October 17–30, 2019 Vol. 30, No. 21 southwestjournal.com
Wage theft on Eat Street
INSIDE LOS ANDES MOVING
Federal crackdown highlights need for enforcement Andean restaurant taking over Dulono’s Pizza location A4
By Andrew Hazzard
FEMINIST BOOK CLUB
A progressive reading group in Regina A8
ANGELA CONLEY
Inclusive music
LOSING STUDENTS
District examines retention practices A11
As the drummer hit his cymbal at the start of “Walking on Sunshine,” Southwest High School student Shukri Ahmed began clapping her hands, her right foot tapping to the beat. Ahmed let out a yell, and her classmates, sitting behind her on the stage, began strumming their guitars. The audience of Minneapolis Public Schools principals and instruc-
tional leaders clapped along, cheering when Ahmed yelled “How y’all doing?” midway through the song. The performance, which came during an Aug. 14 back-to-school event, was one of the latest for 3 Strings Guitars, a class and band for Southwest students with disabilities. SEE 3 STRINGS / PAGE A13
Students in Southwest High School’s 3 Strings Guitars program play the song “Do You Love Me?” during a September rehearsal. Photo by Nate Gotlieb
Eat Street restaurants like Black Sheep and Pancho Villa were among 12 local restaurants found to owe workers back pay in a federal investigation. Photos by Andrew Hazzard
Triplex change slated for 2040’s first day By Michelle Bruch
DIGGING A TRENCH
The history of the excavation of the Midtown Greenway B1
TENDING BEES
How to care for native bee houses B6
SEE WAGE THEFT / PAGE A18
Adapted guitar class serves students with disabilities
By Nate Gotlieb Q&A with the county commissioner A10
The U.S. Labor Department announced in September that 12 Eat Street restaurants owed employees more than $300,000 in back wages. The restaurants, including Marissa’s Supermarket and Bakery, Rainbow Chinese Restaurant and Bar, Pancho Villa, Eat Street Social, Black Sheep Pizza and Salsa a La Salsa, had committed wage theft — mostly by not properly paying workers for overtime, a Labor Department spokesperson said.
The city rezoned 3450 Grand Ave. in 2017 to allow construction of this triplex. Under the Minneapolis 2040 plan, triplexes would be allowed by right in every neighborhood. Photo by Michelle Bruch
Minneapolis may soon allow duplexes and triplexes citywide. The City Council will take a final vote on the Minneapolis 2040 plan in the coming weeks, also voting on a change to allow three units inside the dimensions of a singlefamily home and a measure to add affordable housing as part of new development. All could become effective as soon as Jan. 1, said Council President Lisa Bender (Ward 10). The 2040 plan sets a sweeping policy agenda, touching everything from pursuing racial equity (by reducing evictions) to ending traffic injuries (by reducing speed limits). More housing capacity would aim to absorb a population that’s predicted to grow from an estimated 428,483 in 2018 to 485,000 by 2040. Joining actions focused on affordable housing and renter protections, the zoning amendment to allow duplexes and triplexes in every singlefamily neighborhood is one of the first changes the city would formally adopt under Minneapolis 2040. That’s a starting point because so much of the city is devoted to single-family homes, creating a wide discrepancy between the old and new comprehensive plans, said Jason Wittenberg, Minneapolis code development manager. “We wanted to make sure that issue got
addressed as quickly as possible,” he said. Next year, city staff will begin a rezoning study to match the plan’s guidelines for building height and scale. Those changes would allow the tallest and densest development in Downtown, near transit stations and along main thoroughfares like Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue. “That will likely affect every property in the city,” said Joe Bernard, planning project manager in the city’s Long Range Planning Division. The plan has attracted widespread national attention, sparking similar efforts in other states including Oregon and California. “Cities Start to Question an American Ideal: A House With a Yard on Every Lot,” a New York Times headline stated in June. “I’m not sure there’s a city in the country where we can steal exactly how to do this. We need to innovate here, and we’re innovating along with other cities around the country,” Bender said. “So we need to take our time to make sure that we’re doing things well, and that we are incorporating all of the plan’s goals — especially race equity, especially climate change — really following through on those commitments that we’ve made to our constituents.” SEE 2040 PLAN / PAGE A16
A2 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 A3
By Andrew Hazzard / ahazzard@swjournal.com
EAST HARRIET
