The Journal, Aug. 8–23, 2017 by The Journal

THE NEWS SOURCE FOR DOWNTOWN & NORTHEAST MINNEAPOLIS RESIDENTS AUGUST 10–23, 2017

Murals illustrate hope AT HARBOR LIGHT NEW PAINTINGS GIVE VOICE TO RESIDENTS OF THE DOWNTOWN HOMELESS SHELTER Artist Bianca Pettis painted a mural in her own cartoonish style at the Harbor Light Center in downtown Minneapolis. Photo by Eric Best

By Eric Best / ebest@journalmpls.com

here some may see a blank wall, Joan Vorderbruggen sees an opportunity for art to make a connection. For Vorderbruggen, the Hennepin Theatre Trust’s

director of public art and placemaking, the next canvases are the walls of the Harbor Light Center campus. For the 400–500 people who stay at the downtown SEE HARBOR LIGHT / PAGE 14

Nominee for police chief pledges to rebuild trust

INSIDE

Questions about oﬃcer training and accountability linger after July police shooting By Dylan Thomas and Nate Gotlieb Days after the apparent successor to former Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau pledged to repair the department’s relationship with the community, a town hall meeting in the Fulton neighborhood demonstrated just how much trust has eroded since a police officer shot and killed a woman in that neighborhood in July. Invited to Lake Harriet United Methodist Church by Ward 13 City Council Member Linea Palmisano, more than 150 people filled the pews for the Aug. 2 listening session, directing pointed questions about police training and officer accountability to a panel that included members of both the Police Conduct Oversight Commission and the Office of Police Conduct Review. The panelists were put on the defensive by members of the audience who questioned whether the city’s system for civilian oversight of police could effectively shift the culture of a department described as overly aggressive, militarized and out of touch with the community they are sworn to protect. Palmisano said she did not invite any representatives of the department because some of her constituents had expressed discomfort with the presence of uniformed officers following the July 21 shooting death of Justine Damond, 40, who had called 911 to report a possible

sexual assault. Officer Mohamed Noor, who responded to the call with his partner, shot Damond through the patrol car window when she approached the vehicle. She died at the scene, in the alley behind the 51st & Washburn home she shared with her fiancé, Don. One town hall attendee, who introduced herself as a neighbor of Damond’s, noted Noor had been on the force for just 21 months, and said the lessons instilled during officer training should have been fresh in his memory. What, she asked, were Minneapolis officers being taught?

An insider Similar questions await Medaria “Rondo” Arradondo, who is leading the department in the wake of Harteau’s resignation, submitted under pressure less than a week after Damond’s death. Nominated by Mayor Betsy Hodges to fill out Harteau’s term, Arradondo would be the city’s first black chief of police, and several City Council members said he was poised to win approval from a majority of their colleagues. SEE ARRADONDO / PAGE 2

FEASTING ON HISTORY Restaurateurs tell the story of Eat Street in their own words PAGE 8

2 journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017

Schools

SCHOOLS NOTEBOOK

By Nate Gotlieb ngotlieb@journalmpls.com @NateGotlieb

Test scores flat in MPS; leaders not pleased

7,200 participate in summer school

State test scores remained flat in Minneapolis Public Schools this past school year, and district leaders aren’t pleased. About 9,395 students were not reading or able to do math at their grade level, according to Superintendent Ed Graff. He called it “not acceptable.” “Anyone who cares about kids can’t be happy with our results,” he said. Graff said the district will acknowledge the challenge with achievement but focus specifically on the individual student. He cited the district’s literacy work, which includes a new, district-wide pre-K–5 literacy curriculum, and efforts in socialemotional learning, equity and “multi-tiered systems of support,” also known as MTSS. MTSS is the idea of instilling practices that ensure students have high-quality instruction while differentiating that instruction to support individual students, Graff said. “Without that, it’s catch as catch can, and we’re not working in that manner effectively,” he said. The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments occur once a year, but the district doesn’t want to wait that long to assess students, Graff said. He said MPS has a new screening tool, called the FAST, that allows teachers to get information about where students are and adjust. “That, to me, is really going to be a gamechanger,” he said. Graff recognized there are pockets of success within the district and that many staff members are doing great work. But he circled back to the students who aren’t at grade level. “We’ve got to do things differently,” he said. “That’s the commitment that we’re here to make. It’s not a quick turnaround,

More than 7,200 students were enrolled in summer school this summer in Minneapolis Public Schools. The district offered five weeks of programming for kids in grades pre-K–12, including traditional classes, science, technology, engineering and math courses, as well as credit recovery for high school students. The classes wrapped up Aug. 3. Students’ attendance during the school year is higher when they attend summer school, according to Daren Johnson, Minneapolis’ director of extended learning. Summer school participation also improves feelings about coming to school and the relationships students have there, Johnson said. The day runs like a normal school day for kindergarteners through fourth-graders, who go to class and attend activities such as physical education and music. Jamie Stricherz, who taught kindergarten at Folwell School Performing Arts Magnet this summer, said in an email that teachers focus on literacy, math, science and socialemotional learning during summer session.

it’s not a fix for tomorrow, it’s addressing it today and being here for the long haul.” Statewide, MCA scores showed little change from last year, according to the Minnesota Department of Education. Math scores decreased slightly for some grade levels and remained constant for others. Reading scores remained largely the same. Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius said in a statement that test scores are just one part of the picture to understanding student achievement. But she conceded that it’s frustrating to see the slow growth. Cassellius cited “ambitious” goals to address achievement gaps in a draft plan under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. The plan will evaluate all Minnesota schools in five areas: student achievement on tests, academic progress over time, graduation rates, progress toward English language proficiency and constant attendance. The Education Department released the standardized test scores Aug. 7. Students in grades 3–11 take the tests, which measure performance in reading, math and science. Statewide, about 60 percent of students were proficient in reading and math, and about 54 percent were proficient in science. Rates were lower for students of color and higher for white students. MPS’ proficiency rates were below the statewide averages, and the gap in achievement was even starker between white students and those of color. About 78 percent of white students met or exceeded the reading standards, for example, compared to 22 percent of black students, 26.5 percent of Hispanic/Latino students and 51.5 percent of students who identified as two or more races.

Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Ed Graﬀ takes a selfie with students in a summer school class Aug. 3 at Northeast Middle School. Photo by Nate Gotlieb

FROM ARRADONDO / PAGE 1 A 28-year veteran of the department, Arradondo began as a patrol officer in the 3rd Precinct. He later served as a school resource officer and worked a beat on the North Side, rising to inspector of downtown’s 1st Precinct before being named a deputy chief and Harteau’s chief of staff. Palmisano said she hadn’t yet made up her mind on his nomination and was still seeking constituent feedback at events like the town hall and a public hearing set for Aug. 9. It wasn’t the time for a “knee-jerk” reaction, she said. Longtime department observer Dave Bicking, a member of Communities United Against Police Brutality, described Arradondo as an open and communicative leader who may very well be the best choice for chief. But Bicking said the council was passing up an important chance to conduct a wider search and to have a longer, public conversation about policing during what would likely be a months-long process. “Stability in the department is not what we need,” he said. “We need change.”

Pledging change Both Noor and Officer Matthew Harrity, who also responded to Damond’s 911 call, failed to activate their body cameras either before or after the shooting. One of Arradondo’s first actions as acting chief was to announce on July 26 changes to the department’s body camera policy, including a new requirement to activate the cameras on all calls for service. On July 31, Arradondo stood beside

The subjects are often integrated throughout the day, Stricherz said, such as by having students read or write on a science topic. The classes are able to spend more time outside during summer session, she said, and the atmosphere is more relaxed. She added that summer school allows students to have consistent routines, which helps them gain confidence. Fifth- through seventh-graders participate in gender-specific science and engineering programs, called GEMS and GISE, respectively. They include electives such as boatbuilding, guitar and cooking. Eighth-graders participate in an introduction to high school program at Edison High School called Fast Track Scholars. The program allows students to connect with future classmates and take elective classes. ‘The whole goal is to target those students who may not transition as easily,” Johnson said. Cargill provides significant funding for the materials for summer school, Johnson said.

ties where the trust has been shaken. I am committed to making sure that when the history is written we are on the right side of history.” The next day, the City Council Executive Committee met in special session and approved his nomination, paving the way for a vote by the full council on Aug. 18.

A base of support

Acting Police Chief Medaria Arradondo spoke with the media after the City Council Executive Committee voted on Aug. 1 to approve his nomination to the post on a permanent basis, the first step in his confirmation process. Photo by Nate Gotlieb

Hodges and laid out his vision for the department, pledging to focus on “culture change, accountability and outcomes.” He said he would seek community input while reviewing the department’s body camera and use-of-force policies “to evaluate whether they can be strengthened,” adding that he intended also to increase the department resources dedicated to the health and wellness of officers. Pressed on how he would change the

culture in the department, Arradondo acknowledged that shift would not come quickly or easily. He said it would require relationships built on trust and respect, both between members of the department and between its officers and the community. “In the past several years, the Minneapolis Police Department as well as police departments all over the country have certainly been scrutinized,” he said. “There have certainly been areas of our communi-

Those supporting Arradondo’s nomination include Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the union that represents Minneapolis police officers. Kroll described him as nice, reasonable and respected. “We’ve always had good communications between us,” Kroll said. City Council Member Lisa Bender (Ward 10), who attended the Palmisano-hosted town hall, described Arradondo as a “natural collaborator.” Bender said his status as an insider, one with nearly three decades of experience in the department, gave him a perspective and understanding that would help him shift the department’s culture. North Minneapolis resident Manu Lewis, who attended Arradondo and Harteau’s July 31 press conference, said he’d known “Rondo” for several years and felt it was significant the department would be lead by an African-American chief for the first time. But Lewis said Arradondo still had work to do to broaden his base of support. “Everyone wants opportunity in their community, so to work with who we have to get that done, to have someone familiar, is great,” he said.

journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017 3

News By Eric Best ebest@journalmpls.com @ericthebest

ELLIOT PARK

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Minneapolis Armory

The Minneapolis Armory will reopen with several nights of high-profile performances ahead of next February’s Super Bowl game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Nomadic Entertainment Group and owner Ned Abdul recently announced a plan to host a three-night celebration at the Armory during the days before the game on Feb. 4. Over the past year-and-a-half, Abdul’s Swervo Development has been restoring the historic building near Downtown East as a landmark concert and convention venue. Once complete in December, the Armory will be able to hold 8,400 people for concerts. Nomadic is the company behind Club Nomadic, a similarly sized 9,000-capacity venue that saw performances from Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars during the Super Bowl game in Houston earlier this year. For Super Bowl LII, the company promises to deliver a

“premier-nightlife experience with the top entertainment performances” ahead of the big game in Minneapolis. Nomadic plans in September to announce the acts of the event, dubbed “Nomadic Live!” Tickets are expected to go on sale this fall. Minneapolis will host the Super Bowl on Feb. 4, 2018 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Armory is about three blocks away and is bounded by Fifth and Sixth streets and Fifth and Portland avenues. The building, built in 1935 through the Public Works Administration, served as a parking garage as recently as two years ago, but it has a musical past. The venue served as a backdrop for music videos for Prince’s “1999” and Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” among others. From the 1930s– 1970s, the Armory hosted civic gatherings, concerts and sporting events.

