple are experienced guides. Kevin, a native of Northeast, worked as a tour guide in the community the past decade. After the passage of the Surly bill in 2011 and the explosion of craft breweries in the Twin Cities, he teamed up with his wife to run the Hoppy Trailer, a brewery tour across Minneapolis. The couple have led the tour for the past three years. The gig introduced them to the world of local beverage creators, and some of the problems the industry faces. “[We were] hearing from the breweries and listening to them about how difficult it was to get their products into liquor stores,” Ross said. Not to mention, how hard it was for customers to find products. Kevin began thinking about a one-stop store featuring local producers.

Ombibulous packs its 1,000-square-foot footprint with locally made beers and spirits. Photo by Austen Macalus “He likes to come up with ideas and I like to make them happen,” Ross said. In January, they opened Ombibulous, with enough space for emerging Minnesota producers. Joseph Zimmerley, the co-owner of Summer Lakes Beverage, is one of Ombibulous’ most recent producers. Working out of the north metro, Zimmerley started distributing Bootleg, an alcoholic mixer made with lemon, lime, orange and mint. Ombibulous is one of two stores selling the concoction. To encourage customers to explore all the store has to offer, Ross said Ombibulous often features tastings, with events most weekends. It’s the perfect fit for Tracy Jonkman, one of the owners of Keepsake Cidery, a small orchard in southern Minnesota that distributes across the Twin Cities. “There’s a certain kind of person that comes to a store like this who are interested in local products, things that are well made,” said Jonkman, who was sampling cider on a busy Friday afternoon. “There’s so many awesome locally produced craft beverages in Minnesota.” Ombibulous, at 949 E. Hennepin Ave. in the Beltrami neighborhood, is open 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Sunday.

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NORTH LOOP

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current location Aug. 5 and the new space opening Aug. 9. The new location is about 60 percent of the size of the current store. It will be a twostory lofted live-work unit on the ground floor of the 124-unit apartment building, which was developed and is managed by Solhem Cos. The Borealis opened in February. Olson said they’ll take advantage of the unit’s kitchen for in-store events and the other rooms as showrooms for Hazel & Rose’s sustainable and ethical fashion, jewelry and accessories. “We were especially drawn to The Borealis because it’s such a unique space & opportunity to create a storefront in an apartment,” she said. The two don’t know yet how the move will affect the store’s hours, though they said Hazel & Rose will likely be closed on Mondays still. The store won’t have parking, but it will be able to validate parking in nearby lots. Hazel & Rose, currently at 945 Broadway St. NE, is open 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday and noon–4 p.m. Sunday. The Borealis is located at 721 N. 1st St.

UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

Hazel & Rose co-owners Emma Olson and Bobbi Barron are relocating their women’s boutique to be a part of the growing retail destination of the North Loop. The local, independent designer-focused retailer has been located for the past two years near Central & Broadway in the Broadway building, but in early August Hazel & Rose will move to a loft inside The Borealis apartment building. Olson said the move makes sense because many of her customers had trouble finding the store, and many were coming from the North Loop anyway. “We have loved Northeast and I’ve been so grateful for the community in the neighborhood and growth we saw these first two years, but we felt we had hit a plateau in our current space since we were hidden away inside the building,” Olson said in an email. “The North Loop has become an exciting destination for shopping and restaurants — I would say moreso than any other central neighborhood in Minneapolis — and we wanted to be a part of that if we could.” The move will be a quick turnaround, Olson said, with Hazel & Rose closing its

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4 journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018

News

SKYWAY

Green + The Grain to open fourth location COMING SOON

Skyway salad chain Green + The Grain is planning its fourth location in downtown Minneapolis. Co-owners Tiffany Hauser and Dustin Naugle recently announced they’ll be opening another skyway eatery inside Oracle Centre and International Centre, two connected office towers at 9th & 2nd. It’s expected to open late this fall. Hauser said in an announcement on Facebook that the restaurant will “most likely” be their final location. Over the past four years, Green + The Grain has grown from a food truck to several popular restaurants that Hauser said see a lot of traffic.

“(W)e sure have come a long ways since 2014. (M)any do not realize or understand the small operation we truly still are with the large amount of volume we serve on daily basis,” she said. Green + The Grain offers signature salads and wraps ($8–$13) made with house dressings. The chain’s latest location in U.S. Bank Plaza features a self-serve frozen yogurt stand with dairy and vegan yogurt options. The chain operates two other locations in LaSalle Plaza and the Baker Center. Green + The Grain offers online ordering at greenandthegrain.com.

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Fairgrounds Coﬀee & Tea

Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea aims to put the bar in coffee bar. The Chicago-based café has added a North Loop coffee shop with dozens of curated and customizable beverage options stretching a laundry list of roasters, flavors and ingredients. Owner Michael Schultz opened the café July 14 along 3rd Avenue North in the renovated Porter Electric Warehouse, one of two properties in the neighborhood that are being renovated into office and commercial spaces by St. Louis Park-based Paster Properties and Minneapolis-based Urban Anthology. The drink menu features an espresso and matcha bar (double shots start at $2.79), a brew bar menu ($2.99–$4.79) featuring cold brew and nitro cold brew from a rotating list of roasters and organic whole leaf tea ($3.79–$3.99). Traditional espresso drinks like cappuccinos and lattes can be made with a variety of espressos ($3.19–$3.99). Kombucha, sparkling teas and flights of many beverages are available. Fairgrounds gives beverages a cocktail-style treatment with hot and cold “elixirs,” or combinations of tea, coffee, hot chocolate and more, from the Rainforest Remedy ($6.99) with matcha green tea, frozen pineapple and coconut milk to the Vosges Coconut Charcoal Elixir ($5.69) with charcoal, 100 percent cacao chocolate, coconut puree and coconut water. The café offers menus for breakfast items like bagels, bowls and breakfast sandwiches ($3.49–$11.99, served all day), lunch options like sandwiches, salads and wraps ($9.49–$9.99) and “bites,” or toasts, soups and snacks like funnel cake fries ($5.99–$8.99).

The café’s interior features several table tops, leather lounge furniture and even swinging bar seats. Its retail section features coffee beans from many popular national coffee roasters and several Midwestern companies, including Verve Coffee Roasters of Santa Cruz, Minneapolis-based Spyhouse Coffee Roasters, Chicago-based Metropolis Coffee Co., Stumptown Coffee Roasters of Portland, Colectivo Coffee of Milwaukee and Passion House Coffee Roasters of Chicago. Fairgrounds carries coffee brewing equipment, kettles and filters. The café at 116 N. 3rd Ave. is open 6 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m.–8 p.m. weekends.

Fairgrounds is the ﬁrst retail tenant to open inside the renovated Porter Electric Warehouse and Hillman Building, a former industrial complex ﬁrst built in the late 1800s. Photos by Eric Best

journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 5

News

NORTH LOOP

NOW OPEN

Basement Bar

Basement Bar’s mix of decor blends its space’s industrial legacy with goofy art pieces, TVs and leather furniture. Photo by Eric Best

Drag queens, meat raﬄes and jazz bands are all at home in one North Loop basement. That would be the Basement Bar, a bar beneath Nolo’s Kitchen & Bar that doubles as a music venue, dance hall and event space depending on the night. A typical week sees the bar go from a trivia spot to a bingo parlor with drag performers or a stage for local bands. “Depending the day of the week it really varies what the vibe is down here,” said Pam Wubben, Basement Bar’s general manager. Basement Bar occupies the basement of the Maytag Building, the former Gardner Hardware building on Washington Avenue, and Wubben said they’ve kept a lot of its historic touches, from metal pipes and cement walls to an original floor. The venue opened late last year following the opening of Nolo’s on the main level of the four-story building. What isn’t original in the basement is often exaggerated and larger than life. Local artist Jeff Troldahl has created several art pieces, such as a car-sized license plate with the bar’s address behind the stage, giant darts along the entrance and a food truck lining the kitchen. Co-owner and chef Peter Hoff said him and partners Brett Johnson and Marty Collins were trying to create a place with the laid-back nature of a northern Minnesota bar that could fit in with the trend-conscious North Loop. The answer is a dive bar minus the “stickiness” where patrons are “willing to be silly.” “How do you get it all in more of a polished, yet casual environment where it’s a little bit more relaxed?” he said. “We wanted it to be a little stupid, where you can’t take things too seriously.” Beyond its giant décor, Basement Bar has its share of fun and games. There is a wide array of options, from “Galaga” to a claw crane game, darts to foosball, arcade games to pull tabs that benefit the Aliveness Project.

