PAGE B10
Revisiting Esker Grove PAGE B3
Get Out Guide.
The Loppet Foundation’s new home PAGE B1
July 26–August 8, 2018 Vol. 29, No. 15 southwestjournal.com
DAMOND’S FAMILY SUES MINNEAPOLIS Filed in federal court, the civil suit comes one year after her death
By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@southwestjournal.com
Alleging systemic problems within the Minneapolis Police Department, including a culture that encourages officers to protect one another at the cost of the truth, the family of Justine Damond filed a civil lawsuit in federal court July 23. Damond, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, was shot and killed last year by former Minneapolis police officer Mohammed Noor, who is facing murder charges in a
separate criminal trial set to begin in September. The lawsuit alleges Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, were unqualified, improperly trained, conspired to keep their body worn cameras from recording evidence of the July 2017 shooting and afterwards were protected by the department’s “blue wall of silence.”
Thousands weigh in on city plan for growth By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@southwestjournal.com
As the sun set on a July 22 deadline for community input, residents worked up until midnight to flood the city with feedback on its draft longrange plan. City staff estimate that since late March they received 10,000 comments. Set to be revised and adopted by the City Council this year, the draft plan would allow more housing units and commercial space throughout the city and would design streets with pedestrians as first priority. Critics and supporters alike often express support for the city’s overall goals, such as reduced racial disparities, affordable housing and a clean environment. But how the city meets those goals is contentious. Much of the pushback relates to the potential scale of new buildings. The council may allow single-family homes to split into multiplexes, two- to six-story buildings along transit corridors like Nicollet Avenue and eight- to 30-story
development in busier spots like Lake & Excelsior or Central & 1st avenues northeast. A petition to rework the plan has generated more than 2,800 signatures and more than 1,000 comments. The advocacy group Minneapolis For Everyone reports distributing at least 800 lawn signs featuring slogans like “Don’t bulldoze our neighborhoods.” “This is a dream plan for speculators and developers. It is a free-for-all that leaves every resident who has invested in their neighborhood’s current character at threat of waking up to a vastly different reality in their small corner of the city,” states the petition, drafted by a group of people who said they want to remain anonymous to keep the focus on frustrated residents. “… We know that density for the sake of density will not relieve social ills and likely will exacerbate many of them.” SEE MINNEAPOLIS 2040 / PAGE A12
Attorney Bob Bennett, left, is representing the family of Justine Damond, who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2017. Photo by Dylan Thomas
SEE DAMOND LAWSUIT / PAGE A18
Three vie in county’s District 4 primary Two candidates will advance to the general election By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@southwestjournal.com
Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin is seeking re-election this November for a seat he has held since 1991, but two challengers say it’s time for fresh blood in District 4. One is Angela Conley, a county employee who nearly won the DFL endorsement for McLaughlin’s seat in May. Neither passed the 60 percent threshold at the endorsing convention, but Conley came closest, winning support from 57 percent of delegates after 10 rounds of voting.
The other is Megan Kuhl-Stennes, who worked in zero-waste education and policy development at Eureka Recycling until May, when her position was eliminated. Kuhl-Stennes has the Green Party of Minnesota’s endorsement. The race will narrow after the Aug. 14 primary. Only the top two votegetters advance to the general election. District 4 covers much of the east side of Minneapolis, including parts of downtown, the University of Minnesota SEE DISTRICT 4 / PAGE A14
A2 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A3
By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@southwestjournal.com
FRANKLIN & NICOLLET
Stevens Square Farmers Market David Lee, Yuen Cha and Julie Chang (l to r) of Thao Xiong Market. Photo by Michelle Bruch
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Stevens Square’s mini market — celebrating a 10th anniversary this year — is now open 2 p.m.–6 p.m. every Wednesday. Thao Xiong Market has been with the Stevens Square Farmers Market since the beginning. Some of the workers said they’ve visited as long as they can remember, helping their parents as children. David Lee said they wake up around 5 a.m. on market mornings and travel to the farm in Hastings, where they pick vegetables fresh to wash for the day. Julie Chang recommended the green
1/16/18 9:54 AM
beans, which she’d been eating all day. “They’re super addicting,” she said. “They’re sweet, crunchy, freshly picked — very refreshing.” The vendor operates alongside produce by Lee Vang Farmers Market, as well as kale from Robert Skafte, grown in the nearby LaSalle Community Garden. The market operates weekly through Oct. 10 at the Plymouth Congregational Church parking lot, located at the northwest corner of Nicollet & Franklin. The market accepts SNAP/EBT, Market Bucks and FMNP.
27TH & DUPONT
Two Wheels Bike Shop rebuilds ’80s road bikes Ryan Kamke collects old frames and completely rebuilds bikes with all-new parts, paint and decals. “I don’t just take them, clean them up and flip them. They aren’t even used bikes by the time I’m done with them,” he said. By reconstructing bikes with new parts, he said cyclists never have to worry about a used bike breaking down mid-ride. He said it’s hard to find lugged steel frames, and nobody makes them anymore. “It’s kind of a dying thing, and I like to keep it
around,” he said. “People like the classic look of these, and it’s hard to find decent ones.” Aside from custom bike commissions, Kamke offers $45 tune-ups, a range of bikes for sale, trade-ins, bike parts and repairs ranging from flat changes to wheel building. Kamke is fastidious about his work, and he does it all himself. “You pay less and wait longer,” he said. The seasonal shop at 1014 W. 27th St. closes around November as the weather cools, and reopens every year in March.
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A4 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
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Sota Hot and Cold is chopping and freezing Thai rolled ice cream made with coconut milk at 2829 Hennepin Ave. S. Staff report that Uptown’s early favorites are the strawberry shortcake; the “cheeky chocolate” with brownies, M&Ms and milk chocolate; and the “campfire cooler” with graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallow.
The business launched last summer at the Little Mekong Night Market, and the Uptown location is Sota’s second. Artwork by Gulgun “Gigi” Fingerhut is currently installed throughout the shop. The space’s former Phenom sneaker and streetwear shop has relocated to the North Loop at 115 Washington Ave. N.
AFTER
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Sota Hot and Cold opened in June in the former Phenom storefront. Photo by Michelle Bruch
LAKE & BRYANT
Meyvn Meyvn’s oven cooks bagels, pita and skewers. Photo by Michelle Bruch
Meyvn operates as a bright bagel shop by day and dim Mediterranean café by night. The team moved a bus station and cut a hole in the wall to install a crucial 10,000-pound wood-fired oven, all the while on the phone with two different structural engineers. The oven burns white oak that adds flavor and texture to the bagels and cooks chicken and lamb skewers. The team behind St. Paul’s Saint Dinette — Laurel Elm, Adam Eaton and Tim Niver — tripled the size of the kitchen and added a retractable window to the southside bar, so the bartender can serve patrons on the patio outside. The wine list includes selections from Israel. Featured cocktails include the Bloody Merriam (with dill aquavit, harissa and clamato) and the Żubrówka Ya’ll, which is Meyvn’s take on the vodka tonic with clove and lemon. So far the restaurant is hosting kid outings, business meetings and date nights. On a day
with lots of leftover bagels, staff bagged them up and brought them to 14 local shops. Eaton explained that the Montreal bagels are a bit sweeter, featuring a chewy inside and crunchy outside that’s crispy and flaky. The wood fire gives them a bit of char and more flavor — the sesame bagel is like eating tahini, he said. The menu also features hot pastrami sandwiches, latkes, hummus with wood-fired pita, crudo, matzo ball soup and chopped salad with seasonal vegetables, chickpeas and feta. Elm said the name Meyvn embodies the perfect connotation of an expert or connoisseur, and the spelling evokes the Jewish heritage reflected in the food. “We’re committed to doing the best we can for everyone we take care of,” she said. Meyvn is open at 901 W. Lake St. from 7 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m.–9 p.m. Sunday.
Laurel Elm and Adam Eaton at Meyvn, now open in the former Tinto Kitchen space on Lake Street. Photo by Michelle Bruch
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A5
Find Your
spot for
LAKE & HARRIET
Planning Commission approves affordable apartments on Lake Street The City Planning Commission approved a six-story apartment project at 410 W. Lake St., located at the northeast corner of Lake & Harriet next to Lake Wine & Spirits. The proposal from Lupe Development would build 111 residential units and 1,000 square feet of commercial space. Developer Steve Minn said the entire project would be affordable at 30–60 percent of the area median income, with nine units targeted for homeless veterans. The building would hold two green roofs, murals, a solar panel system and a transit shelter on Lake Street. Planning commissioners originally said a former design at 510 W. Lake St., which flew over the alley, was too bulky, Minn said. He responded by negotiating to purchase the property on the other side of the street at 410 W. Lake St. Now he’s proposing two phases of identical buildings on each side of Harriet Avenue, both with affordable housing and units for veterans. He said that while city staff might be disappointed that retail only amounts to 1,000 square feet, placing retail in an affordable housing project is a logistical “nightmare” and he can’t find more space for it. The proposal asked the city to up-zone the site, approve a special permit to build higher than four stories allowed by right, and build 52 parking spaces instead of the required 55 (following the commission’s design changes, parking is now estimated at 49 spaces). The Planning Commission’s approval went against the recommendation of city staff, which recommended denying the project in part due to the impact on smaller houses to the north. Instead, commissioners voted to step back the north side top floor by 10 feet, a change the developer said he would appeal. Noting the six-story Lyndy project nearby, Commissioner Jono Cowgill said lower density
has become the exception to the rule in the area. Council Member Jeremy Schroeder said he appreciates the developer’s months of work with the neighborhood. Commissioner Nick Magrino said the area needs more affordable housing and the location makes sense between Lake & Lyndale and Lake & Nicollet. Todd Ferrara of Standard Heating & Air Conditioning said his family has owned the property since 1940, and he’s turned away many other offers for the site. He moved about 50 employees to North Minneapolis with the help of the developer, he said. “If we waited longer, we’d probably get a lot more money. We think that this is a great project for the community,” he said, adding that workforce housing is important for the neighborhood. Tommy Johnson from the Uptown VFW said there are less than 200 homeless veterans in the metro, and said he supports the project. A Whittier Alliance committee also voted to support the project, saying they’ve talked with the developer for the better part of a year. However, Whittier residents said they want to see organics composting in the building, custom bike racks on Lake Street, permanent planters, entries that align with the character of LynLake and small commercial spaces. “As the number of available rental units continues to plummet in Whittier and citywide, the market rate for those remaining has continued to rise,” states a letter by Kaley Brown, Whittier’s interim executive director. “While not perfect, Lupe Development’s commitment to providing these units at more affordable rent levels for 30 years through the tax credit program is a step in the right direction for the creation of more reasonable housing options in our neighborhood.”
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The Planning Commission approved a design for 111 affordable apartment units at 410 W. Lake St. Rendering by ESG Architects
NOTED: B-Dubs Express is now open at 1221 W. Lake St., a space formerly home to Tum Rup Thai. Similar small-format concepts opened last summer in Edina and Hopkins, focusing on fast counter service with draft and bottled beer and wine. B-Dubs serves wings, buffalo mac and cheese, burgers and sandwiches available for takeout or dine-in.
Todd Kronebusch, vice president of market development for Buffalo Wild Wings, said in an email last December that the company typically looks for new locations that hold a balance of residences and retail with demographics and spending habits that will support the restaurant. The Uptown location was also chosen for its “dense population with good foot and drive traffic,” he said.
7/16/18 4:10 PM
A6 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
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The Southwest Light Rail Transit project passed another milestone on the long road to groundbreaking when the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority approved a settlement with Twin Cities & Western Railroad in June. The agreements mean Met Council now has control of the entire 14.5-mile SWLRT corridor, which stretches from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie. Twin Cities & Western, a freight rail that operates along a portion of that corridor, will be paid $18.5 million for its cooperation — nearly $2.5 million more than was in the offing when negotiations between Met Council and TC&W broke down last summer. Met Council officials said a deal with TC&W was accounted for in the project’s budget and won’t bump up its cost, currently anticipated to top $2 billion. “This is a major milestone, and it’s very good for the project,” said Met Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff, who noted that an agreement keeps open the possibility that construction work on the largest transportation project in state history could finally begin in October or November. Glenco-based TC&W had fought a plan to reorganize ownership and control of the Bass Lake Spur and Kenilworth Corridor, two sections of freight rail corridor that Met Council plans to use for future light rail service. Arguing that the deal could hamper its customers’ ability to move agricultural products from eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota into the Twin Cities, the railroad petitioned the Surface Transportation Board to block the plan and also filed a lawsuit in federal court. With the signing of the agreement, both have been withdrawn. Now, Met Council officials anticipate the STB will approve its plan, which involves purchasing the 6.8-mile Bass Lake Spur from Canadian Pacific for $27.5 million and
taking ownership of the 2.5-mile Kenilworth Corridor from Hennepin County. The Kenilworth Corridor, which cuts between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles, is valued at $66 million. As part of the deal, the Hennepin County Railroad Regional Authority will become the common carrier for the Bass Lake Spur, a role it already fills for the Kenilworth Corridor, meaning that it is responsible for maintaining freight rail service. In practice, Met Council will take care of most of the track maintenance, reimbursed with fees paid to the county by TC&W. Pending approval from STB, Met Council plans to re-submit its application for a letter of no prejudice from the Federal Transit Administration. A grant from the FTA is expected to cover not quite half of the cost of the total project, and by issuing a letter of no prejudice it would give Met Council to begin construction work before the grant is issued. Met Council officials say they now expect FTA to award the grant in the first half of next year. In the meantime, Met Council has asked the two bidders competing for the project’s civil construction contract to keep their offers on the table for another 60 days. The council had expected to award the contract Aug. 1, but has requested an extension until Sept. 30 so that it can secure both STB approval for its corridor plan and the letter of no prejudice from the FTA. The two construction bids submitted this spring were for $799.5 million and $812.1 million. Met Council officials have repeatedly warned that delays only increase the cost of the project. Asked whether this latest delay would once again require a budget revision, Tchourumoff responded: “It could, but there’s no way to know until we get farther down the line.”
Police charter amendment heads to committee A controversial proposal to give the City Council more direct authority over the Minneapolis Police Department will go before two City Council committees Aug. 1. After an extended debate over whether to even consider the proposal, council members on July 20 voted 10–2 to keep the proposed charter amendment alive. Drafted by Ward 2 Council Member Cam Gordon, it would remove language from the city charter that gives the mayor “complete power” over the police department, instead dividing that authority between the mayor and the 13-member council. The change is opposed by Chief Medaria Arradondo and Mayor Jacob Frey, who at a press event several days before the vote warned that the charter amendment would
“dilute” accountability for the department, get in the way of swift decision-making and lead to a “ward-by-ward patchwork” of policing strategies. Gordon rejected that characterization, and said constituents eager for reforms are urging their council members to “lean in” and help set department policy. Although the charter gives the council a role in approving the appointment or removal of the police chief and setting the department’s budget, members don’t have the same policymaking authority that they enjoy with other city departments. Ward 4 City Council Member Phillipe Cunningham said there were very few options for influencing the department “except to make SEE CHARTER AMENDMENT / PAGE A7
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A7
Team Larry —
Scooter-share arrives in Minneapolis A proposed ordinance regulating “low power vehicles” aimed to get Minneapolis out ahead of the fast-growing scooter-sharing industry — but the scooters got here first. Bird, a company with scooter-sharing operations in 22 U.S. cities, deployed dozens of its electric-powered motorized scooters in Minneapolis and St. Paul July 10. Later that same day, a City Council committee debated an ordinance that would regulate Bird and any similar company planning to operate a scooter-sharing business here. Bird requires users to first download an app, which allows users to locate a nearby scooter and then pay for a ride. At launch, rental fees totaled $1 per trip, plus 15 cents per mile. Riders must be at least 18 years old, and renting a scooter requires scanning a valid drivers license with a smart phone. When finished, users simply park the scooter on the sidewalk. The company says scooter-sharing can reduce congestion and carbon emissions by replacing short car trips. The scooters travel up to 15 mph. In a press release announcing its arrival, Bird said it’s responding to “an urgent need for additional transit options that are accessible, affordable, and reliable for all residents and local communities,” adding that its scooter-rental business is designed around “short ‘last-mile’ trips that are too long to walk, but too short to drive.” State law generally treats motorized foot scooters like bicycles, requiring users to ride in the street “as close as practicable to the righthand curb or edge of the roadway.” Unlike bicycles, the operation of motorized foot scooters is prohibited on all sidewalks. Motorized scooter riders also are not allowed to use the left turn lane as a cyclist would; instead, state law instructs riders to stop at the right-hand curb, wait for traffic to clear and cross the roadway on foot, as a pedestrian. Approved July 10 by the Transportation and Public Works Committee, the proposed city ordinance would set the rules for where motorized foot scooters and other low powered vehicles can be parked in the public right of way. It would also require the businesses to acquire a license or a contract with the city before entering the local market. Ward 1 City Council Member Kevin Reich, the chair of the committee, appealed to scootersharing operators to contact the city and work with staff. “It really is a welcoming, help-not-hinder kind of gesture that we’re trying to do,” he said. A spokesperson for Bird said the company “has submitted the necessary paperwork to operate as a business in each of the Twin Cities.” “We look forward to working closely with the
FROM CHARTER AMENDMENT / PAGE A6
threats with the budget, which goes against my deep respect for Chief Arradondo.” Like several other council members, Cunningham said he wasn’t yet convinced the charter amendment was necessary. But he opposed an effort by Ward 13 City Council Member Linea Palmisano to postpone debate on the proposal indefinitely, saying it was at least worthy of more discussion. Palmisano said she not only objected to the charter amendment, she was also concerned about the tight timeline for debate. To go before voters in November,
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Bird deployed dozens of electric scooters on Minneapolis streets July 10. Lime followed with its own scooter fleet two weeks later. Photo by Eric Best
Twin Cities so that Bird is a reliable, affordable, and environmentally friendly transportation option,” the statement continued. Noting the problems faced in San Francisco, Santa Monica and Washington, D.C. — three cities where scooter-sharing debuted in late 2017 and early 2018 — Jon Wertjes, director of traffic and parking services for the Department of Public Works, said the city aimed to take a “proactive approach” with the low powered vehicles ordinance, one that would both welcome and establish a regulatory framework for Bird and its competitors. “Similar to bike-sharing, these scooter operators have often deployed scooters independently resulting in significant disruption and backlash,” Wertjes said. “This disruption included improper riding and parking of scooters in areas which impede and endanger pedestrians, as well as the damage and or vandalism to scooters on public and private property.” A second e-scooter company, Lime, joined Bird on Minneapolis streets July 23. Lime also operates bike-sharing programs in Edina and Golden Valley. City Council President Lisa Bender said Minneapolis aimed to have “a collaborative and not an oppositional relationship with new companies that are coming to offer transportation options in our city.” “As far as I’m concerned, as long as these scooters are not impeding pedestrians and folks are able to operate them safely, I think they’re a welcome addition to our transportation system,” she said.
it must go through the committee process, be reviewed by the Charter Commission and win approval from a majority of council members no later than Aug. 24. Voting in favor of forwarding the charter amendment to a joint meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations and Public Safety & Emergency Management committees were council members Gordon, Cunningham, Kevin Reich, Steve Fletcher, Jeremiah Ellison, Abdi Warsame, Alondra Cano, Jeremy Schroeder, Andrew Johnson and Council President Lisa Bender. Voting against were council members Palmisano and Lisa Goodman.