Laundromat updated under new ownership Brian Weedman has bought and renovated Bev’s laundromat at 40th & Lyndale, adding Wi-Fi and handpainted signs to the interior. Photos by Andrew Hazzard
Brian Weedman had his eye on Bev’s Coin Laundry in East Harriet for years. The Minneapolis real estate broker and property manager made several inquiries to buy the laundromat at 40th & Lyndale. This year he finally succeeded. Now learning a new business on the fly, his goal is to make the laundromat a nice place to hang out while completing household chores. “I like improving things,” Weedman said. That’s what he’s set out to do at Bev’s, which he’s now calling Bev’s Uptown Laundry. He repainted the building, redid the floors, added Wi-Fi and put in new coffee and food vending machines. Out-of-order washers and dryers have been fixed. He said he’d like to make it more like an internet cafe where people can do their laundry in a cozy environment. As part of the facelift, he hired local artist Gary Korlin, who added old-school hand-painted signs. “This place had a lot of potential,” Weedman said. The business has been on Lyndale Avenue for more than 25 years, and Weedman has met several families who have been doing their laundry there for more than a decade. With 54
Under new ownership, Bev’s Uptown Laundry aims to be a comfortable space to hang out and wash clothes.
machines, it’s an easy place to get bulk loads done quickly. The laundromat is busiest on weekends, Weedman said. He’s still working on making a few more improvements to the interior. “I want it to be a comfortable neighborhood place,” he said. The laundromat is open daily from 7 a.m.–10 p.m. Bev’s Uptown Laundry Where: 3944 Lyndale Ave. S.
FULTON
Christmas Corner pops up at 50th & France ’Tis the season for finding holiday decor, and a new pop-up shop is bringing Christmas cheer to 50th & France. The Christmas Corner opened Oct. 1 in the former General Sports space on France Avenue, owner Debra Kerr said. Kerr has operated her Christmas pop-up business in the Twin Cities since 1989. Usually
Holiday pop-up store The Christmas Corner is now open at 50th & France. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
she’s in a suburban mall, but this year she was interested in trying something new. When she heard about General Sports closing, the Edina resident called the building owner and asked if they’d be interested in a short-term lease. “All the pieces kind of fell into place,” Kerr said. The Christmas Corner has all the classic holiday decorations, from artificial trees to lights and light-up photo frames. “People like things that light up,” she said. Snowmen tend to be very popular, Kerr said, and have the benefit of being seasonably appropriate long after Christmas. The shop specializes in personalized ornaments. Kerr said the store has longtime customers who seek them out each year for their tree decorations. “It’s kind of fun to see the people year after year,” she said. The Christmas Corner tries to order supplies from other Minnesota businesses, she said. They also have a Halloween section. The store will be open 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday–Friday and 10 a.m.–6 p.m. on weekends. The Christmas Corner typically shuts down for the season a couple weeks after Christmas, following a clearance sale.
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A4 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
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Southwest Minneapolis’ top spot for Andean cuisine is planning to move down Lake Street this winter and take over the former Dulono’s Pizza location in LynLake. After 12 years at Lake & Grand, Los Andes Restaurant will move three blocks west into the restaurant Dulono’s vacated in 2017. Los Andes owner Christian Quito said they plan to serve the same food, but the new space will allow them to provide a more sophisticated experience for their guests. Christian partnered with his younger brother, Guillermo Quito, to purchase the Dulono’s building. The Ecuador native has rented his current space for 12 years and has been looking for a place to buy. The opportunity nearby was a great fit. “It was a no-brainer for us to stay in that area,” Guillermo Quito said. The brothers are currently renovating the Dulono’s site, with a goal of opening their new location around the new year. “We’re trying to bring a retro Latin American look to that area,” Guillermo Quito said. When Christian Quito opened Los Andes in 2005, it was the first Andean-style restaurant in Minneapolis. Now the city is home to a large Ecuadorian population, and a growing number of people from Colombia and Peru, too. In addition to serving familiar dishes to immigrants from the Andean region, Los Andes attracts many American-born diners. Right now, they turn over tables quickly in their
Los Andes Restaurant will stay at 317 W. Lake St. for the next few months.