More than a dozen TVs line the walls for sporting events. The bar has even been rented out for Flip Cup tournaments. Unlike its sister concept upstairs, there isn’t a focus on specialty cocktails, but it still has its specialties. Wubben said the place is one of a handful of establishments in the city with Tito’s vodka on tap because the bar’s patrons will drink hundreds and hundreds of vodka drinks each week. “They want to get their drink on, but they don’t want the calories,” she said. The bar has roughly 16 taps with an emphasis on local craft beers, including many from breweries right in the North Loop neighborhood. There’s bottled beer, a few wines available by the glass and plenty of rail drinks to choose from. The kitchen serves a limited menu with bar-friendly fare. There are tacos, fries, burgers, as well as pizza and buckets of broasted chicken. The team is now looking into reconcepting the menu into a food truckstyle operation that will change seasonally. “Now it’s time to get a little weird down there and have some fun with the concept,” Hoff said. The bar’s current schedule includes Tuesday trivia, drag queen bingo on Wednesdays, alternating events like ‘80s-themed Neon Nights, live band karaoke and country western nights on Thursdays, DJs on Fridays and live music on Saturdays. There’s an industry night on Sundays and its closed Monday. Wubben said the bar’s balance of music, games and dancing fits the local nightlife scene. “I think we’re the cool kid in town,” she said. Basement Bar, at 511 Washington Ave. N., is open 4 p.m.–10 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday and 4 p.m.– 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

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6 journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018

Government

Volume 49, Issue 15 Publisher Janis Hall jhall@journalmpls.com Co-Publisher & Sales Manager Terry Gahan tgahan@journalmpls.com General Manager Zoe Gahan zgahan@journalmpls.com Editor Dylan Thomas 612-436-4391 dthomas@journalmpls.com @DThomasJournals Assistant Editor Eric Best ebest@journalmpls.com @ericthebest Staff Writers Michelle Bruch mbruch@journalmpls.com @MichelleBruch Nate Gotlieb ngotlieb@journalmpls.com @NateGotlieb Editorial Interns Sonya Chechik Austen Macalus Contributing Writers Taiya Brown Sheila Regan Client Services Delaney Patterson 612-436-5070 dpatterson@journalmpls.com Creative Director Valerie Moe 612-436-5075 vmoe@journalmpls.com Senior Graphic Designer Micah Edel medel@journalmpls.com Graphic Designer Kaitlin Ungs kungs@journalmpls.com Contributing Designer Sarah Karnas Distribution Marlo Johnson 612-436-4388 distribution@journalmpls.com Advertising 612-436-4360 sales@journalmpls.com Printing ECM Publishers, Inc.

Next issue: August 9 Advertising deadline: August 1 25,000 copies of The Journal are distributed free of charge to homes and businesses in Downtown and Northeast Minneapolis.

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CIVIC BEAT

By Dylan Thomas dthomas@journalmpls.com @dthomasjournals

With settlement, Southwest light rail clears a stumbling block The Southwest Light Rail Transit project passed another milestone on the long road to groundbreaking when the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County Railroad Authority approved a settlement with Twin Cities & Western Railroad in June. The agreements mean Met Council now has control of the entire 14.5-mile SWLRT corridor, which stretches from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie. Twin Cities & Western, a freight rail that operates along a portion of that corridor, will be paid $18.5 million for its cooperation — nearly $2.5 million more than was in the offing when negotiations between Met Council and TC&W broke down last summer. Met Council officials said a deal with TC&W was accounted for in the project’s budget and won’t bump up its cost, currently anticipated to top $2 billion. “This is a major milestone, and it’s very good for the project,” said Met Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff, who noted that an agreement keeps open the possibility that construction work on the transit project, the largest in state history, could finally begin in October or November. Glenco-based TC&W had fought a plan to

reorganize ownership and control of the Bass Lake Spur and Kenilworth Corridor, two sections of freight rail corridor that Met Council plans to use for future light rail service. Arguing that the deal could hamper its customers’ ability to move agricultural products from eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota into the Twin Cities, the railroad petitioned the Surface Transportation Board to block the plan and also filed a lawsuit in federal court. It was expected to withdraw both the petition and the lawsuit. Now, Met Council officials anticipate the STB will approve its plan, which involves purchasing the 6.8-mile Bass Lake Spur from Canadian Pacific for $27.5 million and taking ownership of the 2.5-mile Kenilworth Corridor from Hennepin County. The Kenilworth Corridor, which cuts between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles, is valued at $66 million. As part of the deal, the Hennepin County Railroad Authority will become the common carrier for the Bass Lake Spur, a role it already fills for the Kenilworth Corridor, meaning that it is responsible for maintaining freight rail service. In practice, Met Council will take care of most of the track maintenance, reimbursed with fees paid to the county by TC&W.

Pending approval from STB, Met Council plans to re-submit its application for a letter of no prejudice from the Federal Transit Administration. A grant from the FTA is expected to cover not quite half of the cost of the total project, and by issuing a letter of no prejudice it would give Met Council to begin construction work before the grant is issued. Met Council officials say they now expect FTA to award the grant in the first half of next year. In the meantime, Met Council has asked the two bidders competing for the project’s civil construction contract to keep their offers on the table for another 60 days. The council had expected to award the contract Aug. 1, but has requested an extension until Sept. 30 so that it can secure both STB approval for its corridor plan and the letter of no prejudice from the FTA. The two construction bids submitted this spring were for $799.5 million and $812.1 million. Met Council officials have repeatedly warned that delays only increase the cost of the project. Asked whether this latest delay would once again require a budget revision, Tchourumoff responded: “It could, but there’s no way to know until we get farther down the line.”

Scooter-share arrives in Minneapolis A proposed ordinance regulating “low power vehicles” aimed to get Minneapolis out ahead of the fast-growing scooter-sharing industry — but the scooters got here first. Bird, a company with scooter-sharing operations in 22 U.S. cities, deployed dozens of its electricpowered motorized scooters in Minneapolis and St. Paul July 10. Later that same day, a City Council committee debated an ordinance that would regulate Bird and any similar company planning to operate a scooter-sharing business here. Bird requires users to first download an app, which allows users to locate a nearby scooter and then pay for a ride. At launch, rental fees totaled $1 per trip, plus 15 cents per mile. Users must be at least 18 years old, and renting a scooter requires scanning a valid drivers license with a smart phone. When finished, users simply park the scooter on the sidewalk. The company says scooter-sharing can reduce congestion and carbon emissions by replacing short car trips. The scooters travel up to 15 mph. In a press release announcing its arrival, Bird said it’s responding to “an urgent need for additional transit options that are accessible, affordable, and reliable for all residents and local communities,” adding that its scooter-rental business is designed around “short ‘last-mile’ trips that are too long to walk, but too short to drive.” State law generally treats motorized foot

scooters like bicycles, requiring users to ride in the street “as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.” Unlike bicycles, the operation of motorized foot scooters is prohibited on all sidewalks. Motorized scooter riders also are not allowed to use the left turn lane as a cyclist would; instead, state law instructs riders to stop at the right-hand curb, wait for traffic to clear and cross the roadway on foot, as a pedestrian. Approved July 10 by the Transportation and Public Works Committee, the proposed city ordinance would set the rules for where motorized foot scooters and other low powered vehicles can be parked in the public right of way. It would also require the businesses to acquire a license or a contract with the city before entering the local market. Ward 1 City Council Member Kevin Reich, the chair of the committee, appealed scooter-sharing operators to contact the city and work with staff. “It really is a welcoming, help-not-hinder kind of gesture that we’re trying to do,” he said. A spokesperson for Bird said the company “has submitted the necessary paperwork to operate as a business in each of the Twin Cities.” “We look forward to working closely with the Twin Cities so that Bird is a reliable, affordable, and environmentally friendly transportation option,” the statement continued. Noting the problems faced in San Francisco,

Santa Monica and Washington, D.C. — three cities where scooter-sharing debuted in late 2017 and early 2018 — Jon Wertjes, director of traffic and parking services for the Department of Public Works, said the city aimed to take a “proactive approach” with the low powered vehicles ordinance, one that would both welcome and establish a regulatory framework for Bird and its competitors. “Similar to bike-sharing, these scooter operators have often deployed scooters independently resulting in significant disruption and backlash,” Wertjes said. “This disruption included improper riding and parking of scooters in areas which impede and endanger pedestrians, as well as the damage and or vandalism to scooters on public and private property.” A second electric scooter service, Lime, launched July 23. Lime also operates bikesharing services in Golden Valley and Edina. City Council President Lisa Bender said Minneapolis aimed to have “a collaborative and not an oppositional relationship with new companies that are coming to offer transportation options in our city.” “As far as I’m concerned, as long as these scooters are not impeding pedestrians and folks are able to operate them safely, I think they’re a welcome addition to our transportation system,” she said.

journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 7

Voices

Streetscape / By Ethan Fawley

WALKING, BIKING & MINNEAPOLIS 2040 T

he way we build our streets and neighborhoods shapes our lives. It determines whether we have a real choice to walk, roll or bike as we run errands, go to work and visit friends and family. It impacts whether people of all incomes can afford to live in and get around our city, whether people are safe in every neighborhood, whether air is clean and whether residents can be healthy. Every ten years, cities across the region update their comprehensive plans, which guide long-term development, growth, housing, transportation and more. Minneapolis released their draft plan, called Minneapolis 2040, this spring and recently closed a public comment period. Planning department staff will review thousands of comments and will release a revised draft in late September before additional conversation and eventually City Council approval of a final plan later this year. While housing rightly has garnered much of the discussion around the draft plan, I wanted to take a look at how the draft plan would impact walking and biking. Here are three key points.

‘Complete Neighborhoods’ One of the plan’s goals is Complete Neighborhoods, about which the plan states: “In 2040, all Minneapolis residents will have access to employment, retail services, healthy food, parks, and other daily needs via walking, biking, and public transit.”

walking safer through traffic calming. Public Works will be sharing more information this fall and engaging with people on the update. You can learn more about the plan and sign up for email updates at: minneapolismn.gov/publicworks/transplan/.