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Upton 43 is leaving Linden Hills to relocate to a yet-to-be-announced location in the North Loop. Aug. 13 is the final day of service in its original location. The restaurant opened nearly two years ago, and the owners are still finalizing negotiations for construction of the new space. Chef Erick Harcey said in a statement that he’s thrilled to move the restaurant into a smaller space in a denser neighborhood. The Dirty Bird grab-and-go concept, located next to Upton 43, is on hold, he said. Harcey also closed the doors at his 10-yearold North Minneapolis restaurant Victory 44, a decision that he said wasn’t easy. “With the closing of Victory 44 and the

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Upton 43 is departing Linden Hills for the North Loop. Photo by Michelle Bruch

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The first guests at HopCat got commemorative glasses from the new Nicollet Mall restaurant. Submitted photo

NICOLLET MALL

NOW OPEN

HopCat

A torrent of people streamed into HopCat for free fries during the new Nicollet Mall restaurant’s grand opening weekend. The restaurant, the latest location from the Michigan-based chain, opened at the end of July on the ground floor of Nic on Fifth, a 26-story apartment tower located near the light rail station at Nicollet & 5th. Many of HopCat’s first guests won a year’s worth of Crack Fries, the chain’s specialty fries that are battered in light beer and sprinkled with a black pepper seasoning. The bar

has 80 beer and cider taps and offers burgers, Detroit-style pizza and sandwiches. This is the fourteenth location from the chain, which operates restaurants in Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky and Nebraska. HopCat, at 435 Nicollet Mall, is open from 11 a.m.–midnight Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.–2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant offers brunch during the weekend and a happy hour 3 p.m.–6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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News

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Northern Coffeeworks, a new third-wave coffee shop from the owner of Angry Catfish Bicycle + Coffee Bar, has opened in the former Big Brain Comics space in Downtown East. Owner Josh Klauck opened the café on Sunday, July 23. The approximately 2,400-square-foot coffee shop serves coffee from Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea and Ruby Coffee Roasters, along with a few wines and several tap beers from local breweries like Able Seedhouse +

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Brewery and Fair State Brewing. Northern Coffeeworks offers a food menu with sandwiches, salads, toast and waﬄes. Unlike the South Minneapolis café, Northern Coffeeworks doesn’t have a bike retail and repair shop in the building. It does, however, include a small retail section for coffee beans, apparel and drinking glasses. The café at 1027 Washington Ave. S. is open 6:30 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m.–8 p.m. weekends.

Haute Dish operated for seven years out of the former Cafe Havana space in the North Loop. Photo by Eric Best

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NORTH LOOP

NOW CLOSED

Haute Dish

Haute Dish closed at the end of July following seven years of serving acclaimed comfort foods, from burgers to hot dish, its namesake. The North Loop bar and restaurant opened in 2010 and had been under the culinary leadership of chef Landon Schoenefeld until he left at the end of last year. Haute Dish was known for its unique and refined versions of American cuisine, from kielbasa in a can to chicken and waﬄes. A couple days after the closing, a sign on the front door simply read “Dear Minneapolis,

thanks for [seven] years.” Haute Dish was in a building formerly home to Café Havana at Washington & 2nd, a developing intersection that has recently welcomed Luke Shimp’s Red Rabbit and a new location from Denver’s Upstairs Circus. The active block has seen several retailers come and go in recent years, from the nowshuttered Chrome Industries, Roe Wolfe, and Kit and Ace, to the newly opened menswear retailer Bonobos.

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Chef David Fhima plans to bring a restaurant concept he had proposed for St. Paul to City Center’s famed Forum Cafeteria space. Fhima recently announced that he won’t be opening a restaurant called Bistro 3.7.3. at 373 Sibley St. in St. Paul, a space that was once home to Fhima’s Faces Mears Park restaurant. Instead, he’s opening an event center and catering kitchen in City Center with a plan to open a full Bistro 3.7.3. next year. The downtown Minneapolis site was last home to Il Foro, an Italian revamp of the artdeco interior that lasted less than a year and closed last spring. The site was home to the Forum Cafeteria in the 1930s, then Goodfellow’s and, briefly, The Forum.

Fhima said in a statement that he couldn’t reach an agreement on the St. Paul space. While he’s constructing the restaurant this year, Fhima said he’ll use the space as a catering kitchen, bakery, bar and event space. “Our new tag line ‘[La Belle Époque,]’ is just that, a beautiful era filled with optimism, peace and innovations,” Fhima wrote on Facebook. “We can’t wait to see you at Bistro 3.7.3. in 2018 and remember, we are open for events and catering.” Fhima is not a stranger to downtown Minneapolis. He works with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx as a food and beverage consultant, a job that has him curating Target Center’s concessions.

journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017 5

News

SKYWAY

COMING SOON

Green + The Grain plans third restaurant location

Green + The Grain isn’t done growing after a food truck and two skyway restaurants. The eatery is planning a third location. Owners Tiffany Hauser and Dustin Naugle recently announced they’ll be moving into U.S. Bank Plaza’s skyway level, specifically the former Eddington’s Soup & Salad space. Green + The Grain, a flourishing chain of restaurants that spawned from a food truck, offers customizable salads and wraps with signature dressings and local ingredients. The restaurant, which joins two others in LaSalle Plaza and the Baker Center, will be much larger and feature a commissary kitchen that will support the other Green + The Grain locations. The new facility will allow Green + The Grain to work with delivery companies to get its salads out to the rest of downtown Minneapolis, Northeast and even St. Paul, Hauser said in an email. It will also feature much more seating than the other restaurants with 30 bar stool seats with window views — “the views from this space are unlike any other,” she said — and at least another 30 seats. “The entire space has huge windows with scenic downtown views and the brand-new U.S. Bank Stadium in the background. It’s really spectacular and I think our customers will love the vibe [and] atmosphere,” she said. All this new space gives Green + The Grain the opportunity to focus on its awardwinning organic frozen yogurt, a beloved item that it doesn’t currently sell. The third

Owner Tiﬀany Hauser and general manager Justine Morris opened a second Green + The Grain in the Baker Center’s skyway last year. Photos by Eric Best

location will dedicate part of its 4,000 square feet for a frozen yogurt operation within the restaurant. The current plan is to have three machines and plenty of healthy and fun toppings, Hauser said. In the email, Hauser wrote: “The product itself is SO good and SO healthy and there’s nothing really available to the building or nearby buildings for an afternoon snack like that. Maybe even morning. We’re pumped to finally feature it once again!”

Given the time it has taken them to plan this new project and run two popular skyway stops, Hauser said they didn’t even get a mobile food license for the truck this season. The new location, however, will make things more efficient. “It’s very scary to take on that much square footage, but at the end of the day, we are going to utilize every single inch and take full advantage,” she said. The new location is expected to open later

this year at 200 S. 6th St. U.S. Bank Plaza’s skyway dining options have transformed in the past two years to include growing chain restaurants and even brand-new local concepts. Naf Naf Grill, a Chicago-born chain serving Middle Eastern staples, opened its first downtown Minneapolis restaurant on the ground floor in 2015. That same year One Two Three Sushi, a casual sushi and ramen concept from the team behind Masu Sushi & Robata, opened on the skyway level. Late last year, the office tower saw a new fast-casual pizza concept from Broadway Pizza dubbed Broadway Fast & Fresh. The restaurant’s diners can enjoy made-to-order pizzas or make their own salads, wraps and fresh pasta dishes.

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Government

Volume 48, Issue 16 Publisher Janis Hall jhall@journalmpls.com Co-Publisher & Sales Manager Terry Gahan 612-436-4360 tgahan@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 Contributing Writers Jahna Peloquin, Karlie Weiler Client Services Delaney Patterson 612-436-5070 dpatterson@journalmpls.com Creative Director Valerie Moe 612-436-5075 vmoe@journalmpls.com Graphic Designers Dani Cunningham dcunningham@journalmpls.com Kaitlin Ungs kungs@mnpubs.com Distribution Marlo Johnson 612-436-4388 distribution@journalmpls.com Advertising 612-436-4360 sales@journalmpls.com Printing ECM Publishers, Inc.

Next issue: August 24 Advertising deadline: August 16 35,000 copies of The Journal are distributed free of charge to homes and businesses in Downtown and Northeast Minneapolis.

CIVIC BEAT

By Dylan Thomas dthomas@journalmpls.com @dthomasjournals

100-Day Challenge inspires new strategies to end homelessness The clock is ticking on an ambitious plan for Hennepin County to quickly develop new strategies and partnerships for ending youth homelessness. The goal is to find housing for 150 teens and young adults experiencing homelessness in just 100 days, while also placing more than 100 of them into secure employment. Hennepin County was one of five communities across the country to recently accept the 100-Day Challenge, a national project launched last fall to inspire new approaches to ending homelessness for teens and young adults. “It’s hugely ambitious,” said David Hewitt, director of the Hennepin County Office to End Homelessness. “It will require a communal effort.” Hewitt said the county’s goals are significant but “attainable.” When he announced county’s entry into the challenge Aug. 2, Hennepin County was already three days into the 100-day countdown, he said. Steve Cramer, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, a sponsor of the 100-Day Challenge, said meeting the housing and employment goals would require a partnership between local government, businesses and nonprofits. Cramer described ending youth homelessness as “a moral imperative,” and said there was also a strong business case to be made for filling jobs with local talent. Cramer said downtown hotels are experiencing a workforce shortage, so some are partnering to train and place “several dozen” young people in hospitality industry jobs. “Already we have a couple of models that are making a dent,” he said. The team working on the 100-Day Chal-

Symmieona, left, and Lele, right, both found stable housing through The Link. Executive Director Beth HolgerAmbrose, center, reaches to pick up Symmieona’s daughter. Photo by Dylan Thomas

lenge includes two young women who found supportive housing through The Link, a local nonprofit that works with homeless and at-risk youth. One of them, Lele, connected with The Link in 2015 when she was coming out of treatment and found a place to stay in a Link-run housing program for youth in recovery. Lele (who asked not to share her last name) said she is now two years sober and a 4.0 student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. She said finding stable housing was an important first step for her. “It’s a relief. It’s freedom,” she said. “It’s kind of unbelievable.” Symmieona, 23, was homeless for five years and couch hopping before she found housing through The Link at age 20. The parent of a young daughter, Symmieona said stable housing made her a better mother. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with private philan-

City Council restricts menthol cigarette sales The City Council on Aug. 4 acted to restrict the sale of menthol tobacco products to tobacco shops and liquor stores. The ordinance passed 10–2, with Council President Barb Johnson and Council Member Blong Yang, who both represent North Side wards, voting no. Both said the ordinance would unfairly target adult African-American smokers, who are much more likely to use menthol products than white smokers. Johnson and Yang also expressed concern about the ordinance’s potential impact on the revenues of corner stores and convenience stores that sell tobacco products. The Coalition of Neighborhood Retailers, a group representing shop owners, argued that the council should have waited to see the results of an economic impact study before acting. The amendment of the city’s tobacco sales ordinance, co-authored by City Council

City Council members Cam Gordon and Lisa Bender, who authored an ordinance restricting menthol tobacco sales, pose with supporters. Submitted image

members Cam Gordon and Lisa Bender, goes into effect Aug. 1, 2018. While the ordinance originally would have limited sales of menthol tobacco products to just the city’s 25 tobacco shops, an amendment allowed for their sale at liquor stores, as well. That compromise opened a

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thropic partners, the challenge launched last fall in three communities: Austin, Tex.; Cleveland; and Los Angeles. At the end of 100 days, those three communities had found housing for 428 young adults, although the counts from Cleveland and Los Angeles included transitional housing placements. In addition to Hennepin County, the communities participating in this round of the 100-Day Challenge are Baltimore; Columbus, Ohio; Palm Beach County, Florida.; and Louisville, Kentucky. A press conference to announce Hennepin County’s entry into the 100-Day Challenge was held against the backdrop of active construction near YouthLink’s North Loop headquarters building. In partnership with Project for Pride in Living, YouthLink is developing a five-story, 47-unit building for young adults experiencing homelessness. Ground was broken on the $17.8million project in April, and its opening is expected in February.