5/17/18 12:10 PM
A8 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
PUBLISHER Janis Hall jhall@southwestjournal.com
CO-PUBLISHER & SALES MANAGER Terry Gahan tgahan@southwestjournal.com
GENERAL MANAGER Zoe Gahan
By Jim Walsh
Honk if you stand with #StandOnEveryCorner
zgahan@southwestjournal.com
EDITOR Dylan Thomas 612-436-4391 dthomas@southwestjournal.com
ASSISTANT EDITOR Eric Best ebest@southwestjournal.com
STAFF WRITERS Michelle Bruch mbruch@southwestjournal.com
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NEXT ISSUE DATE: AUGUST 9 News deadline: August 1 Ad deadline: August 1 37,000 copies of the Southwest Journal are distributed free of charge to homes and businesses in Southwest Minneapolis.
By Jim Walsh
E
very night for the last month, Bryce Tache has stood on the corner of Diamond Lake & Portland holding a sign in protest of Donald Trump. It all started in June, when Tache, a South Minneapolis husband and father of two, finally got fed up with the callousness of the Trump administration. Around the time federal officials were separating children from their babies, a friend in Spain wondered aloud to Tache about the lack of outrage being expressed in the streets of America. He made a sign and stood at the corner of one of the busiest intersections in South Minneapolis, near Pearl Park at rush hour, waving and thumbs-upping at motorists, most of who honked in solidarity and gratitude. He returned the next night, where he was joined by a few neighbors, and the night after that, and every night after that. Last week Tache came up with the hashtag #StandOnEveryCorner to spread the word about his commitment to stand on the corner every day from 6 p.m.–7 p.m., with anyone and everyone who’s with him, until Election Day in November. An average of 25 protesters a night have joined him in Minneapolis and in twenty cities and counting across the country. “This is our 30th day,” Tache said July 19, midway into his daily one-hour shift protesting the president, as a light drizzle fell on him and his fellow protesters. “I do inclusion and diversity work. It’s good stuff. As much as I love my job, this is like a thousand times more rewarding and important to me now. “My husband and I were vacationing in Barcelona, and people there were just saying they couldn’t believe people in the United States weren’t out in the streets marching every day, and so on the plane ride back I just made the decision: I feel so empowered by the marches and these other events when I go to them, but they’re once a month or once every two months. I needed to do something every day. “So I just posted something on Twitter, ‘Hey, tomorrow night I’m going to be on this corner.’ And the idea was to make it easy for people, so you don’t have to travel far from your neighborhood. You can do it in a park, a sidewalk, a corner, anywhere. And it just kind of grew. The first night we had eight people. This week we got 32 people.” As he spoke, signs proclaiming “Honk If You Resist Trump,” “What The Helsinki? ” “Make America Brown Again,” “Honk to Dump Putin’s Puppet!” “Honk to Impeach for Treason,” “Wanted: Action and Compassion” and “Make America Kind Again” drew a constant chorus of honks. Carloads of screaming and waving kids and adults flew by. Solo drivers nodded and cruised on. The smiles of the protesters mirrored the smiles of the motorists, and the sheer hopeful surprise attack of it all made the news of the day feel momentarily manageable.
“It’s empowering,” said Tache, who has been joined by friends, family, neighbors, strangers, clergy members and politicians running for office. “It’s every night, and 99 percent of the feedback we get is positive. Our hope is that with every honk comes the commitment to vote. We can register people to vote here, and we’re trying to get people to realize they have to take local action to make change.” The honking enlivens all concerned. Out of the darkness of their own newsfeeds and screens, as the protesters exchange waves and whoops of encouragement from complete strangers, they realize they’re not alone in their despair over some of the most troubled times this country has endured. It’s a brave and laudable act and galvanizing to think that similar scenes are playing out simultaneously on corners across the land. “It’s not an activism. I’m learning this as I go along,” Tache said. “I’m connected with a lot of activists on Twitter, and so I’m learning a lot from them. As soon as Trump was elected, I think a lot of people realized we have to get more involved in our communities and our politics. So I think everyone here would identify as a member of the resistance.” His voice is drowned out by more honking. The honking, in fact, is non-stop. Loud, long, affirmative blasts. Short, tuneful toots of support. A joyful noise, a cacophony of agreement and solidarity for the Pearl gang’s boots-on-theground stand that turns rush hour into a party for progressives, even as the latest horror story from The Truman Trump Show plays out. Afterwards, the purposeful party continues on Twitter each night. The photos are poignant: An elderly couple standing alone in downtown Attleboro, Massachusetts; the 50-strong group in Vermont; five friends in Portland, Oregon; gaggles in Salt Lake City, Utah; St. Petersburg, Florida; Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego, California; New York City; Bridgton, Maine; Naperville, Illinois; Sherwood, Oregon; Englewood, New Jersey; and one woman, Krishna Kaney, who perhaps best personified the movement when she posted a selfie and wrote, from a street corner in Chicago: “I’m going out there even if no one else will.” On the Interstate 94 overpass, the St. Croix Valley Women’s Group flew anti-Trump and -Putin banners to honks and waves from stuckin-traffic commuters. From Portland, Asha Dornfest wrote, “That was one of the most empowering, heart-filling experiences EVER. Friends, neighbors, kids, spouses … and the happy honks of passersby. Feeling totally patriotic and proud.” From Minneapolis, Nuala Foley wrote, “I’m talking to my fellow teens when I say PUT DOWN YOUR PHONES AND GET INVOLVED. Go spend an hour with @brycetache and his passionate group.” From Australia,
#StandOnEveryCorner founder Bryce Tache: “I needed to do something every day.” Photo by Jim Walsh
Melissa Benyon tweeted: “How to start your own #StandOnEveryCorner protestMake some signs (creative and fun) Pick a spot near your home or work (the kind of place you might sit with a coffee) Invite a couple of friends (maybe they’ll bring cookies) Get the word out re: time and place with the hashtag, and get out there” “We’re patriots!” yelled one of the protesters who gathered for the photo that goes with this column, and she’s right and she’s not alone. “I saw a tweet of Bryce’s, and I keep this sign in my car,” said Marti Priest, an office manager from Hopkins, who held a double-sided placard reading, “Impeach The Puppet” and “Fascist Coup In Process.” “For me, it’s about pushing people left. The people that are in their cars, this is not their gig, but they need to know that we’re here, and that we’re loud, and that we’re not going away. So that they can maybe call their senator or do something. They may not come out here and hold a sign, but maybe they’ll talk to their neighbor. Maybe they’ll have a conversation.” “We’ve been coming every night,” said Joan Hilden, who attended the July 19 protest with her husband, Dick Hilden. “It’s the most energizing hour of our day. We live just around the block, and we just love coming here. There are new people every night, and we’re united for a common cause, so we feel like we’re all kin. I said to one of the gals, ‘Pretty soon we’ll have to have a pot luck.’ We’d like to see these on every corner. We think if we get more publicity, people will go, ‘We can do that.’ ” Jim Walsh lives and grew up in South Minneapolis. He can be reached at jimwalsh086@gmail.com.
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southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A9
Streetscape
By Ethan Fawley
Walking, biking and Minneapolis 2040
T
he way we build our streets and neighborhoods shapes our lives. It determines whether we have a real choice to walk, roll or bike as we run errands, go to work and visit friends and family. It impacts whether people of all incomes can afford to live in and get around our city, whether people are safe in every neighborhood, whether air is clean and whether residents can be healthy. Every ten years, cities across the region update their comprehensive plans, which guide long-term development, growth, housing, transportation and more. Minneapolis released their draft plan, called Minneapolis 2040, this spring and recently closed a public comment period. Planning department staff will review thousands of comments and will release a revised draft in late September before additional conversation and eventually City Council approval of a final plan later this year. While housing rightly has garnered much of the discussion around the draft plan, I wanted to take a look at how the draft plan would impact walking and biking. Here are three key points.
‘Complete Neighborhoods’ One of the plan’s goals is Complete Neighborhoods, about which the plan states: “In 2040, all Minneapolis residents will have access to employment, retail services, healthy food, parks, and other daily needs via walking, biking, and public transit.”
This is an important goal because it gives residents the option to live without a car, which is currently challenging in many parts of the city. To achieve this goal, the plan allows more housing to be built, especially near transit, retail, and jobs; allows more commercial development in areas of demand; looks to build new parks where there are gaps in park access; and looks to improve access for walking, biking and transit.
Details to come The plan’s transportation section states: “The Transportation policies of this plan support a multimodal network that prioritizes walking, biking and transit. The policies are intended to achieve outcomes that increase equity in our transportation system, address climate change and reduce carbon emissions, improve human health through improved air quality and increases in active travel, and enable the movement of people, goods, and services across the city.” The prioritization of improvements for walking, biking and transit recognizes the Complete Streets policy the City Council adopted in 2016. While the plan looks to improve walking, biking and transit, it does not suggest drastic change to the current car-focused transportation system. In fact, the plan does not have a lot of specifics about how walking, biking and transit will be prioritized.
That is because the Minneapolis 2040 draft was created by the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development, not the Public Works Department. Public Works has started the process for updating the city’s Transportation Action Plan, which will include many more details. For people interested in upcoming street improvements in walking and biking, you’ll want to track the Transportation Action Plan update. That is where the future bicycle network will be set, where policy around potential greenways will be adopted and where the dity could look at policies to make walking safer through traffic calming. Public Works will be sharing more information this fall and engaging with people on the update. You can learn more about the plan and sign up for email updates at: minneapolismn.gov/publicworks/transplan/.
New development A complaint I have heard in recent years is that much of new development is not very focused on creating a great walking environment. The draft Minneapolis 2040 plan has an entire policy, “Pedestrian-Oriented Building and Site Design,” that looks to change that. This section is one of the most important improvements for walking and biking in this plan. This policy requires new buildings have direct connections to the sidewalk, have windows facing sidewalks, do not have
The city’s draft comprehensive plan prioritizes walking, biking and transit over driving. Stock photo
long blank walls facing sidewalks and be conscious of wind currents and shadows. The policy also tries to reduce the impact of car parking and auto-oriented businesses on walking safety and comfort. It would no longer require car parking in any new development. The policy also would prohibit new drive-throughs and gas stations, which create safety challenges for people walking. It would ensure that bicycle parking, storage lockers and changing and shower facilities are included in more new development as appropriate. Ethan Fawley is executive director of Our Streets Minneapolis.
A10 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
Planning Commission approves Calhoun Towers applications Bader Development planning four new buildings with 744 units By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@southwestjournal.com
The City Planning Commission on July 16 approved plans for the largest residential development proposed in Minneapolis in years. The 10-member commission approved 10 land-use applications for Calhoun Towers in the West Calhoun neighborhood, all by either an 8–1 or 9–0 vote. The City Council will take up one of the applications, which would rezone part of the property, in August. Bader Development is planning to build four new apartment buildings with 744 units on the site, which is adjacent to the Calhoun Commons shopping center and the Midtown Greenway. The site is also steps away from a future Southwest Light Rail Transit station. The project will include two 26-story towers with 24 floors of habitable space, six- and sevenstory apartment buildings and the retention of the 22-story, 113-unit tower already on the site. The project faced opposition from about a dozen West Calhoun residents before the vote on the 16th, with residents voicing concerns about traffic, parking and density during a public hearing. But planning commissioners noted the extensive review the project has undergone and said the increased density is within the scope of the city’s land-use plans. “This project overall … I think is consistent with the policies of our current comprehensive plan,” President Matt Brown said before the commission’s final vote.
The Calhoun Towers project will include four new buildings with 744 new apartment units adjacent to the future Southwest light rail station in the West Calhoun neighborhood. Rendering courtesy Bader Development
Bader purchased the existing Calhoun Towers building and the 4.4-acre site on which it sits in December 2016. The company is working with the city, the Metropolitan Council
and the county to acquire the 0.93 acres north of the existing site. The company is planning to build the four new buildings in phases, starting with the
26-story tower on the west side of the site. Construction of the six-story building will begin next, followed by the second 26-story building and the seven-story building. Bader says it plans to wrap up all construction in 2026. Other plans for the site include a new transit plaza adjacent to the future light-rail station. Plans also call for 50,000 square feet of landscaped green space and a parking garage connected to the three towers with amenity space atop it. All told, the project will include 857 housing units and 856 parking spots. The project will also include an affordable housing component. Bader is planning to reserve nearly 20 percent of the units in the new buildings for renters whose incomes are at or below 60 percent of the area median ($94,300 in 2018 for a family of four). That includes 25 units in the six-floor building and all of the units in the seven-floor building, which will be closest to the greenway and light-rail station. The company says that exact affordability restrictions will be subject to the availability of financing commitments, according to the city staff report. Robb Bader, principal and president of Bader Development, said at the July 16 meeting that his company incorporated most of the feedback the commissioners had provided at previous meetings. Some of those changes included an SEE CALHOUN TOWERS / PAGE A11
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southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A11
Public Safety Update
MINI GOLF & BIG FUN
By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@southwestjournal.com
Bicyclist dies following crash at Franklin & Hennepin A 32-year-old bicyclist died after colliding with a motorcyclist at Franklin & Hennepin avenues July 16, according to police. Police said preliminary information indicates the male bicyclist was traveling westbound on Franklin and entered the intersection against a red light shortly after 11:30 p.m. He collided with a motorcyclist traveling northbound on Hennepin, and he was thrown from the bicycle and landed in the roadway. A car traveling north on Hennepin then struck the bicyclist, police said. The man was taken by ambulance to Hennepin Healthcare, where he died of his injuries the early morning of July 17. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Dana Leonard Michael Schwan, with no permanent address. Both the motorcyclist and vehicle driver stopped at the scene and are cooperating
with investigators. Police said neither of those drivers appeared to be impaired or speeding. The motorcyclist was treated for non-life threatening injuries. The Minneapolis Police Department’s Traffic Unit is investigating. An obituary published in the Star Tribune said Schwan earned the nickname “Worldly Dane” at a young age, and he was generous to a fault — “If he was wearing a shirt and you needed one, he would give it to you in a moment.” “He hunted arrowheads in Texas; went scuba diving in St. Croix, USVI; and skydiving. We lost him so many times in the mountains of Hawaii, we coined the phrase ‘Where’s Dana?’” states the obituary. “Dana’s resourcefulness kept him alive for his short 32 years. His vibrance will be missed because our ‘Freak Show Family’ will never be the same without him. Again, but not for the last time, we ask ‘Where’s Dana?’”