restaurant, which has seating for just 36, Guillermo Quito said. In the new space, they’ll have room for 250 guests. They plan to have live music at their new home and will be seeking a full liquor license from the city so they can serve cocktails. Moving just a few blocks west, they hope to retain their loyal customer base while introducing new clients to Andean food and culture. They will keep the current location open until their new space is ready. “We’re pretty much bringing South America to the states,” Guillermo Quito said. Los Andes Restaurant Where: 317 W. Lake St. (current address) Info: facebook.com/ LosAndesRestaurantMinneapolis
UPTOWN
Libertine bar closes in Calhoun Square Libertine, an Uptown bar and restaurant located in the Calhoun Square mall, has closed. The bar had its last day of business on Sept. 29, according to its website. Libertine was launched by Parasole Restaurant Holdings in 2014 as a meat-centric restaurant and cocktail bar led by chef Tim McKee. It replaced previous Parasole project Uptown Cafe and Sky Bar. With a rooftop patio and large bar space, Libertine had transitioned into a game-centric bar in recent years, with arcade machines, Nintendo 64, pingpong and other activities. Representatives from Parasole Restaurant Holdings did not respond to requests for comment. Libertine’s website said gift cards would be accepted at other Parasole eateries. The company also operates Chino Latino, Burger Jones and Salut Bar Americain in Southwest.
Libertine closed in Calhoun Square on Sept. 29. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
Libertine Where: 3001 Hennepin Ave. Info: libertinempls.com
southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 A5
Hickory n’ Hops is serving smoked food and hosting live music in the former Lyndale Tap House space in LynLake. Photos by Andrew Hazzard
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LYNLAKE
Hickory n’ Hops features food, live music Now under new ownership, the former Lyndale Tap House has rebranded as Hickory n’ Hops, a smokehouse that doubles as a live music bar. New owners Rupinder Singh and Douglas Tigges acquired Lyndale Tap House at 2937 Lyndale Ave. in January and launched their new concept in March. New signage was added to the building in August.
Hickory n’ Hops specializes in smoked dishes and hosts nightly events.
Singh has a business background and Tigges is an experienced chef. Together, they came up with a new concept in hope of attracting customers. Hickory n’ Hops is what they call a modern-day smokehouse featuring classic barbecue meat options like brisket, ribs and pork shoulder, but also ample meatless dishes like smoked chutney and tofu. “There’s a big demand for vegetarian and vegan options,” Singh said. Tigges tells people to get the beef brisket, while Singh prefers the tofu bites. The dishes are smoked using, appropriately, hickory wood. It took time to change the menu and culture at the restaurant, Singh said, but now they feel they have the food and ambiance to draw good crowds. There are many televisions for watching sports and a large stage area for live music. On Mondays they host an open-mic night; on Tuesdays they book local bands; Wednesdays are for trivia and karaoke; Thursday is salsa night; a band plays each Friday; and on Saturdays they transition from an Iowa Hawkeye sports bar during the day to hosting an LGBTQ night in the evening. “We care about having a lot of events,” Singh said.