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path for their continued sale in North Minneapolis, where no tobacco shops currently operate. Gordon said the idea for the ordinance was brought to him Minneapolis residents with concerns about community health and youth SEE MENTHOL SALES / PAGE 10

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Voices

Moments in Minneapolis By Cedar Imboden Phillips

THE WHEEL IS STILL TURNING

hink bicycles are a new trend in Minneapolis? Think again. In 1887, Frederick Roach opened his bicycle sales and repair store at 5th & Hennepin across from the West Hotel. Business was soon booming, and by 1896, the possible date of this photograph, Roach was firmly established as a local leader in the burgeoning bicycle community. The Minneapolis Journal profiled Roach in 1904, noting, “Mr. Roach is firm in his belief that the wheel is to be not only serviceable but very popular for years to come.” In 1903 Minneapolis sold 30,000 bicycle tags and employed a fulltime bicycle inspector to enforce bicycling regulations. Bicycling has ebbed and flowed in popularity over the past century, but Mr. Roach’s vision has proven true. Photograph courtesy Hennepin History Museum

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.

News

GREEN DIGEST

By Nate Gotlieb ngotlieb@journalmpls.com @NateGotlieb

City, neighborhoods fund solvent switch at LaMac Cleaners LaMac Cleaners received $47,500 on July 21 to switch out equipment that uses a hazardous solvent. The business received $37,500 through the nonprofit Environmental Initiative and the city of Minneapolis’ Green Business Cost Sharing Program. The Tangletown and Windom neighborhood associations each contributed $5,000. “Sooner or later, everybody has to convert to green cleaning,” said Nick Zedania, owner of LaMac. “It’s great to be part of a healthy environment.” The solvent, perchloroethylene or perc, is by far the most commonly used solvent in dry cleaning shops, according to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Perc may pose serious health hazards if exposure is not properly controlled. “Dry cleaning workers who routinely breathe excessive amounts of the solvent vapor or spill perc on their skin are at risk of developing health problems,” the agency says.

Through the Green Business Cost Sharing Program, Minneapolis offers up to $35,000 for dry cleaners to switch to alternative solvents. The city also offers up to $25,000 to auto body shops to switch to water-based paints and up to $100,000 for green business practices that focus on air quality improvement by reducing volatile organic compound emissions, particulate matter emissions or other harmful hazardous air pollutants. Equipment conversion costs between $80,000 and $100,000 for dry cleaners, according to Patrick Hanlon, the city’s environmental initiatives manager. There’s not a lot of return on investment for the switch, he said, Minneapolis used to have 12 dry cleaners that used perc. Now it’s down to three. Two other dry cleaners have submitted applications to the cost-sharing program. Hanlon said the city is working with a third, Osman Cleaners in South Minneapolis. Including this year’s applicants, more than

From left to right: Tangletown Neighborhood Association board member Kathy Kornblum, Windom Community Council President Steve Rawlins, LaMac owner Nick Zedania and Patrick Hanlon, environmental initiatives manager for the city of Minneapolis. Photo by Nate Gotlieb

70 businesses have participated in the Green Business Cost Sharing Program, Hanlon said. The program operates in partnership with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s Energy Smart program, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program. It was developed by business owners, multiple government agen-

cies, nonprofits and utility companies. The city estimates it will reduce air pollution by nearly 120,000 pounds in 2017 because of the project. “This has been really eye opening to see (with) bringing funding partners together what we can do to accelerate the pace of change,” Hanlon said.

Minneapolis posts deleted climate change data to website

Watershed District invites comment on management plan

Minneapolis has joined cities around the country in posting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s deleted climate data. The web pages contain basic information on the basic science behind climate change, the ways weather is impacted from increasing greenhouse gas emissions and actions the federal government has taken to reduce the impact. The goal was to ensure people have access to information on climate change, according to a city news release. “While this information may not be readily available on the EPA’s website, in Minneapolis we know climate change is real,” the webpage says. Burning fossil fuels pumps more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, creating a blanket effect that traps in heat. The city warns that doing nothing could create a future that’s hotter with more violent weather, fewer species and disrupted systems. Other cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Houston, San Francisco and Seattle, have also posted the information, according to Minneapolis. The EPA updated its website this past April to “reflect the agency’s new direction under President Donald Trump and Administrator Scott Pruitt,” according to a news release.

The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is inviting the public to review and comment on its draft 10-year update to its watershed management plan. The plan establishes priorities to focus the district’s work and provides flexibility to respond to needs and opportunities identified in real time. It builds on the previous plan’s technical understanding of watershed resources and emphasizes collaboration with communities to align water resource goals with local land use goals. The Watershed District is distributing the draft plan to cities, townships, counties, state review agencies, lake associations and other stakeholders for 60-day review and comment. Following the end of the comment period on Sept. 5, it will provide written responses and hold a public hearing to solicit further input. The revised plan will then be submitted to the state review agencies for final review.

The district developed the plan with community guidance through committees, events, publications and special meetings. The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is the local unit of government responsible for the 177 square miles that drain into Minnehaha Creek and ultimately the Mississippi River. The Watershed District works in partnership with the public, private and civic sectors to help protect and improve natural systems, make investments in infrastructure and improve the quality of water and quality of life. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Watershed District, and its staff is commemorating it with events for the public. The next event will be a Lake Hiawatha cleanup 10 a.m.–2p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19. Learn more abut the events series at minnehahacreek.org/50.

8 journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017

News

The voices of Eat Street An oral history project tells the story of Nicollet Avenue entrepreneurs By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@journalmpls.com The road from Vietnam to Eat Street was not easy for Hung Duong, owner of the Truong Thanh Market. Her family paid all they had in gold to escape the Vietnam War. They traveled on rough waters to a refugee camp in Malaysia and sold spare clothing along the way to buy rice. Duong was willing to move to Canada or Australia, but a Minnesota church sponsor brought them to Minneapolis, where they packed 10 people into a three-room apartment and wore up to five layers to keep warm in winter. Duong’s story is now preserved as part of the Eat Street Oral History project by Kim Heikkila, a project commissioned by the Whittier Alliance neighborhood organization. The neighborhood is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the street’s identity this year. Inspired by a Star Tribune headline, a Whittier neighborhood marketing campaign embraced the “Eat Street” name as part of a streetscape project in 1997. “Eat Street has really been about the success of immigrants,” Heikkila said. “Many came here when Whittier and Nicollet Avenue were not prosperous.” The neighborhood was historically an industrial part of town with workforce housing, said Ricardo McCurley, executive director of the Whittier Alliance. Kmart arrived in the ’70s as part of a city project to clean up “urban blight.” By interrupting Nicollet Avenue access, McCurley said, Whittier became a no man’s land with cheap commercial space for purchase. He said the street illustrates what happens when small entrepreneurs can purchase their own buildings, rather than face the potential for eviction at any time.

Hard work Duong told Heikkila she was thrilled to buy her building on Nicollet Avenue — the $350,000 price tag seemed reasonable when she expected it to cost $1 million. She needed a new storefront because customers were repeatedly towed from her first shop at 11 W. 15th St., and Duong often personally paid the $100 bill to reclaim their cars. Duong’s late father Xuong Mau Duong worked as a doctor in Vietnam prescribing herbal remedies, and he continued his practice at the Nicollet Avenue market, becoming so busy they had to ask customers to give him breaks to eat. The shop grew to stock 70 different varieties of vegetables in two weekly shipments, and Duong earned a repu-

Hung Duong, owner of the Truong Thanh Market at 2520 Nicollet Ave., participating in the Eat Street Oral History Project. Photo by Rasun Mehringer

Kim Heikkila interviews Sami Rasouli, former owner of Sindbad’s Café and Market at 2528 Nicollet Ave., in the Eat Street Oral History Project. Photo by Rasun Mehringer

tation for her honesty. She once cautioned a customer to buy a small amount of mango, which wasn’t very sweet that day, and another patron said she’d never seen anyone do business like her. “She (would) say, ‘No wonder you’re so busy,’” Duong said. The oral histories cover a range of people who can speak to different eras of the street’s history. The 90-minute interviews typically start with each individual’s background and how they came into business. Heikkila said she was struck by how hard new immigrants worked. Kids became involved after school, pitching in to make sewing kits or deliver baked goods. “For the vast majority, they didn’t know how to do this. They learned it by doing it, and they decided it was their best shot,” she said. Lung Tran and her brother Michael talked about Lung’s continued daily presence at Quang Restaurant after 30 years. Isidro Perez of Marissas Inc. discussed mixing baking and business. Christos Greek Restaurant owners Gus and Carol Parpas talked about the tough restaurant business. Harry Singh talked about his Original Caribbean Restaurant’s handmade roti. Christian Johnson of Spyhouse Coffee talked about visiting the farmers that make the shop’s coffee beans. Tammy Wong talked about her family-run business Rainbow Chinese Restaurant and Bar. Former Acadia Café owner Tom Berthiaume and

Joanne Christ of the Black Forest Inn spoke about the 1990s revitalization of Nicollet.

they were all welcome,” he told Heikkila.

A civic lesson Preserving memories Interviewer Heikkila — a longtime boxing instructor at Uppercut Boxing Gym — previously completed an oral history project on nurses who served in the Vietnam War, and authored a book on the topic. She is currently compiling oral histories of the “Booth girls,” describing the Salvation Army Booth Memorial Hospital that served as a home and hospital for unwed mothers on Como Avenue in St. Paul. The Eat Street project will be archived in the Special Collections section of the Minneapolis Central Library, and the Hennepin History Museum will showcase an exhibit on the project in the fall. Some of the businesses Heikkila profiled have already shut down and live in historical memory. Sindbad’s Café and Market, located on the block now home to Icehouse and Vertical Endeavors at 2528 Nicollet Ave., closed in 2008. Owner Sami Rasouli now splits time between home in Najaf, Iraq and Minnesota, and describes his current position as a peacemaker. Rasouli thought of Sindbad as an Arab-Muslim “oasis” and cultural center, complete with pita bread, baklava and books. “You get in and you learn about many things besides the music, beside the food, the spices, the aroma of the spices, yeah, and

Shots were fired through Rasouli’s shop window when he protested the decision to go to war with Iraq in 1991. And the day after 9/11, he was afraid to open the store, as he had recently posed for a magazine cover prominently describing him as a Muslim Arab business owner. But schoolchildren came with flowers during the Gulf War, and longtime customers arrived with offers of safe haven after 9/11. “So that was a civic lesson, profound wisdom, that I learned from it,” he said. Rasouli said he felt the pull to return to Iraq and help build peace, even though his hometown had become a dangerous place. “And explain to them that the U.S. is not like always John Wayne or Sylvester Stallone, like Rambo or George Bush, or these guys they met during the invasion/occupation,” he said. “Explain to them what’s the Whittier Alliance is; the people that I met there; people give me business, supported me. … And often I’m asked, Sami, please make up your mind. Are you an Iraqi or an American? And actually I explain that I’m an Iraqi 100 percent; I’m an American 100 percent and that makes me 200 percent human being.”