New development

This is an important goal because it gives residents the option to live without a car, which is currently challenging in many parts of the city. To achieve this goal, the plan allows more housing to be built, especially near transit, retail, and jobs; allows more commercial development in areas of demand; looks to build new parks where there are gaps in park access; and looks to improve access for walking, biking and transit.

Details to come The plan’s transportation section states: “The Transportation policies of this plan support a multimodal network that prioritizes walking, biking and transit. The policies are intended to achieve outcomes that increase equity in our transportation system, address climate change and reduce carbon emissions, improve human health through improved air quality and increases in active travel, and enable the movement of people, goods, and services across the city.”

The prioritization of improvements for walking, biking and transit recognizes the Complete Streets policy the City Council adopted in 2016. While the plan looks to improve walking, biking and transit, it does not suggest drastic change to the current car-focused transportation system. In fact, the plan does not have a lot of specifics about how walking, biking and transit will be prioritized. That is because the Minneapolis 2040 draft was created by the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development, not the Public Works Department. Public Works has started the process for updating the city’s Transportation Action Plan, which will include many more details. For people interested in upcoming street improvements in walking and biking, you’ll want to track the Transportation Action Plan update. That is where the future bicycle network will be set, where policy around potential greenways will be adopted and where the dity could look at policies to make

A complaint I have heard in recent years is that much of new development is not very focused on creating a great walking environment. The draft Minneapolis 2040 plan has an entire policy, “Pedestrian-Oriented Building and Site Design,” that looks to change that. This section is one of the most important improvements for walking and biking in this plan. This policy requires new buildings have direct connections to the sidewalk, have windows facing sidewalks, do not have long blank walls facing sidewalks and be conscious of wind currents and shadows. The policy also tries to reduce the impact of car parking and auto-oriented businesses on walking safety and comfort. It would no longer require car parking in any new development. The policy also would prohibit new drivethroughs and gas stations, which create safety challenges for people walking. It would ensure that bicycle parking, storage lockers and changing and shower facilities are included in more new development as appropriate.

Ethan Fawley is executive director of Our Streets Minneapolis.

8 journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018

News

‘A somber milestone’ Sorrow and calls for police reform one year after the death of Justine Damond

By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@journalmpls.com Events in Fulton marked the anniversary of the death of Justine Damond, who in July 2017 was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer after calling 911 to report a possible sexual assault. Local officials, including Mayor Jacob Frey, joined neighbors July 14 to dedicate a bench overlooking Minnehaha Creek to the memory of Damond, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, tossing pink flowers into the water. On July 15, members of Justice for Justine were joined by other local activists in a rally at the south end of the alley behind Damond’s former 51st & Washburn home, where they again called for police reforms and an end to officer-involved shootings. Sarah Kuhnen of Justice for Justine described the anniversary as a “somber milestone” for those who knew Damond. She described Damond’s death as a “devastating blow” to the neighborhood. It also galvanized a group of her neighbors. Justice for Justine has met almost weekly since Damond’s death, and its members say there is an urgent need to change law enforcement practices and policies that contribute to police shootings. “The police system is fundamentally broken, and it is hurting our entire community,” Kuhnen said. Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor is charged with murder in Damond’s death, and his trial is scheduled to begin in late September. He and his partner on the night of the shooting, Matthew Harrity, said they got “spooked” when Damond approach their vehicle in the dark. Kuhnen described their actions as “reckless and indefensible,” but she said the prosecution and conviction of Noor would be “only one step toward real justice for our communities,” noting a number of other people who had been injured or killed during interactions with Minnesota law enforcement officers since Damond’s death. The list included Thurman Blevins, who allegedly had a handgun when he was shot by Minneapolis police during a foot chase June 24, although witnesses at the scene dispute police accounts and say he didn’t have a gun. It also included a Chanhassen teen, Archer Amorosi, shot and killed by Carver County sheriff ’s deputies who were called to his house July 13. “Every one of these stories has a grieving family and community just like ours,” Kuhnen said. Fulton resident Bethany Bradley said her “privilege” allowed her to look away from the

Raised ﬁsts were a sign of solidarity at a rally hosted by Justice for Justine on the one-year anniversary of Justine Damond’s death. Photos by Dylan Thomas

trauma of police shootings — until Damond, a woman who looked like her, was killed. “It was then that this community realized there are no safe communities,” Bradley said. She called for an end to the practice of having the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in charge of investigating most police-involved shootings, citing their close ties to members of local police and sheriff ’s departments. She also urged those at the rally to elect leaders who will hold police accountable. “We need change, and we need leaders who are willing to step into the discomfort of creating that change,” Bradley said. “There is no space left for the middle ground.” Nekima Levy-Pounds, the activist, attorney and 2017 Minneapolis mayoral candidate, said the incidents leave many people with the same question: “Who’s next?” Recalling that it seemed “so hard to get the rest of the city to care” when the shooting of Jamar Clark prompted an 18-day protest and occupation of the Fourth Precinct in 2015, Levy-Pounds said Damond’s death awoke a new, powerful Minneapolis constituency to the issue of police violence. Real change, she added, requires “all hands on deck.” It was a sentiment echoed by other speakers, including longtime activist Mel

Items left in memory of Damond near 51st & Washburn.

The police system is fundamentally broken, and it is hurting our entire community — Sarah Kuhnen

A chain of origami cranes near the site on Minnehaha Creek where a new bench honoring Damond was recently dedicated. Reeves, who called on those at the rally to show up in support for Blevins and his family. A funeral was held for 31-year-old Blevins the day before the Justice for Justine rally. “The only way we beat this is together,” added John Thompson, a close friend of Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by a St. Anthony police officer during a July 2016 traffic stop. Like Levy-Pounds, Thompson said it would have been hard for him to believe, just a few years ago, that events would bind black activists and concerned members of a largely white Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood in a common cause. “We are bonded,” he said, urging those outraged by Damond’s death to channel their anger into the work of activism. Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said growing public awareness off the issue has prompted some change, including new training programs for officers and amended use-of-force policies. Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments are taking steps to reinvigorate their disciplinary policies, Gross added. But she said more needed to be done to eliminate so-called “fear-based” officer training programs that teach officers to adopt a “warrior mentality.” Officers in several

The bench dedicated to Damond on Minnehaha Creek.

recent shootings were reportedly exposed to the trainings, including the Minneapolis officers who shot Blevins. Jess Sundin of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, a group formed to campaign for the prosecution of the officers that shot Clark, agreed with Gross that activism was beginning to make a difference in the Twin Cities. Sundin faulted Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman for declining to charge the officers in the Clark case, but she noted that Freeman responded to public scrutiny of his decision by releasing most of the evidence reviewed by prosecutors. While it was the wrong decision, she said, “at least it was open.”

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10 journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 From left, Keith, Diane Redfern Ross and Emily Moore share their thoughts on the city’s plan for growth at a “comment party” hosted by Our Streets at Moon Palace Books. Photo by Michelle Bruch

FROM MINNEAPOLIS 2040 / PAGE 1 A petition to rework the plan has generated more than 2,800 signatures and more than 1,000 comments. The advocacy group Minneapolis For Everyone reports distributing at least 800 lawn signs featuring slogans like “Don’t bulldoze our neighborhoods.” “This is a dream plan for speculators and developers. It is a free-for-all that leaves every resident who has invested in their neighborhood’s current character at threat of waking up to a vastly different reality in their small corner of the city,” states the petition, drafted by a group of people who said they want to remain anonymous to keep the focus on frustrated residents. “… We know that density for the sake of density will not relieve social ills and likely will exacerbate many of them.”

A comment party At Moon Palace Books on July 22, Our Streets hosted a “comment party,” where former 7th Ward council candidate Janne Flisrand passed out tablets and showed people how to submit draft plan feedback. Each attendee viewed the plan a bit differently. At one table sat Laura and Keith, who were interested in affordable housing, and Emily Moore, who worried the city would give too much power to developers, and Diane Redfern Ross, who wanted legal measures to stop evictions and require builders to include low-income housing. San Francisco Bay Area transplants Jam and Elena said the Bay Area is rapidly building housing to keep up with population growth. “Basically we don’t want that to happen here. It’s not fun, it’s not affordable and it’s definitely not equitable,” Jam said. They said Minneapolis now has a chance to build mid-level density across the city, something the Bay Area should have done years ago. They said the city’s comprehensive plan, and particularly its focus on addressing racial inequity and proactive work to stop gentrification, makes them feel glad to be moving here. “It makes me feel seen. Especially as a black person, that’s important,” Jam said. Flisrand said more homes won’t necessarily create affordability, but if there aren’t enough homes, people will get pushed out. “Let’s make those ‘Everyone is welcome here’ signs a reality, by making space for everybody,” she said. She pointed to the Mapping Prejudice project, which is mapping locations where racial covenants explicitly restricted people of color from buying properties. “Racial segregation in our city is not just a naturally-occurring thing, it’s something that was shaped by policy 100 years ago, and that we’ve forgotten about. It’s not that there’s malice in people’s hearts, I’m not suggesting that, I’m suggesting that policies have a long shadow, even if we don’t notice the policies themselves,” she said.