A view of the intersection at Franklin & Hennepin where a cyclist crashed July 16. Photo by Michelle Bruch
FROM CALHOUN TOWERS / PAGE A10
emphasis on “verticality” in the 26-story towers, more material contrast between the taller and shorter buildings and adding primary entrances to the 26-story towers along 31st Street. Bader said the company has met several times with the West Calhoun Neighborhood Council and residents of the existing Calhoun Towers building and has worked hard to incorporate their feedback into the project plans. Still, some West Calhoun residents have reservations about the project. The neighborhood organization’s chair, Allan Campbell, said during the public hearing that the its biggest concern with the project is the uncertainty over construction of the light-rail line. The $2 billion line still needs to secure nearly $930 million in federal funding, though the Met Council says it anticipates that the funding will be provided. Campbell also said he felt the Calhoun Towers project included too many units for the site and that Bader’s traffic study is problematic because it doesn’t address the possibility of light rail not being built. Bader’s traffic study, conducted by an outside consulting group, looked at traffic conditions for the area in 2021 and 2026. Two buildings are expected to be complete by 2021 and all four around 2025. The study found that the completion of two buildings wouldn’t cause a significant addi-
tional delay at any intersection, except for the Lake Street and Dean Parkway intersection during morning rush hour. It says the light rail’s opening in 2023 should decrease the number of trips generated from the project. City data also shows that traffic on Excelsior Boulevard and Lake Street decreased in West Calhoun between 2004 and 2015. West Calhoun board member Richard Logan said he was “stunned” to hear about the reduction in traffic. He said he’s organized systematic observations of traffic going back a long time and that “it just doesn’t jive.” He also noted there have been multiple fatal pedestrian crashes in the neighborhood since 2005. Other residents said there was a lack of parking in the neighborhood and noted that traffic on Excelsior Boulevard backs up during rush hour. Commissioner Amy Sweasy said she understands the concerns of the residents, noting other recent projects, such as Sons of Norway, that have generated opposition. But she said the project has been through many review and design changes and that it has a lot of parking. Brown, the commission president, said the policy adheres to the density ranges suggested for transit station areas and community corridors, in which the site falls. He said the zoning change to high-density is appropriate and that the project meets the requirements, despite the large size of the site and high number of units proposed. “Overall, that density is about what the (comprehensive) plan calls for,” he said.
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A12 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com FROM MINNEAPOLIS 2040 / PAGE A1 Keith, Diane Redfern Ross, Emily Moore and Laura (l to r) share thoughts on the city’s plan for growth at a “comment party” hosted by Our Streets at Moon Palace Books. Photo by Michelle Bruch
A comment party At Moon Palace Books on July 22, Our Streets hosted a “comment party,” where former 7th Ward council candidate Janne Flisrand passed out tablets and showed people how to submit draft plan feedback. Each attendee viewed the plan a bit differently. At one table sat Laura and Keith, who were interested in affordable housing, and Emily Moore, who worried the city would give too much power to developers, and Diane Redfern Ross, who wanted legal measures to stop evictions and require builders to include low-income housing. San Francisco Bay Area transplants Jam and Elena said the Bay Area is rapidly building housing to keep up with population growth. “Basically we don’t want that to happen here. It’s not fun, it’s not affordable and it’s definitely not equitable,” Jam said. They said Minneapolis now has a chance to build mid-level density across the city, something the Bay Area should have done years ago. They said the city’s comprehensive plan, and particularly its focus on addressing racial inequity and proactive work to stop gentrification, makes them feel glad to be moving here. “It makes me feel seen. Especially as a black person, that’s important,” Jam said. Flisrand said more homes won’t necessarily create affordability, but if there aren’t enough homes, people will get pushed out. “Let’s make those ‘Everyone is welcome here’ signs a reality, by making space for everybody,” she said. She pointed to the Mapping Prejudice project, which is mapping locations where racial covenants explicitly restricted people of color from buying properties. “Racial segregation in our city is not just a naturally-occurring thing, it’s something that was shaped by policy 100 years ago, and that we’ve forgotten about. It’s not that there’s malice in people’s hearts, I’m not suggesting
that, I’m suggesting that policies have a long shadow, even if we don’t notice the policies themselves,” she said.
Debate over density Peter Mason said people who “won the lottery” in decades past shouldn’t prevent others from enjoying homeownership. From his home in East Isles, he currently sees a duplex, a triplex and a nearby four-story apartment building. “People don’t realize it, because it’s been there,” he said. “… As a city we should focus on housing people and not worry so much about how that can affect small little things. Where are our priorities?” Should we focus on shadows that a singlefamily house could also generate, he said, or focus on allowing more neighbors to also enjoy the city? As a person working to end homelessness, CARAG resident Matt Lewis said he sees the impact of scarce housing firsthand. “A healthy vacancy rate gives power to people who want homes, rather than landlords,” he said in an email. Lewis said he feels lucky to have found a home in a fourplex as an alternative to an expensive single-family home. “Many of the types of homes that would be
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allowed under Mpls 2040 already exist in those neighborhoods, and the comp plan would just make them legal to build again,” he said. Some critics of the plan said the density under consideration takes the city a step too far. Carol Becker, a co-founder of Minneapolis For Everyone, said growth should be concentrated downtown, near the University of Minnesota and near high-frequency transit. The city has more than enough land to continue to do that, she said, pointing to opportunities for development near East Lake Street. “We do not need to radically upzone the whole city,” she said. “… We know the city will grow. We don’t need giant towers to accommodate this growth. We just need to add 10 percent more.” Fulton resident Colleen Kepler said the city isn’t proposing the infrastructure to handle the upzoning under consideration. East Calhoun resident Lara NorkusCrampton published a letter in Southside Pride that said housing choices in new developments tend to be unaffordable, and said she worries that up-zoning would lead to demolition of existing affordable housing. City officials are currently exploring “inclusionary zoning” policies that would require a portion of new units to be affordable.
Becker said she thinks a substantial portion of new units — perhaps 20 percent — would need to be affordable, otherwise the city would only exacerbate affordable housing problems with new construction. A packed July meeting at the Uptown VFW became heated and emotional, with residents raising concerns about developers buying properties to build new fourplexes. They pressed for answers about how similar proposals have worked in other cities. The ward’s former council member, Meg Tuthill, said the city hands out building variances to developers like “candy.” Lisa McDonald, a resident of East Harriet and a former council member representing the Wedge and Whittier, said she worries neighborhood voices wouldn’t be heard to influence new development proposals. Under the draft plan, city officials could grant height above four stories if proposals meet the city’s overarching goals. One developer reached for comment said the plan might need revision. “It appears the plan was crafted with good intentions, but likely needs a reboot or at least a slow down,” developer Curt Gunsbury, owner of Solhem Companies, said in an email. “Developers would likely profit from development, which is obvious. But targeting developers as winners seems to be a political statement that avoids other facts.” Developer Dan Oberpriller of North Bay Companies said he thinks the plan is thoughtful. Minneapolis has a shallow base of developers and contractors, he said, so changes would take place over many years. “If it doesn’t make sense, it’s not going to happen. You’re not going to put a four-story building in the middle of a neighborhood,” he said, explaining that the plan directs density to higher-traffic streets.
Debate over driving One policy idea would require new buildings to include retail in areas with the most residents, pedestrians and transit. SEE MINNEAPOLIS 2040 / PAGE A13
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A13 FROM MINNEAPOLIS 2040 / PAGE A12
Oberpriller said it’s expensive to build commercial space, but he said people want to live near dry cleaners and coffeehouses. Julia Curran, a car-free resident near the Hennepin corridor, said she’s interested in the plan’s proposal for “complete neighborhoods.” She said she’d appreciate more commercial space, allowing people to gain extra income by doing hair out of a living room, for example. More dense, walkable neighborhoods could reduce transportation emissions, said Katie Jones. She said she’s happy to see policy ideas that would transition away from fossil fuelderived natural gas for heating. “Our electricity from Xcel is getting cleaner, because more of the grid is coming from renewables,” said Jones, who works in the energy industry. “A larger portion of our emissions is coming from natural gas. And we don’t have an easy, quick way to reduce that yet. … The transition from natural gas is going to be much more difficult.” (She’s experimenting with one idea. She recently installed an expensive cold climate airsource heat pump at her triplex in the Wedge. The technology can draw heat from the air to heat a home, she said, even on cold days.) Driving is last priority for street design in the city’s policy goals, which first focuses on walking, biking and transit. That’s a concern for Becker, who said families who rely on driving might be hurt by the plan. She pointed to Metropolitan Council stats that show households with children take nearly 14 trips per day, while working adult households who are not in school take six trips per day. She added that new housing tends to have fewer bedrooms, which also hurts prospects for families.
CARAG devoted committee meetings to the plan, but they didn’t reach a consensus about how to respond. Shawn Smith, chair of the Kenwood Isles Area Association, said Kenwood residents worry that with the “guard rails” off, they could see an Uptown-style building landing next to historic Kenwood homes. The association opposes any “Corridor 4” designation (allowing up to four stories by right), citing harm to the neighborhood’s historic nature, Kenwood School, the Shoreland Overlay District and a prior agreement related to Southwest LRT that the Kenwilworth Corridor remain parkland. “I think where a lot of the concern comes from is fear of the unknown,” Smith said. “The worstcase scenario of what could happen might be very different from what will actually happen.” But the neighborhood voiced support for rental that blends in, like the renovated garages and multiplexes built inside historic structures that Kenwood holds today. The Lynnhurst Neighborhood Association distributed a survey, and a majority of the 290 respondents said they oppose the plan’s zoning proposals. The neighborhood group submitted a letter to the city that said the draft plan has become a divisive force in the community. “Minneapolitans are part of a nation in which critically important decisions have become endlessly divisive, with compromise and consensus replaced by winner-take-all votes,” states the letter. “In Lynnhurst, the draft plan thus far has become the local manifestation of this disheartening national political climate. … Will the vote the City Council takes on it feel like consensus democracy, or be yet another example of a pre-ordained win for Faction A over Faction B, creating yet another set of resentments troubling the future of Minneapolis for decades?”
Debate within neighborhood associations
For more information about the draft plan, visit minneapolis2040.com.
Given the complexity of the plan, many neighborhood groups didn’t submit a formal response.
Armatage Neighborhood Assoc SWJ 072618 H12.indd 1
— Nate Gotlieb contributed to this story
MnDOT seeks consultant for Stone Arch Bridge repairs By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@southwestjournal.com
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is seeking a consultant to plan out repair work to the Stone Arch Bridge, after receiving $1 million in funding for the project this spring. The agency is seeking a consultant to scope out the project, which will address the bridge’s corroding metal components and cracking mortar, concrete and stone masonry. MnDOT hopes to find a consultant by January and begin construction in early 2020, pending the availability of funding, said Amber Blanchard, state bridge planning and hydraulics engineer. The procurement process comes several months after the state Legislature appropriated $1 million in bonding money to MnDOT for the 135-year-old bridge, which connects downtown Minneapolis with Northeast and the University of Minnesota. MnDOT had requested nearly $13 million for the project, which would have allowed for the inspection, final design and construction of the bridge, in addition to the scoping work. But the project instead received just $1 million, which just allows for the agency to begin planning for the repairs. MnDOT typically uses Trunk Highway Funds to pay for capital projects, but the state constitution does not allow it to use those funds for the Stone Arch Bridge repairs. That led the agency to request general-obligation bonds for the project. The agency also needs money to fund yearly above- and underwater inspections of the bridge, which together cost slightly less than
$100,000, Blanchard said. MnDOT has funds for this year’s inspections but has limited funds to put toward future inspections, she said. Blanchard said the total funding MnDOT needs to complete the bridge repairs could still change. MnDOT has submitted several requests for funding to repair the bridge in recent years, the agency noted in its request to the Legislature this past January. That includes a $2.5 million capital request in 2016. Estimated project costs have increased significantly since then because of deficiencies turned up in bridge inspections, according to the agency. The agency noted that the bridge’s mortar will need to be replaced because of its poor condition and that stone-replacement costs have doubled since previous inspections. MnDOT purchased the Stone Arch Bridge from Hennepin County in 1992, working out an agreement with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board the next year to convert it into a pedestrian and bicycle path. The county had owned the bridge for several years after purchasing it from the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1989. The bridge is part of the Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park, which has more than 2.1 million visitors each year, according to the Park Board. That makes it the most heavily traveled pedestrian bridge on the entire course of the Mississippi River, the Park Board says. Several Park Board commissioners held a rally earlier this year to advocate for the Legislature to fully fund the repairs.
7/18/18 11:11 AM
A14 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com FROM DISTRICT 4 / PAGE A1
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Angela Conley voteconley.com
Angela Conley traced the genesis of her firstever run for public office to a question she asked herself about two-and-a-half years ago. A county employee, she’d noticed the diversity of rankand-file staff wasn’t reflected in upper management, and she wondered: Had a person of color ever served on the Hennepin County Board? The answer was no, not in its 150-year history. “I respect Peter’s leadership, but we do need to be reflective of the place we’re serving, and we do need different perspectives on the board,” she said. Conley has worked in state and county government for two decades and is currently the county’s operations coordinator for the Minnesota Family Investment Program, which provides cash and food assistance to the working parents of low-income families. It’s a system Conley understands intimately, having received food, childcare and emergency housing assistance from the county as a young woman. “And I say that was the beginning of my career because it was then I discovered so many of the gaps and how hard it was to access the system and how much we put on families who are poor,” she said, adding that she went to work for the county not long after getting off of assistance. Among Conley’s priorities if elected is creating a racial equity advisory council made up of diverse citizens that could advise the board on its efforts to reduce disparities. She would make changes to integrate county services so that families with multiple needs aren’t juggled between multiple case managers. And she would focus more of the county’s affordable housing efforts on transitional housing for people coming out of homelessness, a priority inspired by her experience as a case manager for Our Savior’s Housing.
Megan Kuhl-Stennes meganforhennepin.com
Located on the edge of downtown Minneapolis near Target Field, the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center, or HERC, creates electricity by burning garbage. Megan Kuhl-Stennes would like to see it go away. Kuhl-Stennes said she doesn’t just want to shut down the HERC, she wants to make it unnecessary. The top priority for the firsttime candidate is moving Hennepin County Deer Run Golf Course SWJ 051718 4.indd 1
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down the path toward zero waste, which she described as her “big passion.” It was a passion that drove her work at Eureka Recycling, where she was a zero-waste education manager and the associate director of policy, advocacy and fundraising until her position was eliminated this spring. She advocated on behalf of Minneapolis’ “bring your own bag” ordinance, which would have eliminated most single-use plastic bags until it was blocked by the state Legislature, and an effort in St. Paul to ban any to-go packaging that can’t be recycled or composted. Other top priorities for Kuhl-Stennes include fostering more community engagement in county-level policymaking and improving the lives of working families. If elected, Kuhl-Stennes would work to make childcare more accessible and affordable, and her policy platform also includes piloting a basic income guarantee. Under such a system, Hennepin County — which currently operates with a roughly $2 billion budget — would make regular guaranteed payments to residents, with the goal of eliminating poverty and homelessness. Those are ambitious goals, she acknowledged, but Kuhl-Stennes said she wants to bring big ideas into the District 4 race. “We have to be looking at visionary leadership to solve all the myriad problems we have with inequity,” she said.
Peter McLaughlin petermclaughlin.org
Peter McLaughlin won his first county board election in 1990, and he said recently that his decision to run for a ninth time was an easy one. Angry about the rightward drift of the country under the Trump administration, McLaughlin said it’s up to local government to fight back. “We sure as heck aren’t calling Washington for help anymore,” he said. McLaughlin touted a “record of achievement in hostile environments on tough issues,” like transit. Despite the opposition, he said, the build-out of the area’s commuter and light rail network has been “an enormous success,” with both light rail lines and the Northstar Commuter Rail Line setting ridership records in 2017. His top priority if re-elected would be building on the county’s efforts to increase access to affordable housing and reduce homelessness. McLaughlin would put the county’s support behind aspects of the city’s draft comprehensive plan, Minneapolis 2040, that promote affordability and density, including a proposal to open neighborhoods to fourplexes, and would increase county investment in the incentives that encourage the development of new affordable units. McLaughlin said the county should expand the Hennepin Pathways job-training program, which he argued was essential for reducing income disparities, and pursue new highereducation partnerships. A third priority for McLaughlin would be to strengthen the county’s mental health services, adding new resources to unclog a “jammedup” system and additional housing. McLaughlin said he has heard the calls for increased diversity on the board and supports them. But he noted his is not the only open seat in 2018, and McLaughlin said he believes he is the “strongest of the candidates.” “I try to do as much as I can to balance the scales to give everyone in this community a decent shot,” he said.