Twenty years after it was dubbed Eat Street, Nicollet Avenue between downtown and Lake Street remains a multi-cultural dining destination. Photos by Michelle Bruch

journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017 9

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The rise of downtown’s ‘new neighborhood’ Leaders say this is just the start of Downtown East By Eric Best / ebest@journalmpls.com City leaders recently took a moment to look back on the rapid development of Downtown East, a neighborhood that has quickly replaced its surface parking lots and underutilized space with dense buildings. The ascent of the area has come with a new name, East Town, which also includes Elliot Park. Led by the building of U.S. Bank Stadium, Downtown East development brought in nearly $570 million in private investment thanks in part to $91 million in public investment, the city estimates. Council Member Jacob Frey, who represents the neighborhood on the City Council, said the public-private partnership’s replacement of an “ocean of surface parking lots” with new structures like the two 17-story Wells Fargo towers is a “massive benefit.” “This is a gigantic deal,” he said at a July 27 panel. Rising over four years, the development has brought in 375 new apartments, 1.28 million square feet of office space, 347 hotel rooms and 56,000 square feet of retail, according to the city. The city estimates the boom will bring in $14.1 million in new property taxes in 2018, including $3.5 million in city property taxes. Wells Fargo brought approximately 5,000 jobs to the area with its office towers. The development includes several new buildings surrounding the area’s nucleus, The Commons. The two-block park in front of U.S. Bank Stadium, a fulcrum for the area, is bisected by the border between Downtown East and the rest of the downtown core, officially known as Downtown West. The City of Minneapolis issued about $62 million in 30-year bonds to buy the land, design the Commons and build much of the park. The funds, which will be paid back with revenues from two parking ramps near U.S. Bank Stadium, also supported the construction of a nearby public parking ramp. While the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board technically owns the land beneath the Commons, the City of Minneapolis has a long-term lease to oversee the park. Popping up around the park have been the 195-unit Edition Apartments, the 164-room Radisson Red Hotel and a 174,000-square-foot office building dubbed the Millwright Building. Sherman Associates is currently constructing a 183-room Canopy by Hilton Hotel in the Thresher Square building and, on the same block, a Trader Joe’s grocery story and the 180-unit East End apartment building. Mayor Betsy Hodges said the story of Downtown East is a “story of having a vision, seizing an opportunity, building partnerships, working very hard and creating transformation.” “This is a brand new neighborhood created out of almost nothing with the best transit, bike and pedestrian connection of any neighborhood in Minneapolis and a world-class green public amenity unlike few others in the country that everyone in Minneapolis and everyone who comes to Minneapolis can enjoy,” she said. One of the main drivers of development is Ryan Cos., which moved its headquarters to the Millwright Building earlier this year. Mike Ryan, market leader of Ryan’s North Region, said the project, a “major leap in the right direction,” is building connections between downtown Minneapolis to the east side of the city. “I really look forward to — in 10, 15 years from now — when you can seamlessly walk from the University [of Minnesota] to City Hall to Nicollet Mall,” he said. There’s much more slated for the neighbor-

Community Housing Development Corp. is currently planning the 169-unit East Town Apartments, a workforce housing project near U.S. Bank Stadium. Image by UrbanWorks Architecture

Downtown East, once an area characterized by parking lots, is now seeing a rapid expansion of housing, office space and hotels. Photo by Erdahl Aerial Photos

Key to attracting new development, city leaders say, is the one-year-old Commons, a twoblock park straddling Downtown East and Downtown West. Photo by Eric Best hood, including a new physical connection between Downtown East and Cedar-Riverside via Fifth Street called Samatar Crossing.

George Sherman of Sherman Associates, the developer behind the Thresher Square and East End projects, predicted that the

more than $500 million in investment will only be a quarter of the investment the neighborhood will see in the next decade. Sherman recently opened the Encore, an approximately 125-unit luxury apartment building in the Mill District, and is planning mixed-income housing at 205 Park Ave. S. Dan Collison, executive director of the East Town Business Partnership, said a groundbreaking is expected in March on workforce housing on the same block as First Covenant Church where he works as the lead pastor. The project, dubbed East Town Apartments, would be built by Ryan and would feature 169 units of housing for people making 50 percent and 60 percent of the area median income. Interest in development has spilled into the far corners of the neighborhood. Shamrock Cos. is currently building a roughly 374-unit condo building called Legacy at 2nd & 13th following the opening of Portland Tower, a 17-story condo building in Elliot Park. More surface parking lots are being replaced by a full-block hotel, housing and brewery development from Kraus-Anderson in Elliot Park and Ironclad, a hotel and apartment project from Graves Hospitality now going up at Chicago & Washington. “This side of town, I think, is really ripe for every available space to become something,” Collison said. Ryan is still planning its final piece of the Downtown East project, a large office tower known as Block One. The building, the developer’s seventh project in the area, is expected to rise 17 stories and will be above the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority parking ramp at 4th & Park. Frey said the project is “primed for something extraordinary.” “The investment is not going to stop here. There’s a whole lot of potential still in the pipeline,” he said.

10 journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017

News By Eric Best ebest@journalmpls.com @ericthebest

Greater & Greener Conference comes to Twin Cities Urban parks conference showcases local parks A conference of the world’s urban park leaders recently brought Twin Cities parks into the limelight. More than 1,000 officials from more than a dozen countries came to Minneapolis and St. Paul July 29–Aug. 2 as part of the Greater and Greener Conference, an urban parks conference that travels to a North American city every two years. Jayne Miller, superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, played a major role in bringing the gathering to Minnesota. Since 2013, Miller has been connecting with officials to prepare the Twin Cities to show off the best of its nearly 160 neighborhood parks, its regional system and upcoming park initiatives. “That four years went by really fast,” she said. “This is really where the high-level thinking is done, at this conference.” The Greater and Greener Conference, which is organized by the City Parks Alliance, draws park leaders from a wide array of industries, from municipalities and government posts to nonprofits and landscape architecture firms. Miller estimates the conference hosted guests from approximately 40 states and 17 countries, from a mayor from Albania to Korean officials. While it has an international audience, it primarily brings in leaders from North America. Over five days, attendees go on dozens of tours, take part in workshops and host panels. Unlike a typical industry conference, participants of the conference get to experience parks firsthand. For example, Tom Evers, executive director of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, led a walking tour of future project sites in Northeast Minneapolis and Nicollet Island. The foundation is a philanthropic partner to the Park Board and supports initiatives like RiverFirst, a series of future riverfront improvements and destination park sites. Evers said the “place-based” conference allows urban leaders to understand how unique park facilities operate face-to-face. “It allows people to get out and see it in practice,” he said. Miller, who now serves on the board of

Greater and Greener Conference attendees toured riverfront park sites and met with Team Teamworks, a Park Board program to give local youth on-the-job training through work in the parks. Photos courtesy Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

Mike Hahm of St. Paul’s Parks and Recreation Department, Superintendent Jayne Miller of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and Happy Haynes of Denver’s Parks and Recreation Department exchanged a bonsai tree between the two cities as part of a Greater and Greener Conference ceremony. the City Parks Alliance, said guests were log rolling at Minneapolis lakes and bicycling through the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway System. She noted that the board’s implementation of street outreach staff, who

A youth advocate for menthol tobacco sales restrictions hugged City Council Member Lisa Goodman. Submitted image

FROM MENTHOL SALES / PAGE 6 smoking rates. “I think every time something came up and I said, I need reassurance from the community this is supported, there was organizing and community support,” Gordon said, adding that the list of supportive organizations kept “growing and growing” past 50 groups. But Gordon acknowledged the support was not unanimous, noting that a minority of those who testified at a public hearing on the ordinance spoke against the change. Many expressed concerns about the potential impacts on small businesses. “I think it’s really important for all the people who support this move throughout the city to go to your convenience and corner stores, shop there, talk to them about this, thank them for trying to find ways to make this work and consider them partners, as they have been in the past, to prevent tobacco products from getting in the hands of young people so they don’t get addicted,” he said. Sales of flavored, non-cigarette tobacco products were restricted to just tobacco shops after a 2015 City Council vote. That action

engage at-risk youth, and its approach to proactively creating safe space for protests were of interest to attendees. “People were blown away by the system of parks that we have,” she said.

was taken in response to the proliferation of flavored cigars, cigarillos and other products widely viewed as lures used by the tobacco industry to hook young people. That 2015 ordinance exempted menthol, mint and wintergreen tobacco products from the rules change, meaning they could still be purchased at any of the 300-plus Minneapolis retail outlets with a tobacco license. The action taken by the City Council in August removes that exemption for all

outlets except liquor stores. Yang said he found it “disturbing” that the council was acting without first measuring the potential impact on retailers, adding that his colleagues were making “hasty policy rather than good policy” in the run-up to a city election. “I think that this ordinance unfairly targets African-Americans,” he said, noting that over 80 percent of black smokers smoke menthols. That figure, which corresponds

Instead of meeting rooms and lectures, many of the events feature staff in the community who have a passion for the work, Evers said. “We live in the system, we love the system and sometimes we take it for granted,” Evers said. “It reminds you of how much you have.” While Minneapolis officials get to brag about their parks, they’re also soaking in all the work others are doing in their field around the world. Evers noted an initiative from the mayor of Philadelphia to raise $500 million for park and library improvements through a soda tax. He said he learned about larger financing systems, engaging communities more equitably and finding solutions for climate challenges like flash flooding. He was particularly inspired by the story of speaker Sabina Ali of Toronto, an organizer who turned a neighborhood park into a thriving community through a market and new amenities, he added. This year’s keynote speakers were Glenn Harris, the president of the new Race Forward, a social justice nonprofit, and Lykke Leonardsen, the program director for the City of Copenhagen’s Resilient and Sustainable City Solutions. The Park Board and St. Paul’s Parks and Recreation Department co-hosted the conference. Both cities are known as some of the top cities in the world for parks. The Trust for Public Land has named the Minneapolis park system the country’s best for the past five years. St. Paul has typically trailed just behind Minneapolis or tied for the top honor. “It was a true partnership between the City of St. Paul and the [Park Board],” Evers said. The Greater and Greener Conference was in San Francisco in 2015. It will move to Denver in 2019, Philadelphia in 2021 and Seattle in 2023. Miller said the diverse range of host cities give the conference an opportunity to showcase what cities are doing to take charge of different challenges, from the very livable and rapidly growing Denver to the historic Philadelphia.

the results of an African American Leadership Forum survey of 407 black smokers in the Twin Cities, is slightly higher than the Minnesota Department of Health’s estimate that about 74 percent of black smokers statewide use menthols. In Minnesota, black adults also smoke at a higher rate (22 percent) than their white peers (14 percent), according to a 2016 report from the department. Only about a quarter of white adult smokers smoke menthols. But a 2014 survey of Minnesota youth found 44 percent who had used cigarettes recently smoked menthols. Yang said there wasn’t a strong case made that the new ordinance would lower youth smoking rates. Johnson said it would’ve made “much more sense” to follow in the footsteps of Edina, where the council recently acted to raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21. “Who we are really hurting with this ordinance are adults that are basically addicted to cigarettes, to menthol cigarettes, in our community,” Johnson said.

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Mortenson has backed away from developing a high-profile parcel on Washington Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. The developer had been planning a 10-story mixed-use building with a 235-room Hyatt Centric hotel, offices for the American Academy of Neurology and a restaurant. Bob Solfelt, vice president of Mortenson Development, said in a statement that although they had “very positive” discussions with partners like the American Academy of Neurology and the downtown neighborhood group, the timing and investment period were a problem. “We have been working through the development process during a rapidly changing investment period and have decided that current market timing is suboptimal for our needs,” he said. In 2015, the City of Minneapolis chose Mortenson over Sherman Associates and Saturday Properties to develop the roughly half-acre slice of land near the Guthrie Theater.

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Chicago-based Maven Real Estate Partners has purchased the Rand Tower in downtown Minneapolis for $18.65 million. The sale closed Aug. 1, according to a press release. The 26-story building is located at Marquette & 6th and is 23-percent vacant. The seller, Portland-based Felton Properties, bought the building in 2014 for $16.2 million. Maven has said it plans to let current tenants stay but, as space becomes available, convert space in the tower into co-working and incubator spaces. Rand Tower, one of the city’s tallest buildings when it was completed in 1929, is known for its small suites and skyway restaurants.