Debate over density Peter Mason said people who “won the lottery” in decades past shouldn’t prevent others from enjoying homeownership. From his home in East Isles, he currently sees a duplex, a triplex and a nearby fourstory apartment building. “People don’t realize it, because it’s been there,” he said. “… As a city we should focus on housing people and not worry so much about how that can affect small little things. Where are our priorities?” Should we focus on shadows that a single-family house could also generate, he said, or focus on allowing more neighbors to also enjoy the city? As a person working to end homelessness, CARAG resident Matt Lewis said he sees the impact of scarce housing firsthand. “A healthy vacancy rate gives power to people who want homes, rather than landlords,” he said in an email. Lewis said he feels lucky to have found a home in a fourplex as an alternative to an expensive single-family home. “Many of the types of homes that would be allowed under Mpls 2040 already exist in those neighborhoods, and the comp plan would just make them legal to build again,” he said. Some critics of the plan said the density under consideration takes the city a step too far. Carol Becker, a co-founder of Minneapolis For Everyone, said growth should be concentrated downtown, near the University of Minnesota and near high-frequency transit. The city has more than enough land to continue to do that, she said, pointing to opportunities for development near East Lake Street. “We do not need to radically upzone the whole city,” she said. “… We know the city will grow. We don’t need giant towers to accommodate this growth. We just need to add 10 percent more.” Fulton resident Colleen Kepler said the city isn’t proposing the infrastructure to handle the upzoning under consideration. East Calhoun resident Lara NorkusCrampton published a letter in Southside Pride that said housing choices in new developments tend to be unaffordable, and said she worries that up-zoning would lead to demolition of existing affordable housing. City officials are currently exploring “inclusionary zoning” policies that would require a portion of new units to be affordable. Becker said she thinks a substantial portion of new units — perhaps 20 percent — would need to be affordable, otherwise the city would only exacerbate affordable housing problems with new construction. A packed July meeting at the Uptown VFW became heated and emotional, with residents raising concerns about developers buying properties to build new fourplexes. They pressed for answers about how similar proposals have worked in other SEE MINNEAPOLIS 2040 / PAGE 11

journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 11

News

Damond’s family sues Minneapolis Filed in federal court, the civil suit comes one year after her death

By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@journalmpls.com Alleging systemic problems within the Minneapolis Police Department, including a culture that encourages officers to protect one another at the cost of the truth, the family of Justine Damond filed a civil lawsuit in federal court July 23. Damond, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, was shot and killed last year by former Minneapolis police officer Mohammed Noor, who is facing murder charges in a separate criminal trial set to begin in September. The lawsuit alleges Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, were unqualified, improperly trained, conspired to keep their body worn cameras from recording evidence of the July 2017 shooting and afterwards were protected by the department’s “blue wall of silence.” The lawsuit was filed by Damond’s father, John Ruszczyk of Australia, on behalf of Damond’s next of kin. “Basically, Justine saw something, she said something — like the signs at the airport tell us — and she got killed for doing so. And a year later we don’t know why that was,” said Bob Bennett, the family’s attorney, adding: “They’ll have to answer our questions soon.” The complaint described Noor and Harrity as “inexperienced officers who appear, by their conduct, unfit for duty.” On the night she was killed, Damond had

called 911 to report a possible sexual assault near her home in the Fulton neighborhood; Harrity and Noor responded in a police squad car and Noor shot Damond when she approached the vehicle. The two were driving through the alley behind Damond’s home and told investigators they got “spooked.” “There couldn’t be any more plainly incompetent acts than this,” Bennett said. Although both officers were equipped with body-worn cameras, neither officer turned on his camera until after Damond was shot. Bennett alleged Noor and Harrity “worked in concert to conceal the truth surrounding the murder” of Damond by ignoring department policy that required them to activate their cameras. Bennett also alleged that Harrity’s account of what happened that night shifted after he met with his attorney, who also represents the Minneapolis Police Federation, the officers’ union. Citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Noor has not given his account to investigators. Noor was fired from the department after Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman filed criminal charges against him for the shooting. Freeman, who had previously said he would avoid calling grand juries for officer-involved shootings did so before filing

FROM MINNEAPOLIS 2040 / PAGE 10

Debate over driving

cities. The ward’s former council member, Meg Tuthill, said the city hands out building variances to developers like “candy.” Lisa McDonald, a resident of East Harriet and a former council member representing the Wedge and Whittier, said she worries neighborhood voices wouldn’t be heard to influence new development proposals. Under the draft plan, city officials could grant height above four stories if proposals meet the city’s overarching goals. One developer reached for comment said the plan might need revision. “It appears the plan was crafted with good intentions, but likely needs a reboot or at least a slow down,” developer Curt Gunsbury, owner of Solhem Companies, said in an email. “Developers would likely profit from development, which is obvious. But targeting developers as winners seems to be a political statement that avoids other facts.” Developer Dan Oberpriller of North Bay Companies said he thinks the plan is thoughtful. Minneapolis has a shallow base of developers and contractors, he said, so changes would take place over many years. “If it doesn’t make sense, it’s not going to happen. You’re not going to put a fourstory building in the middle of a neighborhood,” he said, explaining that the plan directs density to higher-traffic streets.

One policy idea would require new buildings to include retail in areas with the most residents, pedestrians and transit. Oberpriller said it’s expensive to build commercial space, but he said people want to live near dry cleaners and coffeehouses. Julia Curran, a car-free resident near the Hennepin corridor, said she’s interested in the plan’s proposal for “complete neighborhoods.” She said she’d appreciate more commercial space, allowing people to gain extra income by doing hair out of a living room, for example. More dense, walkable neighborhoods could reduce transportation emissions, said Katie Jones. She said she’s happy to see policy ideas that would transition away from fossil fuel-derived natural gas for heating. “Our electricity from Xcel is getting cleaner, because more of the grid is coming from renewables,” said Jones, who works at the Center for Energy and Environment. “A larger portion of our emissions is coming from natural gas. And we don’t have an easy, quick way to reduce that yet. … The transition from natural gas is going to be much more difficult.” (She’s experimenting with one idea. She recently installed an expensive cold climate airsource heat pump at her triplex in the Wedge. The technology can draw heat from the air to heat a home, she said, even on cold days.) Driving is last priority for street design

Attorney Bob Bennett is representing Justine Damond’s family in a federal lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis. Photo by Dylan Thomas charges against Noor, citing a lack of cooperation from Noor’s fellow officers. Bennett, who also represented the family of Philando Castile, a black man shot and killed by a St. Anthony police officer during a 2016 traffic stop, said he had been fighting the “blue wall” since beginning his career in the 1980s. The family is seeking in excess of $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The amount was chose to “send an unmistakable message to these officers and the City of Minneapolis and its Police Department that such conduct is wrong, and will no longer be tolerated,” John Ruszczyk said in a statement provided by his attorney. “We want the Minneapolis police culture to be reformed in such a way and to the

extent necessary to stop such senseless acts from happening again and again,” he added. The complaint alleges the Minneapolis Police Department failed to properly train its officers and was lax in enforcing its body-worn camera policy. That policy was strengthened in the aftermath of the Damond shooting, and audits have shown officer compliance with the policy has improved since last summer. In a statement, Minneapolis City Attorney Susan Segal described Damond’s death as a tragedy. She said her office was reviewing the civil lawsuit and would respond. “Meanwhile, serious criminal charges are currently pending against Mohamed Noor, and it’s critically important that the criminal case be allowed to proceed through trial without interference,” Segal said.

in the city’s policy goals, which first focuses on walking, biking and transit. That’s a concern for Becker, who said families who rely on driving might be hurt by the plan. She pointed to Metropolitan Council stats that show households with children take nearly 14 trips per day, while working adult households who are not in school take six trips per day. She added that new housing tends to have fewer bedrooms, which also hurts prospects for families.

comes from is fear of the unknown,” Smith said. “The worst-case scenario of what could happen might be very different from what will actually happen.” But the neighborhood voiced support for rental that blends in, like the renovated garages and multiplexes built inside historic structures that Kenwood holds today. The Lynnhurst Neighborhood Association distributed a survey, and a majority of the 290 respondents said they oppose the plan’s zoning proposals. The neighborhood group submitted a letter to the city that said the draft plan has become a divisive force in the community. “Minneapolitans are part of a nation in which critically important decisions have become endlessly divisive, with compromise and consensus replaced by winner-take-all votes,” states the letter. “In Lynnhurst, the draft plan thus far has become the local manifestation of this disheartening national political climate. … Will the vote the City Council takes on it feel like consensus democracy, or be yet another example of a pre-ordained win for Faction A over Faction B, creating yet another set of resentments troubling the future of Minneapolis for decades?”

Debate within neighborhood associations Given the complexity of the plan, many neighborhood groups didn’t submit a formal response. CARAG devoted committee meetings to the plan but didn’t reach a consensus about how to respond. Shawn Smith, chair of the Kenwood Isles Area Association, said Kenwood residents worry that with the “guard rails” off, they could see an Uptown-style building landing next to historic Kenwood homes. The association opposes any “Corridor 4” designation (allowing up to four stories by right), citing harm to the neighborhood’s historic nature, Kenwood School, the Shoreland Overlay District and a prior agreement related to Southwest LRT that the Kenwilworth Corridor remain parkland. “I think where a lot of the concern

For more information about the draft plan, visit minneapolis2040.com.