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A15
U of M study finds increase in transit accessibility By Austen Macalus
The Twin Cities saw a 7 percent increase in transit access to jobs in 2017 compared to 2016, making it easier for commuters heading to work by bus or train, according to recent study results by the University of Minnesota’s Accessibility Observatory. The annual Access Across America report, which looked at the 49 most populous U.S. cities, ranked the Minneapolis metro area 13th nationally for connecting workers to jobs by transit. “We’re ahead of the curve in terms of providing transit access to the jobs we have,” said Andrew Owen, the director of the Accessibility Observatory. New York City, San Francisco and Chicago topped the list. Kansas City, which saw a 17 percent increase, had the largest growth in the number of jobs accessible by transit. Minneapolis, comparatively, had the ninth largest increase. The findings are a step in the right direction for the region, according to Owen. “These are the increases that matter the most,” Owen said. “I look at cities as fundamentally opportunity engines. They are places people go in order to reach things.” The rankings reaffirm the everyday impact of public transportation, said Alene Tchourumoff, chair of the Metropolitan Council. “Our objective has always been to provide access to jobs and opportunities across the region,” Tchourumoff said. “It really does demonstrate the fact that the investments that we’re making in transit make sense and that they’re working.” Ridership on the region’s transit system — which includes over 200 bus routes, two light
rail systems, and a commuter railway — has reached over 90 million riders in each of the past five years. Last year, transit ridership in the region topped 95.4 million, according to the Met Council. And transit has played an even larger role during construction on Interstate-35W. Bus routes along the corridor have posted double-digit increases in ridership since construction started. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he would like to see more transit development, which provides economic benefits for the city. “The study reinforces what we already know: A stronger transit system means a stronger and more inclusive economy,” Frey said. The Twin Cities currently has around 1.8 million jobs. According to the Accessibility Observatory’s study, the average worker in cities can now reach over 18,000 jobs within a half-hour travelling by transit. Owen highlighted the recent opening of the A Line, a bus rapid transit (BRT) service that travels between Roseville and Minneapolis, as an important contributor to the region’s jump in job access. “That played a pretty important role in the overall 7 percent increase,” Owen said. “It was a really well-planned service in terms of it’s already drawing high ridership.” The A Line increased ridership along the route by over 30 percent after its opening in 2016, according to Met Council figures. In 2017, the service provided 1.5 million rides and is on track to beat those numbers this year. “The A line is a great example of an opportu-
A recent study out of the University of Minnesota shows more Twin Cities residents are connected to jobs by transit. File photo
nity for us to look at how we (can) enhance the bus services that we have today,” Tchourumoff said. “We’re driving people to take more transit.” In coming years, the Met Council is hoping to add 10 additional BRT lines throughout the Twin Cities. BRT lines, like the A Line, offer faster and more efficient service, said Tchourumoff, by making less stops and more frequent trips than standard bus routes. The C Line is set to start operating in 2019. The service, which will connect Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis via Penn Avenue, is estimated to run around 25 percent faster than existing lines. But other BRT projects have run into financial hurdles. The Legislature withheld funding last session for the proposed D Line, planned to run between Brooklyn Center and the Mall of America. Mayor Frey said he was disappointed by the decision. “The neighborhoods served by the rapid
transit [D Line] will have even better access to jobs centers in Minneapolis,” Frey said. “It’s a common-sense idea.” Overall, the C Line and D Line are part of transit overhaul that will connect an additional 500,000 people to around 300,000 jobs, according to Met Council spokesman John Schadl. Recent transit expansions correspond with the metro region’s population boom. The Twin Cities experienced a 7.5 percent population growth rate since 2010, bringing the metro area’s population up to 3.6 million, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Last year alone, the metro area grew by 43,000 residents. And growth isn’t expected to stop any time soon. Met Council projections put the Twin Cities on track to add nearly a million people by 2040. Officials expect demand for transit to increase by 80 percent in that time, according to Tchourumoff. Tchourumoff said more transit options will be necessary to serve new residents. “We need to plan for how they’re going to move around our region,” Tchourumoff said. “Ultimately, we’re going to have to invest in our transit system.” Owen saw an opportunity for accessibility to grow even more in coming years. He said it would require smart long-term planning and coordinating new transit services to existing jobs and high density housing areas. “It matters a lot where the growth is happening,” Owen said. “A region that fails to grow accessibility is in the long run a region that fails.”
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A16 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@southwestjournal.com
Nonprofit offering info sessions for Master Water Stewards program The nonprofit Freshwater Society is hosting information sessions for its Master Water Stewards program over the next month. The St. Paul-based organization and its partners will host six sessions between July 26 and Sept. 4, including one July 31 at Unmapped Brewing in Excelsior. The nonprofit also has sessions scheduled for Aug. 7 at Smith Coffee & Café in Eden Prairie and another that day at REI in Bloomington. The sessions come as the society prepares to hold the Master Water Stewards program for a seventh time since starting it in 2013. Participants take a series of online and in-person courses over the course of a year, before completing a capstone project to earn their certification. Program leaders and participants say the stewards learn about everything from the basic science of water runoff to best practices for engaging their communities. They also meet like-minded people who share a passion for environmental topics. “It kind of builds into a community and really kind of fulfilled a niche in my life,” said Joe Knaeble, a Lowry Hill East resident who completed the program. The Freshwater Society started the program as a three-year pilot, working with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District to develop a core course and recruit participants. The organization expanded the program in 2016 to include watershed districts and management organizations across the Twin Cities, including the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization based in Northeast Minneapolis. Over 250 people have completed the program since 2013, according to Deirdre Coleman, program coordinator for the Freshwater Society. She said that the organization typically enrolls about 80 people in the program each year. The program is open to any adults who live within the boundaries of the Freshwater Society’s partner watershed districts and management organizations, including the Minnehaha
Minneapolis providing no-cost Home Energy Squad visits Master Water Stewards learn about ways to reduce stormwater runoff, such as by planting rain gardens. Photo courtesy Freshwater Society
Creek and Mississippi watershed organizations. The organization requires participants to attend an info session. Nutrient pollution is one of America’s most widespread, costly and challenging environmental problems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More than 100,000 miles of rivers and streams and close to 2.5 million acres of lakes, reservoirs and ponds have poor water quality because of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, the agency says. Too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the water cause algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle, according to the agency. Significant increases in algae harm water quality, food resources and habitats and decrease the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive, the agency says. Nutrient pollution in water bodies can come from agriculture, stormwater, wastewater and home products, according to the agency. The Freshwater Society primarily focuses on stormwater runoff and groundwater sustainability, Coleman said. She noted that participants in the Master Water Stewards program learn about methods to lessen the impact of stormwater runoff, such as installing rain gardens or pervious pavers. Classes for the program start in October and run into April, at which point participants implement their capstone projects. The Freshwater Society created a curriculum for the classes along with subject-matter experts in the water field.
Participants study much of the curriculum and textbook material online, Coleman said, and use the in-person sessions to put their learning into practice. The Freshwater Society expects the stewards to involve the community in their capstone projects. Darren Lochner, education and engagement coordinator for the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, noted the program is similar to the Master Gardner and Minnesota Master Naturalist programs offered through the University of Minnesota. He said the water steward program helps raise awareness about water issues by giving participants the information they need to inform their communities. Knaeble, the Lowry Hill East resident, created a small rain garden in his front yard for his capstone project. He subsequently spearheaded an effort to educate businesses on ways to reduce road salt use this past winter, working with several neighborhood associations to reach out to businesses. Knaeble and several fellow water stewards have continued their efforts against road salt at the state Legislature, creating a group called StopOverSalting. The group advocated for a bill that would grant commercial-salt applicators limited liability upon completion of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Smart Salting Certification program. Visit masterwaterstewards.org to learn more about the Master Water Stewards program.
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southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A17
By Eric Best / ebest@southwestjournal.com
Video of police handcuffing four black teens sparks independent investigation An independent investigation is reviewing whether park police followed the law during a July 10 incident at Minnehaha Regional Park after a viral video of four black teenagers being handcuffed was posted to Facebook. The video, which had been viewed more 3 million times in the two weeks following the stop, shows two of the teens handcuffed and sitting in front of a squad car. In the video and its accompanying post, the person filming alleges an older white teen used racial slurs against the children and threatened them with a knife and a metal garbage can lid. Police with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board said they were responding to a 911 call reporting four males holding knives and sticks. The 911 caller said one of them had a gun in his backpack. The 911 information was then updated that the suspects were assaulting the 911 caller’s boyfriend, according to a Park Board statement. Officers arrived at the scene and quickly encountered the four boys, ages 13, 13, 14 and 16. One of the officers unholstered his firearm and pointed it in the teens’ general direction, according to the statement. Officers held the four at the park but released three of them at the scene. The fourth teen was determined to be a runaway and taken to the Juvenile Supervision Center. He
has since been released. None of the detained teens had physical injuries, police said. Officers said they didn’t find any weapons on the four teens and are now investigating the validity of the 911 call. Falsely reporting a crime in Minnesota is a misdemeanor offense. Witness accounts on the scene were inconsistent with the 911 caller’s account, officers said in the board statement. Park police said they were unable to contact the 911 caller or the caller’s boyfriend at the scene or by phone. The officers had on body-worn cameras, which were activated during the encounter. Park Superintendent Mary Merrill and Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto have requested an independent investigation of the incident in order to review if officers followed park police procedure. Ohotto said the Park Board contracts with several legal firms to review incidents, something he said that generally happens fewer than five times each year. A Park Board spokeswoman said the board contracted with a third-party firm beginning the week of the incident. It’s unclear when an independent report would be released. Three of the four teens appeared at a press conference organized by the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto. Photo courtesy Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
Relations (CAIR) several days after the incident. Appearing at the event with their mothers, they said a white kid yelled racial slurs at them and threatened them. Then
when park police officers arrived at the scene, they said law enforcement pointed weapons at them. They said the incident left them feeling discriminated against. “I was scared. I thought that would be my last day in this world,” Abdijabar Ahmed, 13, said in a recording of the press conference posted by the CAIR chapter. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota CAIR chapter, credited witnesses who came forward with information for the response to the video. “I don’t believe that if the witnesses did not come forward or the Facebook video was not shared I don’t believe this incident would not have had the type of response nor the care that we are seeing at the moment,” he said. Park Board President Brad Bourn (District 6) said the images of the incident are “disturbing to watch, particularly in light of the recent policeinvolved shootings in Minneapolis and across the country.” “The Minneapolis parks are and should be a safe place for everyone regardless of what corner of the city they live in, what their backgrounds are and their ages. They all deserve the right and expectation to feel safe,” he said. The Park Board encourage any witnesses at the scene who have not come forward yet to call park police.
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A18 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
‘A somber milestone’ Sorrow and calls for police reform one year after the death of Justine Damond
Fists were raised in solidarity at a Justice for Justine rally held July 15 near Justine Damond’s former Fulton neighborhood home. Photo by Dylan Thomas
By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@southwestjournal.com
Events in Fulton marked the anniversary of the death of Justine Damond, who in July 2017 was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer after calling 911 to report a possible sexual assault. Local officials, including Mayor Jacob Frey, joined neighbors July 14 to dedicate a bench overlooking Minnehaha Creek to the memory of Damond, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, tossing pink flowers into the water. On July 15, members of Justice for Justine were joined by other local activists in a rally at the south end of the alley behind Damond’s former 51st & Washburn home, where they again called for police reforms and an end to officer-involved shootings. Sarah Kuhnen of Justice for Justine described the anniversary as a “somber milestone” for those who knew Damond. She described Damond’s death as a “devastating blow” to the neighborhood. It also galvanized a group of her neighbors. Justice for Justine has met almost weekly since Damond’s death, and its members say there is an urgent need to change law enforcement practices and policies that contribute to police shootings. “The police system is fundamentally broken, and it is hurting our entire community,” Kuhnen said. Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor is charged with murder in Damond’s death, and his trial is scheduled to begin in late September. He and his partner on the night
of the shooting, Matthew Harrity, said they got “spooked” when Damond approach their vehicle in the dark. Kuhnen described their actions as “reckless and indefensible,” but she said the prosecution and conviction of Noor would be “only one step toward real justice for our communities,” noting a number of other people who had been injured or killed during interactions with Minnesota law enforcement officers since Damond’s death. The list included Thurman Blevins, who allegedly had a handgun when he was shot by Minneapolis police during a foot chase June 24, although witnesses at the scene dispute police accounts and say he didn’t have a gun. It also included a Chanhassen teen, Archer Amorosi, shot and killed by Carver County sheriff ’s deputies who were called to his house July 13. “Every one of these stories has a grieving family and community just like ours,” Kuhnen said. Fulton resident Bethany Bradley said her “privilege” allowed her to look away from the trauma of police shootings — until Damond, a woman who looked like her, was killed. “It was then that this community realized there are no safe communities,” Bradley said. She called for an end to the practice of having the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in charge of investigating most police-involved shootings, citing their close ties
to members of local police and sheriff ’s departments. She also urged those at the rally to elect leaders who will hold police accountable. “We need change, and we need leaders who are willing to step into the discomfort of creating that change,” Bradley said. “There is no space left for the middle ground.” Nekima Levy-Pounds, the activist, attorney and 2017 Minneapolis mayoral candidate, said the incidents leave many people with the same question: “Who’s next?” Recalling that it seemed “so hard to get the rest of the city to care” when the shooting of Jamar Clark prompted an 18-day protest and occupation of the Fourth Precinct in 2015, Levy-Pounds said Damond’s death awoke a new, powerful Minneapolis constituency to the issue of police violence. Real change, she added, requires “all hands on deck.” It was a sentiment echoed by other speakers, including longtime activist Mel Reeves, who called on those at the rally to show up in support for Blevins and his family. A funeral was held for 31-year-old Blevins the day before the Justice for Justine rally. “The only way we beat this is together,” added John Thompson, a close friend of Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by a St. Anthony police officer during a July 2016 traffic stop. Like Levy-Pounds, Thompson said it would have been hard for him to believe, just a few years ago, that events would bind black activists and
concerned members of a largely white Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood in a common cause. “We are bonded,” he said, urging those outraged by Damond’s death to channel their anger into the work of activism. Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said growing public awareness off the issue has prompted some change, including new training programs for officers and amended use-of-force policies. Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments are taking steps to reinvigorate their disciplinary policies, Gross added. But she said more needed to be done to eliminate so-called “fear-based” officer training programs that teach officers to adopt a “warrior mentality.” Officers in several recent shootings were reportedly exposed to the trainings, including the Minneapolis officers who shot Blevins. Jess Sundin of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, a group formed to campaign for the prosecution of the officers that shot Clark, agreed with Gross that activism was beginning to make a difference in the Twin Cities. Sundin faulted Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman for declining to charge the officers in the Clark case, but she noted that Freeman responded to public scrutiny of his decision by releasing most of the evidence reviewed by prosecutors. While it was the wrong decision, she said, “at least it was open.”
FROM DAMOND LAWSUIT / PAGE A1
through the alley behind Damond’s home and told investigators they got “spooked.” “There couldn’t be any more plainly incompetent acts than this,” Bennett said. Although both officers were equipped with body-worn cameras, neither officer turned on his camera until after Damond was shot. Bennett alleged Noor and Harrity “worked in concert to conceal the truth surrounding the murder” of Damond by ignoring department policy that required them to activate their cameras. Bennett also alleged that Harrity’s account of what happened that night shifted after he met with his attorney, who also represents the Minneapolis Police Federation, the officers’ union. Citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Noor has not given his account to investigators. Noor was fired from the department after Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman
filed criminal charges against him for the shooting. Freeman, who had previously said he would avoid calling grand juries for officerinvolved shootings did so before filing charges against Noor, citing a lack of cooperation from Noor’s fellow officers. Bennett, who also represented the family of Philando Castile, a black man shot and killed by a St. Anthony police officer during a 2016 traffic stop, said he had been fighting the “blue wall” since beginning his career in the 1980s. The family is seeking in excess of $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The amount was chose to “send an unmistakable message to these officers and the City of Minneapolis and its Police Department that such conduct is wrong, and will no longer be tolerated,” John Ruszczyk said in a statement provided by his attorney. “We want the Minneapolis police culture
to be reformed in such a way and to the extent necessary to stop such senseless acts from happening again and again,” he added. The complaint alleges the Minneapolis Police Department failed to properly train its officers and was lax in enforcing its body-worn camera policy. That policy was strengthened in the aftermath of the Damond shooting, and audits have shown officer compliance with the policy has improved since last summer. In a statement, Minneapolis City Attorney Susan Segal described Damond’s death as a tragedy. She said her office was reviewing the civil lawsuit and would respond. “Meanwhile, serious criminal charges are currently pending against Mohamed Noor, and it’s critically important that the criminal case be allowed to proceed through trial without interference,” Segal said.
The lawsuit was filed by Damond’s father, John Ruszcyk of Australia, on behalf of Damond’s next of kin. “Basically, Justine saw something, she said something — like the signs at the airport tell us — and she got killed for doing so. And a year later we don’t know why that was,” said Bob Bennett, the family’s attorney, adding: “They’ll have to answer our questions soon.” The complaint described Noor and Harrity as “inexperienced officers who appear, by their conduct, unfit for duty.” On the night she was killed, Damond had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault near her home in the Fulton neighborhood; Harrity and Noor responded in a police squad car and Noor shot Damond when she approached the vehicle. The two were driving
A20 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
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Photos of the design, flooring, bathroom tile and other selections were emailed back and forth daily so the homeowner could make decisions and stay up to date with the progress, while she was wintering in Florida. Photos courtesy of Woodstone Renovation.
sign while Harriet was in Florida over the winter of 2015-16. Photos of the design, plus those of cabinets, counters, flooring, bathroom tile and other selections were emailed back and forth daily so Harriet could make decisions and stay up to date with the progress. Woodstone worked with interior designer, Ali Harder-Ross of Design by 2 in Eagan. Harder-Ross made tile, light fixture and paint recommendations to Harriet.
