Southwest Journal April 30–May 13, 2020 by The Southwest Journal

Kingfield record shop relocates PAGE A3 • Farmers react to pandemic PAGE A21 • Steve Brandt on city’s plans for Kmart site PAGE A23

April 30– May 13, 2020 Vol. 31, No. 9 southwestjournal.com

12 dead from COVID-19 at 3 Southwest senior homes

INSIDE TAKEOUT TIME

Restaurants adjust to new paradigm A4

By Zac Farber

STUDENTS SPEAK

Kids explain what school is like now A8

NEW APARTMENT

Inside-out SHOPS INNOVATE TO DO BUSINESS AT A SOCIAL DISTANCE

Deadly clusters of COVID-19 have unsettled three Southwest Minneapolis senior homes, accounting for more than 1 in 5 known deaths from the respiratory disease across the city. As of April 28, six residents of Jones-Harrison’s nursing home on Cedar Lake have died from the new coronavirus, including five who died between April 20 and April 27. A total of four staff members and 11 residents at the 157-bed nursing home have tested positive for the virus. One resident and one staff member of Jones-Harrison’s attached 44-bed assisted living facility have also tested positive. At Walker Methodist Health Center in East Harriet, four of the nursing home’s 220 residents have died from the virus and a total of nine residents and two staff members have tested positive. Eight of the nine positive tests were confirmed the week of April 20. There are no cases in the adjacent Walker Place retirement community; the door linking the facilities has been locked for over a month. SEE SENIOR HOMES / PAGE A16

Building includes units for foster youth A9

MENTAL HEALTH

Wyatt Werner and Alycia Welch of Street Factory Media install Muddy Waters’ new curbside window. Photo courtesy of Street Factory Media

By Michelle Bruch

If your neighborhood shop appears to be closed, check again. One Yoga Studio members are lighting candles and brewing tea at night before the virtual class “Yoga for a Good Night’s Sleep.” The Warming House is streaming living room concerts for more viewers than could normally fit inside the 40-seat venue. Lyndale Animal Hospital has curbside service, where staff allow pets inside for appointments while their humans wait outside. While some businesses are dormant and waiting out the pandemic, many others are innovating. Salons like Twisted Hare are shipping hair products with a commission for stylists, and Sweeney Todd’s is demonstrating how to trim bangs online. Restaurants like Lu’s Sandwiches are distributing “Isolation BIZ-ingo” cards with Saturday night takeout orders. SEE INNOVATION / PAGE A14

Social distancing poses challenge A11

TREE PLANTING

Forestry workers limit contact A13

VOICES FROM THE PANDEMIC

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The city has deactivated pedestrian signal buttons at more than 400 Minneapolis intersections, including Humboldt & Lagoon (pictured). Photo by Andrew Hazzard

612-845-5273 | DianeandLarry.com | larry@larrylavercombe.com The coronavirus pandemic has led the city of Minneapolis to open 11 miles of streets to pedestrians, implement expanded sidewalks and cancel the beg button at intersections. Minneapolis public works began implementing its “Stay Healthy Streets” program on April 29, which established three walking and biking loops on city streets in North, Northeast and South Minneapolis, according to a press release. The streets will be closed to through traffic with a goal of letting people safely spread out, on foot or wheels, while exercising outdoors during the pandemic. The pedestrianized loops are intended to complement parkway closures by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, which has established several miles of open roadway around the Chain of Lakes in Southwest. The South Minneapolis loop includes a small portion in the Lyndale and Kingfield neighborhoods along First Avenue South from 35th to 40th streets. The loop extends east to 17th Avenue South and passes through Powderhorn Park to the north. The 4.3-mile route is estimated to take about an hour and a half to walk or half an hour to bike. Public works has also marked off about five miles of expanded sidewalks, where lanes are blocked to vehicles to allow people to stay 6 feet apart while walking. In Southwest, those areas are Lagoon Avenue between Hennepin Avenue and Bde Maka Ska and Lyndale Avenue between 22nd Street and the Loring Greenway. The pandemic has also led public works to deactivate pedestrian push or “beg” buttons at intersections to minimize common touch points during the pandemic. The city has altered traffic signals at more than 400 intersections to make the walk signals come on automatically. Eliminating beg buttons has long been a goal of pedestrian advocates.

In an attempt to accommodate businesses transitioning to takeout models during the pandemic, the city has installed more than 50 new pick-up zones that allow for 10-minute parking.

FROM NEIGHBORHOOD ORGS / PAGE A6

This year marks LHENA’s 50th anniversary and the organization had been looking forward to celebrating that milestone at its annual meeting, Shanafelt said. That meeting is traditionally where new board members are elected, so to ensure business can continue the group is going to remotely appoint two new board members on May 20. Those members will serve for a few months until real elections can be held. The Wedge is hosting its board and committee meetings via Zoom. On May 1, the organization is hosting its first remote bingo game to try to establish some connections for neighbors. “To fulfill our mission, we have to bring people together physically, so we’ve had to adjust,” Shanafelt said.

With social distancing efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 likely to be in place through the summer months, those groups have had to refocus. Linden Hills has postponed its annual festival scheduled for June 14. “Our function as a neighborhood organization is very event heavy,” Allen said. “We had to stop and figure out what we do next.” To help formulate some social distanceaccommodating activities, LHiNC is working with staff from the Linden Hills library on potentially organizing neighborhood scavenger hunts or outdoor or virtual story-time events for kids.

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A8 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com

PUBLISHER Janis Hall

Students adapt to new lifestyle

jhall@swjournal.com By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com

CO-PUBLISHER & SALES MANAGER Terry Gahan tgahan@swjournal.com GENERAL MANAGER Zoe Gahan zgahan@swjournal.com EDITOR Zac Farber 612-436-4391 zfarber@swjournal.com STAFF WRITERS Nate Gotlieb ngotlieb@swjournal.com Andrew Hazzard ahazzard@swjournal.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Michelle Bruch Emily Lund Sheila Regan Carla Waldemar EDITORIAL INTERN Becca Most CREATIVE DIRECTOR Valerie Moe vmoe@swjournal.com DISTRIBUTION Marlo Johnson 612-436-4388 distribution@swjournal.com ADVERTISING sales@swjournal.com 612-436-4360 PRINTING APG

NEXT ISSUE DATE: May 14 News and ad deadline: May 6 32,000 copies of the Southwest Journal are distributed free of charge to homes and businesses in Southwest Minneapolis.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Washburn High School 11th-grader Paco Navarro has typically done his schoolwork in the mornings, using Google Classroom to submit assignments to his teachers. There haven’t been any tests, Navarro said, but some teachers have given quizzes. Assignments have been about as difficult as they were before the pandemic, and some teachers have used online video platforms such as Flipgrid to have students give each other feedback. “Even though it’s minor amounts of interaction, it’s still fun to see what people have to say,” Navarro said. Southwest Minneapolis students said they have video chatted with friends and successfully navigated online schoolwork during the pandemic but have missed being with their peers. Most have WiFi and computers on which to do their work, but not all. Students also said there is still a lot of uncertainty, even after Gov. Tim Walz declared on April 23 that in-person classes would be canceled for the rest of the year. “I don’t know what to feel about a lot of stuff, because it’s just so up in the air,” Southwest High School 12th-grader Helena Towne said. Towne, Navarro and other high school students said they have typically been able to complete their schoolwork by noon or 1 p.m. each day. Teachers have quickly responded to emails, they said, and it’s been easy to find their way around Google Classroom, the online platform on which teachers post assignments. For students without devices, their parents have been “tremendously grateful and relieved” when the school is able to deliver them, said Andy Uhler assistant principal at Jefferson Community School in Lowry Hill East. About 90% of students there are eligible for free or reduced lunch. He said the school has gotten devices to almost every kid in the building. Southwest 12th-grader TK Marshall has been using his phone to complete assignments for his four classes. He said he only has about an hour’s worth of work each day and can do everything he needs on his phone but that it would have been nice to have a computer. “You can get it done,” he said. “It’s just a little bit more work.”

Xbox hangouts

At Southwest and Washburn, students had been preparing for International Baccalaureate (IB) tests, spring sports, prom and other activities when MPS, in line with an earlier Walz order, closed to students on March 16. IB tests and spring sports have been canceled. Washburn’s prom, which was scheduled for April 18, has tentatively been postponed until June 6. Washburn 12th-grader Kal Szarkowicz said she likes to study independently so transitioning to online education hasn’t been too taxing. But it has been hard not seeing friends and teachers. Szarkowicz, who’s set to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall, said

Armatage Montessori School students Sebastien and Kailani Wanduragala toss a Frisbee on April 22 at Kenwood Park. Kailani says working from home is “like school with all the fun things taken out of it.” Photo by Nate Gotlieb

most of her classes have worked well online, but classes like orchestra and Spanish have their limitations. She also said her tutoring business has taken a hit during the pandemic. Towne, who has committed to attending St. Olaf college in the fall, said the last three months of school are usually the best part of senior year. She and her siblings have continued to alternate daily between their parents’ houses during the pandemic, since they are divorced. She said it’s been surreal to realize she may never again see some of her classmates. Washburn High School 12th-grader Ethan Buss said teachers are giving students plenty of time to complete work. Each night at 9 p.m., he and his friends have been hanging out virtually via their Xboxes. Marshall, who has a scholarship to play football at North Dakota State University, said it’s been tough to stay in shape during the pandemic. He doesn’t have weights at home — other than three 10-pound plates that he stuffs in a reusable shopping bag — so he runs and does pushups, sit-ups and different bodyweight workouts. His position coach at North Dakota State has also sent him workouts to do, but during normal times, Marshall would be spending time each day in the weight room at Southwest. He’s planning to start having meetings with his position coach virtually when the NCAA allows him to do so.

‘All apart’

The transition hasn’t been easy for younger students, either. Armatage Montessori School students Sebastien and Kailani Wanduragala said they have been able to navigate the technology, though Kailani, a third-grader, said there can be problems with Google Forms at times. Working from home is “like school with all the fun things taken out of it,” Kailani said.

I don’t know what to feel about a lot of stuﬀ, because it’s just so up in the air. — Helena Towne, 12th-grader, Southwest High School

Sebastien’s fifth-grade class has met twice each week over Google Meet. Sebastien said he’s been ending his at-home school day with assignments from teachers who specialize in subjects like physical education, art and music. If he’s not sure about something related to the technology, he’ll email his teacher or check the teacher’s Google Classroom page. One benefit of remote education: Sebastien and Kailani don’t have to wake up as early for school. Clara Barton Open School seventh-grader Naomi Sojourner-Cassidy said her teachers have been giving students a week’s worth of work at a time and that she prioritizes assignments based on due dates. “On Mondays, it’s a little overwhelming,” she said, adding that the workload lessens as the week progresses. Naomi said it’s nice being able to go at her own pace and take breaks when she wants to but that she misses the opportunities for oneon-one help from teachers. She, too, said it’s hard not being with friends, though she has been texting them daily and will sometimes FaceTime with them. “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone,” she said. “It’s hard to have a school community when we’re all apart from each other.”