— Nate Gotlieb contributed to this story

12 journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018

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Abdulle Properties is proposing to build six owner-occupied single-family homes in the Beltrami neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis. The developer is planning the homes as a cluster development, a designation that will allow the homes to share a lawn, which would feature a children’s play area, six patios and a ﬁre pit. The homes are proposed for a roughly 30,000-square-foot, irregularly shaped lot at Winter & Fillmore that the applicant says has been vacant for decades, according to plans approved by the City Planning Commission on July 16.

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14 journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018

Neighborhood Sp tlight North Loop / Mill District

NORTH LOOP & MILL DISTRICT ESSENTIALS By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@journalmpls.com With their century-old warehouses and mills standing side-by-side with modern condominium towers, Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood and the historic Mill District in neighboring Downtown East tell the story of the city’s evolution. Former industrial areas, they are now bustling with new residents and visitors drawn to the area’s restaurants, shops and cultural attractions, including the Guthrie Theater and the Mill City Museum. Both areas border on the Mississippi River, the focus of an active revitalization plan being carried out by the city and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The North Loop is one of the city’s fastest-growing neighborhoods, more than tripling its population since 2000, when residents numbered just 1,515. Today, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates more than 5,000 people call the neighborhood home. The area’s historic sites include the Milwaukee Road Depot and Freight House at 300 Washington Ave. S., a Renaissance Revival-style building constructed between 1897 and 1899 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Once a hub for rail transportation and still today a reminder of the importance of freight rail to the city’s milling industry, the depot was sold by the city in 1998 and incorporated into a mixed-use development that includes hotels and a water park. An ice skating rink in the former train shed closed in 2017.

Much of the North Loop is part of either the Minneapolis Warehouse or St. Anthony Falls historic districts. The falls district encompasses the earliest parts of Minneapolis to be settled and developed by Europeans, who beginning in the middle of the 19th century used the power of St. Anthony falls to grow the milling industry. The Warehouse District developed several decades later, when Minneapolis became a major distribution point for dry goods, groceries and farm implements bound for towns and settlements throughout the upper Midwest. Mill Ruins Park, opened in 2001, offers a look at some of the city’s early milling infrastructure. A nearby section of West River Parkway was rebuilt out of oak planks in 2003, a nod to the plank roads and bridges that once carried people and equipment over riverside canals. Nearby Gold Medal Park, named for the historic flourmill, was a public-private development carried out by the city in partnership with the William W. and Nadine M. McGuire Family Foundation. A conservancy holds a 50-year lease on the property and maintains the park. Landscape architect Tom Oslund designed the 7.5-acre green space, which includes a spiral walkway leading to the top of the park’s 32-foot high central hill.

A view of the Mill District from Mill Ruins Park. File photo

Neighborhood overview Boundaries: The historic Mill District is part of the larger Downtown East neighborhood, bounded on the north by the Mississippi River, on the west by Portland Avenue South, on the east by Interstate 35W and on the south by Fifth Street South. The North Loop is bounded on the west by Interstate 94 and on the north by Plymouth Avenue North and the Mississippi River. From the river, the boundary runs southwest along Hennepin Avenue, then to Washington Avenue North, 3rd Avenue North and 12th Street North. Demographics: The population of the Mill District’s neighborhood, Downtown East, totaled 1,712 in 2016, according to Minnesota Compass, which draws its data from 5-year U.S. Census Bureau estimates, among other sources. Median household income was $74,143. The North Loop population totaled 5,072 in 2016, and the median household income was $104,691. Get involved: The Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association (thedmna. org) meets on the third Monday of the month, with times and locations posted on the organization’s Facebook page. The East Town Business Partnership (easttownmpls.org) holds board meetings on the ﬁrst Thursday of the month at various locations. The North Loop Neighborhood Association’s Board of Directors meets on the last Wednesday of each month. Go to northloop.org for more information.

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journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 15

Neighborhood Sp tlight North Loop / Mill District

FOUR DEVELOPERS EYE GUTHRIE LINER PARCEL By Austen Macalus Proposals for the Guthrie Liner Parcel, a narrow strip of land on Washington Avenue near the Guthrie Theater, include two office spaces, a mixed-use condominium project and an apartment complex with a bowling alley and restaurant. Four developers submitted proposals for 800 Washington Ave. S., said Emily Stern, a senior project coordinator with the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development department, in an email. The cityowned land, just over 24,000 square foot, shares the block with a parking garage and the headquarters of the American Academy of Neurology, which is looking to expand, possibly into the new building. The city reopened a request for proposals in March, with submissions due in June, after a previous developer dropped its plans. Mortenson Development, which had planned to build a 10-story Hyatt Centric Hotel, said it failed to secure investment after winning rights to the land in 2015. City staff is in the process of evaluating proposals, said Stern, and plans to consult neighborhood groups in August, provide a staff recommendation to the City Council and enter negotiations with a developer by early fall. According to the recent RFP, the city would like to see a development with active-use, maximized retail space on the ground floor along Washington Avenue, and “if housing is included in the proposal… a mixed-income, mixed-use project that includes long-term affordability.” The four proposed developments feature at least one of these features. They are all estimated to be completed around 2021. The 45 North Group, based in St. Louis Park, proposed a five-story “net-zero” office building, the first of its kind in the Twin Cities. The building would be energy neutral, relying on solar power installed on the building and the neighboring parking garage, said Matt Tobin, a partner with 45 North. “That solar array would produce enough power to supply the building 100 percent of what it needs,” Tobin said. “We think we can attract a lot of tenants who would

Los Angelesbased AECOM is proposing an eightstory condo building with approximately 80 units and a potential office space for the American Academy of Neurology. Submitted image

be interested in that type of facility.” The ground floor of the $20 million project would hold retail space for a restaurant and a range of possible health and wellness tenants, Tobin said, such as a pharmacy, yoga studio or gym. The project is one of two office proposals for the site. The other is a built-to-suite office space put forth by Excelsior-based Oppidan, estimated to cost between $40 million and $60 million. Oppidan had considered a similar project during the city’s previous RFP but ended up not submitting a final proposal due to market factors, said Drew Johnson, Oppidan’s vice president of development. The six- to eight-story building is “user driven,” said Johnson, which provides “catered space” for a single company looking for a smaller office or multiple tenants willing to share a building near downtown. “It’s one of the only parcels that can accommodate that,” he said, highlighting that tenants would have a say in the design process. There are multiple floors available for the American Academy of Neurology dependent on its needs, as well as retail space on the ground floor, Johnson added. AECOM, a multinational firm based out of Los Angeles, proposed the only project with owner-occupied units. The firm plans to build an eight-story building with around 80 condominiums,

ground-floor retail space and 18,000 square feet of office space for the American Academy of Neurology. It’s estimated to cost $65 million. “Our proposal is around well-living and well-building,” said Brian Dusek, managing partner of real estate development at AECOM’s Minneapolis office. “It has a big focus on wellness around outdoor living spaces.” The building’s design, which features open green spaces and a rooftop garden, stands apart from many of the apartments recently built in the area, which are “pretty vanilla,” Dusek said. “I think this would be a great addition to the area in the vein of that creativity you see in the Guthrie Theater,” he said. Sherman Associates, whose offices are just around the corner from the site, proposed the largest development, a 10-story apartment building, with office, recreational and retail spaces. Carole Mette, a developer with Sherman, said the $54 million building was “a true urban mixed-use development.” The complex’s bottom two floors would house Pinstripes, a restaurant with a bowling alley and bocce. There is also space for the American Academy of Neurology’s expansion, which will be connected to the third floor via skyway, Mette said. “We want to have an active use [space]… it will be good to infuse more life into this neighborhood,” she said.

Sherman Associates had previously submitted a proposal in 2015 for a mixed-use hotel but lost out to Mortenson. With the area “pretty saturated with hotels,” Mette said, apartments were the right fit this time around. One-fifth of the 112 apartments would be dedicated to affordable housing for people earning 60 percent or less than area median income. According to the Metropolitan Council, the area median income for a household of four is around $94,000. “There’s almost no affordable housing in this area,” Mette said. “It’s something the city wants.” Joe Tamburino, chair of the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, expressed qualms about more rental development in an area already flush with apartment construction. “A lot of these apartments coming up are cookie cutter. They all look the same,” he said. “We have a ton of apartments. I just don’t know how all of these are going to be rented.” Tamburino said he would like to see developers come to the neighborhood association for community input on everything from proper streetscaping to gauging foot traffic. “There are so many of these little points that we can help the developers if they come to us first,” he said. Plus, he said, “It’s a great show of respect that you’re going to be a good neighbor.”

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16 journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018

Neighborhood Sp tlight North Loop / Mill District

SWEET CHOW MAKES A HOME IN THE NORTH LOOP By Sonya Chechik A few years ago, Greg Cummins and Julie Hartley biked across Vietnam and Cambodia, enjoying the Southeast Asian street food that fueled them along the way. Now they’re delivering authentic Asian dishes from their new North Loop restaurant, Sweet Chow, which opened in February with partner Ami Francis. “Essentially, we saw there was nothing like this available in the North Loop and really not in Minneapolis,” said Cummins. “There are a number of Asian restaurants but nothing that was doing the foods that we were interested in.” All three partners have traveled extensively for both work and fun. It was during these travels that they gained an appreciation for food from Southeast Asia that helped inspire their restaurant idea. “We became very interested in the flavors,” Cummins said. “We enjoyed the people and the menu offerings.” Sweet Chow provides their own spin on the flavor profiles from traditional Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Korean meals. Cummins and Hartley both started in the film industry, where they met and became friends. Francis, Hartley’s daughter, Cummins and Hartley have long discussed a move into the restaurant business. It was Francis, who had also ended up in the film business and was frustrated in her current position, who finally pushed for Sweet Chow to become a reality this past year.