JESSICA MICELI 612.347.8033 Realtor

KARIE CURNOW 612.347.8022 Realtor

DOLLY LANGER 612.280.8898 Realtor

SHAWN THORUD 612.347.8079 Realtor

BRADY KROLL 612.770.7230 Realtor

SUSAN LINDSTROM 612.347.8077 Realtor

LYNN MORGAN 612.703.1088 Realtor

MATT MORGAN 612.321.6655 Realtor

FRITZ KROLL 612.347.8088 Realtor

JULEY SPEED 612.986.3478 Realtor

CHRISTOPHER FRIEND 612.827.5847 Realtor

MEGAN LAMKE 612.322.2156 Realtor

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RANDY CERNOHOUS 612.382.3196 Realtor

BRIAN HELMS 612.913.6400 Realtor

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plan to host pre-Super Bowl events next year at the Minneapolis Armory. Abdul’s Swervo Development has been at work for the past year-and-a-half to turn the 1935 building into a concert and entertainment venue. Nomadic planned Super Bowl concerts featuring Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars earlier this year for the game in Houston. Once completed by the end of the year, the venue will be able to host about 8,400 people for events.

1001 N. 3RD ST. SCHAFER RICHARDSON

North Loop parking The City Planning Commission has approved plans from Schafer Richardson for a new parking ramp just across the north end of the North Loop. The Minneapolis-based developer is proposing a seven-story parking ramp with approximately 350 parking spaces and 4,000 square feet of commercial space at 10th & 3rd. The current site, an 80-stall surface parking lot, primarily serves the Bassett Creek Business Center, according to a CPC memo. The project required a conditional use permit for increased height, from a maximum building height of 56 feet to the proposed 74 feet. Schafer Richardson is redeveloping the Zuccaro’s Produce building across Third Avenue North into a larger office building, which could use some of the available parking.

813 N. 5TH ST. BEACON INTERFAITH HOUSING COLLABORATIVE

Great River Landing The City Council’s Zoning & Planning Committee will vote Aug. 10 on a rezoning related to Beacon Interfaith Housing

The City of Minneapolis hopes to consolidate facilities of its Public Works Department’s Solid Waste and Recycling Division at a Northeast Minneapolis site. The City Planning Commission recently approved a land use map amendment to the city’s Comprehensive Plan, a step necessitated by the industrial facility. The City of Minneapolis acquired the properties at 2601-2629 University Ave. NE, which abuts Minnesota Department of Transportation property at 2651 University Ave. NE. Eight duplexes and homes — a total of 14 dwelling units — are located near the project area in the Holland neighborhood. The facility would be used for street and equipment maintenance and vehicle storage.

2650 2ND ST. NE PETER RIMES

Pitman Building* Peter Rimes of First & First has purchased the Pitman Building in Northeast Minneapolis’ Marshall Terrace neighborhood for $1.66 million, according to a certificate of real estate value filed in Hennepin County. The seller was Wright Land Associates, an organization associated with Ronald Asleson of Rogers, Minnesota. Hennepin County assessed the market value of the nearly 29,000-square-foot industrial building at $1.51 million.

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14 journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017 FROM HARBOR LIGHTS / PAGE 1 Minneapolis shelter each day, the two new murals, Vorderbruggen said, are meant to heal through designs inspired by the shelter community. “I recognize and feel very strongly that this very large community is often highly invisible and marginalized and often seen as a negative,” Vorderbruggen said. “This positive activity is an experimental attempt to see if (we can) not only we can make this community more visible and more appreciated but also give them something to be hopeful about.” Murals have quickly become a regular experience of walking in downtown Minneapolis. Thanks to the trust, international muralist and graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra painted the iconic Bob Dylan mural at 5th & Hennepin. There’s also a Pop Art-inspired piece at 10th & Hennepin from artist Greg Gossel. Now the projects at Harbor Light add two more to the shelter campus near 10th & Hawthorne, a corner of downtown Minneapolis tucked behind the ABC Ramps and the trust’s Orpheum Theater. Harbor Light, located in a nearly centuryold warehouse building in the densest area of shelter beds in the region, provides overnight stays, transitional housing and veterans support housing, along with clinical services and free meals on weekend evenings. The Salvation Army runs the non-profit shelter, the state’s largest. Artists Bianca Pettis and Erin Sayer painted the murals in partnership with shelter residents, who gave them words like forgiveness, mercy and love. The two Twin Cities-based artists then worked the themes into their own unique styles. “The most resounding message that we got was that people wished for a home. They want a home to go to,” Vorderbruggen said. “[From] that visioning session there was some sort of strength that I was bestowed that I don’t normally have.” Pettis, an actress and painter who founded the local sound artist duo Beatrix*Jar, uses a complex array of her own cartoon-style characters in zany, soundwave-inspired pieces. She uses calm blue colors, rather than evocative warm reds, to make people feel happy, Pettis added. “My intention is really always to make feel elevated,” Pettis said. “I feel like the parking lot looked a certain way before, and then we painted it and we lifted it up a bit. We added some color and life to it.” The wall, once blank, now shows dozens

Artist Erin Sayer painted her 1970s-style mural freehand based oﬀ sketches. Photo by Eric Best

of two-dimensional faces interspersed with inspirational words. The faces, she said, allow people to see themselves in the cartoon style. Two faces close together are meant to resemble two people she saw sleeping in front of the wall one morning. Others show people she met while painting or her own family members. Each has a different shape, color and size. “I want it to be about humanity,” she said. Sayer is a veteran mural artist, having helped paint Kobra’s Dylan mural and Gossel’s Prince-inspired Pop Art piece. The two larger-than-life figures were in the back of her mind when she looked to plan her own mural. Sayer drew imagery from Dylan’s 1975 song “Shelter from the Storm.” “We’re a Bob Dylan town. We’re a Prince town,” Sayer said. The mural fills the approximately 150-footlong wall with waves of storm clouds and a tornado on one side and a sun rising on the other. Pulling details from an old Dylan

Jacob Roske, a collaborator of Bianca Pettis, assists with painting her soundwaveinspired mural. Photo by Eric Best

SEE HARBOR LIGHTS / PAGE 15

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The many faces of Bianca Pettis’ mural depict a cartoonish slice of humanity intermingled with inspirational words chosen by the clients of the Harbor Light Center. Photos by Eric Best

FROM HARBOR LIGHTS / PAGE 14 concert poster from 1969, Sayer uses 1960s and 1970s colors. Sayer said the time working on her wall has humanized what was previously an area of downtown that she didn’t normally visit. The lives of people at the shelter can feel separate from the reality of others downtown, she added. “What’s neat is working with people where it’s a meaningful thing. Everyone is so happy and so nice and grateful, even. It’s been really cool meeting people who use the services here,” Sayer said. “I just wish people would have more empathy instead of being afraid of people who need help.”

While the artists painted over the course of a few weeks, the trust operated a booth at the parking lot around Harbor Light that offered the public food, water and refuge from the summer heat. Like the nonprofit’s “5 to 10 on Hennepin” initiative to regularly program a block of Hennepin Avenue, Vorderbruggen brought in MAD DADS, or Men Against Destruction, Defending Against Drugs and Social Disorder, to connect with people walking by the murals. Funding for the project came from a Southwest Airlines Heart of the Community grant and the Downtown Improvement District. Bill Griffith of Larkin Hoffman, a firm that represents parking lot owner and operator MVP REIT, said the mural project is going

hand-in-hand with improvements to the lot, such as new fencing, lighting and a security plan. The company didn’t charge the Hennepin Theatre Trust to use the parking lot, which Vorderbruggen said is a first for them downtown. “What was terrific about this mural project is that it works very well with the site improvements,” Griffith said. Captain Clara Braddock of Harbor Light said the project gives her often unheard clients an opportunity to be listened to. “I think the artists capturing what people who live in the building want to say, I think that’s tremendous that the artists are able to do that,” Braddock said. “It is a voice because the murals came out of what people felt they

needed or wanted in life.” The trust plans to unveil the finished murals at an Aug. 23 event in the parking lot, located at 41 N. 10th St. The event, planned in partnership with Kulture Klub Collaborative, a nonprofit that brings together homeless youth and artists, will be modeled after the Minnesota State Fair. When people leave the shelter, Vorderbruggen, they often go back into an unsafe environment. The murals offer them a bit of humility and compassion, she added. “There are so many barriers that segregate and separate us. I feel very strongly that art is a connector and a healer,” she said.

Left: Bianca Pettis covered a roughly 15-foot-tall wall at the Harbor Light Center in calming colors and comic-style faces. Right: The waves of color of artist Erin Sayer’s mural depict a churning storm and rising sun inspired by a retro Bob Dylan poster.

16 journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017

Voices

Creative Class / By Susan Schaefer

NOVELIST PETER GEYE: A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

riting is considered one of the most solitary of the creative arts. Writing literature perhaps takes that solo endeavor to a peak level. Unlike journalists or bloggers who may garner regular interaction with their readers, or playwrights who generally workshop their plays with both audience and actors, a novelist labors in sometimes stifling solitude for hours, days, weeks, months and even years on end. Writing novels conjures images of cramped writing spaces or private retreats where the author holes up away from distraction to carry out the painstaking deed of putting visions to paper or computer screen. And when your work has become accepted at the top levels in the field — a top-notch New York publishing house, reviews in the New York Times and New York Journal of Books — we imagine ever increasing alone time to forge the next bestseller. But the Fulton neighborhood author Peter Geye (say “guy”) is scaling new heights by courageously leading aspiring wannabes in the art and craft of doing what he has done with such national acclaim. Geye, who elevates weather to character status in his latest novel, “Wintering,” published by New York powerhouse Alfred A. Knopf, is pioneering a unique and intensive almost one-year-long writing project called simply, the Novel Writing Project, through the Loft Literary Center. So popular is his work and his undeniable teaching ethic that the Loft has had to run not one but two sections of his novel writing program. Not only is this a colossal time commitment, but the course also comes with a hefty price tag. Studying with our local master is a gourmet, not a fast food proposition. And such a commitment from both teacher and student is rare outside the academic setting where such projects are typically MFA programs. If anyone is up to the rigors of teaching alongside continuing one’s ongoing serious writing, it is Geye, who is indeed working on the next book. Geye reflects about the rigors of teaching the course: “I’ve loved every minute of it. My students are an inspiration, and their work is spectacular. The main challenge has been helping 24 novelists write 24 different novels. That’s a lot of stories and a lot of personalities and learning styles to balance. If I’m being honest, I’d say going into it I was worried about keeping so many stories straight, but that hasn’t been a problem. There’s amazing work being done in this class.”

The Twin Cities as a world-class writer’s mecca Geye mulls the question about why Minnesota lends itself to such a robust literary tradition, why we produce so many outstanding writers. “There is so much support here,” he motions to our surroundings. “Take the Loft, for instance. There isn’t any institution like this anywhere else in the country. There are lesser versions, but nothing like this in terms of scope and support.” “And there are the grants. There’s the McKnight Artist Fellowships administered by the Loft. A Minnesota writer can apply for and win a $25,000 grant. Then, there’s the Minnesota’s Legacy (Arts and Cultural Heritage) Fund, which is unique. Established as a result of building the Twins (baseball team) stadium, it offers exceptional funding for the arts in Minnesota, and I’ve benefited greatly from these.” Geye continues, “Minnesota is filled with world-class amenities, from wild places and water to an astounding array of arts and cultural organizations. When you have this as an artist, you stay. “People go to places like California for the weather. They are here for 100-plus colleges and universities, a fantastic metropolitan area, theater, culture and so on. And so we end up with an unbelievably rich community of writers,” he concludes.