“One goal was not to make Harriet’s head spin, just to get it done, right?” Wendy asked Harriet. “Right,” Harriet replied.” “And be within reason,” Wendy added. “I was happy that I could have it done while I was out of town,” Harriet said. “I had great faith in all of them.” She decided to have Woodstone remove the walls that separated the kitchen from the entry hall, living and dining
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southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A21
REMODELING SHOWCASE
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Woodstone’s remodel opened up the entire condominium unit, giving it a light and airy feel.
rooms, as well as the wall between the living room and sun porch. Removing the living room/sun porch wall, which held glass partitions and a wide doorway, required the construction company to add support to the structure around it. Woodstone has remodeled several condos throughout the Twin Cities and is accustomed to working with homeowners’ associations and building managers and their respective rules and regulations. “We made the unit look much larger” without expanding it, Tim said. “We have a very cost-effective way of getting a pretty dramatic impact.” Woodstone completely remodeled the kitchen, adding an island, custom cabinets and new appliances. The company also
redid the bathrooms, installed new wood flooring throughout the living area, replaced the popcorn ceilings with smooth ones, painted the walls and installed new lighting throughout the home. Harriet got to enjoy her new surroundings for the remainder of 2016 before heading back to Florida for the winter. Shortly before she returned in the spring of 2017, disaster struck. An upstairs neighbor’s pipes burst and flooded Harriet’s remodeled condo, ruining the new hardwood floor throughout the living area and the concrete beneath it. Harriet had to move out while Woodstone returned to make repairs, replacing damaged concrete and cabinets, re-enameling the cabinets they were able to salvage, and installing new wood floors.
While it wasn’t possible to separate Harriet’s kitchen plumbing from that of her upstairs neighbors, the company made sure to do so in her bathrooms, according to Wendy Oskey. “We wanted to make changes to make this feel like home again but also to protect her,” she said. “We’re a high-service, take-care-of-people kind of company,” Tim added. “We end up building nice relationships.” “Tim was very cooperative,” Harriet said. “He kept appointments, he returned calls. He was always reassuring, even when the flood happened. He was always very kind and solicitous and helpful, so I really can’t say enough.”
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A22 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
News
By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@southwestjournal.com
Cedar Lake South Beach gets some love The new and improved Cedar Lake South Beach has reopened at 3500 Cedar Lake Parkway. Upgrades include a new trail, new plantings, new bathrooms, a foot wash, bike racks, new crosswalks and a terraced retaining wall that steps down to the beach area.
Years in the works, the project started with the Cedar-Isles-Dean Neighborhood Association (CIDNA), which funded plans and cost estimates for construction. The work was funded in part by an anonymous donation that offered up to $409,000. Funds also came from $350,000 in park dedication fees paid
by developers building in the area, along with $75,000 from CIDNA. A grand reopening celebration with a ribbon cutting and music is set for 4:30 p.m Monday, Aug. 13. Guests are invited to bring a picnic dinner, and the event will feature the Minneapolis Ukulele Club, The Blue Lady, face painting and yard games.
CARAG down to five options for new name CARAG, or the Calhoun Area Residents Action Group, is closing in on a new name for the neighborhood. Out of a long list of ideas contributed by the community, the topranked options are narrowed down to five: Bryant Square Lakewood Lyn-Lake South Uptown Uptown South of Lake
A new survey asks residents to rank the five names. Participating CARAG residents or property owners will enter a drawing for a free stay and $50 bar tab at the Moxy Hotel. The survey also shares a few thoughts on the thinking behind each potential name. “We’re looking for a new name that communicates our location in Minneapolis and reflects the community,” states the survey’s objective. CARAG’s boundaries are West Lake Street, West 36th Street, Hennepin Avenue and Lyndale Avenue. Find the survey at carag.org. Cedar Lake South Beach, pictured on a recent July weekend. Photo by Michelle Bruch
Moments in Minneapolis
By Cedar Imboden Phillips
Grand entrance
D
o you recognize these stairs? Despite dating from the 1920s, the scene is still readily recognizable to many Minneapolitans today. Yes, those are the front steps to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. We haven’t yet successfully tracked down the details about the dancers in this photograph — a note on the back dates it to 1923 — but Mia’s steps have been a favorite location ever since the museum opened to the public in 1915. Events of all sorts were held on the museum’s Third Avenue steps: pageants, dance performances, even a community singalong. Crowds could gather in Washburn Fair Oaks Park below — although if this scene really does date to 1923, the park was still home to the by-then dilapidated Fair Oaks mansion. The mansion was demolished in 1924 with the support of both park district and museum officials; they hoped to further landscape the park to enhance the grand entrance depicted in this photograph. Cedar Imboden Phillips serves as the executive director for the Hennepin History Museum. Learn more about the museum and its offerings at hennepinhistory.org or 870-1329.
Image from the collection of the Hennepin History Museum
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 A23
News
By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@southwestjournal.com
Teachers union members rally after Janus ruling Members of Minneapolis and St. Paul’s teachers unions were part of a rally this past month protesting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to ban agency fees. The teachers joined members of other Twin Cities unions in vocalizing displeasure with the June 27 decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which bars public-sector unions from charging nonunion members for representing them in collective bargaining. The ruling will likely mean large losses in revenue for public-sector unions that collect millions in fees from non-members. The statewide teachers union, Education Minnesota, responded to the decision with a press release criticizing the court for “making it harder for working people to join together in strong unions to build better lives for families and communities.” “Janus is the culmination of decades of attacks on working people by corporations and the wealthy to rig the economy in their favor,” the statement said. “Despite their efforts, workers will continue to work in union to make our children smarter, care for our family members and make sure our communities are safe every day.”
Members of local unions rallied in the Warehouse District on June 27 to protest a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that bans public unions from collecting agency fees from non-members. Photo by Nate Gotlieb
Local union members expressed similar sentiments during the rally, which took place the day of the decision. Jennifer Vaillancourt, a veteran Minneapolis teacher, said in an interview that the country needs strong public unions and that the Minneapolis teachers union works hard to ensure kids receive the best possible education. The union works at bringing all of the
teachers together to make safe spots in schools where they can share best practices, Vaillancourt said. She said membership in the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers was up this year, as the union’s executive board worked to organize before the Janus decision. Annika Larson of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers said during the rally that her union would continue organizing together to make sure every student gets what he or she needs. She noted that her union was able to secure a commitment from St. Paul Public Schools to fund additional English-learner teachers during negotiations this past year. Shaun Laden, president of the Minneapolis Federation of Teacher’s chapter of education support professionals, said in an interview that unions serve as a counterweight to moneyed interests and to people who benefit from privatization. He said that unions help people improve their lives in a real, on-the-ground sense, noting how union workers make more than non-union workers. He added that unionized school employees have a forum for coming together and talking about high-level outcomes for students.
MPS continues summer reading campaign Minneapolis Public Schools continued its summer reading campaign on July 23 at Lyndale Community School, where Superintendent Ed Graff read to a group of elementary students. Graff read the book “I’m New Here,” about a group of immigrant students who work to adjust to their new school. He paused throughout his reading to ask questions and take comments about the story from the students. The event came as the district continues its “MPS Strong” summer reading campaign. As a part of the campaign, it’s handing out books at events across Minneapolis.
Students can lose two months of reading skills over the summer if they don’t have opportunities to continue reading, according to the district. Researchers have found that lower-income students fall further behind than their middle- and upper-income peers during the summer months. MPS kicked off its summer reading campaign in May with a series of book fairs hosted by the organization Start Reading Now. The organization held book fairs at about 30 schools in Minneapolis near the end of this past school year, providing students in grades 1–3 with 10 books each at no cost.
The district has since provided no-cost books to kids at community events throughout the city, such as the Somali Independence Day festival and several Open Streets events. MPS has a list of tips on its website for parents to keep their kids engaged in summer reading (mpls.k12.mn.us/reading_tips). The tips include: creating a reading routine, letting kids choose the books they read and reading to your kids, among others. The district’s website also has a list of other summer resources and places where kids can get free books. Visit mpls.k12.mn.us/read to learn more.
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District hires Royston as Southwest AD Minneapolis Public Schools has hired Shakopee High School’s assistant athletic director to be the new athletic director at Southwest High School. Kim Royston will start the position on July 30, new Southwest principal Michael Favor announced July 23. Royston spent the past year at Shakopee and before that was a middle school dean and athletic director intern for Robbinsdale Area Schools. “As a proud resident of the Southwest community, Kim is highly invested in and committed to utilizing his successful academic, leadership, and administrative experience to support the educational, athletic and social and emotional needs of every student, every day,” Favor wrote in a letter. Royston earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Minnesota and also completed the K–12 principal licensure program at St. Cloud State University. A football standout at Cretin-Derham Hall, Royston played two seasons for the Gophers after transferring from the University of Wisconsin in 2008. He earned Minnesota’s internal defensive player of the year honors in 2011 and was also a two-time captain and a Distinguished Scholar as designated by the Big Ten. Royston replaces Ryan Lamberty, who was placed on administrative leave this past winter. The district did not share details regarding his leave, due to state privacy laws.
Southwest Journal July 26–August 8, 2018
Blazing a trail • NEW ADVENTURE CENTER OPENS FOR YEAR-ROUND ACTIVITIES AT WIRTH PARK • Park commissioners, Loppet Foundation officials and several young people enrolled in the group’s summer programs cut the ribbon at a July 17 grand opening celebration at The Trailhead. Photos courtesy Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
By Eric Best / ebest@southwestjournal.com
T
he Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the Loppet Foundation recently celebrated the opening of a new year-round outdoor recreation center at Theodore Wirth Regional Park, a facility nearly a decade in the making. Known as The Trailhead, the 14,000-square-foot building will serve as a permanent home for the Loppet’s skiing, mountain biking and outdoor recreational programs, camps and competitions. It’s a step toward further formalizing the relationship between the Park Board and the Loppet, which hosted its first event in Wirth Park 16 years ago and opened its office in the chalet there more than a decade ago. “For us, it makes life much, much easier, but hopefully it also (helps with) the big picture to accomplish our mission and make it easier for the people of Minneapolis to get outside and be active,” said John Munger, the nonprofit’s executive director. SEE THE TRAILHEAD / PAGE B8
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southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 B3
By Carla Waldemar
esker grove -2.0-
O
ne of my least-esteemed restaurants has morphed into one of my new favorites. I love it when that happens. I’m talking about Walker Art Center’s Esker Grove. On my initial couple of visits, the menu was as out-there (OK, downright peculiar) as some of the nearby art. The Walker’s all about innovation — I get it — but when it comes to dining, that original near-naked head of cauliflower entree, or the parsnip number, well … I’m betting they weren’t among the best-sellers. Fast forward to a recent steamy summer evening. While sitting in the sunlit space, I watched folks in jogging shorts receive a hearty welcome. Thus the operation sends a message that this is not just a site for VIPs in silk cravats. Throughout the evening we experienced some of the sweetest, most accomplished service on the planet. And these days it has food to match. And wine. We discovered an unfamiliar pinot grigio from Slovenia bearing a pinky-orange glow that matched the sunset just beyond the glass façade, uniting diners with the sculpture garden. With it, we nibbled on crisp-coated arancini — Italian rice balls customized with mushrooms, rich and nutty Comte cheese and a flourish of watercress. Another star of the “snack” menu section ($8–$15) was the elegantly velvety duck-liver mousse under its translucent jellied bonnet. It’s served with pickled red onions and grainy mustard — sharp flavors to accent and rein in the luxe richness — along with batons of buttery, gently-toasted bread. It’s portioned generously enough for sharing. Turning to the “starter” section of the list ($9–$13, mostly salads), we voted for the peach and avocado pairing. Off-center? You bet, and does it ever work. Cool, creamy avo slices are wedded to sweet segments of warm peaches, scattered atop a fringe of arugula and smattering of toasted pepita seeds: summer on a plate. Or shoot for the equally inventive apple and kohlrabi duo. Or the Esker Grove number: herbs, seaweed, veggies. Next, we ordered a couple of items from the “mids” menu ($12–$18) — the crab flan and the semolina gnocchi — but, sensing we’d gone overboard, our server allowed us to cancel one (the flan). However, the gnocchi nuggets — gently sautéed after their bath in boiling water — proved disappointing. Subbing semolina for the usual potato, the breadier texture proved OK but not compelling. The nuggets were tossed
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Esker Grove opened at the Walker Art Center in 2016. Our columnist recently revisited the restaurant and liked what she found. Submitted photos
with miniscule snippets of white asparagus (we had to hunt for them) adding little flavor or color interest. They were joined by bitty sequins of black truffle and a dusting of Parmesan. No sauce, as we noted (nicely) to our waiter, to bind, salve and unite the composition. (He unnecessarily but most kindly removed the item from our bill.) From among the five entrees (beets, $21, to lamb, $32) we selected the scallops, $24. A sweet, nubile quartet arrived gently, perfectly seared, ready to mingle with snippets of cauliflower and a smooth, creamy cauliflower puree — all brought to life by the subtly salty kick of pancetta. Trumpet mushroom completed the presentation but failed to play well with others — more woody texture here than taste. Sorry, couldn’t manage dessert ($8–$11). The list favors genius twists on generic sweets like panna cotta (sweet corn, blueberries, basil), tres leches (chocolate, salted caramel) and such. Next time. And there will be a next time, now that I’m newly smitten by Esker Grove.
B4 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
LANDSCAPE SHOWCASE
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SLOPING BACK YARD BECOMES A SHOWPLACE TerraVista Landscape redesigns problem space
J
oe and Colleen Osterbauer built their house in 2001 near the top of a hill in St. Paul’s St. Anthony Park neighborhood. With a steeply sloping front yard and an unwelcoming, narrow strip of a back yard, the Osterbauers had no outdoor living space. The back yard had a terrace supported by crumbling timber retaining walls — “mostly just ugly,” Joe said. It became a repository for leaves and brush. Numerous old red-clay street pavers were mysteriously embedded in the hillside. The couple also had little privacy from their uphill neighbors. Based on a recommendation from the home’s architect, Tim Quigley, the couple called Eric Baldus of TerraVista Landscape Design in Minneapolis to redesign the space. Baldus took in the house’s combination of Craftsman, Modern and Japanese design influences and recommended continuing those themes outdoors.
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Based on photos of Japanese walls that Joe Osterbauer found, Baldus designed stone retaining walls with a slight backward tilt. TerraVista assembled the walls of Dresser (Wis.) trap rock, a bluish-gray basalt used extensively in the Upper Midwest. “That gives it a really nice clean look, very Japanese,” Baldus said. TerraVista also reused the pavers, arranging them in a basketweave pattern to form a walkway and a seating area. The company omitted jointing sand due to concern for rainwater runoff that could cause erosion. “To tie all those elements together with the red and gray and to add a little more interest, we did a bluestone border around the areas, a little bit of a Japanese feel, creating some spaces within that paving to signify different spots,” Baldus said. “That created our seating space.” In a narrow space at one end of the yard, TerraVista installed a gravel basin and some Dresser boulders in an homage to a Japanese rock garden. The company installed a smaller version of the same type of rock garden on the opposite end of the yard. A wide variety of plantings now fills the terrace and lines the rear of the house. It includes dogwoods, yews, arborvitae, Norway spruce, ironwood, Korean fir, quaking aspen, Kentucky coffee, poplar, dwarf Alberta spruce, weeping hemlock, Japanese maple and Japanese white pine trees. Perennial plants include astilbe, blue angel hostas, blue chip juniper, ferns, Japanese forest grass, pachysandra and sedum. “It wasn’t specifically, ‘Here’s a list of items we want.’ It was more, ‘Here’s what we don’t want,’” Joe Osterbauer said. “We knew we were looking for things that would provide us privacy,” his wife added. “I think (Baldus) made some good recommendations in terms of us being able to enjoy it and things being hardy.” The amount of planning and collaboration spent on achieving the couple’s vision contributed to their satisfaction
Based on photos of Japanese walls that Joe Osterbauer found, Eric Baldus of TerraVista Landscape Design in Minneapolis created stone retaining walls with a slight backward tilt, using Dresser (Wis.) trap rock, a bluish-gray basalt used extensively in the Upper Midwest.
with the results – a nice outdoor space that they never had before, according to Colleen. “This has come a huge way and it was kind of the lowest priority for us,” she said. “So many other things came first, so to add this part was really quite rewarding in the end.”
About Landscape Showcase Landscape Showcase is a paid series of profiles featuring local contractors in Southwest Minneapolis. The profiles are written by Nancy Crotti, a freelance writer.
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southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 B5
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By Mikki Morrissette
The sanctity of life
W
ith non-white family separations and mass shootings and escalated police violence in the news — does it even matter which week you read this? — the sanctity of life is not one of our country’s strengths. It’s not a lot of countries’ strengths right now. I appreciated the comments of the new Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, at a summit in late June. He was trying to convince his cohorts in the European Union to work together to meet migrant and refugee needs, without borders. Italy and Malta had recently turned away 630 people on a rescue ship. A member of the Italian government referred to refugees as a cargo of “human flesh.” Sánchez said his policies came about because of a majority-female cabinet, which was created after a March strike in Spain “when society came out against gender-based violence and in favor of pay and work equality for women.” I also recently read the comments of a Minneapolis-based feminist man who said: “The trouble with our government is that it is a government of men, by men, and for men, with the result that it is not so much human as masculine. What is our country without the influence of woman stamped upon it?” That feminist man was John Dietrich — who made his comment 100 years ago. He was in support of women getting the right to vote, which happened two years later. The country’s founding Humanist minister, he was based at First Unitarian Society (now housed near Walker Art Center) and worked toward building a human-centered, not God-centered, Sunday community. Dietrich’s weekly addresses sometimes filled a 1,700-seat theater downtown; 5,000 copies of his talks were delivered globally. Albert Einstein, H.G. Wells, and others wrote him fan letters. I recently finished a grant project, thanks to the Minnesota Historical Society, that enabled me to read hundreds of Dietrich’s talks — given from 1916 to his retirement in 1938 — to create a digital finding aid to his one-hour addresses.