Finding a neighborhood Cummins said they always wanted the restaurant to be in the North Loop, largely because of the high standard of food in the area that they were inspired to meet. Sweet Chow executive chef John Krattenmaker had not previously traveled in Southeast Asia, although he had always enjoyed the food. Before opening Sweet Chow, he

and Francis spent ten days eating their way across the region. “He really found that interesting and he was able to really understand what the cuisine was about by being there,” Cummins said. Their inspiration for food comes from far away, but Sweet Chow tries to keep ingredients local. Both their meat and fish providers are local, and Cummins said they’re trying to build relationships with other local purveyors. “The more we can [be local] the more we like it,” he said. Beyond supporting local suppliers, Sweet Chow aims to serve its North Loop residents the best they can. Cummins said the people, as well as the density and nearness to downtown, were additional draws to the North Loop location. While none of the owners are North Loop natives, they’ve lived in Minneapolis for much of their lives. “We know the neighborhood really well, but we wanted to be part of [it],” Cummins said.

Delivering by bike With traffic and parking in mind, Sweet Chow owners decided the fastest takeaway service they could provide was by bike. Benjamin Davies, one of the owners of Rock-It Bicycle Delivery, lives in the North Loop and said he stopped by Sweet Chow for dinner and inquired about their delivery method. When the restaurants owners said they were going to start bike delivery, Davies told them he was with Rock-It and would be happy to join forces. Davies said this is how Rock-It makes most of their connections. He said being local allows for them to better interact with the community than a national group like Bite Squad or Uber Eats. “Our biggest pride is that we work directly with our clients,” Davies said. “We also retain a lot of relationships with the people we are delivering to. … We get

Chef John Krattenmaker in the Sweet Chow dining room. Submitted photo

an actual personal interaction.” Davies said that Rock-It and other bike courier services are more efficient because they are constantly in contact with each other and adjusting their service on the go, versus a car delivery service that follows navigation and yields to traffic. “For us you’re critically thinking on the street and changing your route. I know every address in the city and how to get there the most efficient way,” he said. One of Rock-It’s 12 couriers took a Sweet Chow meal to the 25th floor of a downtown office on a test-run delivery, making it doorto-door in four-and-a-half minutes. Another courier took an order for 30 people in one gigantic bag. “He delivered everything just perfectly all by himself. I was kind of astounded,” Cummins said. Beyond speed, Cummins said bike delivery is more environmentally conscious, adding that the “guys enjoy riding,” which the owners of Sweet Chow value as fellow bikers. Davies said most of their riders started as professional messenger couriers and have

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Even after adding bike delivery and starting Sunday brunch mid-July, Sweet Chow isn’t done yet. Sweet Chow will put the ‘sweet’ in Sweet Chow and further serve the neighborhood with the opening of an ice cream portion of their restaurant. Cummins said it was always part of the plan to open the sweet portion, but they wanted to get up and running first. Krattenmaker is currently crafting a selection of 10–12 flavors, both traditional American and of Asian influence. “It’s meeting our expectations, which is making us very happy,” he said.

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journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 17

Voices

Mill City Cooks / By Jenny Heck

CELEBRATING THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI

hat do free outdoor yoga, Minnesota-grown watermelon and a bald eagle have in common? They are all part of the Mill City Farmers Market’s upcoming Mississippi River Day on Saturday, July 28. Thousands of community members and over 65 local farmers, food makers and artisans plan to celebrate the beautiful river that plays backdrop to the market each Saturday. Minneapolis’ riverfront, just steps away from the market, has held extensive cultural value for many years. The Dakota name for the Mississippi River, Haha Wakpa, means “river of the falls.” It is seen as a place of creation and is an historic gathering space for Dakota people. In the mid-1800s the river became integral to the lumber and milling industries. The water provided power, helping Minneapolis earn nicknames like “Mill City” and “The Flour Milling Capitol of the World.”

You can learn more and celebrate the rich history of the Mississippi River on Mississippi River Day. The market opens at 8 a.m., and the festivities kick off shortly after as instructors from YogaFit Studios Northeast lead a free, all-level yoga class overlooking the river and the Stone Arch Bridge 9 a.m.–10 a.m. After you roll up your mat, get some cooking inspiration from chef Nettie Colón at the market’s 10:30 a.m. cooking

demo in the train shed. The demo highlights seasonal fruits and vegetables and other market products just in time for you to pick out your weekly groceries. While you’re shopping remember to stop by the stalls on Chicago Avenue where (after grabbing a hand roll of sushi from the market’s new vendor, Gohan) you can “dive in” to the river’s ecological and agricultural history. On Mississippi River Day the market will be hosting conservation experts from Friends of the Mississippi River, national park rangers from Mississippi Park Connection and a bald eagle and other raptors who make the water home from the University of Minnesota Raptor Center. By the end of the day, you’ll be ready for a snack, so be sure you pick up all the local ingredients you need to make this refreshing summer salad! Event information and more seasonal recipes can be found at millcityfarmersmarket.org.

Yoga on the riverfront is planned on Mississippi River Day at the Mill City Market. Submitted photo

Summer melon salad Recipe courtesy of the Mill City Farmers Market Ingredients 1 cup cubed cantaloupe or watermelon 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1 cup diced cucumber 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh mint 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon honey 1⁄2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional) Lemon juice to taste Freshly ground black pepper to taste Salt to taste Method • In a large bowl, combine the melon, tomatoes, cucumber and mint. Toss to combine. Set aside. • In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and honey. Drizzle over the salad and top with feta cheese. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. • Tip: Turn up the heat with harissa paste! It’ll only take about a Tablespoon of this chili-pepper-infused paste to give it an extra kick! You can ﬁnd traditional harissa from Caldo Foods at the Mill City Farmers Market on select Saturdays!

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18 journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 she went to work for the county not long after getting off of assistance. Among Conley’s priorities if elected is creating a racial equity advisory council made up of diverse citizens that could advise the board on its efforts to reduce disparities. She would make changes to integrate county services so that families with multiple needs aren’t juggled between multiple case managers. And she would focus more of the county’s affordable housing efforts on transitional housing for people coming out of homelessness, a priority inspired by her experience as a case manager for Our Savior’s Housing.

Angela Conley voteconley.com Angela Conley traced the genesis of her first-ever run for public office to a question she asked herself about two-and-a-half years ago. A county employee, she’d noticed the diversity of rank-and-file staff wasn’t reflected in upper management, and she wondered: Had a person of color ever served on the Hennepin County Board? The answer was no, not in its 150-year history. “I respect Peter’s leadership, but we do need to be reflective of the place we’re serving, and we do need different perspectives on the board,” she said. Conley has worked in state and county government for two decades and is currently the county’s operations coordinator for the Minnesota Family Investment Program, which provides cash and food assistance to the working parents of low-income families. It’s a system Conley understands intimately, having received food, childcare and emergency housing assistance from the county as a young woman. “And I say that was the beginning of my career because it was then I discovered so many of the gaps and how hard it was to access the system and how much we put on families who are poor,” she said, adding that

of policy, advocacy and fundraising until her position was eliminated this spring. She advocated on behalf of Minneapolis’ “bring your own bag” ordinance, which would have eliminated most single-use plastic bags until it was blocked by the state Legislature, and an effort in St. Paul to ban any to-go packaging that can’t be recycled or composted. Other top priorities for Kuhl-Stennes include fostering more community engagement in county-level policymaking and improving the lives of working families. If elected, KuhlStennes would work to make childcare more accessible and affordable, and her policy platform also includes piloting a basic income guarantee. Under such a system, Hennepin County — which currently operates with a roughly $2 billion budget — would make regular guaranteed payments to residents, with the goal of eliminating poverty and homelessness. Those are ambitious goals, she acknowledged, but Kuhl-Stennes said she wants to bring big ideas into the District 4 race. “We have to be looking at visionary leadership to solve all the myriad problems we have with inequity,” she said.

that his decision to run for a ninth time was an easy one. Angry about the rightward drift of the country under the Trump administration, McLaughlin said it’s up to local government to fight back. “We sure as heck aren’t calling Washington for help anymore,” he said. McLaughlin touted a “record of achievement in hostile environments on tough issues,” like transit. Despite the opposition, he said, the build-out of the area’s commuter and light rail network has been “an enormous success,” with both light rail lines and the Northstar Commuter Rail Line setting ridership records in 2017. His top priority if re-elected would be building on the county’s efforts to increase access to affordable housing and reduce homelessness. McLaughlin would put the county’s support behind aspects of the city’s draft comprehensive plan, Minneapolis 2040, that promote affordability and density, including a proposal to open neighborhoods to fourplexes, and would increase county investment in the incentives that encourage the development of new affordable units. McLaughlin said the county should expand the Hennepin Pathways job-training program, which he argued was essential for reducing income disparities, and pursue new higher-education partnerships. A third priority for McLaughlin would be to strengthen the county’s mental health services, adding new resources to unclog a “jammed-up” system and additional housing. McLaughlin said he has heard the calls for increased diversity on the board and supports them. But he noted his is not the only open seat in 2018, and McLaughlin said he believes he is the “strongest of the candidates.” “I try to do as much as I can to balance the scales to give everyone in this community a decent shot,” he said.