From North Minneapolis to Minnesota’s Great North Woods Speaking of wild places, what about his relationship with the Boundary Waters and North Shore areas that he writes about with such passion, knowledge and authority? “I’m a professional visitor,” he laughs. “I didn’t grow up with the cabin and a Northwood’s lifestyle, rather I discovered this area of the world through occasional canoe trips with my dad.” In fact, Geye grew up in North Minneapolis, “to parents of modest means. My Norwegian grandmother lived with us for most of my childhood. There were five kids in my family, and we mostly got along, which is to say we spent a lot of time together. I was very happy as a boy and young man. Went to great schools and had great friends.” Assuredly, though, he has staked our northern wilderness region as his fictional epicenter. “Wintering” takes the reader through each

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE CREATIVE ARTS IN MINNEAPOLIS ASTONISHES. Estimated at over $4.5 billion in sales, or eight times that of Minneapolis’ sports sector according to the 2015 Creative Vitality Index (CVI), an economic measure used by the city, it has earned our region a lofty place as a national creative mecca. Behind such stunning statistics toil humans whose creativity and innovation fuel this so-called creative class, dubbed by author Richard Florida. Frequently laboring for the sheer love of their craft, many visual and performing artists, directors, inventors and innovators produce from an inner creative core more likely fueled by passion than personal gain. These makers are marked by an almost holy drive to create – and when their artistry and intent collide, it often yields something extraordinary in its wake.

Minneapolis author Peter Geye teaches novel writing at the Loft Literary Center. Photo by Susan Schaefer

blade and grove, each cascade and ravine, until we’re literally hovering above, paddling along or hiking through this mysterious and threatening terrain. What entrances the reader is the luxury of the book’s every line. Geye’s sentences are carved like fine wooden artifacts, meticulously sanded and polished until each is an object worthy of a spotlight on a shelf. “Wintering,” just released as a paperback in early June this year, is a holy whisper. Set in the achingly majestic borderlands of Northern Minnesota, Geye’s writing is a paean to the complexity and ultimate triumph of the human spirit that is often as much at odds with itself as it is against the forces of nature. Delving deeply into the human psyche, this book mines universal themes in a unique tale of love, loss and revenge traversing decades and points of view, set in a landscape of ancient and menacing wilderness. He calls “Wintering” a “sister book” to his award-winning previous two novels, “Safe from the Sea” and “The Lighthouse Road.” “I like that term,” he acknowledges, since his previous works were not published under the Knopf imprint, and the prestigious New York publishing house prefers not to consider the set a trilogy. His Knopf editor, Gary Fisketjon, who has redlined the likes of Donna Tartt, Annie Dillard, Raymond Carver, Tobias Wolff and Jay McInerney, has waxed lyrical about how Geye builds his work “line by line,” and such writing is ecstasy for serious readers. “Charlie’s goal was to pillage the wilderness and get rich from the wreckage.” This sparse sentence packs “Wintering” villain Charlie Aas’ lifetime of malfeasance. The book is a cavalcade of such images. I am typically not a reader of wilderness books or thrillers, nor particularly a

fan of Midwestern history. Hailing from the East Coast, I gravitate towards works that blow grit in my eye or existential angst in my chest. But beginning with Geye’s “Far from the Sea,” I became a convert, opening to tortured frozen landscapes replete with themes of revenge and nature’s conquest. I’ve learned that the crust of ice on melted snow often yields to a deep and soft interior.

Northern exterior, southern interior, 100-percent family guy Geye’s own exterior, sometimes scruffy and slightly unkempt, masks a highly approachable, warm and gracious inner reservoir. Editors, students and fellow writers alike testify to his generosity of spirit, and my personal experience as one of his students echoes the chorus. Many might not take Geye for a highly engaged, primary caregiver father, but he is. After an amicable divorce, he sees his kids every day. “Now that it’s summer, we’re with each other all day, which is a pleasure,” he says. “They’re of an age (12, 9, 7) where it’s sort of non-stop fun and adventure. We head up to the North Shore each summer for our annual summer trip to Lake Superior.” During the school year his routine rotates around them and he basks in the role of ushering them safely off to school, feeding and getting through homework, story and bedtime. “I have written literally thousands of words with one or two kids between my legs,” he grins. Regarding the tough tangle between fulltime fatherhood and creating literature, Geye sees writing as his “chance to have life outside my family.” SEE PETER GEYE / PAGE 17

journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017 17 FROM PETER GEYE / PAGE 16 “When you spend 15 hours a day with kids, no matter how much you love them,” he says, writing books, inventing characters and having these characters then invent you, is a monumental release. Geye admits that the regular transition from inhabiting his fictional world back to his real one isn’t always easy. Like an actual family, he experiences a true sense of grief once his books are complete and his characters, his creations, no longer accompany his days and nights. “It’s a resounding sense of loss” as he returns to his real world.

The creative process unlocks a feminine muse Writing in longhand, Geye concedes that his writing process doesn’t flow. It’s hard work and he embraces it. He’s a yeoman. Part of his process includes taking those written sheets around with him, reading and rereading, later word processing the longhand, (typically the same night), crafting, editing and re-crafting. This intense labor shows. As Knopf’s Fisketjon attests, Geye’s work evolves “line by line” with the rare result of producing a literary tour de force “that knocked him sideways” when he first read it. The character of Berit is the touchstone of “Wintering” — a rock really, one who may acutely strike women readers by her usual and compelling nature. How did a guy like Geye channel this iconic female character who is charged with guiding the reader through the unfolding layers of far past, past and present? “I knew I wanted a narrator who could help navigate the reader through more than one story,” Geye says. “It takes more than one story to tell our lives. I tried a few points of view and then wrote 50 pages. It was Berit who I ended up wanting in this role.”

The Loft Literary Center on Washington Avenue. File photo

He says he became reliant on her in a way he’s “never experienced from a character before. She became my companion. I felt camaraderie. She ended up telling me the story.” And so, Geye has unlocked the major feat of great fiction writing, which is when the characters share their story from their

point of view with the writer. It is then that a writer surrenders to his or her characters, being freed to create the all-encompassing fictional world — a world where none of life’s daily problems or passions interferes with the reading experience. It is a triumph few achieve. In this time of dramatic distraction that

skill in this book is worth a trip to the local bookstore, he encourages Southwest Journal readers to visit Open Book’s Milkweed Book Store and tell Hans that Peter told them to stop by. Then, find yourself a quiet spot in the coffee shop and enjoy a reading journey out of time and mind. Wintering delivers this magic with the punch of a summer storm.

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18 journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017

Voices

Mill City Cooks / By Karlie Weiler

EAT YOUR COLORS WITH EGGPLANT

hile it’s obvious that the amount of vegetables we eat is crucial, the color of those vegetables is just as important if not more. Eating a variety of colored vegetables provides vitamins and minerals that aren’t obtained from a restricted, monochromatic diet. Many dieticians argue what is most detrimental to the American diet is the lack of variety. Red, green and orange tend to be our go-tos, excluding many vibrant purple, yellow and pink vegetables for just that — their color. Eggplant is a versatile vegetable. Many people avoid them because of their texture, but this flaw turns out to be one of their greatest features. Eggplant can greatly benefit people who choose a vegan or gluten-free diet, as they are an easy substitution for lasagna noodles. Their chewy texture mimics the taste of noodles, especially when cooked. Eggplant can be thinly sliced, roasted with some olive oil and Italian-style spices (rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc.), and then incorporated in layers with sautéed vegetables, vegan or regular cheese and pasta sauce, then baked just like traditional lasagna. If the bitterness of eggplants is what keeps

you away, try sweating it. After cutting the eggplant, place it in a single layer on a baking sheet and cover with a moderate amount of salt. Cover and let sit on the counter, about 45 minutes. Rinse the eggplant to get rid of the excess salt and continue with the original recipe. This process reduces eggplant’s bitter taste and makes it tenderer. Avoid peeling eggplants. It’s not only a great time saver; the skin holds the vegetable’s phytonutrients that act as antioxidants in the body, protecting cell membranes from everyday wear and tear. Copper, a vital mineral, is also found in larger amounts in eggplant than in other vegetables. It not only protects bones and tissues, but also works alongside iron to increase energy. Although it’s versatile, eggplant doesn’t stand well alone due to its lack of distinct flavor. Try it in the curry recipe that follows, adding other vegetables found at the farmers market to bring out eggplant’s earthy flavor. The Mill City Farmers Market is open 8 a.m.–1 p.m. every Saturday until the end of October and 3:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. Tuesdays until the end of September at The Commons near U.S. Bank Stadium. Learn more at millcityfarmersmarket.org.

Curried chickpeas with vegetables By market chef Jenny Breen Makes 8 servings Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil 2 leeks or 1 large onion, cleaned and sliced 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced 2 medium carrots, sliced ½ head cauliflower, chopped ½ head broccoli, peeled and chopped (including top half of stem) 1 small eggplant, diced 1 red pepper, seeds removed, diced

2 cups green beans, trimmed 1 14-ounce can coconut milk 1 cup apple or orange juice ½ cup stock or water if needed 2 cups chickpeas cooked in 6 cups water (or 2 cans) 1 tablespoon turmeric 1 tablespoon cumin 1 tablespoon chili powder 2 teaspoons fresh thyme 2 teaspoons cayenned or red chilis 2 teaspoons salt

Directions Heat oils in pan, add leeks and carrots and sauté about 3 minutes, until leeks are soft. Add eggplant, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and green beans and sauté another 5 minutes. Add spices and apple juice and continue to cook making sure the spices are well blended. Add coconut milk and chickpeas and combine well. Turn the heat to low and let simmer about 20 minutes. Serve over cooked grain or noodles.

Voices

Everyday Gardener / By Meleah Maynard

BATTLING JAPANESE BEETLES

n the last half-hour since I came in from the garden, at least two Japanese beetles have flown out of my hair, headed for who knows where in my house. But that was nothing compared to the one that just crawled boldly out of the waistband of my jeans. I squished it. Just one week ago I was breathing a sigh of relief that our Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood seemed, once again, to be mostly dodging the Japanese beetle plague after being hit really hard in 2011. And then I spotted them on my roses — and the Virginia creeper and the grape vines and the river birch trees. Soon they will move on to other

plants they love, including my basil, and I will hate them for that, especially. I have been battling Japanese beetles in earnest for five days now and, as you probably already know from having experienced them yourselves, I am losing. There are a lot of reasons for that; the biggest being that they are demons from hell and there is nothing mortals can do to stop them. But that aside, I also don’t like to use chemicals outside or inside, so my strategy for getting rid of them amounts to going around knocking them off of my plants and into a plastic bowl filled with soapy water. Yes, I do wear a glove on the beetle

Japanese beetles were first recorded in Minnesota decades ago, but the destructive garden pests have become increasingly common in recent years. Photo by Meleah Maynard

scooping hand. I have heard anecdotally that the beetles can bite, but that has never happened to me. I just prefer to keep them off my hand skin whenever possible. Before I say more about how to deal with these gross creatures, let me first explain a bit about Japanese beetles for those who have been living in a cave or condo for years, and/ or are just new to the perils of gardening. About the size of a dime with futuristiclooking gold and green bodies, Japanese beetles are actually kind of attractive if you’re into metallic bug robots. They were first spotted in Minnesota in 1968, but with the exception of a brief period in 2000 and 2001, they didn’t become much of a problem until about 2005. The Japanese beetle life cycle is a short 60 days or so, but they can do a lot of damage in that amount of time. Females lay eggs beneath turf grass in the summer, and around June or early July the following year their offspring emerge and fly off to their favorite plants (they are attracted to about 300 different plant species) where they mate in zombie-like orgiastic piles while skeletonizing leaves and pooping everywhere. Pheromones released by the beetles during this whole scene, which I swear I am not exaggerating, attract more and more beetles, and in a short time the areas where they gather are both denuded of foliage and reeking to high heaven, as my grandma used to say. Anyway, let’s get back to how to get rid of them. Because the pheromones they release attract more beetles, it’s best to reduce their numbers if you can. So, as I said earlier, I go around murdering them every day with a glove on one hand and a bowl of soapy water in the other. I do this by slipping the bowl

under a bunch of them, and then I gently brush the beetle piles into the water and move on to the next spot. Even when they are not enraptured by beetle sex, these are not fastmoving creatures — unless they start to fly — so it’s pretty easy to knock hundreds of them into a bowl of water in about 20 minutes. Here’s a tip: Don’t get super ambitious like I did today and try to brush a wide swath of them into the bowl at one time because loads of startled beetles will fly up and into your hair, your shirt pockets and your jeans. One even ricocheted off my lips. And here’s another tip: Don’t hang up one of those Japanese beetle pheromone traps because they work by attracting lots of beetles. The problem is they attract a whole lot more beetles to your yard than that trap will ever be able to deal with. Study after study has shown this and yet hardware stores keep selling out of these traps. Spread the word. If you don’t handpick Japanese beetles or use ill-advised traps, all of the other reasonable-sounding ways to control them involve insecticides, either synthetic or organic, and most if not all of those are toxic to pollinators and other living things in one way or another. I love my gardens and it pains me to see them torn apart by ravenous, sex-crazed beetles. But it doesn’t make sense to me to resort to chemicals that are known to be harmful, even when used according to their labels, which often advise spraying at night so the product will hopefully be dry by morning when bees start visiting plants. What? No. I can live with a few beetles in my hair.