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LOWRY HILL
Dunn Brothers closes at 25th & Hennepin The Dunn Brothers Coffee in Lowry Hill closed in late September. A sign on the storefront of the 2528 Hennepin Ave. location said the company made the decision to cease operations at the site. The sign directed customers to the Dunn Brothers in Loring Park and at 34th & Hennepin. Company representatives did not respond to requests for comment. The Minnesota-based coffee chain also has locations in Linden Hills, Fulton and Whittier. Dunn Brothers Where: 2528 Hennepin Ave. Info: dunnbrothers.com
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Dunn Brothers Coffee shut down their Lowry Hill location at 25th & Hennepin in late September. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
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A6 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
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As Minneapolis prepares to sell a city-owned surface parking lot in LynLake for redevelopment, planners are trying to balance public support for affordable housing with local businesses’ desire for public parking. The city is preparing to sell a one-acre, 114-space surface parking lot it owns at Lake & Garfield, behind the Jungle Theater, and it will be able to dictate certain requirements for any new development project. “It’s a big opportunity for us in a part of Ward 10 and Minneapolis that’s really changing,” City Council President Lisa Bender said at an Oct. 8 open house. Bender said the principal consideration will be creating a space that’s useful in the future. Originally, the city had planned to issue a request for proposal (RFP) for the project in late September but decided to hold off longer to solicit more feedback from residents, according to community planning and economic development (CPED) director David Frank. The RFP is now likely to be issued in early 2020. Based on city policies regarding land sales, any residential redevelopment on the site would be required to reserve 20% of its units for affordable housing. Interest in adding more affordable units is high, according to early survey work and feedback received at the Oct. 8 open house. City policy requires the land to be sold for fair market value. Minneapolis planners have been meeting with the Lowry Hill East, Lyndale, South Uptown and Whittier neighborhood organizations and local business groups about the RFP process and they will hold an additional open house in November, Frank said. The feedback will help the city determine “development objectives” for the site, which will influence the requirements that are put into the RFP. In addition to requirements, the city can also include recommendations to try to incentivize developers to incorporate preferred design elements into their proposals, Frank said. Once proposals are received, CPED staff will review plans and make a recommendation to the City Council. The City Council ultimately has authority on what requirements are included in the RFP and which proposal is selected. As part of the RFP, the city also plans to sell a smaller, 5,000-square-foot surface parking lot on the other side of Lyndale, between The Herkimer and the James Ballentine Uptown VFW. Developers will have the option to submit proposals for both sites together or for either of the two sites, according to CPED.
Frank said a big question for the Garfield lot is: How much parking should be required in the RFP? The area is zoned as a “Corridor 6, Community Mixed Use” space by the Minneapolis 2040 Plan, which calls for retail or office space at the street level topped by residential space and allows for heights up to six stories. The Garfield lot was developed in 1998, when the city and the LynLake Business Association came together to acquire parcels to support parking for local businesses. Businesses in the area helped pay for the lot through 20 years of special assessments, for which the final payment was made in 2018. “I’m still hopeful that the outcome will be a positive for the LynLake small business community,” said Morgan Luzier, who co-owns Balance Fitness Studios. Luzier is part of the LynLake Parking Committee, which was formed by the city when the lot was built in 1998. The committee has put forth plans for the space that seek unique architectural design, a mix of commercial and residential properties and public space for pedestrians to walk through. The group commissioned a study last year to better understand parking use in LynLake. Given the size of the Garfield lot, two buildings could be possible on the site, said Minneapolis senior planner Peter Crandall. A big question is if public parking would be below ground or at grade. “I think the city looks at this as a really good housing density opportunity,” Crandall said, noting the lot’s proximity to frequent transit service and the Midtown Greenway. It’s possible the RFP will include a requirement or recommendation to incorporate public space into the design. The lot has been considered as a potential parkland acquisition for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Nate Broadbridge, a member of the Whittier Alliance’s housing issues committee and co-owner of LynLake-based SK Coffee, said affordable housing should be a top priority for the Garfield lot, but added it would be good to have public realm elements and a direct connection to the Midtown Greenway. Shaping the requirements and recommendations of the RFP is a priority for those who have invested time and money in the lot over the years. “It took us 20 years to get to this point and whatever goes here will be here for another 100,” Luzier said.