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southwestjournal.com / April 30–May 13, 2020 A9

Apartment with units for foster youth approved By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com

An apartment building near Franklin & Hennepin with units designated for young people aging out of foster care has received city approval. Peris Hill, a Graves Foundation project, will reserve 15 of its 45 units for people ages 18 to 21 who have aged out of the Hennepin County foster care system. The remaining 30 units will be for people who make below 60% of the area median income (AMI) — about $57,000 per year for a Minneapolis family of four as of 2018 — with some of those units reserved for those making under 50% AMI. “I think it’s going to provide a wonderful support for youth,” executive director Courtney Cushing Kiernat said. The transition into adulthood can be a vulnerable time for youth in the foster care system. Each year, 20% of the more than 23,000 U.S. children who age out of the system instantly become homeless, according to the National Foster Youth Institute. Over 40% of homeless youth go on to need social services. “We don’t want youth to have to become homeless to then be eligible [for] affordable housing,” Cushing Kiernat said. “This is catching them … so there is a transition from the foster home into supportive housing.” Cushing Kiernat said the Graves Foundation will fund full-time, on-site case manager, program director and front-desk positions to

An apartment designed for youth aging out of foster care will be built at 1930 Hennepin Ave. Submitted rendering

support the former foster youth. Those staff will come from The Link, a nonprofit that works with at-risk youth. Volunteers of America will manage the property, Cushing Kiernat said, and Peris Hill will partner with organizations such as Connections to Independence, which supports foster youth, to fill the 15 units. For the other 30 tenants, it plans to recruit from nearby businesses, graduate schools and nonprofit organizations. The building, to be located at 1930 Hennepin Ave., will have studio and onebedroom units ranging from 402-768 square

feet. It will be stepped back on the Colfax Avenue side and will have a bike room. The apartment will have a shared firstfloor space reserved for former foster youth, and there will also be a communal space for all residents. The site’s existing one-story building has been home to a number of restaurants, most recently Bradstreet Neighborhood Crafthouse. The Graves Foundation chose it after interviewing youth, service providers and social workers about what they wanted in a location. “It’s just absolutely ideal,” said Cushing Kiernat, who praised the neighborhood’s character and small businesses and the location’s proximity to transit and Downtown. The foundation is funding the building primarily through the federal low-income housing tax credit program. It has set aside funding to support The Link’s in-building services for 10 years and has committed in funding applications to keeping the development affordable for 45 years. The youth in the building will receive a rent stipend from Hennepin County until they turn 21. Cushing Kiernat said the goal is to begin construction this summer and open to tenants in summer 2021. Land-use applications for the project were approved at the mid-April Planning Commission meeting, which was held virtually.

Voices

Eliminating bus fares I was glad to see coverage of transit issues in the March 19 issue. Unfortunately, the article “Changing the way we get around” (page A6) fails to mention a key tactic in increasing public transit ridership: free fare. Some cities (Kansas City and Olympia) have already moved forward with eliminating fares. Here in the Twin Cities, well under half of the operating budget for Metro Transit comes from fares, with the lion’s share coming from state and local funding. I hope that future articles will acknowledge this and draw attention to the possibility of making all public transportation free in our area. David Feldmann South Uptown David Feldmann is a Metro Transit bus driver.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU State your opinion in 300 words or fewer. Letters must be signed and include a mailing address and neighborhood; please include a telephone number where we can reach you. Letters may be edited, and we can’t guarantee they will be published. E-mail (preferred): editor@swjournal.com By mail: Letters to the Editor, 1115 Hennepin Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55403

A10 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com

School Board’s comment-picking process criticized By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com

The Minneapolis Board of Education has drawn criticism from a group of parents over which public comments the board chose to air at its virtual mid-April meeting. About half the comments aired at the meeting were in support of the district’s proposed Comprehensive District Design (CDD) plan, even though only around 30% of all comments the district received supported the plan. The CDD is the district’s effort to create more integration, reduce busing costs and balance out programming and resources between different parts of the city. Many parents, particularly those at affected South Minneapolis magnet schools, have been vocally against the plan. The board defended its choice of which comments to air, with chair Kim Ellison saying they were able to hear an unprecedented number of public comments during the meeting.

The board had asked families to leave voicemail comments during a four-day period in the week before the meeting. A group of parents, called Kids First Minneapolis, takes issue primarily with the board’s communication of the publiccomment protocol, which it says skewed the feedback to appear more favorable to the CDD. The board initially publicized the protocol on April 7 — in a letter on the district website and in emails to people who’d previously signed up to speak at the meeting. Two days later, it emailed and sent a robocall to all district families about the comment process. According to Kids First, which received timestamped data on the voicemails from the district, the comments submitted before the April 9 emails and robocalls were markedly more supportive of the CDD than those submitted after all district families

were notified. The group has created a website and hired media relations professionals to help with a campaign to delay the CDD vote. Kids First also criticized the board for reneging on its promise to play the first three hours of voicemails it received at the meeting, as it pledged in its April 7 letter. The board played at least 140 minutes’ worth of voicemails from the first three hours of tape, but it also played about 40 minutes of comments from students and from groups the district has “historically underserved.” That included parents of all races from North Minneapolis and Northeast Minneapolis, parents who speak Spanish, parents who have students with disabilities and parents with students at schools not often represented at board meetings. The board attempted to post the rest of the voicemails online. Amy Gustafson, a parent at Windom

Spanish-Dual Immersion School, which would lose its dual-immersion program under the CDD, said she thinks there was good intent behind the decision to play voicemails from underserved groups. But she said the board should have told the public about the change to the protocol. The School Board public comment period allows members of the public to air grievances, offer praise and provide feedback to actions taken and proposed by the district. Over 150 parents, students and community members provided opinions about the plan during public comments at in-person School Board meetings in January, February and March. The core CDD components haven’t changed since then, though boundaries and programming for many schools have — in some cases significantly. Those changes merit more time for feedback, Gustafson said. The CDD is slated for a May 12 vote.

DFL endorsement voting runs through May 4 By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com

Typically, delegates to the city and local state Senate district DFL conventions meet in person to decide endorsements, but this year the state DFL executive committee has cancelled all face-to-face conventions. On April 25, delegates for the 2020 elections began voting on endorsements through the DFL’s online ranked-choice system. They have through May 4 to cast their ballots, and they may also vote by paper ballot or telephone, if their local party allows for it. “This obviously isn’t an ideal way to have an endorsement convention,” said Senate District 62 DFL chairwoman Brittany Mathews, adding that her district’s credentials committee put in a lot of hours contacting all 800 delegates and alternates. An endorsement is especially valuable in Minneapolis, where most voters chose DFL

candidates, Hamline University political science professor David Schultz said. Minneapolis DFL chairman Devin Hogan said the party helps endorsed School Board candidates with door knockings, canvassing and mailings and includes their names on the sample ballot the party sends out in the fall. Nine candidates are seeking the Minneapolis DFL endorsement for the four School Board seats on the ballot this fall. Adriana Cerrillo, Christa Mims and Kirsten Ragatz are seeking the endorsement in District 4, which includes Whittier and the Lake of the Islesadjacent neighborhoods. One-term incumbent Bob Walser is not seeking the endorsement and said he’s not planning to run. Former two-term School Board member Rebecca Gagnon and one-term incumbent Ira

Jourdain are seeking the endorsement in District 6, which includes the nine Southwest Minneapolis neighborhoods south of 36th Street. Sharon El-Amin, one-term incumbent KerryJo Felder and Rasheda Jenkins are seeking the endorsement in District 2, which covers North Minneapolis. Kim Ellison, who has been on the board since 2012, is the only candidate seeking the endorsement for the citywide seat. Perennial candidate Doug Mann said he plans on running for the seat, but he is not seeking the DFL endorsement. In Senate District 61, neither Rep. Jamie Long (61B) nor Sen. Scott Dibble has a challenger for the endorsement. In District 61A, Logan Coplan is challenging nine-term incumbent Frank Hornstein. In Senate District 62, Omar Fateh is chal-

lenging Sen. Jeff Hayden, who has been in the Legislature since 2009. Neither Rep. Hodan Hassan (62A) nor Rep. Aisha Gomez (62B) has a challenger for the endorsement. Delegates to the Senate district conventions will also decide who to send to the state DFL convention, which will also be held online. The Senate District 61 GOP endorsed Jennifer Zielinski for state Senate at their convention in March. There were no endorsements for state House. Senate District 62 Republicans may hold an endorsement convention, party chair Bob Sullentrop said, but currently don’t have any House or Senate candidates. The filing period for the School Board and Legislative seats runs from May 19 to June 2. The state primary election will be Aug. 11, and the general election will be Nov. 3.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE SOUTHWEST JOURNAL The Southwest Journal, like many news outlets, is facing unprecedented challenges. For the past three decades, we’ve delivered the paper free of charge because we believe everyone deserves access to professional, unbiased journalism. But with advertisers’ budgets being tightened amid the pandemic, our business model has been upended. We’re asking for your help.

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southwestjournal.com / April 30–May 13, 2020 A11

Social distancing weighs on those who struggle with mental health By Becca Most

Every morning Katherine Solie wakes up around 6:30 a.m., makes herself a cup of coffee and a plate of avocado toast, then settles in to start work from the table of her living room. Although Solie is in a better place than she was two years ago, the 30-year-old said she is feeling the strain of social distancing amid the pandemic. A former alcoholic, Solie has been sober for nine years. Although drinking isn’t a concern of hers anymore, her suicidal ideations have been coming back more frequently. Missing out on important life events like her friend’s pregnancy Katherine Solie and nephew’s second birthday party doesn’t make things easier. Although she’s grateful to have the mental health support and community she has now, Solie said she’s worried about those that don’t. “I feel very fortunate … to be where I’m at today,” she said. “If this happened a year and a half ago or even a year ago, I believe it’s possible that my mental health would have quickly dwindled.” For local residents coping with addiction or mental health issues, the isolation and

ambiguity ushered in by the pandemic have led to heightened stress levels. Financial worries stemming from job loss or furlough, the stress of childcare and the anxiety about catching the virus are resulting in more cause for concern among mental health experts. Although some therapists have seen more clients reach out, most have seen a drop-off in the number of people they’re currently helping. “It was a very rough transition,” said Jade Erickson, an independent clinical social worker at Lyn-Lake Psychotherapy and Wellness. Erickson lost about half of her clients at the beginning of April. Although she has seen the number rise a bit since then, the shift to video or phone call sessions has been a challenge. Some of her clients were unable to make the switch because of lack of technological knowledge or accessibility. Others didn’t have the energy to navigate telehealth services, and some only wanted to meet in person. Despite all this, Erickson said her clients are responding to the pandemic in different ways. Some have been diving into new hobbies and taking the stay-at-home order well, while others have been more detached and unresponsive. Some clients ask for fewer or shorter sessions a week, while others have doubled or tripled their number of meetings. Lindsay Markworth, of Twin Cities