Ahead of his time Dietrich was ahead of his time in many ways. He talked about labor rights, the myth of a superior race and the merits of atheism. In the 1920s, he suggested that birth control be given to every married couple and that divorce be accepted “as an entirely respectable procedure.” About morality: “We condemn the man who steals a loaf of bread while we pay honor to the man who steals a million dollars.” Dietrich talked about “brain plasticity” and restorative justice. He said research indicated prison made sense if the goal was vengeance. If the goal was to reduce crime, it did not.
We often speak as if there were two worlds, a natural world and a human world, but humanity is only a wrinkle — or a smile — upon the rugged face of Mother Nature. … God and nature are one, we are children of the living universe. — John Dietrich, Humanist minister
The trouble with our government is that it is a government of men, by men, and for men, with the result that it is not so much human as masculine. What is our country without the influence of woman stamped upon it? — Pedro Sánchez, Spanish prime minister
“I believe an offender should be detained … for only one reason: to restore him to physical, mental, and moral health.” Those with terminal illness should be allowed to die: “We may not wish to die with our boots on, but we may well prefer to die with our brains on.” In one of his last talks, he warned that when progressives create a vision, they tend to leave behind the majority. “If this continues we shall find our future society ruled by ignorance and crudeness, intolerance and incompetence. For if the demagogue and the bigot, the narrowvisioned politician, can gain control through appeals to the mediocre masses, our cultural doom is sealed.” Dietrich’s hope was that ordinary citizens — using stories and consumer demand — would eventually lead us to recognize “the essential unity of mankind. We would realize that there flows through the whole human race, from the lowest to the highest, one life and one blood.”
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Vision for the future Shortly before his death in 1957, Dietrich was working on a manuscript called “Thoughts on God.” After a lifetime promoting the need for humankind to solve its own problems — not look to afterlife salvation — he had realized there was a flaw in man’s propensity to see itself as the supreme force. He wrote: “It is high time to realize that the man-society relationship is not enough, but in order to save our civilization we need to restore the manuniverse relationship.” Earlier in his career Dietrich had described what that might mean: “We often speak as if there were two worlds, a natural world and a human world, but humanity is only a wrinkle — or a smile — upon the rugged face of Mother Nature. … God and nature are one, we are children of the living universe.” Dietrich continued: “It does not frighten me to know that the universe has made me a part of its teeming, abundant life; that the same power that is breaking the lilacs into leaf is breaking me into a fuller flower of personality. … It does not sadden me to realize that for a little while the cosmic urge voices itself in this strange community of busy particles which I call myself. In me, in you, the Universe has spoken.” If Dietrich was with us today, I believe he would remind us why we need sanctity for all life, not simply that which looks and talks like us. Mikki Morrissette is owner/editor of Minnesota Women’s Press. She recently gave a talk at First Unitarian Society about Dietrich’s insights. This is part of her series exploring how we might build stronger communities.
B6 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
By Nichole Norby
From hobby to a nifty small business
N
ow that farmers market season is in full swing, we are spoiled with gorgeous produce and many mouthwatering food products. But one maker recently caught my eye: Nifty Kombucha. Nifty was founded in the summer of 2017 and has now expanded from brewing kombucha to also offering nitro cold pressed coffee. Carmen Buchi and Justin Lilley started brewing kombucha at home when they realized how much of the fermented beverage they were drinking. They experimented with different flavors and turned home brewing into a friendly competition. When they started sharing their brews with co-workers, the positive feedback inspired them to turn their hobby into a business. I sat down with the founders to learn a little more. The interview has been edited.
Norby: How did you get started? Where did the idea come from? Buchi: My parents started having health problems and I started becoming interested in holistic health. What we eat has a strong impact on our bodies and how we feel. Kombucha was a healthy way to get probiotics and help heal health issues naturally. Lilley: I started drinking it as a healthy alterna-
tive to all other beverages like soda and juice, but it still tasted great and was something I wanted to drink.
How have things changed? Buchi: We began producing in our kitchens and
Carmen Buchi and Justin Lilley of Nifty Kombucha. Submitted photo
rural Wisconsin, my mom said, “Oh yeah, kombucha! I’ve tried that” — which I was a little surprised, as trends are much slower to find their way to rural Wisconsin. She took a sip of what I had brought, and responded, “Well, that’s nifty!” And I kind of looked at her, and was like, “You’re right! It is nifty!” Buchi: And that’s where we got the name. And
it has worked in our favor, as the name is so different and recognizable. Consumers know exactly what to ask for and remember us by the name. What are your plans for the future?
Lilley: We’ve built a great partnership with
Lakewinds (Food Co-op) and would love to continue growing with co-ops.
quickly outgrew the space. Now we have moved into The Good Acre (a Falcon Heights food hub). We share kitchen space with our food/ beverage makers and have a real community. We can purchase fruit and herbs to flavor our kombucha from other farmers and makers that are part of The Good Acre. Lilley: We’re also able to share with each other
— what works, what doesn’t. The entrepreneurship community in Minneapolis is incredibly welcoming. We’re able to really learn from each other. Everybody wants to help!
How do you share roles and responsibilities? (Buchi and Lilley look at each other and laugh.) Lilley: Honestly, we both do everything. We
don’t have time to set roles. It’s all hands on deck. It is fun to be part of the whole process. Understanding each step helps us to continue to deliver a better experience. Is there a story to the name?
Lilley: When I first brought back my
kombucha to my family in my hometown in
Buchi: We want to make sure our growth is sustainable and we can stay true to our small batch mentality as a company, but growing into retailers like Whole Foods and partnering with breweries and restaurants to have a nonalcoholic option are long-term goals.
You can find Nifty at Fulton and Nokomis Farmer’s market, but don’t wait. They sold out before I could get to them this past week. Nifty is also available at Lakewinds Food Co-op, Mastel’s Health Foods and The Firm. Nichole Norby resides in the Kenwood neighborhood and serves on the board of directors for Neighborhood Roots.
CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Lacks options 6 Passion 10 Asian holidays 14 When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are last seen in “Hamlet” 15 Super-large film format 16 Tons 17 Give some space 19 Filmmaker Wertmüller 20 The blacksmith was busted for __ 22 Chow line? 24 Clamor 25 Pistons great Thomas 26 The miner was busted for __ 31 Pattern for some school uniforms 32 French peak
62 Alternatively
11 Evoke
41 One changing a bill
12 Some small trucks
42 Move again, as lumber
36 Some
63 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl airer
13 Secret store
43 Linguist’s concerns
40 Desertlike
64 Real cards
18 Not fer
44 Dissenting ballot
21 Walk in the woods
45 Presidential speechwriter Peggy
33 Toxin fighters 34 Dogpatch name
41 Jane Curtin title role 42 The marathoner was busted for __ 47 Confuse with booze 48 Vein find 49 Word with bar or suit 50 The barber was busted for __ 55 “I hate the Moor” speaker
DOWN 1 “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that” speaker 2 Big heart? 3 Military wheels 4 Watch-when-you-want gadget 5 Went too far with
22 iPhone downloads 23 Agitate 27 Soul supplier 28 Pampers maker, for short 29 World Cup cheer 30 EMT’s skill 34 MSNBC journalist Melber 35 Compost holder
56 Creates opportunities
6 Taxpayer’s chore
59 Piano piece for four hands
7 “That’s my cue!”
60 “Love Song” singer Bareilles
9 Office VIP
38 Joyce’s land
10 “The Voyeur’s Motel” writer Gay
40 Not for
61 China’s Zhou __
8 Gave a buzz
Crossword Puzzle SWJ 072618 4.indd 1
36 Clerical vestment 37 Had no co-pilot 39 Old place?
46 “Mila 18” novelist 47 Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” was one 51 Odor detector 52 Students’ stats 53 Blacksmith, miner, marathoner or barber, in this puzzle 54 “Beloved” author Morrison 57 Squeal 58 Part of the fam Crossword answers on page B9
7/24/18 10:49 AM
Walker Methodist HC SWJ 053118 4.indd 1
5/10/18 5:11 PM
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 B7
Mill City Cooks
Recipes and food news from the Mill City Farmers Market
Celebrating the Mighty Mississippi
W
hat do free outdoor yoga, Minnesota-grown watermelon and a bald eagle have in common? They are all part of the Mill City Farmers Market’s upcoming Mississippi River Day on Saturday, July 28. Thousands of community members and over 65 local farmers, food makers and artisans plan to celebrate the beautiful river that plays backdrop to the market each Saturday. Minneapolis’ riverfront, just steps away from the market, has held extensive cultural value for many years. The Dakota name for the Mississippi River, Haha Wakpa, means “river of the
falls.” It is seen as a place of creation and is an historic gathering space for Dakota people. In the mid-1800s the river became integral to the lumber and milling industries. The water provided power, helping Minneapolis earn nicknames like “Mill City” and “The Flour Milling Capitol of the World.” You can learn more and celebrate the rich history of the Mississippi River on Mississippi River Day. The market opens at 8 a.m., and the festivities kick off shortly after as instructors from YogaFit Studios Northeast lead a free, all-level yoga class overlooking the river and the Stone Arch Bridge 9 a.m.–10 a.m.
After you roll up your mat, get some cooking inspiration from chef Nettie Colón at the market’s 10:30 a.m. cooking demo in the train shed. The demo highlights seasonal fruits and vegetables and other market products just in time for you to pick out your weekly groceries. While you’re shopping remember to stop by the stalls on Chicago Avenue where (after grabbing a hand roll of sushi from the market’s new vendor, Gohan) you can “dive in” to the river’s ecological and agricultural history. On Mississippi River Day the market will be hosting conservation experts
from Friends of the Mississippi River, national park rangers from Mississippi Park Connection and a bald eagle and other raptors who make the water home from the University of Minnesota Raptor Center. By the end of the day, you’ll be ready for a snack, so be sure you pick up all the local ingredients you need to make this refreshing summer salad! Event information and more seasonal recipes can be found at millcityfarmersmarket.org. — Jenny Heck
SUMMER MELON SALAD Recipe courtesy of the Mill City Farmers Market Ingredients 1 cup cubed cantaloupe or watermelon 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1 cup diced cucumber ¼ cup chopped fresh mint 1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon honey ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional) Lemon juice to taste Freshly ground black pepper to taste Salt to taste
Method In a large bowl, combine the melon, tomatoes, cucumber and mint. Toss to combine. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and honey. Drizzle over the salad and top with feta cheese. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Tip: Turn up the heat with harissa paste! It’ll only take about a tablespoon of this chili pepper-infused paste to give it an extra kick. You can find traditional harissa from Caldo Foods at the Mill City Farmers Market on select Saturdays.
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B8 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com FROM THE TRAILHEAD / PAGE B1
The Trailhead, located at 1221 Theodore Wirth Parkway near the park’s par 3 building, is already up and running with a bike, ski and snowboard rental and retail store in partnership with Venture North Bike Shop, locker rooms and offices for the Loppet’s coaching and facility staff. It is open 7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily. The building has a multi-purpose great hall capable of seating 250 people, a 300-square-foot meeting room and an outdoor terrace, spaces that are available for parties, catered events or weddings. Parkgoers will get their tickets for the Theodore Wirth Par 3 Golf Club and snow tubing at an indoor-outdoor ticket counter. The park’s mountain bikers can wash their bikes for free at a washing and repair station. While most of The Trailhead is accessible to the public, the Loppet will offer memberships for use of a Club Trailhead Studio with showers, secured lockers and towel service. Memberships will run health club members $20 per day, $50 per month or $400 per year, according to the foundation’s website. Dual and family memberships cost $80 and $100 per month or $100 and $750 per year, respectively. What’s not yet open is Cajun Twist, a park restaurant that is subletting its space in the center from the Loppet. The concessionaire from caterer Teóna Washington is expected to open around the end of the summer or early this fall.
The 14,000-square-foot facility has a shop for ski, bike and gear rentals, as well as a bike wash and repair station.
The Trailhead’s 250-seat great hall overlooks Wirth Park’s trails and winter tubing hill. Photos courtesy Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
Cajun Twist will serve New Orleans cuisine like seafood or vegan gumbo, red beans and rice, burgers, seafood and rice bowls. It will carry desserts like beignets and some beer and wine. Munger said their total project cost ended up being $10.5 million, including approximately $3.25 million in public funds, approximately $5.3 million from the Loppet’s fundraising effort and $2 million that the foundation financed. The opening, originally anticipated before the City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival held earlier this year, was delayed several months after soil tests showed the project would require some unexpected work. Under a 2016 agreement with the Park Board, the Loppet built the facility and will now formally donate it to the board. The organization will have a 20-year lease and an operating agreement for its use of the building. Revenue from the restaurant and events at The Trailhead will go to the Loppet. By collaborating on the project, the two parties hope to untangle Wirth’s maintenance
responsibilities. The Loppet oversees snowmaking and mountain bike trail maintenance at the park, and the Park Board continues to be responsible for golf operations and programming. The foundation’s lease will build up funds to maintain the new facility. Assistant Superintendent of Planning Services Michael Schroeder said these collaborations are relatively new for the Park Board. “This may be the way major projects happen in the future, where we have to form partnerships with the philanthropic community,” he said. Park Board President Brad Bourn (District 6) called collaborations like these “crucial” to maintaining the city’s park system. “We’re proud to partner with an organization like the Loppet Foundation, which has a phenomenal reputation and proven track record of making outdoor recreation experiences available to kids and people of color who have been traditionally excluded from the outdoors,” he said in a statement.
Munger said the group has big dreams for The Trailhead. The foundation hopes to host a world cup cross-country skiing event, something that he said could happen in early 2020 at the earliest. In the meantime, the Loppet is in talks with the 612 Sauna Society to bring its mobile sauna to the site. Munger said they’re working with members of the local log-rolling community to bring what is likely the city’s first dedicated facility to The Trailhead. “I think you’ll see (the center) be a real hub of activity in general,” he said. Anthony Taylor, an adventures director with the Loppet, said The Trailhead is an “amazing on-ramp” for people to get outside. “Over the years, Loppet programming has been happening in parking lots, out of the backs of trucks and trailers, and we now have this safe space for adventure to live and flourish in North Minneapolis — and realize our ultimate goal of connecting everyone with an active, outdoor lifestyle,” he said.
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 B9
By Linda Koutsky
A short history of Minneapolis in less than three miles A wedding invitation I received this summer suggested out-of-town guests stay at two south Minneapolis hotels: Moxy M and Sheraton Midtown S . I realized the history of Minneapolis can be outlined on the stretch of Lake Street between and surrounding the two hotels. Enjoy this encapsulated history! Map is drawn to scale. North
LAKE OF THE ISLES Quaint, curvy, lined with historic mansions. 2.63 miles of walking and biking trails follow its edge.
W. 28TH ST. W. 29TH ST.
BDE MAKA SKA
Pillsbury, General Mills, and Caribou Coffee (inside Lund’s) Minneapolis grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River at St. Anthony Falls. General Mills and Pillsbury started there. We were known as “Mill City.” Their corporate headquarters are still in Minnesota. Check the baking aisle for a genuine Betty Crocker souvenir. Also in the store is Caribou Coffee. Our early Scandinavian settlers put egg shells in their coffee! Minnesota’s premium coffee chain is the country’s second largest. 1450 W. Lake St.
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Magers & Quinn Booksellers Minneapolis is continually ranked as one of the most literate cities in the country! This quirky bookstore is proof. M–Th, 10 a.m.–10 p.m., F–Sa, 10 a.m.–11 p.m. 3038 Hennepin Ave.
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Target A Minneapolis company with roots that go back to 1902 when George Draper Dayton founded his namesake department store. The first Target store opened in 1962. The new retail concept Bde Maka Ska We actually have more than 10,000 lakes in Minnesota—11,842 to be exact! And there are five right here in Minneapolis. The city’s largest lake got a name change in January 2018. It’s now called by its original Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska (pronounced b-day ma-kha skah), meaning White Earth Lake. Since 1839, it had been called Lake Calhoun after John C. Calhoun, a proponent of slavery. The lake is a half-mile walk from Lake & Hennepin. A concession stand on the northeast corner on Lake Street has food, beverages, bike rentals and a large selection of kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards and pedal boats. Paths for walking, skating and biking follow the lake for 3.09 miles. Rollerblades were invented in Minneapolis in 1980 by brothers Scott and Brennan Olsen for off-season hockey training. They manufactured the first in-line skates in their parents’ basement.
Host an Exchange Student Today! (for 3, 5 or 10 months)
offered fashion, quality and service at lower prices. Target’s corporate headquarters are still downtown. George’s great grandson, Mark Dayton, is our governor. His two sons got back into retail with the downtown boutique men’s store Askov Finlayson. 1300 W. Lake St.