Residents gather at an Oct. 8 open house soliciting feedback on a city-owned parking lot slated for redevelopment in LynLake. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 A7
Lyndale shelter could become drug treatment facility
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Tubman, Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge have purchase agreement By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com
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NEED PRIVACY? OUR PRIVATE EVENT ROOM IS JUST THE TICKET FOR any occasion. Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge is planning to convert a domestic violence shelter into a drug rehab and recovery center for women. Photo by Nate Gotlieb
A Lyndale domestic violence shelter will become a drug rehab and recovery center for women, pending completion of a purchase agreement between two local nonprofits. Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge (MNATC), which operates treatment programs around the state, has agreed to purchase Harriet Tubman Center West, a shelter owned and operated by Tubman. The two organizations are finalizing details of the agreement, Tubman CEO Jennifer Polzin said in a statement. She said they hope to close by the end of 2019 and transfer occupancy next summer. MNATC, founded in the early 1980s, has six campuses in Minneapolis, including two women’s residential facilities, according to Tom Peterson of Station 19 Architects, which is working on the project. It operates both licensed programs and a 12-month program rooted in Christian dogma. Peterson said MNATC’s women’s programs are full. CEO Rich Scherber said the organization can’t keep up with requests for spots in its programs. “We need more space,” he said in an interview after a Sept. 23 presentation to the Lyndale Neighborhood Association. MNATC plans to have up to 78 beds in the new building, which Scherber said currently has 64 licensed shelter beds and 11 apartments with 30 bedrooms. It also plans on offering outpatient services to up to 40 women who live at its Grace Manor resident facility in Northeast Minneapolis and up to 15 residents who live elsewhere. The facility would have 60 parking spaces, including 18 from an adjacent property that MNATC owns and uses for staff housing. The organization plans on consolidating the two parking lots.
Scherber said MNATC has a curfew for its clients and does not allow personal vehicles on the site. The organization’s facilities are not open to the public, he said, and visitors are only allowed on weekends. “All of the clients will be held to rigid rules and expectations,” he said. He said that MNATC would know by the end of October whether the project was feasible and that the entire southwest wing of the building is under environmental study. Scherber and Peterson pointed to a 2011 study by the Wilder Foundation as evidence of the program’s long-term success. The foundation found that 74% of patients surveyed reported abstaining from drugs and alcohol in the six months following graduation. Tubman provides shelter, housing, legal services, mental and chemical health support, youth programs and more to Twin Cities families. It has two Minneapolis facilities and another in Maplewood. The Lyndale facility has classes and support groups and a drop-in clothing closet, in addition to the shelter and transitional apartments. Polzin wrote in her organization’s summer newsletter that Tubman plans on relocating all of its services to its Maplewood location and to its other Minneapolis location. MNATC has submitted a land-use application to the city for the site, according to a city spokesperson, who said the application is currently being reviewed and will likely go before the Planning Commission in November. Scherber said MNATC would allow Tubman clients to stay in the building rentfree until June. The Lyndale Neighborhood Association on Sept. 23 approved a resolution in support of the project.
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A8 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
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By Jim Walsh
‘It’s more than just a book club’
R
enee Powers spent the week of Donald Trump’s visit to Minneapolis doing what she’s done much of her life — resisting and reading. “I’m not surprised we have a President Trump now,” said Powers, sitting in the dining room of her Regina neighborhood home. “Yes, I’m fired up about it, and angry and disappointed about it, but this is not new. His vitriol is not new; it’s just a bigger megaphone. I think white folks, especially, think, ‘Oh no, I forgot we were racist,’ but for people of color, this has not gone away, it’s just on a grander scale. And I think people are really angry that one of the biggest reasons why Trump is in the White House is because we’re all so inherently sexist, and we didn’t want to elect a woman.” That anger was part of the impetus for Powers launching Feminist Book Club (feministbookclub. com), an offshoot of her podcast by the same name (tinyurl.com/feminist-book-club), in the summer of 2017. At a time when the president of the United States has mocked women and worse, and when the #MeToo movement has galvanized a few new generations of feminists, Feminist Book Club shines a