Music Therapy Services, said “the most challenging aspects are the isolation and interruption of routine.” About 40% of her clients have transitioned to telehealth, a change she was initially worried about given that most of her sessions include the use of music or instruments. For clients with autism, dementia or disabilities, it can be difficult to help them set up a video call, or explain why they can no longer meet in person. “It’s such a dangerous combination,” she said. “The increase in anxiety, the increase in depression and isolation. I think people can really easily feel hopeless. We don’t know when we’re going to get to go back to normal. It seems very out of our control.” Hanna Zipes, a LynLake psychotherapist, said loss of access to in-person support groups and meetings can be especially harmful to those who relied Hanna Zipes on these places to find community and establish interpersonal relationships. One of her clients was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings before the stay-at-home order. Now, with the group moving to phone or video sessions, it’s been harder for them to keep attending meetings and maintain those relationships. They have since gone back to drinking. “For those who were already having a hard time, for those that may have already been on the brink of needing help or breaking down, this can take them across that line,” Zipes said. “And those are the communities that I think are having the hardest time transitioning to get support.” Since March, the “Disaster Distress Helpline” with the national Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra-

tion saw an 891% year-over-year increase in call volume. Mental health experts say that the data is worrying, especially given that national suicide rates have been rising steadily for the past two decades. “One of the hallmarks of a substance use disorder, and many mental health disorders, is isolation, a lack of community and a lack of meaningful connections,” said Julie Rohovit, the director for the Center for Practice Transformation at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. “Individuals who were struggling with that in the first place are struggling with it probably a hundredfold now. … So people are really experiencing that sense of isolation in a new and different way.” One of the current challenges for therapists like Zipes is helping clients cope with factors that are largely out of their control. Focusing on what aspects of daily life you can control, whether it’s forming a sleep schedule, showering every day or scheduling a time to call friends or family, can help stave off restlessness. “Anxiety is contagious,” she said. “We learn how to behave by watching other people behave.” Making sure people are getting information from credible sources and reaching out to support networks is crucial, Zipes said. “Part of being resilient is also looking for resilience in other people,” she said. “We see some people that are really doing beautiful things, like making masks with their children … delivering food, fostering animals in times of crisis — I mean there are people who are doing really beautiful things, and [it’s important] to hold all of that in perspective.” If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text MN to 741-741. You can call or text 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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A12 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com

By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com

Minneapolis outpaces state in renewable electricity electricity is the main reason why greenhouse gas emissions are down about 17% when compared to 2006 levels, Havey told a City Council committee last year. The city aims to use renewable electricity to power all government operations by 2022, a goal Havey said it’s on track to meet. It’s also looking at ways to reduce overall electricity and energy usage, through programs such as its Green Business Cost Share. Havey said the coronavirus pandemic has shown why it’s critical for governments to address air pollution. “Our ability to reduce our pollution is directly related to the health of our residents, especially those that are most vulnerable,” he said. The city’s electric utility, Xcel Energy, is working toward 100% carbon-free energy by 2050. In Minnesota and four other Midwestern states, renewables already account for 26% of what customers receive. Nuclear reactors, which do not emit carbon dioxide but require large amounts of energy to construct and fuel, account for 30% of the Upper Midwest’s electricity mix. Xcel Energy projects that renewable sources will account for 40% of its electricity by 2022 and over 50% by 2030. If nuclear is added in, the utility’s electricity could be 80% carbon free in 2030. The company plans on reaching those targets by closing all of its coal power plants, using nuclear energy at its Monticello power plant,

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southwestjournal.com / April 30–May 13, 2020 A13

By Andrew Hazzard / ahazzard@swjournal.com

Tree planting continues with some adjustments Coronavirus may have prevented Minneapolis’ annual Arbor Day celebration, but it will not stop the planting of more than 9,400 trees along streets and in city parks. Spring tree planting is continuing during the pandemic, with some adjustments so forestry workers with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board can spread out and limit contact during the process, according to forestry director Ralph Sievert. Typically, forestry crews work closely together to plant trees, but this year they are attempting to follow social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic. That means having one person digging holes and others following to do the planting. One crew member might hold a tree steady with a littergrabber while another fills in the hole, Sievert said. Normally crews will have three people in a truck when going out to plant, but this year multiple cars are being used and the MPRB had to rent some utility task vehicles to make sure everyone can get to the site separately. “It ends up being like a caravan,” Sievert said. He expects tree planting will take a few weeks longer than usual this year, likely extending into mid-June. But the forestry department has already planted more than 3,000 trees, which Sievert called a good start. The MPRB is in year seven of an eightyear plan responding to Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an invasive beetle that attacks and kills ash trees. Before EAB arrived, 21% of the city’s trees were ash. About 5,000 new trees were added to city streets and parks each year before EAB, but an annual $1.2 million levy passed in 2013 to fund the replacement program nearly doubled that figure. Now the emphasis is on diversifying the urban forest to minimize vulnerability to disease in the future with forestry selecting native and non-native species well-suited for the city’s climate. “When we’re done, we’ll have really changed the species composition of our trees,” Sievert said. That includes trying not to add too many new maple trees, which make up about 25% of Minneapolis’ canopy. This year only about 50 new maples will be planted. Over time,

The Minneapolis Park Board stores saplings at Bohemian Flats along the Mississippi River, seen here in early April. Upwards of 9,000 trees will be planted this spring in city parks and along streets. Photo courtesy of the Park Board

the composition of the urban forest should change quite a bit. “You don’t see the change quickly because we’re not removing them, we’re just not planting new ones,” he said. The forestry department also tries to plant some new trees that might do well in Minneapolis but haven’t been here in the past. A warming global climate means trees like bald cypress that do well in cities like Milwakuee and Cleveland are being tried here. This year the MPRB is planting about 10 Osage orange trees, which are more common near Missouri and Indiana, just to see how the variety does. “We’ve been experimenting with different types,” Sievert said.

The MPRB puts water bags on its newly planted trees, which Sievert said is a way to ensure the saplings receive about 20 gallons of water each week. The Park Board asks residents to fill the bags once a week on new boulevard trees.

Discounted trees available

Minneapolis’ city trees program has scrapped the lottery system this year and is offering trees to property owners for $25 via Tree Trust. Normally there are only 1,000 trees available through the program, but this year they are distributing about 2,000 smaller saplings, according to Tree Trust director of community forestry Karen Zumach. The program launched in late March but still has about 300

trees left, Zumach said. The saplings are available on a first come, first serve basis. Residents can visit tinyurl.com/mplstrees for more information. The program is open through May 1 or until all trees are sold.

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A14 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com FROM INNOVATION / PAGE A1

Utepils Brewing and Icehouse partnered to sell virtual concert tickets along with growlers. Patisserie 46 is offering French Toast kits that come with a loaf of brioche, custard batter, a dozen eggs, Minnesota syrup and a choice of ground coffee or a bottle of rose wine. Common Roots is taking orders for whole fruits and veggies, and Wise Acre has added a farmers market with meat, eggs and produce. The Café Meow is still fostering cats for adoption, sharing a live feed of the cats on Twitch.tv instead of hosting cafe meet-and-greets. Other shops are quickly building online stores. By happy circumstance, Once Upon A Crime created an online bookstore and changed the website two weeks before the pandemic hit. “That has saved us,” said Meg King-Abraham. “Without that, we would probably be done.” Kathy Lawrow, owner of the women’s clothing boutique Larue’s, said she’s learning to post merchandise and stock inventory for her new online store. “That’s been pretty cool. I think it’s made me recreate my business in a new way. But I don’t like it as a substitute for the real thing,” she said. “Something else I swore I would never do is post on Instagram and Facebook — I prefer an interconnected experience. I also learned how to do that.” Other shops are reinventing the entire storefront. Food moves through a new curbside window at Muddy Waters. Glam Doll Donuts now displays donuts in the front window and serves them through a new “Pandemic Door.” And some shops have created completely contact-less transactions. The Lynhall is alphabetically arranging family suppers on tables for no-touch pickup. Amigo Service Center and other auto shops can pick up and drop off vehicles at home. “It’s those little things, just looking around and saying, ‘What can I do, what can I sell, what can I make to support my business staying afloat?’” said Theresa Swaney, the Lake Street Council’s senior creative operations manager. “I’ve seen cocktail kits popping up everywhere.”

Safest ways to do business

“Curbside pickup, where it’s possible, is a great idea,” said Pete Raynor, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where he directs the Industrial Hygiene program. He explained that the risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 combines the quantity and duration of exposure. “Having something like curbside pickup can be really beneficial from both of those standpoints, because the amount of time you’re interacting is relatively short, as well as it being outside and not having to go into a store or any other facility,” he said. “Paying ahead is great.”

Lyndale Animal Hospital allows pets inside for appointments while their humans wait outside.

Airborne droplets and smaller aerosols appear to be the primary source of virus transmission, Raynor said. Inside, the quantity of droplets will always be higher than outside, where the wind disperses and dilutes the virus. Contact transmission through surfaces appears to be secondary to airborne transmission, and Raynor said you can protect against it by washing hands. He recommended washing hands after getting home and after unpacking; disposing of packaging and disinfecting counters or other services; and washing hands before eating. Angie Cyr, acting program manager at the Minnesota Department of Health’s Food, Pools & Lodging Services, recommends paying ahead for contact-less delivery service. “They let you know the delivery is there, and that’s it,” she said. “That’s the best way to go.” While it’s recommended that everyone wear masks, that doesn’t mean you can get as close to someone as you want, Cyr said. Asymptomatic people still spread the virus while they’re talking, regardless of a mask, Raynor said. “When you’re in a store, think about mini-

mizing your conversation,” he said. “The more you talk, the more you’re generating aerosols.” While curbside service is probably safer, Cyr cautions that there is always a risk involved. “The more that you’re interacting with somebody not in your household, the more chance there is that you’re going to pick something up,” Cyr said.

New business sense

The Brookings Institution estimates in a recent report that about 2 million, or 26%, of national small businesses, defined as fewer than 250 employees, are at immediate risk of closing. Local small businesses are seeing a serious reduction in revenue, and restaurants are particularly hard-hit, said Matt Perry, president of the Southwest Business Association. Greg Alford is focused on carryout at C&G’s Smoking Barbecue, and he’s closely watching meat plant closings. “It’s been four or five days since I’ve been able to get beef. The minute it hits the floor, people start buying it up,” he said, explaining that the shipments are smaller. “I thank God that I’ve got great customers.

They’re doing what they can do to support me and try to keep me open.” At the East Harriet-based Knowmad Adventures, staff worked overnight to fly travelers home, as Argentina closed the border with 48 hours notice, followed by Chile with 36 hours notice. One couple’s boat was barred from docking in Chile for a week. As revenue dropped to zero, they furloughed staff, cut pay, shuttered the office along with its water and garbage service and downgraded business software. Owner Jordan Harvey is negotiating with vendors so he can book 2021 trips with 10% down that are fully refundable 95 days before departure. It’s still a risk to the company, he said. Anytime a trip is canceled, it hurts the local guides and outfitters and squanders hours of staff time. “I’m trying to make it so people can book something to look forward to through this all,” he said. Farmers markets are still on for the season. The Kingfield Farmers Market recently tested out a curbside pickup model, where patrons pre-ordered directly from vendors and signed up for 15-minute pickup windows. The farmers didn’t know if anyone would

Glam Doll Donuts displays the daily selection in the shop window, serving food through a new “pandemic door.”