Check out Meleah’s blog, everydaygardener.com, for more gardening tips or to email her a question or comment.

journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017 19

ART

BEAT

Encrypted meanings Two solo exhibitions close out the summer at Soo Visual Arts Center

Work by Liza Sylvester (left) and Christine Rebhuhn (center and right) at Soo Visual Arts Center, where the two artists appear in separate solo exhibitions. Submitted images

By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@journalmpls.com On one of several video screens that are part of “Interference,” Liza Sylvestre’s new solo exhibition at Soo Visual Arts Center, clips from an animated film of 1980s vintage and a black-and-white movie play with closed captioned text flashing below the images. Instead of describing the dialogue and action, the subtitles transcribe the internal monologue of a deaf viewer, an inversion of the closed captioning process. The viewer, who we assume is Sylvestre, picks up clues to the plot by reading facial expressions and gestures, but her thoughts drift at a distance from the action on the screen, and the act of watching without sound pulls her further into her own head. “It is impossible to read cartoon lips,” the subtitled narration notes, as animated mouths open and close. “A hologram of movement.” In “Interference,” Sylvestre, an Illinois artist who began losing her hearing at age 6 and received a cochlear implant in 2003,

explores that space between the hearing world and the deaf world. The exhibition shares its name with a series of Sylvestre’s drawings in which the artists writes out long paragraphs of text in her spidery hand, then scribbles out letters and whole words until the paper is speckled in black ink. Sylvestre’s video pieces make clear that this is how she experiences the world, through snippets of sound that she must then piece together for herself to create meaning. In “The Invisible Language,” the shot frames Sylvestre’s head and shoulders as she looks directly at the viewer with piercing blue eyes and speaks, but the sound that comes through a pair of headphones isn’t her voice; it’s a dissonant squeal of static that seems to pulse whenever her lips form words. That same tight framing of Sylvestre’s face is repeated in a separate, minute-long video projected on one of the gallery’s walls, but this time her features are only revealed piece by

piece, as a worm-like squiggle of light moves from her lips to her nose, circling an eye before running down her cheek. She describes “a feeling like words hanging in the air.” “An updraft of wind carries them away,” she continues. “I feel them passing, almost touching my skin.” Showing alongside “Interference” is a separate solo exhibition, “Rim’s Edge,” featuring the sculpture and assemblage work of Brooklyn-based artist Christine Rebhuhn. There is again a kind of puzzling out of meaning at work, but Rebhuhn’s interest in language seems to be the absurdity of making the figurative literal. “Pass the Potatoes (On the Left-Hand Side)” is a visual pun — a polished steel lunch tray mounted like the side-view mirror of a big rig. For “Swallow,” Rebhuhn places a pink coffee cup inside a clear glass pitcher and hangs it high on a gallery wall, like a bird’s nest.

Rebhuhn’s sparkling humor is evident even when the meaning of her work is elusive. “Overnight Low” consists of a large window frame resting against a gallery wall. Two panes of glass are replaced by the clear-plastic clamshell packaging for a pair of headphones, and inside one hangs a taxidermied bat. If there’s a punchline, it’s the visual echo between window the cover of a vintage Playboy resting on its frame; both the window sash and the rear of the cover model’s pants hang open.

‘INTERFERENCE’ AND ‘RIM’S EDGE’ When: Through Aug. 26 Where: Soo Visual Arts Center, 2909 Bryant Ave. S. Info: soovac.org, 871-2263

Summer sampler

“Tableau,” a painting by Barbara Kreft. Submitted image

The eclectic summer group show at Bockley Gallery in Kenwood features a number of the gallery’s returning favorites. Among them is Lauren Roche, who continues in her mixed-media pieces to explore a darkly surreal world populated by wild animals and women covered in tribal markings. Here, long-necked birds clutching snakes in their hooked beaks surround two women who embrace like lovers. One rests on her back, grasping at a jaguar that slinks between her legs. Also returning is Dietrich Sieling, whose visionary drawing explores combinations of line, pattern and color — here in a grinning, red-eyed skull whose nasal aperture is an upside down blue heart. A panoramic drawing by Andrea Carlson is in the same vein as the complex, hyper-detailed work she contributed to the 2015 Midwest Biennial at The Soap Factory, exploring issues of cultural representation and exploitation in art and cinema. There are rewards in attempting to untangle its layered meanings, but Carlson’s fluid line is distractingly beautiful.

Two large abstract paintings by studio-mates Kim Benson and Barbara Kreft hang on opposite walls in the main gallery and seem almost to be in dialogue with one another. Benson’s ecstatic, multi-layered painting — with areas of smudged paint that transition sharply into patterns and back again — seems to cohere around a familiar shape, like the head and shoulders of a figure in a Renaissance portrait. One might see the structure of a still life in Kreft’s painting, which clusters flowerlike pops of shape and color — rose-petal reds and Aquafresh greens — into something like a bouquet.

BOCKLEY GALLERY SUMMER GROUP SHOW When: Through Aug. 12 Where: Bockley Gallery, 2123 W. 21st St. Info: bockleygallery.com, 377-4669

20 journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017

GET

OUT

GUIDE

By Jahna Peloquin

Sounds for Silents: Film + Music After 38 seasons, the Walker’s Summer Music and Movies is changing from a month of weekly concerts and film screenings to a single event. The free Monday-night events held at Loring Park, which began in 1973, became one of the most popular summertime traditions in the Twin Cities. Instead of Loring Park, Sounds for Silents: Film + Music will be held on the museum’s hillside, and features a world-premiere commission from Ryan Olson (Poliça, Gayngs) and his innovative noise ensemble Marijuana Deathsquads, with special guests including Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, the Pines’ Benson Ramsey and Poliça vocalist and songwriter Channy Leaneagh. The live, cinematic scores will be set to 1920s experimental short films by iconic avant-garde artists Hans Richter, Viking Eggeling and René Clair, drawn from the Walker’s Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection. Food trucks Hot Indian Foods and Fro Yo Soul will be on hand along with DJ Sean McPherson from 89.3 The Current. When: Dusk (about 8:30 p.m.) Thursday, Aug. 17 Cost: Free Info: walkerart.org

Where: Walker Art Center (hillside), 1750 Hennepin Ave.

Irish Fair of Minnesota Since 2001, Harriet Island Park in downtown St. Paul has hosted Irish Fair of Minnesota, a celebration of Irish heritage with music, dance, family activities and food on the banks of the Mississippi. Said to be the largest free Irish festival in the U.S., last year’s event brought in 100,000 attendees. This year’s musical lineup includes Grammy award-nominated Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers, who was on the cast of the original “Riverdance” and a nine-time, all-Ireland fiddle champion, plus local bands including the Belfast Cowboys, who play a mix of Van Morrison covers and originals, and punk-infused guitar trio, the Tim Malloys. New to the fair this year is the Celtic Kitchen, which will host food-related events, such as demonstrations, sampling, competitions and unique Irish foods, throughout the weekend. The Celtic Kitchen will kick oﬀ with a special ticketed Friday night event. (7 p.m., $25) When: 3 p.m.–11 p.m., Friday, Aug. 11; 10 a.m.–11 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 12; and 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13 Where: Harriet Island, 200 Dr. Justus Ohage Blvd., St. Paul Cost: Free Info: irishfair.com

‘Graveyard Shift’ and ‘Low Visual Distance’ Abstracted landscapes with a psychological bent are the connecting thread between two new visual art exhibitions by Minneapolis artists Jim Hittinger and Shannon Estlund. In “Graveyard Shift,” Hittinger creates sparsely populated, otherworldly landscapes littered with empty lots, chain-link fences and abandoned suburban parking lots with oozing oil paint and smudged graphite. The desolate palette of black, white and gray is interrupted only by an occasional pop of color — a neon sign, a pair of yellow balloons — as if to further emphasize the bleakness. Similarly, the abstract landscapes of Estlund’s “Low Visual Distance” use the contrast between light and dark to psychological eﬀect. Inspired by Rice Creek and the surrounding forest, the paintings are brimming with expressive color and repeating pattern, contrasting with the starkness of Hittinger’s works. When: On view Aug. 12–27 (Saturdays and Sundays noon–4 p.m.) Opening reception: 7 p.m.–10 p.m. (gallery talk at 7 p.m.) Saturday, Aug. 12 Where: Rosalux Gallery, 1400 Van Buren St. NE, #195 Cost: Free Info: rosaluxgallery.com

Minnesota Renaissance Festival Prince Pre Fame Photography Exhibition In 1977, one year before the release of his debut album, a local musician named Prince Rogers Nelson came to the attention of Minneapolis music agent/manager Owen Husney and his partner Gary Levinson. The pair approached photographer Robert Whitman to take promotional photos of the young artist, who would one day become one of the most important musicians of the 20th century. The resulting images are part of a photography exhibition dubbed “Prince Pre Fame,” which includes three never-before-exhibited images. Whitman photographed Prince in his Minneapolis studio, in Husney’s Linden Hills home, and on the streets of downtown Minneapolis, including the front of the mural of Maurice Ravel’s “Gaspard de la Nuit” painted on the side of the Schmitt Music store. The opening night party includes hosted hors d’oeuvres, cash bar and Prince music all night long. A portion of ticket sales benefits Hopewell, a local organization supporting music education for north Minneapolis youth. When: On view Aug. 18–Sept. 15. Opening night party: 5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. (VIP) and from 7:30 p.m.–11 p.m. (general admission) Thursday, Aug. 17 Where: Mpls Photo Center, 2400 N. 2nd St., #200 Cost: Free to view; $35 general admission, $100 VIP for opening night party Info: facebook.com/PrincePreFame

Where else but at RenFest can you drink mead (that’s fermented honey), eat a turkey leg as big as your biceps and see a jousting act that’s like a “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” outtake? Some of the comedy acts are hammy, but it’s hard to argue with the cool factor of live armored jousters, knife throwers and fire-juggling tightrope walkers. With its intimate village grounds, smaller crowds and plentiful (and largely free) entertainment and amusements, the Renaissance Festival is the quirkier, Dungeons-and-Dragons-playing little brother of the Minnesota State Fair. Highlights include Tuey, a fire-juggling ropewalker who’s been at it for more than 40 years, and Puke and Snot, known for their pirate witticisms and double-entendres. If you like bad jokes, dangerous stunts, traditional folk music, men in tights, handmade artisan goods, good food and fermented beverages, the RenFest is a must-go. When: 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays Aug. 19–Oct. 1, plus Labor Day and Sept. 29 Where: Minnesota Renaissance Festival Grounds, 12364 Chestnut Blvd., Shakopee Cost: $23.95 adults, $21.95 seniors, $14.95 kids; $37.95 for 2-day pass; $94.95 (adults) or $54.95 (kids) for season pass Info: 952-445-7361 or renaissancefest.com

journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017 21

Block party bonanza

Butcher and the Boar hosts Boarfest on Aug. 20. Photo courtesy Butcher and the Boar’s Facebook page

Every August, the streets of Minneapolis fill up with block after block of parties hosted by area restaurants and breweries.