Megan Kuhl-Stennes meganforhennepin.com Located on the edge of downtown Minneapolis near Target Field, the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center, or HERC, creates electricity by burning garbage. Megan Kuhl-Stennes would like to see it go away. Kuhl-Stennes said she doesn’t just want to shut down the HERC, she wants to make it unnecessary. The top priority for the first-time candidate is moving Hennepin County down the path toward zero waste, which she described as her “big passion.” It was a passion that drove her work at Eureka Recycling, where she was a zero-waste education manager and the associate director

Peter McLaughlin petermclaughlin.org Peter McLaughlin won his first county board election in 1990, and he said recently

FROM DISTRICT 4 PRIMARY / PAGE 1

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journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 19

Voices

Moments in Minneapolis By Cedar Imboden Phillips

A TURNING POINT FOR LABOR

his year marks the 84th anniversary of the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters’ Strike. Months of conflict turned violent on July 20 when police fired on strikers in the streets of downtown Minneapolis. Two men, Henry Ness and John Belor, were killed, and another 67 injured. Gov. Floyd B. Olson declared martial law and brought in the National Guard. The strike ended in August. The Teamsters’ Strike is considered to be a major turning point in both Minneapolis and labor history. Minneapolis became a union town, and the Teamsters grew in strength and numbers nationwide.

Cedar Imboden Phillips serves as executive director for the Hennepin History Museum. Learn more about the museum and its oﬀerings at hennepinhistory.org or 870-1329.

Photography by International Chicago. Image from the Hennepin History Museum’s collection.

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Owámni Falling Water Festival Named after the Dakota word for “falling water,” which the Dakota called the area at St. Anthony Falls, the Owámni Falling Water Festival turns ﬁve this year. The festival honors Minnesota’s Dakota and Anishinaabe cultural legacy with native music, dance, art, activities and, of course, food. New this year will be a fashion show with a showcase of designs by two South Dakota artists, Gina Still Smoking from Lower Brule and Sarah “Dakota” Weston from Flandreau. Deanna StandingCloud will be the emcee for the stage show, with performances by Jackie Bird, Annie Humphrey and more.

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Loring Park Art Festival Set at the edge of downtown in one of the city’s most charming urban landscapes, the Loring Park Art Festival provides a shaded and serene setting for its annual arts showcase. This year, 140 visual artists will be selling their original work with styles running the gamut. The festival also features live music, including the Twin Cities Beer Choir, the Apollo Male Choir and the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra, as well as a puppetry performance by Open Eye Figure Theater. With yummy food, a beer garden run by the nearby Lakes & Legends Brewing Company and kids activities, it’s a perfect opportunity to enjoy the arts in nature. When: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday, July 28; 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday, July 29 Where: Loring Park, 1382 Willow St. S. Cost: Free Info: loringparkartfestival.com

Whittier Neighborhood Cat Walking Tour Every neighborhood should be proud of their best asset, and the folks of the Whittier know that they’ve got something special in their cat stock. Wedge LIVE recently held its second-annual Cats of the Wedge tour and is following it up with a tour cat-spotting tour of the Whittier neighborhood. Can Whittier match the Wedge for sidewalk feline viewing? Come to the tour to ﬁnd out.

Christopher Harrison and Yael Ben-Simon Soo Visual Arts Center opens two solo shows: “A Monster Anthology,” featuring work by Christopher Harrison, and “Out of My Book,” by Yael Ben-Simon. Harrison’s sculptures, paintings and printed works use historic and mythic themes to create imagery of fantastical creatures rooted in inspiration from African, pre-Columbian and Native American cultures in addition contemporary design and animation trends. Meanwhile, Ben-Simon’s ﬁrst solo show in Minnesota deconstructs the notion of a coloring book, going outside the lines in her mixed media works that draw on coloring book versions of 17th century artwork. When: 6 p.m.–9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4 Where: Soo Visual Art Center, 2909 Bryant Ave. S., Suite 101 Cost: Free Info: soovac.org

When: 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8 Where: Whittier Recreation Center, 425 W. 26th St. Cost: Free Info: facebook.com/events/1741450192590332/

Uptown Minneapolis Clothing Swap Are you tired of your clothes but don’t have the cash to re-invent your wardrobe? No worries, this clothing swap has got you covered. Basically, you bring in 10 pieces of clothing to trade, making sure everything is in top-notch condition. Then, you look through the clothes that other folks have brought and go home with some awesome new clothes. There’ll be some light snacks and drinks, so it’s a social event as well, and you can feel good because leftover clothes will be donated to YouthLink, an organization that serves homeless youth. When: 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. Monday, July 30 Where: ArcStone Technologies, 2836 Lyndale Ave. S. Cost: Free, but bring 10 items of clothing and/or accessories. Info: facebook.com/events/585207918516533

OIL CHANGE

Disposal Extra

Twin Cities Polish Festival

Lube, oil & filter change. Check fluids. Up to 5 quarts conventional 5W30 oil. Most cars/ light trucks. Expires 8/11/18.

August 10, 11, 12, 2018

Friday 5-10, Saturday 10-10, Sunday 10-5 Free Admission Along the Mississippi River on Old Main Street, across from Riverplace and St. Anthony Main, Minneapolis

Mon–Fri 7am–7pm Sat 8am–2pm

1227 Central Ave NE (Central & Broadway)

612-623-3700 Mr Tire DTJ 072618 H18.indd 1

PA I N T IN G

7/12/18 11:55 AM

Professional Quality Work Exterior Painting Interior Painting Wood Finishing Exterior Wood Restoration Licensed & Insured

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Music, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Polish food and beverages, and much more — Come explore and enjoy.

FREE FRIDAY NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT The Emerson Avenue Band

www.tcpolishfestival.org

Twin Cities Polish Festival DTJ 072618 9.indd 1

7/19/18 4:04 PM

journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 21

Minnesota Fringe Festival When: Aug. 2–12

Cost: $10 limited at door, $15 reserved online

Info: minnesotafringe.org

The Fringe Festival is here, which means it’s your chance to catch up to 132 different shows at venues across the Twin Cities. Here are some of our top picks from the festival.

‘Walking While Black in Moscow’

‘The Member of Some Gods’

‘TITUS: Sweet Water, Silent Walks’

Les Kurkendaal performs this solo show about a trip to Russia and what that was like as a black man.

This music-infused performance troupe takes you on a journey into the afterlife.

The Band Group turns Shakespeare’s most gruesome play on its head, from the point of the character of Lavinia.

Where: Ritz Studio, 345 13th Ave. NE

Where: Casket Arts Building, 681 17th Ave. NE

REALTORS

Randy Cernohous: 612.382.3196 Karie Curnow: 612.347.8022 Christopher Friend: 612.827.5847 Brian Helms: 612.913.6400 Brady Kroll: 612.347.8050 Fritz Kroll: 612.347.8088 Dolly Langer: 612.280.8898 Susan Lindstrom: 612.347.8077 Lynn Morgan: 612.703.1088 Matt Morgan: 612.321.6655 Juley Speed: 612.986.3478 Mike Sward: 612.889.7210 Shawn Thorud: 612.347.8079

1 Light-ly armed fighter? 5 “Better Call Saul” network 8 Takes by force 14 Nerve impulse carrier

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15 Bit of texting mirth

Sarah Fischer Johnson, Mgr: 612.940.9645

16 ThinkPad maker 17 Liveliness 20 Really enjoyed, with “up”

23 Jefferson Airplane song with the words “Go ask Alice” 27 To the degree that 30 “It’s __!” 32 Wrapped up 33 Piece of land

63 Central

36 “To boldly go,” e.g.

64 Chinese bamboo eaters

11 Resembling the walking dead 12 Tennis legend Chris

65 TV shopper’s option

13 Prefix with gram

66 Tom Stoppard creation

18 Cowardly Lion portrayer

DOWN 1 Indonesian island 2 __ interview 3 Spoil, with “on”

39 Dramatist Coward 40 Level 45 Go to 46 Declares 47 Diagnostic pic

23 Desert riverbed

48 Loan default risk

24 Sitar master Shankar

49 Iota follower 50 “If only”

25 Yemen’s main port

51 Rough file

26 City on the Adriatic

53 Iridescent gem 54 “East of Eden” director Kazan

51 Deeply engrossed

4 Ship __ bottle

27 Semicircular church area

52 Nest-building flier

5 Keys of music

28 Doesn’t guzzle

55 Say no to

53 Wordsmith’s ref.

6 Church songs

29 Sharpie, e.g.

56 Verdict challenge

7 Half a notorious crime duo

32 On vacation

57 MouthHealthy.org initials

59 Tabloid pair found in 17-, 23-, 36- and 49-Across 61 Throwing money around, in slang 62 __ urchin

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49 Cat owner’s purchase

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22 Iberian river

46 Multiplex theater count

At the Top of the Downtown Market

ER DT Mpls Office DTJ 020818 VBC.indd 2/6/18 1 11:42 Brin Barbara AM DTJ 022317 H18.indd 1

21 Got 100 on

44 Color from the French for “mole”

Barbara Brin

DowntownNeighbor.com • 612.347.8000

19 “Grumpy” film guys

43 Swedish retail giant

Where: Minnsky Theatre, 1517 Central Ave. NE

CONDO FINANCING

Steve Mohabir: 612.347.8045

ACROSS

42 Words before a start date

Married comedy couple Mary Mack and Tim Harmston perform comedic vignettes, stories and songs that explore life in northern Wisconsin.