Deb Corhouse at the Kingfield Farmers Market, where customers can pre-order directly from farmers for curbside pickup.

southwestjournal.com / April 30–May 13, 2020 A15

Revival has a mobile app for takeout and delivery. All photos by Isaiah Rustad

show up, but they served 250 customers who anecdotally spent $50 apiece, when the usual spend is about $10. When the regular season launches in May and June, the Fulton, Nokomis and Kingfield markets will offer a no-contact curbside pickup option and a physically distant shopping experience, with no on-site food consumption. “We’re making it happen,” said Emily Lund, executive director. In some ways, One Yoga’s online classes are booming and growing, but overall there has been a decline in business since the studio closed, said Claire Leslie Johnson,

program director. Special online workshops will include yoga for anxiety and stress relief. Health equity through yoga is part of the nonprofit studio’s mission, and there are free introductory classes for people of color and sliding fees down to $2.50 per class or $10 per month for people with limited income or job loss. “Taking time for self-care, including lots of time outside, has been super therapeutic for me,” she said. “[I am] building yoga and mindfulness practices into my daily routine, even if it’s just 10 minutes sitting and meditating in the morning.”

Nico’s Taco and Tequila Bar offered taco boxes, margarita kits and Isolation BIZ-ingo cards for virtual bingo.

Many studios are sharing donation-based offerings through social media. TwinTown Fitness posts at-home workouts on its blog, with DJ mixes available as well. “Social media has become more important now,” Swaney said. Quang Restaurant is sharing photos of customers’ mash-ups and leftover creations. “In normal times, small businesses have limited marketing budgets and rely heavily on word of mouth. It is now even more important for you to voice (photograph) your support,” Quang wrote on Instagram. The Uptown Association is offering a new

“passport” promotion, where patrons who order takeout from five restaurants and share photos can win $100 in gift cards. At businesses across the city, change is coming fast. When Lyndale Animal Hospital staff suggested a curbside model, staff locked the doors to humans the next day. Staff adapted quickly, clients were largely understanding, and the system is now a “well-oiled machine,” said Kelsey Endres, practice manager. “It was hectic, but I feel like everybody got it,” she said. “This is what we’re doing now.”

CURBSIDE BUSINESS DIRECTORY | VISIT SWJOURNAL.COM/CURBSIDE-DIRECTORY TO SEE ALL LISTINGS The table below is a snapshot of how a few local businesses are adapting to social distancing. A listing of more than 600 Southwest Minneapolis businesses is available on our website at swjournal.com/curbside-directory. As plans evolve by the day, please contact businesses directly for the most up-to-date information.

Business

Now

What’s new

Pickup/delivery Support

Dogwood Coffee Co. 3001 Hennepin Ave. dogwoodcoffee.com

Roasting schedule continues; packing and shipping beans

Webstore orders typically roasted within a day and shipped the following day. Ground beans available as requested in order notes. Home brew guides available on website.

Shipping through online store.

Tip baristas at tinyurl.com/ tip-dogwood Proceeds from BE The Change Unisex Tee benefit Dogwood staff: tinyurl.com/ be-the-change-tee

Dogwood is in the final stages of certifying the roasting facility for organic production. Pompadour Salon 3743 Nicollet Ave. pompadourmpls.com

Product pickup or Email to get products via curbside delivery available pickup or delivery. while Pompadour waits to reopen

Yes

10% of gift card sales go to Second Harvest Heartland

Tower Games 3920 Nicollet Ave. towergamesmn.com

Curbside pickup through The Lowbrow

If you place an order on the Tower Games Webstore by 1 p.m. and you then place an order at The Lowbrow for curbside pick up for that evening (or the next day), they will bring out your food and Tower order. E mpty game room is converted into shipping area.

Pickup at The Lowbrow with restaurant order. Shipping through online store.

eGift cards available

Hola Arepa 3501 Nicollet Ave. holaarepa.com

Curbside pickup and delivery

Order and pay in advance; orders brought out to parking lot; 15% service charge on all orders, additional FOH tips appreciated.

Yes

Curbside chips and salsa sale raised more than $8,500 for Hola Arepa kitchen staff

Mimosa kits available: Hibiscus Sangria Spritz mix with a bottle of cava, recommended for pairing with chicken and cachapas or breakfast arepa. La Société Du Thé 2708 Lyndale Ave. la-societe-du-the.com

Mail order and pickup

Call ahead, wait outside, place payment in receptacle. “This sounds like a Soviet era transaction, an exchange of prisoners but what the hell: You want to be well and so do we.”

Yes

A16 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com FROM SENIOR HOMES / PAGE A1

Two residents have died of the virus in Mount Olivet’s 155-bed nursing home in Windom, with a total of six residents testing positive. All three homes have been working closely with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to contain the virus. Of the 53 known deaths from the coronavirus in Minneapolis as of April 28, 44 are linked to senior care facilities. About a third of the city’s 401 cases have been associated with senior homes. Other Southwest Minneapolis homes with confirmed exposures include The Villa at Bryn Mawr and The Waters on 50th in Fulton. At least 13 patients have died from COVID-19 at the Catholic Eldercare nursing home in Northeast, according to the Star Tribune. Preventing spread in senior homes is a priority for MDH, since the virus poses elevated risk for the elderly and those with certain pre-existing conditions and because COVID-19 can spread quickly in places where people live in close quarters. As in many senior homes, some Jones-Harrison residents are doubled up in shared rooms, with beds separated by curtains. Kris Ehresmann, MDH’s infectious disease director, said that while most cases are assumed to be caused by community transmission, people can transmit COVID-19 about 48 hours before showing symptoms, so the public shouldn’t assume health workers were on the job while “blatantly ill.” “Staff and health care workers need to be present to serve the residents,” she said. “That becomes the challenge. We cannot absolutely lock them down from interaction with the community.” Jones-Harrison is isolating residents who test positive in a closed-off wing on the building’s third floor, and three members of its nursing staff are sleeping in spare rooms at the home to decrease the likelihood of

Staff at Jones-Harrison share a message of gratitude for those in their community who had sent words of support or had donated hand-sewn masks or makeshift gowns. Submitted photo

spreading the virus. Mount Olivet residents who test positive are also being isolated. While Jones-Harrison has had residents living in multiple units test positive, all of Walker Methodist’s positive cases have come from a single unit. “The positive here is that this is all contained to one [hallway],” Walker Methodist spokesperson Sarah Benbow said. That hallway is shared by COVID-19 patients and an undisclosed number of healthy residents, all of whom have private rooms. “Moving someone through hallways and elevators can’t be a better option than keeping them confined to their room,”

SHARE YOUR STORY If you or your loved one have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and you would be willing to speak about your experience, please email zfarber@swjournal.com.

Benbow said. She said Walker Methodist will create a designated COVID-19 wing should the virus spread beyond the hallway. Both Benbow and Jones-Harrison president Annette Greely said a difficulty in containing the virus is the inability to test asymptomatic staff. They said it’s also been harder to get testing for staff showing symptoms than it has for sick residents. Greely said one staff member with a cough was twice denied a test by her primary care physician before she was able to get tested (her result was negative) by Hennepin County Medical Center. “We really, really need more testing,” Benbow said. “If anything is coming in from outside our community, the only way to find it is testing.” Jones-Harrison has been seeking to limit the spread of the virus by requiring all staff who interact with residents to wear masks, goggles and gowns; Walker Methodist staff interacting with healthy residents must wear surgical or cloth masks. On April 23, Mayor Jacob Frey ordered long-term care facilities to limit entry,

suspend communal dining and screen staff and patients daily for symptoms — all measures that Greely and Benbow said their homes had been taking for weeks. Jones-Harrison residents are asked to stay in their rooms as much as possible. If they leave, they’re told to wear cloth masks, though Greely said “they’re not too happy about it.” The mayor’s order asks that residents “who can tolerate it” wear masks outside their rooms. Greely and Benbow said it’s been difficult to obtain some personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly gowns. Greely will get emails from suppliers offering to sell 100,000 medical gowns but she can’t find them in more reasonable quantities. To conserve PPE supplies for its frontline workers, Jones-Harrison has solicited donations of cloth masks and makeshift long-sleeved gowns — “XXL men’s shirts, old housecoats or even old robes.” “It’s been very heartwarming to see the support,” Greely said. Greely said the most painful part of the pandemic has been how families can’t be with their loved ones physically, particularly in the last days of their life. She said it’s been difficult for staff to serve as residents’ only point of in-person contact. “COVID is a very hard virus, especially for this age group,” she said. On April 13, Anita Robinson, 94, became the first Jones-Harrison resident to die from COVID-19. “Special thanks to her extraordinarily compassionate and caring nurses, aides and therapists at Jones-Harrison Residence, who literally treated her like family throughout her stay,” Robinson’s family wrote in her obituary. Staff reporter Andrew Hazzard and MinnPost reporters Greta Kaul and Walker Orenstein contributed to this story.

southwestjournal.com / April 30–May 13, 2020 A17 FROM STUDENTS / PAGE A1

While some may be more engaged, there have been challenges both to ensure the students understand the technology and keep them motivated. “Whatever is hard for typical kids, it’s that much harder for people with disabilities,” said Armatage parent Liz Hannan, whose 19-yearold son, Michael Grace, has Down syndrome. About 17% of students in Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) have a disability that qualifies them under federal law for special education services. Some special education administrator groups had asked for flexibility on compliance with specific parts of the law during the pandemic. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

said April 28 that she does not recommend that Congress ease any core requirements for school districts. In Minneapolis, the district has created individualized distance learning plans for each student who qualifies for special education services, said Rochelle Cox, associate superintendent of special education. While special education staff have continued working with students, there have been several challenges, according to Cox and special education director Sara Stack. One has been getting kids with disabilities devices they need, such as hearing aids, and another has been maintaining contact with homeless and highly mobile families. Remote education has also required more help from families, Cox said. “We’re really having to rely on them to help us,” she said.

Struggling to stay motivated

Transition Plus student Michael Grace meets virtually with his advisory group. Grace has participated in virtual school and enrichment activities during the pandemic. Submitted photo

For Lynnhurst mother Katie Gross, whose second-grade daughter Brooklyn has autism, ADHD and mild anxiety, providing that help over the past six weeks hasn’t been easy. Gross said that Brooklyn doesn’t work as well at home as she does at Spero Academy, the Northeast Minneapolis charter school she attends. Brooklyn joins an online call with her classmates each morning but has struggled to stay motivated throughout the mornings. Doing work via online modules has proven difficult, Gross said, so Brooklyn has mainly worked out of paper packets the school drops off. For Maren Christenson, getting her fourth-grade son, who has autism and attends Annunciation Catholic School in Windom, to do school work hasn’t necessarily been the challenge. He doesn’t need a lot of support academically, she said, but he had access at school to a sensory gym in which he could take breaks.

To replicate that at home, Christenson said, her son goes outside and does “heavy work,” such as climbing trees. Each day, Christenson said, she and her son look at the assignments that have been assigned and write them down on Post-it notes he can rip up once he’s completed them. They try to complete one or two of the assignments before a 10 a.m. class Zoom call before more independent work. The teacher checks in with the students again at 1 p.m., and it’s often late afternoon — past 4 p.m. and sometimes closer to 6 p.m. — before he’s done for the day. “It’s been a challenge trying to get his work done while also doing my work,” said Christenson, who runs support groups for parents with autism and is on the board of the Minnesota Autism Council. Christenson said kids with disabilities often have a whole team of support staff, including speech pathologists and nurses, with whom they work while in school. Parents are having to fill those roles themselves during the pandemic, which, she said, isn’t easy. Caez lost her freelance consulting job because of the pandemic, which has freed up her daytime schedule, but she’s still challenged by the responsibilities she’s taken on. “No one really prepares you to be your kid’s teacher,” Caez said.