9
Schatzlein Saddle Shop You wouldn’t know it in the city proper, but Minnesota is horse country. This legendary western apparel store’s been open since 1907. Jeans, cowboy boots, rhinestone-studded shirts, belts and saddles. 413 W. Lake St.
Buzza Lofts Once home to Buzza Co., one of the nation’s largest greeting card companies in the 1920s. 1006 W. Lake St.
5
Highpoint Center for Printmaking Minneapolis is known for its abundance of artists and creative companies. This gallery hosts exhibits and has resident artists. Open M–F, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sa, noon–4 p.m. 912 W. Lake St. Bryant-Lake Bowl We love theater. In fact, we have more theater seats per capita than anywhere other than New York City. We’re often the first stop on traveling Broadway shows and we have the largest Fringe Festival in the U.S. BLB’s been a leader on the scene since 1993 when the vintage bowling alley added a bar and alternative theater. Open daily, 8 a.m.–2 a.m. 810 W. Lake St.
8
James Ballentine VFW Post 246 Voted “Best Party Bar” and“Best Karaoke,” this is the place for music. Though it’s unlikely any of them ever played here, it’s possible to hear
10TH AVE.
these Minnesota musicians/bands on the VFW’s playlist: Bob Dylan, Prince, Husker Du, the Replacments, Semisonic, Brother Ali and Har Mar Superstar. M–F, 11 a.m.–2 a.m.; Sa and Su, 8 a.m.–2 a.m. 2916 Lyndale Ave. S.
4
7 Volstead’s Emporium An underground “speakeasy” named for Minnesota Rep. Andrew Volstead, who in 1919 enacted the National Prohibition Act, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. Enter off the alley parking lot. Th–M, 5 p.m.–2 a.m. 711 W. Lake St.
PARK CHICAGO
35W
6
OAKLAND
PORTLAND
5TH AVE.
4TH AVE.
CLINTON
3RD AVE.
2ND AVE.
STEVENS
1ST AVE.
NICOLLET
BLAISDELL
PILLSBURY
LYNDALE
GRAND
9
PLEASANT
W. 31ST ST.
HARRIET
7
12 S 11 13
LAKE STREET GARFIELD
ALDRICH
BRYANT
EMERSON
FREMONT
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M
COLFAX
4 5 6
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HENNEPIN
HOLMES
HUMBOLT
IRVING
JAMES
KNOX
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8
W. 29TH ST.
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ELLIOT
W. 29TH ST. LAGOON
MIDTOWN GREENWAY BIKE PATH
10 Karmel Mall Minnesota’s home to the largest population of Somali people in the country. More than 200 vendors fill this two-building, four-story mall. 2936–2944 Pillsbury Ave. ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ With one of the country’s largest literary centers and numerous publishers, Minneapolis is a haven for writers. Our bookshelves include F. Scott Fitzgerald, August Wilson, Louise Erdrich, Robert Bly, Vince Flynn, John Sanford and Amanda Hocking. Robert Pirsig lived above a shoe store on this site while he wrote his fictionalized autobiography in 1974. 413 W. Lake St.
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12 Uncle Hugo’s The oldest independent science fiction bookstore in America. M–F, 10 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sa, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Su, noon–5 p.m. 2864 Chicago Ave. 13 Midtown Global Market This international bazaar, in a former Sears store, showcases Minnesota cultures, fresh produce, food, art, and entertainment. M–Sa, 10 a.m.– 8 p.m.; Su, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. 413 W. Lake St.
CROSSWORD ANSWERS
Make a lifelong friend from abroad
Enrich your family with another culture. Now you can host a high school exchange student (girl or boy) from France, Germany, Scandinavia, Spain, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Italy or other countries. Single parents, as well as couples with or without children, may host. Contact us ASAP for more information or to select your student. Victoria from Australia, 17 yrs. Enjoys spending time with her family and younger siblings. Victoria plays volleyball and is excited to learn new sports while in America. Giorgio from Italy, 16 yrs. Loves to play baseball and spend time with his dogs. Giorgio also plays the guitar, and his dream is to join a drama club at his American high school. TAMMY 715-497-6696 AMY 1-800-736-1760 (Toll Free) host.asse.com or email info@asse.com Founded in 1976 ASSE International Student Exchange Program is a Public Benefit, Non-Profit Organization. For privacy reasons, photos above are not photos of actual students
ASSE Intl Student Exchange SWJ 071416 V12.indd 1
Crossword 7/12/16 10:58 AM Answers SWJ 072618 V12.indd 1
Crossword on page B6
Serving people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, HOBT collaborates with SCHOOLS and COMMUNITIES on unique, interactive ART RESIDENCIES that nurture the creative spirit and encourage a sense of joy and wonder. • If you are interested in an art residency for your school or organization, visit hobt.org or call 612.721.2535 for more information.
In the AM Heart of the Beast SWJ 2016 V12 filler.indd 1 7/24/18 10:48
7/1/16 10:50 AM
B10 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
Get Out Guide. By Sheila Regan
LORING PARK ART FESTIVAL Set at the edge of downtown in one of the city’s most charming urban landscapes, the Loring Park Art Festival provides a shaded and serene setting for its annual arts showcase. This year, 140 visual artists will be selling their original work with styles running the gamut. The festival also features live music, including the Twin Cities Beer Choir, the Apollo Male Choir and the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra, as well as a puppetry performance by Open Eye Figure Theater. With yummy food, a beer garden run by the nearby Lakes & Legends Brewing Company and kids activities, it’s a perfect opportunity to enjoy the arts in nature.
When: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday, July 28; 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday, July 29 Where: Loring Park, 1382 Willow St. S.
Cost: Free Info: loringparkartfestival.com
Submitted photo
OWÁMNI FALLING WATER FESTIVAL Named after the Dakota word for “falling water,” which the Dakota called the area at St. Anthony Falls, the Owámni Falling Water Festival turns five this year. The festival honors Minnesota’s Dakota and Anishinaabe cultural legacy with native music, dance, art, activities and, of course, food. New this year will be a fashion show with a showcase of designs by two South Dakota artists, Gina Still Smoking from Lower Brule and Sarah “Dakota” Weston from Flandreau. Deanna StandingCloud will be the emcee for the stage show, with performances by Jackie Bird, Annie Humphrey and more.
When: 1 p.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, July 28 Where: Father Hennepin Bluff Park, 420 Main St. SE
Cost: Free Info: facebook.com/owamnifallingwater/
UPTOWN MINNEAPOLIS CLOTHING SWAP Are you tired of your clothes but don’t have the cash to re-invent your wardrobe? No worries, this clothing swap has got you covered. Basically, you bring in 10 pieces of clothing to trade, making sure everything is in top-notch condition. Then, you look through the clothes that other folks have brought and go home with some awesome new clothes. There’ll be some light snacks and drinks, so it’s a social event as well, and you can feel good because leftover clothes will be donated to YouthLink, an organization that serves homeless youth.
When: 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. Monday, July 30 Where: ArcStone Technologies, 2836 Lyndale Ave. S.
CHRISTOPHER HARRISON AND YAEL BEN-SIMON Soo Visual Arts Center opens two solo shows: “A Monster Anthology,” featuring work by Christopher Harrison, and “Out of My Book,” by Yael Ben-Simon. Harrison’s sculptures, paintings and printed works use historic and mythic themes to create imagery of fantastical creatures rooted in inspiration from African, pre-Columbian and Native American cultures in addition contemporary design and animation trends. Meanwhile, Ben-Simon’s first solo show in Minnesota deconstructs the notion of a coloring book, going outside the lines in her mixed media works that draw on coloring book versions of 17th century artwork.
When: 6 p.m.–9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4 Where: Soo Visual Art Center, 2909 Bryant Ave. S., Suite 101 Cost: Free Info: soovac.org
Cost: Free, but bring 10 items of clothing and/or accessories. Info: facebook.com/events/585207918516533
WHITTIER NEIGHBORHOOD CAT WALKING TOUR Every neighborhood should be proud of their best asset, and the folks of the Whittier know that they’ve got something special in their cat stock. Wedge LIVE recently held its second-annual Cats of the Wedge tour and is following it up with a tour cat-spotting tour of the Whittier neighborhood. Can Whittier match the Wedge for sidewalk feline viewing? Come to the tour to find out.
When: 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8 Where: Whittier Recreation Center, 425 W. 26th St. Cost: Free Info: facebook.com/ events/1741450192590332/
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 B11
Minnesota Fringe Festival
when Aug. 2–12
where
See below for venues The Fringe Festival is here, which
cost
means it’s your chance to catch up
$10 limited at door, $15 reserved online
to 132 different shows at venues
info
across the Twin Cities. Here are some
minnesotafringe.org
of our top picks from the festival.
‘TITUS: Sweet Water, Silent Walks’ The Band Group turns Shakespeare’s most gruesome play on its head, from the point of the character of Lavinia. Where: Rarig Thrust, 330 21st Ave. S
‘BurnOut County’ Married comedy couple Mary Mack and Tim
‘Walking While Black in Moscow’ Les Kurkendaal performs this solo show about a trip to Russia and what that was like as a black man. Where: Ritz Studio, 345 13th Ave. NE
Harmston perform comedic vignettes, stories and songs that explore
‘The Member of Some Gods’ This music-infused performance troupe takes you on a journey into the afterlife. Where: Casket Arts Building, 681 17th Ave. NE
life in northern Wisconsin. Where: Minnsky Theatre, 1517 Central Ave. NE
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Twin Cities Polish Festival
2/19/18 Hero 2:14 Heating PM SWJ 053118 H18.indd 1
5/29/18 Hagen's 2:24 PMAutobody SWJ 020917 H18.indd 1
August 10, 11, 12, 2018
Friday 5-10, Saturday 10-10, Sunday 10-5 Free Admission Along the Mississippi River on Old Main Street, across from Riverplace and St. Anthony Main, Minneapolis
Music, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Polish food and beverages, and much more — Come explore and enjoy.
FREE FRIDAY NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT The Emerson Avenue Band
www.tcpolishfestival.org
Twin Cities Polish Festival DTJ 072618 9.indd 1
2800 Lyndale Ave S. Minneapolis Mon–Fri: 7am–5:30pm, Sat–Sun: Closed 612-872-6671 | www.hagensautobody.com
7/19/18 4:04 PM
2/2/17 10:32 AM
B12 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
By Meleah Maynard
Don’t let garden pests get you down
F
or whatever reason, it sure seems like it’s been a real heyday for garden pests this summer. Everywhere I look I see plants that have been disfigured by something that gnawed them or sucked the juices from them or just ate them entirely. I figure a lot of you are experiencing the same thing, so I want to let you know that it’s going to be all right. Don’t freak out. These bugs that are using our gardens as a buffet have relatively short lifecycles, usually just a few weeks, and fortunately they don’t all like to feed on the same plants. Once a particular pest is gone, and even before then, really, there are things you can do to minimize damage. I also find it helpful to remember that, hey, bugs gotta eat, too, especially hungry monarch caterpillars who, this season, managed to eat huge swaths of milkweed in my backyard while preparing to become butterflies. I only wish I’d planted even more milkweed for them to munch on. Admittedly, I don’t feel that kindly toward all pests. For example, I squished about a zillion four-lined plant bugs this year, and I don’t feel a bit bad about it. Those buggers are gone now for this season, but, just so you know for next year, they are easy to spot because their bodies are bright yellow with four long, black stripes. Four-lined plant bug damage is easily recognizable too — little sunken pockmarks that can be easily mistaken for a fungal disease. But what you’re really seeing is what
Four-lined plant bugs feast on many different plants. Photo courtesy Mike Hoium
happens when the bugs insert their piercing mouthparts into leaves, inject digestive enzymes and drink up the juice. Yum! Squishing and drowning them helps keep populations down a bit. But they move fast, so unless you use chemicals, you kind of have to endure them as best you can. Once they’re gone, or even while they’re at it, cut back damaged plant parts. New growth will emerge just fine. Got aphids? You’ll know if you spot tiny round-ish creatures clustered together on
a wide variety of plants. Ranging in color from green, red, brown, yellow, black or gray, aphids don’t seriously damage most plants, but they, and the damage they cause, are definitely unsightly. Even if you don’t see aphids, it’s possible they’re the culprit if you see yellowed foliage, curled or twisted leaves and sometimes stunted growth. The easiest way to get rid of aphids is to blast them with the hose. You’ll probably have to do this a few days in a row, but
they’ll get the message and move on. Also, if you see lady bugs around, thank them because they like to eat aphids. Just like aphids, spider mites can be easily blasted off plants with a hose over the course of a few days. Unlike aphids, though, spider mites can really do some serious damage and even kill plants by sucking on leaves. The best thing to do is try to spot them and hose them off before they really get going. Silky, thin webs usually give them away. Without the webs, it can be tricky to see them because they pretty much look like tiny moving dots. Like many pests, spider mites prey on plants that are stressed, especially from heat and drought, so do your best to keep up your watering in hot weather. Damage starts small with just a few spots on leaves and progresses until the leaves turn yellow or red and often drop right off the plant. While some people are starting to buy predatory mites to release into their gardens to get rid of the spider mites, I feel like that’s an awful lot of work to go to when the hose is a perfectly good option. After all, it’s summertime and we should all enjoy it while it lasts. Meleah Maynard is a writer, editor and master gardener. For more gardening ideas and tips, visit her blog, which has been renamed Livin’ Thing: livinthing.com.
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FOR SALE
REFINISHING
TINY SANDMAN’S Painting, Lawn & Snow Services for reliable and quality work. Interior Finishing. Free estimates. Michael 612-729-2018. tinysandman.com
SPRING FORWARD HOME ORGANIZING Free consultation; references. 612-377-9467.
HOME SERVICES PAINTER JIM
FURNITURE REFINISHING, expert refinishing and repair. 40 years experience, excellent references. Richard, 952-475-3728.
HELP US BRING JOY TO ISOLATED SENIORS WITH YOUR GIFT!
CONCRETE REPAIR
CHIMNEY, CONCRETE, BRICK & STONE REPAIR
Gifts for Seniors provides donated gifts and life-affirming personal contact during the winter holidays and year round to isolated seniors in the Twin Cities metro area with the critical support of volunteers, donors, and community partners – people like you.
DECKS & FENCES
HOW TO HELP
FURNITURE Mint Kincaid couch, chair, ottoman. $899. 612-201-2347
Host a Gift Barrel Organize a Gift Drive Individual Shopping Find us on AmazonSmile
giftsforseniors.org | 612-379-3205 info@giftsforseniors.org
TO PLACE A LINE CLASSIFIED CALL 612.436.5070
KEEP SOUTHWEST BEAUTIFUL.
Gifts for Seniors DTJ 2.7x3.5.indd 1
6/11/18 12:01 PM
reuse or recycle the bag that came with your paper.
FIND A RECYCLING DROP-OFF SITE AT plasticfilmrecycling.org Recycling fillerClassifieds.indd SWJ 2018 Banner.indd 1 SWJ 072618 1
7/10/18 7/24/18 1:39 4:57 PM
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 B13
CONCRETE, ASPHALT
A.PIETIG
TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL KYLE AT 612.436.5072
CONCRETE
Residential Commercial Industrial
CONCRETE & BRICK PAVING INC. Commercial & Residential
Brick Pavers, Masonry, Brick, Stone & Foundations
952.835.0393
DRIVEWAYS, STEPS, PATIOS
Lifetime No Crack Guarantee
UrbanConcreteWorks.com | 612-202-1069
CONCRETE WORKS
Parking Lots • Driveways Patching & Repairs
apietigconcrete.com
612-861-6009
A. Pietig Concrete SWJ 071615 1cx1.5.indd 7/10/151 8:50 AM
TO PLACE AN AD IN THE SOUTHWEST JOURNAL CALL 612.436.5072
H & H Blacktop Services SWJ 040113 3/14/13 1cx2.inddUrban 3:51 1 PM Concrete Works SWJ 040518 2cx2.indd 1
Decorative concrete, steps, driveways, patios, sidewalks & more! 612-419-1056 americanconcretemn.com
4/3/18 12:12 PM
Nokomis Concrete When quality counts
The Original
QUALITY Hage Concrete SWJ 061418 2cx3.indd 1
American Concrete SWJ 040617 1cx1.5.indd 3/28/17 21:39 PM
30 years of experience –
10% discount
Licensed, Bonded, Insured
612.822.7959
EXTERIORS
EVER.
SINCE 1983
quarve.com • (763) 785-1472 Mn Bc 006016
MN# BC215366 • Bonded • Insured • Family Owned & Operated • Free Estimates
TO PLACE AN AD IN THE SOUTHWEST JOURNAL CALL KYLE 612.436.50724/4/16 Gardner 4/10/18 G1:53 PM Concrete SWJ 040716 2cx1.5.indd 1
HUNDREDS OF HAPPY CUSTOMERS
Your Local Contractor For Over 40 Years!
INSULATE AND SAVE!
we’re the replacement window company!
612.709.4980
(952) 746-6661
WWW.SMITHCOLE.COM
replacementwindowsmpls.com
TM & © 2012 MGM.