Where: Rarig Thrust, 330 21st Ave. S

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

41 Boston winter hrs.

‘BurnOut County’

8 __-mo replay

34 “Cupcake Wars” appliance

9 Slender aquarium swimmer

35 Drinks with scones

10 Like many a college graduate

38 Game played with one’s “little eye”

Crossword Puzzle DTJ 072618 4.indd 1

58 Lille lily 60 Diamond authority

37 Opposite of slack Crossword answers on page 22

7/12/18 1:05 PM

TRAIN SMART, NOT HARD.

• Core strength • Group classes • Private training • BOSU, kettlebells • Nutrition coaching • All abilities & ages • Positive environment

1618 Harmon Place Minneapolis, MN Just north of Loring Park, next to Café Lurcat

22 journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018

News

U of M study finds increase in transit accessibility By Austen Macalus The Twin Cities saw a 7 percent increase in transit access to jobs in 2017 compared to 2016, making it easier for commuters heading to work by bus or train, according to recent study results by the University of Minnesota’s Accessibility Observatory. The annual Access Across America report, which looked at the 49 most populous U.S. cities, ranked the Minneapolis metro area 13th nationally for connecting workers to jobs by transit. “We’re ahead of the curve in terms of providing transit access to the jobs we have,” said Andrew Owen, the director of the Accessibility Observatory. New York City, San Francisco and Chicago topped the list. Kansas City, which saw a 17 percent increase, had the largest growth in the number of jobs accessible by transit. Minneapolis, comparatively, had the ninth largest increase. The findings are a step in the right direction for the region, according to Owen. “These are the increases that matter the most,” Owen said. “I look at cities as fundamentally opportunity engines. They are places people go in order to reach things.” The rankings reaffirm the everyday impact of public transportation, said Alene Tchourumoff, chair of the Metropolitan Council. “Our objective has always been to provide access to jobs and opportunities across the region,” Tchourumoff said. “It really does demonstrate the fact that the investments that we’re making in transit make sense and that they’re working.” Ridership on the region’s transit system — which includes over 200 bus routes, two light rail systems, and a commuter railway — has reached over 90 million riders in each of the past five years. Last year, transit ridership in the region topped 95.4 million, according to the Met Council. And transit has played an even larger role during construction Interstate 35W. Bus routes along the corridor have posted double-digit increases in ridership since construction started.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he would like to see more transit development, which provides economic benefits for the city. “The study reinforces what we already know: A stronger transit system means a stronger and more inclusive economy,” Frey said. The Twin Cities currently has around 1.8 million jobs. According to the Accessibility Observatory’s study, the average worker in cities can now reach over 18,000 jobs within a half-hour travelling by transit. Owen highlighted the recent opening of the A Line, a bus rapid transit (BRT) service that travels between Roseville and Minneapolis, as an important contributor to the region’s jump in job access. “That played a pretty important role in the overall 7 percent increase,” Owen said. “It was a really well-planned service in terms of it’s already drawing high ridership.” The A Line increased ridership along the route by over 30 percent after its opening in 2016, according to Met Council figures. In 2017, the service provided 1.5 million rides and is on track to beat those numbers this year. “The A line is a great example of an opportunity for us to look at how we (can) enhance the bus services that we have today,” Tchourumoff said. “We’re driving people to take more transit.” In coming years, the Met Council is hoping to add 10 additional BRT lines throughout the Twin Cities. BRT lines, like the A Line, offer faster and more efficient service, said Tchourumoff, by making less stops and more frequent trips than standard bus routes. The C Line is set to start operating in 2019. The service, which will connect Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis via Penn Avenue, is estimated to run around 25 percent faster than existing lines. But other BRT projects have run into financial hurdles. The Legislature withheld funding last session for the proposed D Line, planned to run between Brooklyn Center and the Mall of America.

A recent study out of the University of Minnesota shows more Twin Cities residents are connected to jobs by transit. File photo Mayor Frey said he was disappointed by the decision. “The neighborhoods served by the rapid transit [D Line] will have even better access to jobs centers in Minneapolis,” Frey said. “It’s a common-sense idea.” Overall, the C Line and D Line are part of transit overhaul that will connect an additional 500,000 people to around 300,000 jobs, according to Met Council spokesman John Schadl. Recent transit expansions correspond with the metro region’s population boom. The Twin Cities experienced a 7.5 percent population growth rate since 2010, bringing the metro area’s population up to 3.6 million, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Last year alone, the metro area grew by 43,000 residents. And growth isn’t expected to stop any time soon. Met Council projections put the

LINE CLASSIFIEDS

Twin Cities on track to add nearly a million people by 2040. Officials expect demand for transit to increase by 80 percent in that time, according to Tchourumoff. Tchourumoff said more transit options will be necessary to serve new residents. “We need to plan for how they’re going to move around our region,” Tchourumoff said. “Ultimately, we’re going to have to invest in our transit system.” Owen saw an opportunity for accessibility to grow even more in coming years. He said it would require smart long-term planning and coordinating new transit services to existing jobs and high density housing areas. “It matters a lot where the growth is happening,” Owen said. “A region that fails to grow accessibility is in the long run a region that fails.”

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CROSSWORD ANSWERS

Foley Exteriors DTJ 053118 HBC.indd 1

4/23/18 1:18 PM

Crossword on page 21

DTJ 072618 Classifieds 9.indd 1

Crossword 7/18/18 11:06 AM Answers DTJ 072618 V12.indd 1

7/12/18 1:05 PM

journalmpls.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 23

LOCAL

FLAVOR

es ker g rove

Submitted photos

By Carla Waldemar One of my least-esteemed restaurants has morphed into one of my new favorites. I love it when that happens. I’m talking about Walker Art Center’s Esker Grove. On my initial couple of visits, the menu was as out-there (OK, downright peculiar) as some of the nearby art. The Walker’s all about innovation — I get it — but when it comes to dining, that original near-naked head of cauliflower entree, or the parsnip number, well … I’m betting they weren’t among the best-sellers. Fast forward to a recent steamy summer evening. While sitting in the sunlit space, I watched folks in jogging shorts receive a hearty welcome. Thus the operation sends a message that this is not just a site for VIPs in silk cravats. Throughout the evening we experienced some of the sweetest, most accom-

plished service on the planet. And these days it has food to match. And wine. We discovered an unfamiliar pinot grigio from Slovenia bearing a pinkyorange glow that matched the sunset jut beyond the glass façade, uniting diners with the sculpture garden. With it, we nibbled on crisp-coated arancini — Italian rice balls customized with mushrooms, rich and nutty Comte cheese and a flourish of watercress. Another star of the “snack” menu section ($8–$15) was the elegantly velvety duck-liver mousse under its translucent jellied bonnet. It’s served with pickled red onions and grainy mustard — sharp flavors to accent and rein in the luxe richness — along with batons of buttery, gently-toasted bread. It’s portioned generously enough for sharing. Turning to the “starter” section of the list ($9–$13, mostly salads), we voted for the

peach and avocado pairing. Off-center? You bet, and does it ever work. Cool, creamy avo slices are wedded to sweet segments of warm peaches, scattered atop a fringe of arugula and smattering of toasted pepita seeds: summer on a plate. Or shoot for the equally inventive apple and kohlrabi duo. Or the Esker Grove number: herbs, seaweed, veggies. Next, we ordered a couple of items from the “mids” menu ($12–$18) — the crab flan and the semolina gnocchi — but, sensing we’d gone overboard, our server allowed us to cancel one (the flan). However, the gnocchi nuggets — gently sautéed after their bath in boiling water — proved disappointing. Subbing semolina for the usual potato, the breadier texture proved OK but not compelling. The nuggets were tossed with miniscule snippets of white asparagus (we had to hunt for them) adding little flavor or color interest. They were joined by bitty sequins of black truﬄe and a dusting of Parmesan. No sauce, as we noted (nicely) to our waiter, to bind, salve and unite the composition. (He unnecessarily but most kindly removed the item from our bill.) From among the five entrees (beets, $21, to lamb, $32) we selected the scallops, $24. A sweet, nubile quartet arrived gently, perfectly seared, ready to mingle with snippets of cauliflower and a smooth, creamy cauliflower puree — all brought to life by the subtly salty kick of pancetta. Trumpet mushroom completed the presentation but failed to play well with others — more woody texture here than taste. Sorry, couldn’t manage dessert ($8–$11). The list favors genius twists on generic sweets like panna cotta (sweet corn, blueberries, basil), tres leches (chocolate, salted caramel) and such. Next time. And there will be a next time, now that I’m newly smitten by Esker Grove.

Throughout the evening we experienced some of the sweetest, most accomplished service on the planet. And these days it has food to match.

ESKER GROVE 723 Vineland Place 375-7542 eskergrove.com

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