‘Connecting with the content’

Southwest High School 10th-grader Brynn Sexton, who has an intellectual disability, said she has missed school during the closure but that she’s maintained all A’s. She said her favorite virtual class has been the 3 Strings adapted guitar class, which brings together kids with disabilities and their mainstream peers to play popular music. Brynn’s parents, Sally and Tony Sexton, said her teachers have customized assignments to better meet her needs, though they said it requires a lot of support. They said she has become more comfortable with

video meetings and her new routine since remote school started and that her teachers have done a great job of connecting with her. Tony said he feels like Brynn is “connecting with the content” even more at home, though she likes being at school. She has gotten overwhelmed and lost track of assignments when there have been a lot of emails, but her parents have been working with her case manager to declutter her virtual space. Supporting Brynn during remote education has required a lot of work, both Tony and Sally said. They said she looks forward to virtual social events, such as a dance company that has moved its classes online. It’s a similar story for Michael Grace, who attended Southwest High School through last school year and now attends MPS’ Transition Plus program four days a week. Since school was cancelled, Grace has been meeting virtually each day with his advisory group. He also has received virtual speech therapy, worked virtually with his case manager on a project and participated in weekly virtual bingo games and dance parties. In addition to school activities, he has been training online for a summer internship program and has participated in virtual social and enrichment activities, such as dance and cooking classes and unified Special Olympics. Hannan said Grace’s teachers have gone out of their way to make remote education successful, noting that the Transition Plus principal hand-delivered a package of writing materials to their home. She said Grace has needed more help than most students in figuring out how to use the technology but that he’s been figuring it out. While she and the other parents all said they appreciate the efforts of school staff during the closure, there appears to be one thing on which everyone agrees. “We’re looking forward to being together again,” Cox said.

A18 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com

Voices from the pandemic

Stories of coronavirus in Minneapolis How do you tell the story of what it’s like to live through a pandemic? Throughout this crisis, the Southwest Journal is keeping in touch with a selection of local residents — a senior home staffer, a religious leader, a retired couple, a pair of small-business owners and a Hennepin County commissioner. All interviews are edited for length and clarity. Reporting for this project is by Zac Farber, Nate Gotlieb and Andrew Hazzard.

Brenda Howard-Larson, therapeutic rec director, Mount Olivet senior home

“It’s easy when people are isolated to fall into modes of depression or loneliness.” TUESDAY, APRIL 21 I’ve got a degree in Christian ministry, a degree in psychology and counseling, and a masters in marriage and family therapy. I got into senior living in 2005 and just fell in love with it. I feel like I can put all of who I am into it. I’ve got a big drive — I live in Hudson, Wisconsin — but this is where I want to be. I just love the senior population and helping them understand that there’s such good vital living. So many people feel like this is the end of the road, and it’s not. We have so much fun and so much joy. This has been a hard time to see our people not able to get together and not able to connect. The whole therapeutic rec department is about keeping the spirits up of all the residents who are here and keeping them connected even though they can’t be. We’ve tried to fill in the gaps and replace our old programs with new creative ones and ways to keep residents happy and comfortable. We’ve incorporated hallway bingo, which is really fun. Each resident has a bedside table that lifts and lowers. They’re able to come to the doorway of their room and look out. They can see each other, but they’re 6-feet-plus apart. A staff member goes up and down the hallway, wearing a face shield and mask, calling the bingo and making it really fun. We have to keep face masks on all the time. We can’t take them down ever — not to talk, not for anything. We’ve also done crafts. We prepare all the different supplies they need — with gloves on — and put them in sealed baggies. We’ve bought so many baggies we should buy stock! And then we hand them out to each of the individual residents. We’ve done some little yarn owls, suncatchers for their windows and Easter bonnets for the ladies and Easter hats for the gentlemen. We instruct them step-bystep and they sit in the doorways in the hall. We also create these leisure packets, with news about the day, crosswords or word searches and often a little gift or note. We have a lot of people in the community who are writing cards and drawing pictures and making bookmarks. Those are processed for 24 hours, and then we can hand them out to the residents. They love those bags. On Tuesdays we’ve had sidewalk shows. We’ve had a circus family come and this week

we’re having a barnyard group bring animals. We had a fellow come with an accordion, and staff spread out on the sidewalk and did the chicken dance while the residents looked out the windows. Some of them were dressed in chicken and cow costumes. We waved at all the cars. It was just a blast. We’ve done a lot of one-on-one visits with residents, keeping that social distance, sitting across the room. We keep our masks on and our face shields. We wash hands before we go in to visit anyone and wash hands when we leave. We’ve been doing life histories. I have 15 staff on the team, and we try to average everyone doing one a day. We have a huge document with questions, and we sit and interview them for a while. And they like that — it gets their mind off of it and they reminisce with us and we get information about them. We’re putting them in a hospitality binder, along with pictures of all the residents. When all these restrictions are lifted, we’ll be able to put residents together — like “Who are the nurses?” or “Who are the sewing people?” We’re getting to know the residents in deeper ways. I’m so proud. Mount Olivet jumped on this so early. We were swinging into those precautions weeks before we needed to be, and I think that’s been really, really helpful [in why there have been no more than four cases of COVID-19 at Mount Olivet so far]. We’ve been transparent — we’ve told the residents, we’ve told families. Of course, everyone is anxious, but there’s a real sweet sense of calm. The residents feel, correctly, cared for and confident in their care. We’ve been able to keep them busy even though they’re sequestered or alone. We do tons of social media visits. We have an iPad for every floor. We do Zoom, FaceTime and Skype. Families can call in and request visits. The load has been pretty heavy, but we’ve been able to handle it so far. I think it’s easy when people are isolated to fall into modes of depression or loneliness. The core of it all, when you’re depressed, is feeling a sense of no-belonging. We still want them to know we’re all in this together. Your psyche is so much part of your health and hope. It’s really important to keep minds busy and keep them connected in one way or another — even though we can’t be. Most of our residents are certainly alone and many came from living alone. Without being able to connect with their loved ones or have anyone visit, they definitely might sense they’re alone. But, really, they’re not. It’s pretty unique how we can remain creatively connected. I have a mother who is 83, and I can’t imagine if she was here and I was unable to be here. That brings it home for me. We feel like they’re all family. My mother lives in Northfield and is living on her own, and she’s been a good girl. She hasn’t left her house and has been using services and other friends to drop off any grocery items she needs. She knits and reads and watches birds. It’s just hard not to be able to see one another.

Marcia Zimmerman, rabbi, Temple Israel

“We have let too much happen that is not OK.” FRIDAY, APRIL 24 There’s so much we can do. There’s so much coronavirus doesn’t touch and that,

I think, is important, while understanding this is a deadly virus. We have to keep each other safe, and we have to be consistent about staying home. I think sometimes people are downplaying how powerful this virus is. It’s become a partisan issue, which is so frustrating. I feel that when I watch protests, people get to have their opinion, but it doesn’t have to be an opinion that puts others at risk. This is not a war of a nation against a nation; this is disease versus humanity. It’s really important for us to know we are not here to point a finger at any one person or people. It really is something that affects us all, so it should bring it all together. No one is immune, but we all experience it differently based on our own situation. I read something about how we’re all in the same storm, but we all have different boats. Some have yachts and some have row boats. We have to be very aware of the social discrepancies in our society and we should be appalled by them. One of the things I’ve talked about is the idea that there’s an illness in our mix but that Judaism is healthy. It’s important to dig into the lessons that Judaism has for us. We are so busy so often that we haven’t had time to do that. You ask Jews all over, “What’s the most important part of Judaism?” And they always say, “Community.” And that’s all really important, but there’s a whole host of treasure over here that you guys have ignored for far too long. So let’s get into that, let’s play with that and take it seriously. That will help you. This virus has shown us as a country, as religious communities, that we have let too much happen that is not OK — the injustices, things that are unacceptable. So we need to be a beacon of insight and peace, and if this virus doesn’t teach us that, then we really need to look at our values. Nobody invited this, but if it’s here, we’d better figure out some lessons. We keep saying to ourselves, “Why is there so much attendance at services and holidays that we haven’t had so much attendance for in the past?” We keep asking why. Is it because there’s nothing to do? Or is it because we are creating meaning for them in these situations, and how do we hold on to that? It’s probably a little bit of all the above, but I think that’s really important. Two of my three children live in town. My other child lives in Boston. We have family Zooms. My kids who live here don’t want to infect us or anything like that. We have very distant hellos, well beyond 6 feet. I do get to see their faces, which is helpful. I haven’t been able to hug them or give them a kiss. That’s going to feel very wonderful when that can happen.

Arminta and Ron Miller, residents, Waters on 50th senior living community

“I’m not happy with the president saying we should drink bleach.” MONDAY, APRIL 20 Arminta: It’s getting long and getting old, but nothing new is happening. Nobody is sick here so far. I heard the aide who was sick is at home recovering, so I guess she’s fine. The Waters is keeping us safe and they keep sending us quizzes and jokes and things to keep us occupied. The daily sheet they send used to be three pages long, but now it’s a page-and-a-half because there haven’t been any drastic changes. I’ve been copying recipes from my own recipe book for my grandkids, and that’s been keeping me busy. When we first got

married, I didn’t know how to cook at all, and I said, “If he stays with me the first 6 months of our marriage, he will stay with me for anything.” He almost starved to death. Ron: I’ve been walking the steps and doing daily exercises in our apartment. The only time I get out is to go to Walgreens once a week to pick up prescriptions, maybe some milk. Arminta: Everybody’s pretty well stuck in their rooms. We got a nice phone call from a gal who had gone and stayed with her daughter when this started, and it was good to hear her voice after so long, even though we couldn’t see her. Ron delivers cards to people to let them know we’re thinking about them. I talked to one of the gals who lives alone, and I really think it’s hard for people who are alone. We have each other and still haven’t had any arguments. We’re not getting on each other’s nerves. Ron: I can’t believe these people who are out there protesting. Arminta: No, I can’t either. That’s just going to set us back. It makes me angry because I think they’re undoing everything that’s been done so far. But then again: We’re safe here, we get food here, we’re lucky. It must be awful for people with families, losing their jobs. So I guess I can’t point fingers at them; I’m not in their shoes.

MONDAY, APRIL 27 Arminta: The weather’s nice and we can’t get out, though Ron went and sat in the sun the other day on our balcony. So it was lucky he could do that. They told us we don’t have to pay for the coffee until the end of this pandemic. It’s because we’ve been being good, I guess. Ron: I don’t know how many of them knew they were paying for it. Arminta: They’re opening up our world, but the bad news is we’re in Phase 3, which means we’re not going to open up anytime soon. Most of the people here are 80 and above, and a lot have underlying conditions, like I have Type 2 diabetes. It’s my birthday this week on Wednesday. We got Kentucky Fried Chicken on Sunday from my daughter’s boyfriend, and I’m going to get a steak dinner on my birthday that my daughter’s bringing. And eight of my family are going to come and stand outside my window and wave and give me hugs. Some of them I’ve just seen on my phone, so that will be nice. We watch Good Morning America and The View, and we still get the Star Tribune every day, because I like to get the crossword. The news is upsetting, because people are getting really angry and it’s kind of sad. Of course, I’m not happy with the president saying we should drink bleach. He’s the leader of our country, and I think he should check things out more carefully before he speaks. Ron: But he never has. Arminta: Ha, I guess. Ron: Some states are coming back early, but we’re not going to know until the late summer if this has worked or not.