Pizza Lucé Block Party:

Borough Block Party:

NE Brewers Block Party:

Boarfest:

Since 2003, Lucé’s bash has been supreme among Minneapolis summer block parties, with a stellar live music lineup of acts ranging from big names to local favorites, with genres spanning hip hop, punk rock and everything in between. This year’s event touches down in downtown Minneapolis outside of the eatery’s storefront with a bill that includes a solo set from Minneapolis native Craig Finn of the Hold Steady, rising hip-hop star Allan Kingdom and singer-songwriter Haley (formerly known as Haley Bonar), plus pizza by the slice, brats and locally brewed beer, cider and spirits from Surly Brewing, Loon Juice and Tattersall Distilling.

This 5th-annual event is hosted by foodie haven Borough and its speakeasy-esque cocktail bar Parlour, so you know the food and drink are going to be top-notch. The party also includes live music by Viva Knievel (a hard-rocking cover band with a full horn section), all-brass band Black Market Brass, neo-soul group Nooky Jones and Private Oates (a Hall & Oates cover band).

Northeast Minneapolis is home to more breweries per capita than any other part of the state. Take advantage of the opportunity to try them all during this block party hosted by Sociable Cider Werks, who will host nine other neighborhood breweries, plus four food trucks, games and live music from atmospheric indie-rock band Enemy Planes and electro-pop threepiece Apollo Cobra.

While Butcher & the Boar’s 7th-annual summer party technically isn’t a block party — it takes place in the beer garden and covered patio outside the restaurant — it features all the trappings of one. The event will feature Surly beer, selections from Butcher and the Boar’s extensive collection of bourbon, boar brats, sausages and oysters. Live bands are also slated to perform throughout the day. (21+)

When: Noon–10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12 Where: Pizza Lucé, 119 N. 4th St. Cost: Free Info: pizzaluce.com/blockparty

When: Noon–8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13 Where: Borough, 730 Washington Ave. N. Cost: Free Info: eventbrite.com

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Rifle range rounds 5 Rainfall measure 9 Transitional state 14 Bread buy 15 NYC area above Houston Street 16 Hunter constellation 17 *Half a percussion pair 19 “__ bleu!” 20 From India, say 21 Civil uprising 23 Account exec 24 *Fill-in-the-blanks agreement, e.g. 28 Post-WWII feminine flier 31 Small swallow 32 __ bubbles 33 Bigheadedness 34 *Cake soaked in alcoholic syrup

bodybuilder-style

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41 Figure skating jumps

42 Zilch

69 Parting words?

12 Destructive insect

43 Africa’s Sierra __

70 Actress Hayworth

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44 *Brand for bubble blowers

71 Crisscross frameworks

18 Burden

45 Nine-time U.S. skating champ Michelle

47 Trivial point

72 London gallery

22 Mount of Greek myth

48 Yet again

73 __-bitsy

25 Bro, to a sis

49 High-arcing tennis shot

DOWN

51 Purported UFO fliers

1 Actress Jessica

52 *Security device that may be silent

2 Cattle chorus

39 Cake pan trademark

57 Opposite of WNW

3 Salon service with a pedi

58 __ about: roughly

4 Gift __: chattiness

59 Soothed

5 Hoosier St.

63 Golf analyst Nick

6 Here-there link

65 Wander aimlessly ... and a hint to a divided word in the answers to starred clues

7 Butter-making device

68 Get ready to compete,

8 Bro 9 One in need of spiritual guidance 10 Gershwin brother

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29 Water, to Juan

55 Caribbean resort isle

30 Full last name of a “Happy Days” cool dude

56 New Zealand settler

35 Gargantuan 36 __ in the conversation 37 Self-storage compartment 38 Citi Field team 40 Doorbell sound

60 Hearts or clubs 61 Sinus docs 62 WWII turning point 64 Defective firecracker 66 Cambridge univ. 67 Munched on Crossword answers on page 22

7/31/17 1:53 PM

When: 2 p.m.–9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20 Where: Sociable Cider Werks, 1500 Fillmore St. NE Cost: Free; $5 drinking wristband, $40 VIP Info: eventbee.com

When: 1 p.m.–9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20 Where: Butcher & the Boar, 1121 Hennepin Ave. Cost: Free Info: facebook.com/Butcherandtheboar

22 journalmpls.com / August 10–23, 2017

BEST

PICKS

MUSIC / FOOD / DRINKS / ART OUTDOORS / ENTERTAINMENT SOCIAL / SHOPPING WHAT TO DO DOWNTOWN AFTER WORK BY ERIC BEST

Lady Lark singer Taylor Harris and her band will perform their new EP and other original songs at the Dakota Jazz Club on Aug. 18. Submitted photo

MUSIC

DRINKS

In good spirits

If you go north on Central Avenue Northeast and pass by restaurant after restaurant, you’ll eventually find Chimborazo (note: stop there for food) and, finally, Twin Sprits Distillery. The humble distillery in Northeast Minneapolis opened last year and The Wake-up Call at Twin Spirits recently rolled out a new menu of Distillery features a delicate bitters cocktails. So far, owner and head design. Photo by Eric Best distiller Michelle Winchester has churned out two vodkas, gin, rum and moonshine to make into an approachable selection of drinks. I’d recommend checking out the Venus Verde, an herbaceous cocktail with a flavor straight out of an apothecary thanks to gin, ginger and herbs like basil and cardamom. There’s also the coﬀee-infused Wake-up Call, which gets a thick head and smooth flavor from an egg white and a delicate design on top through some careful bitter placement. If the tiny interior is full — it seats a few dozen between the bar and high-top tables — try the spacious patio. The simple outdoor seating, which is set back far from Central Avenue, reminded a friend of sitting on the patio of his family’s rural Wisconsin house, which says a lot for distillery just a mile or two outside downtown. Don’t try stopping by the distillery early in the week. Twin Spirits is open 5 p.m.–11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 5 p.m.–midnight Friday and 4 p.m.–midnight Saturday.

Happy as a Lady Lark By day, Taylor Harris is a mild-mannered downtown resident. By night, she is Lady Lark, an R&B singer who over the past year has been quickly tearing up venue after venue in the Twin Cities.

“I think Lady Lark is a little bit sassier, more confident and sexy. By doing that, I feel like the natural performer in me comes out, but as Taylor Harris I’m more this extroverted introvert,” she said. Harris founded the solo project with the help of keyboardist Kyle Pleggenkuhle and guitarist Oran Chan, a production duo who go by Hair & Makeup (Pleggenkuhle has “Thor-like hair,” she said). Together they write songs as Lady Lark and perform with three other musicians and vocalists. Before last fall, Harris had never performed on stage before, other than a one-oﬀ show with a short-lived band. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. I was surprised how much I’ve been enjoying it,” she said. Lady Lark sounds like an old-school pop and R&B group with sugary sweet lyrics about love and dating. Harris said she’s not too serious with the words. They’re supposed to be fun, she added. “[With] a lot of the Lady Lark songs, they’re about love. They’re about sex. They’re about relationships. But, thus far, we’ve wanted to keep things upbeat [and] dancey,” she said. The band released its first EP, “Love,” earlier this year. The first of the three songs, “Love (is Just a Game)” is simple and playful. These aren’t heartbreakers, and Lady Lark clearly doesn’t have a lot of skin in this game (not going to shed no tears, no crying / because love is just a game). “Move Your Body” is a disco-infused dance party track about letting loose. The keyboard-laden “Cherry on Top” has Lady Lark at her sexiest — and most amorous (“you’re not leaving until I say so”). The music pulls at the “diﬀerent elements of the journey of love,” Harris said, with a sound reminiscent of ’90s R&B, hip-hop and pop songs, a favorite of hers when she’s out dancing at downtown bars. “Oftentimes, I’ll request ’90s songs and just get down and dance to those,” she said.

MUSIC

The band’s next performance will be a late-night show at the Dakota Jazz Club on Aug. 18. The Latelys, a soul trio out of Duluth, will open the night.

SEE ‘THE VOICE’

If you watched NBC’s “The Voice” last season, then you may have noticed that a Minneapolis contestant made it to the singing competition’s finale. Singer and guitarist Jesse Larson shredded his competitors with regular guitar solos and soulful performances, thanks in part to generous song selections like “Jungle Love” from Minneapolis’ own The Time and Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.” Before rising through the show, Larson played with local funk and soul band MPLS. Larson will get the band back together with a show at First Avenue on Friday, Aug. 18 in the mainroom. For “The Voice” fans, that’s not all. Kat Perkins, a Midwestern contestant from season six and one of the more successful acts to come out of the show, will also perform. Alex Rossi, another funky local musician, rounds out the 18-plus show’s lineup.

Lady Lark is getting its first out-of-state gig out in Oakland, California for an event with Pandora Radio, Harris’ employer. “This is kind of the perfect job for me isn’t it, with my love of music?” she said. One of her recent favorite Pandora stations is “Hip-Hop BBQ Radio.” “It’s basically, in my opinion, the perfect summer hip-hop station. There’s a lot of ’90s [and] early 2000s hip-hop that was very dancey,” she said. There are also stations centered on Janet Jackson and En Vogue, whom Harris saw perform at Twin Cities Pride earlier this year. “I was like ‘this is a dream come true.’ I never thought I’d see En Vogue. It was amazing,” she said.

CROSSWORD ANSWERS

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Music Box Theater

Emerson School

14TH ST W

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HCMC Bldg

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Orchestra Hall

4T HA VE S

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St Olaf Cath. Church

DA VE

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WCCO TV

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Ho lid Ex ay I n pr e n ss

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Hilt Minn on eap & T olis Un 11th owe rs de S rgr t Ra ou mp nd

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Minneapolis City Hall

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University St Thomas Mpls

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Hennepin County Public Safety

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Op u U s St niv Hall Th of om as

Univ St. Thomas Mpls

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First Baptist Church

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$140.00/mo

Gaviidae Commons

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$175.00/mo

Macy's

One Financial Plaza

Cr No own r th e P st a laz rH a ot e l

To Well we s r & Far M u go se um

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State Theater

City Center

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11th & Marquette $150.00/mo IDS Tower 9T H ST Introducing Group Rates S for Monthly Accounts 11th & Harmon Ramp

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Marriot Hotel

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11TH ST N

Hennepin Stages Historic Orpheum Theater

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9TH ST N

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Xcel Plaza

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Pantages Theater

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11th Street Underground E Plaza T AW

Federal Office Bldg

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Leamington NE

Xcel Energy

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First Ave/ 7th St. Entry

CURRIE AVE

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Target Center

Salvation Catholic Army Charities

Catholic Charities

DON’T STRESS – park with us! H

Salvation Army

AV E

GLENWOOD AVE

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394

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Check out our new Early Bird rate at 11th Street Underground S WA – only $8 – as well as the monthly at Leamington, 11th 3R Minneapolisrates SH D IN ST Public Library Street Underground, Plaza and 11thS & Marquette. GTON AV ST

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Post Office Main

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Gateway Park

1S T

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Fantastic deals! 3RD

SPRUCE PL

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6TH AVE N

Nicollet Island Park

VE N AV I TA 1S NEP N HE

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Federal Reserve Building

R WE PO

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Nicollet Is Inn

8/4/17 11:11 AM