A+ RATING
e Lifetim ty n a Warr
Lic BC441059
Smith Cole SWJ 030818 1cx2.indd MN 1 # 3/1/18 5276 9:04 AM Quarve Contracting SWJ 020917 1cx2.indd 2/6/172 2:32 PM Window Outfitters SWJ 052115 2cx2.indd 1
Locally Owned • MN LIC# BC010277 • A+ Rating from BBB
SPECIALIST
Our mission is to provide the highest level of craftsmanship at a fair competitive price. Midwest Exteriors SWJ 052115 2cx3.indd
FLOORING
612-242-2017
Roofing • Siding • Gutters • Insulation
1
Interior Design Consultants • Stunning Window Treatments Quality Carpet and Flooring
YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD COMPANY
Bjork Construction SWJ 072618 2cx2.indd 1
Custom Brick & Stone
7/24/18 10:23 AM
Putting “Wow” in homes like yours for over 70 years!
www.abbottpaint.com
“Repair Masters”
Chimneys • Steps • Walkways Pavers • Fireplaces • Retaining Walls
A RATING
Mike Mohs Construction
Honesty & Integrity for Over 50 Years • Since 1963 Call Owner Scott Mohs
MN License BC005456 1/23/18 3:39 PM
www.twincitiesmasonry.com Owner Operated • Bonded & Insured
612.702.9210
Friendly Professional Service
ROOFING – All Types
Southwest Resident for Over 40 Years
BASEMENT WINDOW GUY
GUTTERS
Abbott Paint SWJ 040716 2cx2.indd 1
Twin Cities Masonry SWJ 040617 2cx1.5.indd 1
FLAT ROOFING
– Rubber or Tin
Glass Block and Replacement Windows
WINDOWS & SKYLIGHTS
FREE ESTIMATES 651-208-8210
DECKS & PORCHES
BasementWindowGuy.com
612-701-2209 • mikemohsconstruction.com
3/27/17 3:08 PM
Lumberyard of the Twin Cities
Lic. #BC646746
Serving the community for over 30 years Top 1quality at competitive prices4/27/16 3:26 PM Mike Mohs Construction SWJ 050516 2cx2.indd
ROTTEN WOOD?
“We don’t cut corners – we scrape them!”
www.harlanfloors.com • 612-251-4290
FREE ESTIMATES Committed to customer service
Remodeling & Addition Packages Fences / Decks / Garages
651-690-3956
Licensed Bonded Insured • Lic. RR 155317
Harlan Hardwood SWJ NR2 2cx2.indd 1
M-F 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am-Noon 3233 East 40th St., Mpls / 612-729-2358
7/21/17 1:11 PM
Foley exteriors
STUCCO
Window sills, casings & trim replaced, storm windows
Hiawatha Lumber 1cx2.5.indd 1
Gary 651-698-3156
5/30/17 2:39 PM
Advertise with us to expand your business
TO PLACE AN AD CALL 612.436.5072
Harmsen & Oberg SWJ 051718 1cx2.5.indd 5/9/182 expand 4:02 PM pattern3 1cx1.indd 1
11/15/17 1:24 PM
612.290.1533
SWJ 072618 Classifieds.indd 2
Foley Exteriors SWJ 041513 2cx1.5.indd 2
7/22/11 5:22 PM
Sanding • Refinishing • Repair Install • Recoat • FREE Estimates www.earlsfloorsanding.com
harmsenoberg.com
Free Estimates • 612-331-6510 • www.FoleyExteriors.com
3/25/16 9:14 AM
• Installation • Restoration • Repairs • Buff & Coat
Basement Window Guy SWJ 030818 1cx1.indd 2/15/18 1:00 1 PM
Pates Roofing SWJ 072717 2cx1.indd 1
5/18/15 10:05 AM
There IS a Difference!
www.bjorkconstruction.net
Licensed • Bonded • Insured
Topside Inc SWJ 012518 2cx3.indd 1
CALL US TODAY!
612-343-3301 · www.midwestplus.com
Minneapolis, MN
Phone: 612-869-1177
Roofing · Siding · Windows Insulation
5/18/15 10:03 AM
ROOFING
Rob.olson@topsideinc.net Topsideinc.net
11:30 AM
TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL KYLE AT 612.436.5072
4/14/11 12:32 PM
*On Settergren’s Referral List*
FOR 38 YEARS
1:36 PM
612-824-2769 www.gardnerconcrete.net
1227 HENNEPIN AVE, MPLS
Drew Gardner Concrete SWJ 041918 2cx1.indd 1
Nokomis Concrete SWJ 050211 2cx2.indd 1
YOUR LAST ROOF.
MN License # BC664354
612-743-2356
DREWGARDNER CONCRETE.COM
SERVICE Since 1949 6/11/18
Garage Block Repair • Foundation Repair • Buckling Walls Sidewalks • Steps • Aprons • Wall Resurfacing • Wet Basement Repair
CALL ME!
concrete & waterproofing
License L303
Call today for a FREE estimate www.nokomisconcrete.com
WET
5/8/15 2:10 PM BASEMENT?
Alpine Asphalt DTJ 052115 2cx1.5.indd 1
Patios • Sidewalks • Steps Driveways • Garage Floors All Your Flatwork Concrete Needs
with this ad!
612-861-HAGE (4243) HageConcrete.com
10-time Angie’s List Super Service Award Winner 7/24/18 4:57 PM
4/8/13 4:36 PM
Earls Floor Sanding SWJ 012518 2cx2.indd 2
1/18/18 8:45 AM
B14 July 26–August 8, 2018 / southwestjournal.com
We know YOUR home!
WE STOCK TRUSTED BRAND NAMES Andersen - ThermTru - Simpson - Stallion - Empire - Alexandria - Vector - Larson TrusJoist - GAF Timberline - LP Smart Side - Milwaukee - Paslode - GRK - MAZE - Kreg Pratt & Lambert - Hillman - Do it Best - Channelock - Duckback - Strong-Tie
2536 Marshall Street NE, Minneapolis Monday–Friday 8am–6pm, Saturday 8am–4pm | 612-781-3333 Siwek Lumber SWJ 072618 6cx2.indd 1
7/20/18 11:36 AM
LANDSCAPING
TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL KYLE AT 612.436.5072
FREE ESTIMATES!
1 MONTH
of lawn mowing
FREE
TREE TRIMMING • REMOVAL STUMP GRINDING
(new contract customers only)
Matthew Molinaro
Call Dennis today!
Minneapolis resident • Owner / operator Certified Arborist with 21 years experience
952-545-8055
www.premierlawnandsnow.com
DECKS LANDSCAPES OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES
licensed and insured
612-239-2508
TO PLACE AN AD IN THE SOUTHWEST 25 yrs. Fully Insured JOURNAL CALL 7/12/18 1:35 PM 612.436.5072 MN-4551 APremier
www.molinarotree.com
Molinaro Tree SWJ 2cx1.5.indd 1
Lawn & Snow SWJ 032416 1cx1.indd 3/10/16 12:45 1 PM
Fences / Decks / Garages Remodeling and Addition Packages
612-345-9301
Residential & Commercial
Retaining Walls Landscaping Putting Greens Waterfalls Concrete Serving the Minneapolis Area Since 1994
6/22/18 3:45 PM
612-789-2089
LAND & WATER CREATIONS
Free Estimates
612-750-5724 FOR ADS CALL 612.436.5072
Byron Electric SWJ 052713 1cx1.indd 5/20/13 1 1:13 PM
• Painting • Plaster repair • Ceramic tile • Light remodeling
CALL TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE ON ATTIC INSULATION • BYPASS SEALING SIDEWALL INSULATION
612 . 267. 3 2 8 5
START
www.houleinsulation.com
5/18/15 10:06 AM
That Handy Guy Greg SWJ 100914 2cx1.5.indd 1
763-767-8412
Serving the Twin Cities since 1977 Houle Insulation SWJ 010107 2cx2.indd 1
5/17/16 2:37 PM
612.706.8210 FULLY BONDED & INSURED
CLEARLY!
8/31/12 10:15 AM
• Commercial & Residential • ISA Certified Arborist
squeegeebobs.com 952-848-7700 Call or go online for a free quote
• Owner Operated
PAINTING
Licensed and Insured • Free Estimates / 24 hr emergency service
N TREEI .
Trimmer Trees SWJ 071309 2cx1.5.indd
nc
612-789-9255 northeasttree.net
Trained & Courteous Staff 1 7/2/09 2:58 PM Climbing & Bucket Pruning/Removals Expert High Risk & Crane Removals Pest & Disease Management Questions about Emerald Ash Borer? We can help. George & Lynn Welles
Certified Arborists (#MN-0354A & #MN-4089A)
MISCELLANEOUS
Northeast Tree DTJ 012518 2x1.indd 2
10/3/14 2:02 PM
SEEING
(612) 729-9454
ortheast
612-607-9248 elegancecustomcabinetry.com
5/14/18 3:01 PM
Houle Insulation Inc.
LINDA WESTLING • 612-724-6383
Matt's Tree Service SWJ 091712 2cx2.indd 1
Specializing in bookcases, kitchens, vanities, radiator covers and other custom wood works
Our specialty is your existing home!®
• Retaining Walls & Stairways • Landscape Renovation • Paver Paths & Patios • Grading & Drainage • Tree & Shrub Planting Corrections
FREE ESTIMATES FOR: Tree Trimming · Tree Removal Stump Grinding · Storm Damage
European Craftsmanship right here in Minnesota.
Elegance Custom Cabinetry SWJ 020917 2/7/17 1cx1.5.indd 4:21 PM1
MAINTENANCE
MN One SWJ 051718 2cx2.indd 1
Yards of Creativity SWJ 052115 2cx2.indd 1
Byron Electric
Outdoor Kitchens
peterdoranlawn.com
Peter Doran SWJ 062818 2cx2.indd 1
5/2/17 MN 12:38 Nice PMGardens SWJ 022218 1cx2.indd 2/20/18 3 4:25 PM
HELP WITH
Lawn Mowing Fertilizer & Weed Control Gutter Cleaning
LICENSE # BC736562
MAINTENANCE
WE CAN
Hiawatha Lumber NEW 2cx2.indd 1
Snow Plowing & Shoveling Cleanup / Dethatching Aeration / Seeding
651-344-7770
MNNiceLandscapes.com
M-F 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am–Noon 3233 East 40th St., Mpls • 612-729-2358
1/22/18 10:49 AM
TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL KYLE AT 612.436.5072 3/23/15
Squeegee Bob's SWJ 032615 2cx3.indd 1
EXTERIOR & INTERIOR PAINTING
Accredited BBB member, A+ rating
PAINTING & DECORATING
Wallpaper removal & hanging • Plaster & sheetrock repair • All facets of interior painting • Stripping & “trim” restoration • Skimcoating
LINDEN HILLS PAINTING
•
35+ yrs. experience Lic • Bond • Ins
Int/Ext • Paint Enamel • Stain • Cabinets Plaster repairs • Paper • Homes Condos • Decks • Fences
612.568.1395 PROTECTPAINTERS.com
Carson’s Painting,
ProTect Painters SWJ 042315 1cx1.5.indd 4/7/15 1 1:39 PM
612-310-8023 Dave Novak
5:31 PM
Handyman Services, Snow Removal, & Lawn Care
612-227-1844
grecopainting.com info@grecopainting.com •
(612) 390-5911
Wallpaper Stripping & Wallpapering Wood Stripping, Refinishing & Cabinets • Plaster, Sheetrock, Texture Repair & Skim Coating • Ceiling Texturing & Texture Removal • Wood Floor Sanding & Refinishing • •
call today!
Novak Painting SWJ 020818 1cx3.indd 12/22/17 1 10:03 AM Carson's Painting SWJ 060216 1cx1.5.indd 5/23/161 2:14 PM
CALL KYLE FOR ADS 612.436.5072
Exterior, Interior & Decorative Painting
Greco Painting SWJ 040518 1cx2.indd4/4/18 1 11:37 Indy Painting AM Decks DTJ 040518 1cx2.indd 13/26/18 2:39 PM • Staining
(612) 827-6140 or (651) 699-6140 PAINTINGBYJERRYWIND.COM
Experienced craftsmen (no subcontractors) working steady from start to finish. Neat and courteous; references and 2 year warranty. Liability Ins. and Workers Comp. for Your Protection.
SWJ 072618 Classifieds.indd 3
7/24/18 10:36 AM Painting by Jerry Wind SWJ 123115 2cx1.5.indd 1
12/30/15 9:54 AM
southwestjournal.com / July 26–August 8, 2018 B15
PAINTING
REMODELING
TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL KYLE AT 612.436.5072
PAINTING NAILS GENERAL CONTRACTING Professional Quality Work
Remodeling • General Construction High-quality Craftmanship • Kitchens Bathrooms • Basements • Etc FREE ESTIMATES LOCATED IN SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS
Exterior Painting Interior Painting Wood Finishing Exterior Wood Restoration
651 764 8022 nailsllc.inquiry@gmail.com
Licensed & Insured
greg@chileenpainting.com | chileenpainting.com
612-850-0325
(612) 221-4489
Your vintage home remodeler HomeRestorationInc.com
Our team makes your dream space come to life.
Nails LLC SWJ 062918 1cx1.5.indd 17/6/18 10:52 HomeAM Restoration Services SWJ 012915 1/14/15 1cx1.5.indd 2:15 PM 1 Renovation, Additions, New Construction
TO PLACE AN AD CALL 612.436.5072 6/29/15
Chileen Painting SWJ 070215 2cx2.indd 1
1:14 PM
www.bristolbuilt.com
Bristol Built SWJ 020917 2cx2.indd 1
2/1/17 11:19 AM
PLUMBING, HVAC PRO MASTER Plumbing, Inc.
Full-Service Plumber
Remodeling since 1960
Our Contractors have local references
Bathroom Remodeling
(651) 730-1880 | QualityCut.net
651-337-1738
Quality Cut SWJ 022218 H12.indd 1
2/19/18 9:57 AM
promasterplumbing.com Call Jim! 7/31/13 1 8:31 AM Pro Master Plumbing SWJ 071615 1cx1.indd 7/2/15 1Hammer 3:20 PM Guy SWJ 2013 1cx0.9 filler.indd
homecareincremodeling.com 952.884.4187
HomeCare Inc Remodeling SWJ 071218 2cx2.indd 1
7/3/18 1:36 PM
Bringing ideas to life 952.401.3900
Install a new kitchen or bathroom faucet
edgework-designbuild.com
Cross off all your plumbing checklist items
Garbage disposal repairs & installation Leaky sinks, faucets, showers, toilets & pipe repair
License #BC003681
We get you.
Hot water heaters Fix low water pressure
Personalized Remodeling Specialists
Sinks that drain slow
Cedar
Toilets that are always running Faucet that drips
Lumberyard of the Twin Cities
CallHero.com • (612) 424-9349 Call today and SAVE
50
24 Hours A Day 7 Days A Week
Hero Heating SWJ 051718 2cx4.indd 1
Honest & Dependable
www.bluestemconstruction.com Bluestem Construction SWJ 022218 H12.indd 1
M-F 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am-Noon • 3233 East 40th St., Mpls • 612-729-2358
46. OFF
$
Decks • Fences Garden Beds Pergolas
Your NEXT plumbing service
Hiawatha Lumber NEW 2cx1.indd 4
4/18/17 12:22 PM
2/16/18 11:44 AM
EK Johnson Construction you dream it
All Hours
5/15/18 11:58 AM
we build it
Sewer & Drain
Living and Working in Southwest Minneapolis
Faucets • Floor Drains Bathtubs • Showers
Call Ethan Johnson, Owner
612-669-3486
— Emergency Repairs —
952-922-5509 612-998-8209
REMODELING
All Hours Sewer SWJ 051718 2cx1.5.indd 1
ekjohnsonconstruction.com
EK Johnson Construction SWJ 060216 2cx2.indd 1
5/31/16 4:49 PM
5/11/18 3:47 PM
Lic: BC637388
2nd Stories • Additions • Kitchens • Basements Baths • Attic Rooms • Windows
Remodel • Design • Build
Design/Construction
Specializing in Reproduction Kitchens & Baths
License #BC378021
No project is too small for good design inspiredspacesmn.com 612.360.4180
612-924-9315
612.821.1100 or 651.690.3442 www.houseliftinc.com
House Lift SWJ 041612 2cx3.indd 1
4/5/12 3:00 PM
www.fusionhomeimprovement.com MN License #BC451256
Window Shopping made Local
Fusion Home Improvement SWJ 021314 2cx3.indd 1
Lumberyard of the Twin Cities M-F 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am-Noon 3233 East 40th St., Mpls • 612-729-2358
Inspired Spaces SWJ 022714 2cx2.indd 1
2/17/14 3:02 PM
Your Sign of Satisfaction
1/31/14 10:44 AM
952-512-0110
www.roelofsremodeling.com
Create • Collaborate Communicate 612-655-4961 hansonremodeling.com Lic #BC633225
TO PLACE AN AD CALL 612.436.5072 7/28/15
Roelofs Remodeling SWJ 073015 2cx2.indd 2
SWJ 072618 Classifieds.indd 4 Hiawatha Lumber NEW 2cx1.5.indd 3
3:01 PM
7/24/18 10:36 AM Hanson 4/18/17 12:08 PMBuilding SWJ 061418 2cx2.indd 1
6/1/18 1:05 PM