Tracey Schultz, science teacher, Clara Barton Open School

“It’s an injustice to kids to lower the bar.” THURSDAY, APRIL 23 Starting this week, we felt like our kids who still needed devices were about to get them, so we could get up and running with Google Meet. Kids who are looking for contact now have a really predictable way

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that they can get in contact with us. We have a lot of kids moving forward with us now and getting into some school-like routines. Every day we pick up a couple more kids. They get their Chromebook, and they get their [WiFi] hotspot. There is a really big learning curve with switching to Google Classroom without any in-person time. If we’d have more time with the kids to plan for this, it would be different, because in class we would have tried a bunch of different things and the kids would have helped each other. As more time goes on, we’re doing that helping from home and I feel like kids are doing a good job moving themselves around Google Classroom and finding what they need. For a lot of reasons, it’s good that I’m giving out work on a Monday due the next Monday. The tough thing about this is it just puts so much responsibility on the kids to navigate. I think a lot of folks, particularly adolescents, are procrastinators. It’s a very delicate balance of trying to be very flexible and understanding and also trying to help teach them to navigate their days on their own independently. For the work I’m sending out next week, I’m trying to be really concise in my directions and have them look really similar from one assignment to the next. I have started to make a summary video for the week and have videos that go with every assignment. That’s where I try to pack in as much teaching as I can. It’s also been really interesting to see parent responses. Some parents feel like, “My kid was super responsible at school. They were turning in all of their work, so they’ve got this online learning in the pandemic thing [figured out].” In a lot of cases, that’s not true. [The kids] have figured out one system, but this is a system they’ve never seen before. The Flipgrid videos have been great. [Schultz had asked students to make videos showing the difference between rotation and revolution as part of an astronomy unit.] Some kids chose to be in their videos. A lot of pets were in their videos and were being rotated and revolved. Some kids don’t want to be in the video, so you can use other things. There are cool effects that you can add to the video. There’s an art element to it, too, that’s fun to see some kids explore. With grading, we have to wait and see what kind of adjustments the school district wants us to make. I’m still putting grades in the electronic gradebook, but I’m being really lenient with late work. One nice thing about having some of their work be on Google Docs is that I can write comments on the work and post it and immediately pop it back to my students. Then my student can look at those comments and essentially fix their work and pop it back to me. There were those opportunities at school, too, but the cool thing about this is it’s as immediate as I can make it. Also, it’s nice for me to go back and see what I commented and put on the work. Sometimes kids lose their papers. It’s much harder to lose things on Google Classroom. Even though things are hard and there are a lot of big struggles, we want to keep expectations for kids high. It’s an injustice to kids to lower the bar, because if the bar is lowered, they’re going to come out of this with less. It’s a worry that we all have: What are they missing? We’ve got to keep the expectations really high, and what’s critical to that is we’ve got to support the kids so they can meet those expectations. I feel like I’ve got a long way to go on that.

Jen and Marcus Wilson, co-owners, True Grit Society gym

“Working out is a really grimy thing. Coronavirus spreads when people expel spit and sweat, and this is the perfect environment for that.” TUESDAY, APRIL 21 Jen: I get angry reading articles about how the “small business” Shake Shack got $10 million [from the federal government]. We applied for an [Economic Injury Disaster Loan], and we haven’t heard jack. I applied for one with the city, and they sent out an email yesterday that said, “We ran out of money, and we’re doing a lottery system, so we’ll give you a call if you get it in a couple weeks.” I’m not mad at anybody, but it’s a little frustrating. I got my degree a couple years ago from Arizona State University after three tries. I was 45 but I just wanted to do it. I had some old credits from the ’90s, but I needed more to graduate, so I took a lot of classes about religion, which I found very intriguing. We’re Christian, but I was studying everything at the time. A lot of people now are in-betweeners or don’t practice religion. I wonder if a lot of people now will start believing in something to give them hope. We believe in God, and we’re not worried about the longevity of things, but we are worried about getting over this hump. We are not at a place where we’d have to shut down from this, but a lot of people are. I’m trying to give some perspective to things so I don’t get all doom and gloom. We have it better than many people right now. If we can get a loan and get some help, that would be great. If not, we’ll continue to do what we’ve done for the past year, which is work our asses off and do our best and build something. That’s what we did for the past year, but this has taken that away. I think people are starting to hit the skids with this, whereas in the first couple weeks people were being creative and trying to exercise. We want to do two things: get people involved and support local businesses. We put together the True Grit virtual marathon. The idea is you get 1.5 miles of credit for every 30 minutes of exercise or self-care that you do in the next two weeks — whether it’s a run, a highintensity workout, prayer or meditation. We’re organizing teams of six with one team leader, usually instructors for the gym. They’ll check in every day with their team. There’s a personal goal of reaching 26.2 miles. If people get to a full marathon, they get a free True Grit t-shirt, and then they keep going for the big prize At the end of the two weeks, the team with the most miles will win a package of prizes with gift cards to local businesses in and around LynLake. We’ve got about 60 people signed up so far.

MONDAY, APRIL 27 Jen: We started the True Grit “Thriving Together” virtual marathon. We have 15 teams and 115

people, which is a lot. Overall it doesn’t really matter what people are doing; I think they really just want to move. We have a lot of members who were doing double days for months. That was their goal: They wanted to move, they wanted to lose weight, they wanted to get fit. Now I think we all struggle with this thing where we’re all eating too much, we’re not moving as much, we’ve lost any of that juju that we had. It’s almost as if we’re trying to get that back but just doing half as much in a different environment. So I wouldn’t say it has anything to do with the actual movement or a favorite exercise — it’s just moving in general. Honestly, our videos online are the same as what we do for our classes. We’re not going to just do all HIIT exercises or yoga; there’s movements and breathing and stretching in there. We try to have different stuff. You can’t be at home doing 100 burpees per day. You need more stuff. That’s the focus of the marathon. Do the self-care, do the mental work, do the physical work, do everything together. That’s how you’ll stay the healthiest. With all the people contributing to us online, it’s everything. People tell us the power of looking somebody in the eye is what they miss. We’re getting a little stressed and anxious right now because they’re opening things up. There’s really no way you can be working out inside and really make sure it’s safe, even if you clean everything. Working out is a really grimy thing. Coronavirus spreads when people expel spit and sweat, and this is the perfect environment for that. We were reading an article the other day that said gyms somehow will be on the first pass of opening through [President Donald] Trump. Even if they tell us we can open, we don’t really want to, just because we can’t keep everyone safe. We want to open, but we also don’t want our members to get sick. That would kill us both — if someone were to get sick if we were open. Even if we open and start running classes again, are people going to come? I don’t know if they would, I don’t know if I would. As we’re coming down to it, we’re getting a little anxious. We get worried about Trump’s agenda, and I know [Gov. Tim] Walz doesn’t have to follow it. We’re just literally waiting to see what’s going to happen. It was easier when we just had to be closed. We applied for the EIDL, and they’ve now replenished the money so we don’t know if we should reapply [or wait on our original application]. It’s like being in traffic and not knowing if you should move into the faster flowing lane or wait for your lane to go. It’s a very confusing time. I’m hoping this lane opens up soon, and we get moving a little bit faster.

testing announcement. One thing that really struck me was the slide he had that showed all the different levers and essentially conveyed there isn’t one thing that will make his team decide to open things up. It’s hard to be patient with that, but I think that nuanced approach is what’s needed. On the testing side, I want to say that Hennepin Healthcare system has been very much part of that work. They didn’t get named in the press conference because they’re a smaller organization than the U of M or the Mayo Clinic, but they are hugely important to the region. They are the public safety net hospital in Minnesota, so I just want to make sure they get acknowledged. As we start to have further discussion on racial disparities in health care delivery and specifically in the context of COVID 19, Hennepin Healthcare plays a major role in addressing racial disparities in health care and I think they need to be right up there. What I’m working on is continued conversation on how to best serve people experiencing homelessness. That’s been an ongoing topic and we’re increasingly partnering with the state on that, which has been good. We’re looking for the state to connect with us and realize we have so much experience in delivering those services and working with partners who deliver those services. I think that conversation is advancing in a good way. We’re also starting to look ahead at our budget for 2021 and really getting ahead on what we expect and don’t expect that to look like. A clear direction county staff have had from the board is that we do not want to raise the property tax levy at all. So in that context, how do we continue to deliver our crucial safety net services? Things are good at home so far. My husband is out right now to change the tires on my [adult] stepdaughter’s bike. He assured me as he went out the door that social distancing is being observed. We decided early on we’d be two separate households. As he left, I said to him, “Are there any treats we have we could take her?” Our ideas were things like some yeast, because she’s been getting into baking. Normally we’d give her some leftovers or a pint of ice cream.

ONGOING COVERAGE Keep reading local residents’ stories as the crisis evolves at tinyurl.com/ voices-from-the-pandemic. Brenda Howard-Larson: tinyurl.com/vfp-brenda-howard-larson Marcia Zimmerman: tinyurl.com/vfp-marcia-zimmerman

Marion Greene, board chair, Hennepin County

“How do we continue to deliver our crucial safety net services?” FRIDAY, APRIL 24 Generally, I’m excited about the governor’s

Arminta and Ron Miller: tinyurl.com/vfp-the-millers Tracey Schultz: tinyurl.com/vfp-tracey-schultz Jen and Marcus Wilson: tinyurl.com/vfp-the-wilsons Marion Greene: tinyurl.com/vfp-marion-greene Barb Joyce: tinyurl.com/vfp-barb-joyce Peter Kumasaka: tinyurl.com/vfp-peter-kumasaka Jesse Vasquez: tinyurl.com/vfp-jesse-vasquez

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A20 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com

Moments in Minneapolis

By Karen Cooper

Christian charity in the time of tuberculosis George and Leonora Christian opened camp for tubercular children on Lake Street

n this time of poorly understood disease and home baking, it might be a comfort to know that Minneapolis has been through this before. And one historic Minneapolis family can be found at the exact intersection of stress-baking and plague. It started with the flour. Just after the Civil War, Minnesota’s farmers started producing a lot of wheat. Some counties seemed to have been planted in wheat from border to border. Millers responded by building mills that could turn out hundreds of barrels of flour a day. Our cold northern prairies produced spring wheat, and when that was milled, the bran was pulverized, turning the flour an undesirable brown color. Today, we call that whole wheat flour. Hired by C. C. Washburn to run the biggest mill in town, a man named George Henry Christian brought in a process to blow off the bran and sift the cracked wheat before grinding. His flour was pure white, soft and perfect. Production grew to 50,000 barrels a day, sales went stratospheric and Christian joined the many whose fortunes came from flour. Christian then turned away from running mills. He invested here and there, in railroads, mining and barrel-making. He and his wife, Leonora, enjoyed their wealth; they traveled and entertained. And first Leonora and then George turned their attention to those who had much less. Of their many charitable efforts, they made the biggest difference helping those with tuberculosis. The first symptom might be a cough. Some people described it as “coughing oneself to death.” It was called consumption, because the sick became thinner, paler and weaker. Eventually the illness consumed them. Around the turn of the 20th century, 1 in 7 Americans and Europeans died of tuberculosis. Known as the white plague, it was thought to come from bad air, perhaps. Or from unclean, crowded, small homes. It was thought to be hereditary, because so often several in a family had it and in other families no one got sick. The same cold climate that grew exceptional wheat was thought to offer a healthful atmosphere, and so the sick came here to Minnesota to get well. By 1890, the disease was well-established in the state. That’s when a German scientist discovered the bacteria that caused tuberculosis. With testing, the asymptomatic could be identified. And there was no sure cure. Before

It was called consumption, because the sick became thinner, paler and weaker. Eventually the illness consumed them.

George Henry Christian and his wife, Leonora, opened a camp for tubercular children on Lake Street and built the Thomas Hospital for tuberculosis patients in Cedar-Riverside. Photo courtesy of Hennepin History Museum

antibiotics became available in the 1940s, the only treatment was rest, good food, sunshine and clean air. At the turn of the last century, tuberculosis killed about 1,200 people in Hennepin County a year. One of them was George and Leonora’s son — Henry Hall Christian. He’d been sick for years when he died in 1905. Leonora became involved with the Associated Charities of Minneapolis and

its Anti-Tuberculosis Committee, which formed in 1903. Its objective was to assist the tubercular poor and to instruct the public in preventing the spread of the disease. Within months, clinics were organized and a visiting nurse program was set up. The Christians paid the cost of the nurse’s salary themselves. The state’s first sanitorium — a special hospital for consumptives — opened in 1907 up near Leech Lake. This was insufficient to help the great number of cases in crowded Hennepin County. Before Minnesota funded sanitoria for the counties, the Christians opened a camp for tubercular

children at Lake Street and West River Road, where Leonora would visit both the children and their families. This successful camp was soon moved to Glenwood Park (later renamed Theodore Wirth) and run with Park Board involvement. The Christians also built the Thomas Hospital for tuberculosis patients, which would in time become part of Fairview Hospital in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. And then they persuaded the county to build Hopewell Hospital to care for tubercular patients as part of the public hospital. Leonora single-handedly convinced Minneapolitans to buy Christmas seals to support tuberculosis care. She bought thousands of them and re-sold them at Donaldson’s Department Store. George and Leonora Christian accomplished all of this in just a two-year span, between 1907 and 1909. When the state finally funded a county sanitorium in 1909, the Christians funded a separate children’s wing and a children’s camp. Leonora continued to personally visit the patients. Later, the Christians also helped found the Citizen’s Aid Society, which had a strong focus on tuberculosis. They endowed the society with $2 million, and today it’s known as The United Way. They left a legacy of public health and public help. Their oldest son, George Chase Christian, continued their philanthropy until his own early passing, and then his widow, Carolyn McKnight Christian, carried on the family’s good works. Nephew William P. Christian founded the Hennepin County Tuberculosis Association. The Christian mansion, on the east side of Washburn Fair Oaks Park in Whittier, now houses the Hennepin History Museum. The Christians gave Minneapolis the process that lead to Gold Medal Flour, still made by General Mills. Coronavirus is keeping us indoors just now, so we bake. And we wait, as people did 100 years ago, for the cure. Tuberculosis was contained by testing and contact tracing and treated by several antibiotics. It is still with us today, though most of us cannot name someone who’s had it.

These 1908 photos show the camp for children with tuberculosis that was set up in Glenwood Park (later renamed Theodore Wirth). Fresh air was the best available treatment for tuberculosis. Photos courtesy of Hennepin County Library

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By Emily Lund

Local farmers react to pandemic Vendors at the Kingfield and Fulton farmers markets share their stories

armers are essential workers. During this unprecedented time, they are still up at dawn to care for livestock, start seeds, make repairs and do everything else it takes to get food to market. Without their hard work and resourcefulness, our plates would be empty. A global pandemic underscores the vital importance of strong local food systems. Farmers around the world are facing new challenges and small farms are particularly vulnerable. Small business owners must wear many hats. To run a small farm, you need to be your own accounting department, sales team, marketing team, operations manager and dispatcher. The new guidelines that protect the health and safety of our community add extra challenges to an already difficult job. As in-person sales drop off because folks are staying home, farmers are working to transform their business model to accommodate online shoppers. Farmers are improving their websites and social media presence. They are learning how to efficiently fulfill orders and arrange deliveries. For many farmers market vendors, this is new territory. We asked a few of our vendors to describe the varying ways that the coronavirus pandemic has affected their businesses. Their responses have been edited for clarity and length.

Liz Dwyer Dancing the Land Farm

We’re changing our ratio of food and flowers to be much more food heavy, which is a little scary because flowers bring a much higher margin for us financially. But we sell to florists and designers for the wedding trade, and people are definitely postponing weddings right now. Overall, our CSA [Community Supported Agriculture] sales are way down. We are nowhere near where I had hoped to be at this time. I think people are feeling uncertain about their incomes and the future, and when a person is caught up in a crisis, which we are

as a whole world, we tend to lose our ability to think about and plan for the future. It’s not a new reality for a farmer to have some uncertainty in our lives — even with established markets and dedicated customers, we never know what the weather will bring or if it’ll be a crazy year for cucumber beetles or if we’ll get early frosts. So I feel like we’re a resilient lot, but we still have mortgages to pay and our own families to take care of. And this year, the uncertainty is everywhere. I’m planting seeds just hoping I’ll have a place to sell our produce. Obviously, our restaurant accounts are on hold, or maybe off all together. Our farmers markets are uncertain. Plainly speaking, it’s now a whole lot harder for folks to get our products, and unless they’re aware, able and willing to seek us out, we’re going be in a scary place come fall.

given all the financial hardships surrounding the pandemic and the stay-home initiative. The silver lining to all this is people are remembering to think locally and do some gardening, and those who can work from home are understanding that commuting via their car to work might not be entirely necessary.

Ryan Carda Pollinator Works

“Customers are stocking up on economical cuts like ground beef and roasts,” says Tamara Johnson, who worked Neighborhood Roots’ “zero contact” market April 23 at Bachman’s on Lyndale. Submitted photo

Tamara Johnson Johnson Family Pastures

People’s orders have been larger than usual for this time of year and a few have shared with us that they have recently bought chest freezers in order to stock up. Customers are stocking up on economical cuts like ground beef and roasts. Our spring inventory is being depleted faster than we would have anticipated preCOVID, however we are not limiting sales as we are uncertain as to how future sales will be. Raising livestock on pasture is truly a slow-food production model. We can’t increase production quickly in response to the current demand, as it takes us two years to raise a grass-fed beef steer and six months to raise a hog. Our kids are home with us instead of in school and day care. This has been a blessing and a challenge. The kids have been able to be more involved in the farm work than in the past — a goal we had set for our family but have had a hard time executing before. The challenge is our young children don’t have the stamina or the patience to be out working on the farm for long periods of time. They are at

Things have been business as usual from a grower’s perspective. The mild spring has made it pretty easy on us. The virus has given us a new challenge with figuring out how to do online ordering. I’ve been working with a friend who is a graphic designer to get something put together so customers can still get our plants. We will have a much larger selection of plants this year. Being on lockdown has had some benefits because we are able to tend to the plants more and spend more time in the greenhouses.

Kristin Thompson Tuttie Fruittie’s

ages where they still need constant supervision, especially since we regularly use farm machinery to move hay to the cattle and sheep and to move building materials around. As a result, it’s like we are short a worker most days.

Andrew Hanson-Pierre Clover Bee Farm

Something we didn’t expect is the big response to weekly orders with home delivery. We needed to sell our crops from our newly built deep winter greenhouse, and when the first crops became available, it was just about the time the coronavirus became classified as a pandemic. Quickly, we were selling out on greens and duck eggs. It’s been a great boost in our cash flow and has really helped give us some relief as we wonder how we are going to pay our mortgage this year

Gardening Angel Garden Design

I have been told some seeds I’ve ordered are now out of stock, my juices that I will be making at market have been postponed until food items can be consumed at market, and I am venturing into online sales for pick-up orders at markets and even home delivery. I’ve been a part of more Zoom meetings than I have in the past three years. For the most part, aside from my anxiety, everything surrounding this pandemic has been a wave of positivity because of people coming together, new ideas being created and farmers really helping each other out. Our goals are the same. We all want to grow healthy nutritious food for people and we will. I’m looking forward to this season because I feel my sense of wanting to give back to my community through food heightened. Being of service to others at this time by farming means so much more!

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A22 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com

st a u

d t n ra

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Photo by Isaiah Rustad By Carla Waldemar

t first it was fun, cooking three meals a day at home after scouring the depleted supermarket shelves. But then you nicked the new marble countertop and exploded a bowl of Campbell’s in the microwave. Oh, for the days of a table for two at 7. The good news is: Yes, you can still do that! Though now it’s your own kitchen table, after a quick run to pick up a take-out order at your favorite neighborhood cafe. And who knows better how to serve its neighbors than The Kenwood? The line-up of cars looked just like the days when moms pulled over for dismissal at the former school across the street. As I waited my turn, rescue workers (aka servers) dashed forward with armloads of aromatic shopping bags. The drill was easy: I simply checked The Kenwood’s website take-away menu and hours, then phoned in my order, credit card info, description of my ride and time desired. Back at the condo, we started the feast with the kitchen’s mushroom soup (16 ounces, $10), which I recommend to Dr.

Fauci as a possible virus vaccine. It’s almost sure to cure what ails you, starting with depression. The only problem is, it’s hard to maintain social distance when fighting your dinner partner for the last lick — it’s that rich and rewarding. It got that way via lots and lots of cream and ends with a long aftertaste of the essence of shiitakes. A few chewy slices garnish the surface, abetted by snippets of chives. It made an elegant prelude to the neighborhood’s beat-all, hands-down best burger, The Kenwood. This icon comes constructed upon a generous soft bun daubed with a Thousand Island-like sauce. The beef comes next — a plump, loosely packed patty of sweet, sweet chopped beef. (“How would you like that done?” I was asked on the phone. “Rare as you can.” “Great choice!” the voice of chef/ patron Don Saunders endorsed, sounding like he’d give me tartare if he could.) It’s topped with a slice of pork belly rather than the usual, often over-cured and over-salted, slab of bacon. A slim square of mild Gruyere cheese comes next, then a fan

of soft and pliant butter lettuce and, finally, a perfectly fried egg, its yolk a shimmer of liquid gold ($16, including option of fries or, our choice, salad — a toss of petite greens and olive-oil vinaigrette.) With it, we drank a bottle of Chateau de Whole Foods’ everyday red. (Since my visit, wine also can be ordered to go.) Instead of fries, we summoned an order of mac & cheese ($7), aimed at kids: thus, toothsome rotini in a mild (OK but barely perceptible) cheese sauce, accompanied by al dente carrot coins and a fruit garnish. Not bad, but not habit-forming. Next, the menu’s lamb shank ($30) — ruddy, meaty, super-tender and mild in flavor under its zippy veil of harissa jam. It’s partnered with spring-green English peas, snippets of asparagus and grape tomatoes, all resting on a tumble of Israeli couscous, adding texture. Other take-out entrees include pulled pork sandwich, halibut and pasta choices, $20-$28). Dessert? Ice cream, so we passed — and had another bowl of that winsome mushroom soup.

THE KENWOOD RESTAURANT

2115 W. 21st St. | 612-377-3695 thekenwoodrestaurant.com

southwestjournal.com / April 30–May 13, 2020 A23

Dateline Minneapolis

By Steve Brandt

What do we lose by reopening Nicollet?

or an even 50 years, much of South Minneapolis has been hoping for a reopening of Nicollet Avenue. The Kmart site represents suburban development at its autophile worst, a continuing scar on the city’s urban fabric. But now that it’s pending at last, the reopening of Nicollet may also be a case of being careful what you wish for. I’m not disputing that the 10-acre acre site is sorely in need of redevelopment. It will yield a far higher tax base with more intensive occupancy than now, with two defunct stores and a vast parking lot that only its flock of gulls embraces. Moreover, the potential for mixed commercial and housing development offers the opportunity for hundreds of housing units, with an expectation that many will offer affordability to those with lower incomes. But what do we lose by reopening Nicollet? One reason that Eat Street has been so successful is the intimacy of its strip of restaurants and bars, its easy on-street parking and the lack of commuter through-traffic bent on getting somewhere else. South of Lake Street, where I’ve lived since just about when the ill-fated redevelopment happened, Nicollet is a street that’s both drivable and bikeable, unless the adjacent freeway is closed for the weekend. Then Nicollet becomes a thoroughfare that’s chancy to cross from a side street, a road on which traffic can take an extra cycle or two to move through a signalized intersection.

The unanswered question becomes how much traffic Nicollet will get if it is reopened. Enough to spur a redevelopment of the several blocks south of the store, which haven’t enjoyed the prosperity of Eat Street? Enough that more established merchants farther south on Nicollet prosper? Or so much that Nicollet is choked with cars, degrading neighborhood livability and creating a milieu that evokes Yogi Berra’s quip, “Nobody goes there anymore; it’s too crowded”? So much that it provokes the same debates over pedestrian safety that are roiling Lyndale Avenue between Lake and Franklin Avenue? So here’s a suggestion: Consider the alternative of redevelopment without reopening Nicollet. That approach keeps the benefit of a revived tax base with new housing. It offers 20% more space for that redevelopment, land that would otherwise be consumed by the public right-of-way. It avoids the expense of a new bridge for Nicollet over the Midtown Greenway while more efficiently using the sunk investment in the one-way pair of Blaisdell and 1st avenues. One plausible argument for reopening Nicollet might be that it would offer a commuter route between Downtown Minneapolis and South Side neighborhoods. But commuter patterns have changed since the Nicollet of 1970. Far fewer people shop downtown. A greater share of South Side residents now work in the suburbs, rather than in the urban core.

In early March, city staff negotiated an agreement to buy out the lease of the Kmart that blocks Nicollet Avenue between 29th and Lake streets. Photo by Zac Farber

We already have those two commuter routes on Blaisdell and 1st that ferry auto and bike traffic between Downtown and the neighborhoods south of Lake Street. Both end as commuter streets at 40th Street. That discourages those who live in the city’s far southern neighborhoods from taking them instead of Park and Portland, which extend as one-ways six blocks farther south. The freeway offers another alternative, including a new southbound exit at Lake that will open in a year or so. Blaisdell does back up considerably at rush hour north of 36th Street, where a fair amount of volume diverts to west of the Chain of Lakes. Arguably that bottleneck could be corrected either by removing parking from

the street’s east side, or by adding a lane of traffic by shrinking the oversized bike lane back to its previous width and adding curbed protection for cyclists. Or maybe reopening the 35th Street exit will relieve the pressure. First Avenue is in rough shape and is especially bone-shaking for cyclists, but it is due for resurfacing this year, and its future configuration is being discussed. So perhaps we owe it to ourselves to reconsider before plunging blindly ahead at Lake & Nicollet to accommodate motorized traffic. Let’s consider whether reopening Nicollet is less important than redeveloping the site. Let’s create an urbanist model that both respects the area’s historic fabric and adapts to 21st century uses.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Parson’s home 6 Wall St. hedgers 10 Seize with a quick motion 14 Carne __: burrito filling

Southwest was happy to celebrate seniors and students last week.

15 Anklebones 16 Piece that starts next to a knight 17 Set of blank pages for notes and doodles 19 Rowboat pair 20 Discards as useless or obsolete 22 Bro’s sibling 23 Ones elected to office 24 Make illegal 25 It comes before the ques. on “Jeopardy!” 26 Unfilled calendar slot 31 Desire 33 Going __: fighting 34 Mangy mutts 35 What people are saying 38 Deuce topper 39 Riles up 40 Snakelike fish 41 Diminutive two-seater 43 Morning moisture

58 Appliance brand

11 Lion’s warning

59 Do as ordered

12 Choice of two

60 Fashion monthly

13 Novels and such: Abbr.

42 Greek cross

18 Amazon delivery boxes: Abbr.

45 Start of a question of possession

61 Battery components, to a doctor

DOWN

21 Recycled container

1 Surgeons’ protection

25 Longtime “60 Minutes” closer

2 Computer data acronym

37 Former magazine aimed at adolescents 43 Conked out

46 Gauchos’ weapons 47 Bloodhound’s pickup

To all our students, families, faculty and community members: We wish you well during this difficult time.

26 Significant __

48 Gumbo vegetables

3 Feds busting dealers

27 Crusted desserts

49 Speedy steed

4 State known for 60-ft.high presidents’ faces

28 “The Clan of the Cave Bear” author Jean

50 Level, as an abandoned building

5 Erodes, as profits

29 “__ chic!”

49 Through many experiences

6 Musketeer pal of Aramis

30 N.J. winter hours

51 For two countries, as citizenship

Please visit our website for COVID-19 resources and information:

31 Wriggling bait

52 “Chat soon,” in texts

southwest.mpls.k12.mn.us

54 Persia, now

7 Engrossed

32 General vicinity

55 Car showroom site

8 Uninteresting

33 Gillette razor

53 Unconvincing, excuse-wise

56 Route-finding app

9 Auxiliary wagers

35 Lb. and kg.

57 Baseball Hall of Famer Willie

10 Airplane maintenance group

36 “Stevie” for Stevie Nicks, e.g.

44 Furniture wood 45 Come out on top 46 Musical gp. that performs summer programs at Tanglewood

Crossword Puzzle SWJ 043020 4.indd 1

Stay safe, take care of each other, and we miss you all!

54 __ Jima Crossword answers on page A24

4/29/20 6:00 AM

Southwest High SWJ 043020 4.indd 1

4/23/20 10:56 AM

A24 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com

Stay In Guide.

In the spirit of social distancing, our regular Get Out Guide feature is turning into a Stay In Guide. We’re offering some great ideas for fun, entertainment and community, while staying safe at home.

By Sheila Regan

DATE NIGHT WITH RED WAGON PIZZA AND ARENA DANCES

YAY

Red Wagon Pizza in Armatage is partnering with Arena Dances for an evening of contemporary dance accompanied by pizza. The event includes a 14-inch pie for two, a full-sized Caesar salad and a link and password to a streaming presentation of Arena Dances’ 2018 performance of “Picturing That Day.” It’s a chance to support a local business and an arts nonprofit during a time when both have been financially hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

When: Thursday, April 30 Cost: $35 Info: arenadances.org/date-night

Fulton artist Piotr Szyhalski, known as Labor Camp, has been busy during this pandemic making political posters about COVID-19. These incisive works draw on the aesthetics of propaganda to look at the negotiations of power, money and greed during times of crisis. Szyhalski, an assistant professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, initially found seven sheets of paper in his basement, which inspired him to begin drawing these intriguing works. He found additional pieces of paper in his basement and got help acquiring extra ink from a friend. “It was like a scene from a movie,” he says. “The fellow left a bottle of ink in one of the Little Libraries and told me where to go for pickup — like a clandestine spy operation!” Szyhalski has continued creating and posting a poster each day since March 24. It’s a great way to get a daily dose of truth-telling.

The Twin Cities Horror Festival had to cancel its 2020 season this year, but they’ve rallied together to put together some frightful entertainment as a fundraiser. The Seven Deadly Sins Soiree, hosted by funny performers Lauren Anderson, Mike Fotis and Ryan Lear, will feature local artists performing around themes of lust, envy, greed, wrath, sloth and pride, plus more surprise sinful delights.

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 1 Where: Streaming on Facebook Cost: Donations, tinyurl.com/deadly-soiree Info: tchorrorfestival.com, facebook.com/ TwinCitiesHorrorFestival

When: Wednesday, May 6 Cost: Free Info: soovac.org and instagram/soovac

AHNALI TRAN AT CREATING CHANGE GALLERY

SEVEN DEADLY SINS SOIREE

PANDEMIC POSTERS BY LABOR CAMP

As part of SooVAC’s online programing, the LynLake area gallery will be featuring artist Alejandro (Junyao) Zhang, who was recently featured in SooVAC’s Untitled 16 exhibition. In YAY, Zhang will reveal a series of performances that navigate issues of identity, connection and public and private space. In addition to Zhang’s performances, SooVAC is running an ongoing art market featuring local artists with works for sale.

There’s a new gallery in town, called the Creating Change Gallery, launched by the John and Denise Graves Foundation. Led by Kyrra Rankine from the Graves Foundation, along with artist and educator Ryan Stopera, the gallery is meant to support emerging artists in Minneapolis. The first artist being presented at the gallery is Ahnali Tran, whose work investigates ways to heal intergenerational trauma. The virtual opening of Tran’s exhibition will be livestreamed with music as well as a Q&A session.

When: 5-7 p.m. Friday, May 8 Where: Instagram Cost: Free Info: jdgravesfoundation.org and instagram.com/ creatingchangegallery

FREE FIRST SATURDAY AT HOME For the first time, the Walker Art Center brings its Free First Saturday to your computer or mobile device, with performances and workshops themed around connecting to family and friends through artmaking.

Where: Instagram and Facebook Cost: Free Info: instagram.com/ laborcamp

When: 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2 Cost: Free Info: walkerart.org

For 40 years Haven Housing has helped break the cycle of homelessness and despair for women and children.

Learn more at www.havenhousing.org

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You can join us in our life changing work.

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southwestjournal.com / April 30–May 13, 2020 A25

COVID CONFIDENTIAL

By Stewart Huntington

#WEAVETOGETHER Marnita’s Table, an organization based in Uptown aimed at reducing disparities and facilitating crosscultural conversations, has gone online to get people to come together during this time of crisis. One host is the Backpocket Podcast, which will co-present “Too Soon? Comedy in Crisis.” Other hosts cover cooking, parenting and more.

When: Through Friday, May 8 Where: Email aamina@marnitastable.org for the Zoom link Cost: Free Info: marnitastable.org

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A26 April 30–May 13, 2020 / southwestjournal.com

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southwestjournal.com / April 30–May 13, 2020 A27

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612.821.1100 or 651.690.3442 www.houseliftinc.com House Lift Remodeler | 4330 Nicollet Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55409 | License # BC 378021 House Lift Remodeler SWJ 091919 FP.indd 1

9/16/19 2:43 PM