light on brilliant writers and progressive thought. “It started as a dozen of my friends picking the same book and chatting about it on Facebook, and it just organically grew to almost 200 members worldwide now,” said Powers, a 33-year-old “proud PhDropout” who earned her degree in women’s studies from Saint Mary’s College in her hometown of South Bend, Indiana. “The book club is community-driven, meaning our members are the ones who suggest the titles, and then we vote on them. It’s been really interesting to see what is on the mind of this group of progressively minded, politically active, educated women. “It’s more than just a book club. Every month, members receive a box of goodies: the book itself and two to four products from women- and queerowned businesses. It’s democratic and non-hierarchical, and so I have no say in what goes into each box, which is really fun for me. We donate 5% to a different feminist organization each month, and we meet online on video chat, and we invite the authors if they’re around and alive.” This month, The Oprah Magazine named Feminist Book Club one of the “20 best book subscription boxes.” Past titles include Rebecca Solnit’s “Men Explain Things to Me,” Lindy West’s “Shrill” and Kristen Sollee’s “Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive.” This month’s title? “The Bluest Eye,” by the pioneering African-American novelist Toni Morrison, who passed away last month. “We read classics, like [Sylvia Plath’s] ‘The Bell Jar’ and Toni Morrison, and those stories are still relevant. Revisiting those stories, we’re reminded that this inherent misogyny and patriarchy and white supremacy — none of this is new. This has been happening for decades for women, and I think that identifying with that creates a community and a system of support in a time that does feel helpless and hopeless for a lot of people.” Speaking of which, what titles would Powers recommend to the rest of us?
Feminist Book Club founder Renee Powers in her Regina neighborhood home. Photo by Jim Walsh
Powers: “We just announced our November book of the month, Chanel Miller’s ‘Know My Name’; she was the Jane Doe of the Stanford rape case. We have a sexual predator in the White House, so I think a book about sexual assault will be incredibly difficult for a lot of people but timely, as well, and hopefully really healing. “[We read] ‘Women and Madness’ by Phyllis Chesler, which is the germinal text of women’s mental health, and then a couple months later we read ‘The Bell Jar,’ which is about a young woman’s mental breakdown. It was fun to get the historical component of it and then see it in narrative storytelling. “We read ‘Pachinko,’ which was one of Obama’s short-listed books last spring, about a Korean family over a span of 100 years or so. Fantastic, and not necessarily an easy, fun read, but escaping into a world unlike your own, I think it flexes the muscle of compassion, which is something we so deeply yearn for right now, when everything else feels so bleak. “‘F Bomb: Dispatches From The War on Feminism’ by Laura McKeon, resonates in light of Trump’s visit. She’s a Canadian journalist who has stood at the frontlines of the anti-feminist movement and talked with anti-abortion activists and pro-gun activists and women who wanted to take away women’s rights to vote. “‘White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism’ by Robin DiAngelo is the new classic by a white woman for
white folks to talk about holding and leveraging whiteness responsibly, and I think it’s a must read for any white person. “I loved ‘Lead From The Outside’ by Stacey Abrams. It’s a great primer on politics, especially if you’re a minority, or a woman, or a millennial — those are exactly who she outlines as her audiences. People want to change the political system, and after we read the Stacey Abrams book, especially, we had a couple of members say, ‘You’re the first to know, but I’m planning on running for something,’ and we all said, ‘How can we help you? Where can we throw our dollars in your support?’” Powers notes that “feminism is weirdly generational” and that the bulk of subscribers to Feminist Book Club are “young millennials, who seem to be the group most open to identifying as feminists.” The club — whose membership draws mostly from the Twin Cities and as far away as New Zealand — celebrated its first birthday in July at Irreverent Bookworm, the new women-owned bookstore in the Hale-Nokomis neighborhood. “Reading a book is opening up your mind, expanding your perspective, and putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes,” Powers said. “That can feel like escape, but it can also feel like you’re doing something productive and progressive, and like you’re making a difference, even if it’s only in your own mind and heart.” Jim Walsh lives and grew up in South Minneapolis. He can be reached at jimwalsh086@gmail.com.
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southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 A9
Tangletown apartment proposal approved Planning Commission signed off on parking variance for the 23-unit project By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com
An Armatage developer has received approval for his proposed four-story apartment near Fuller Park in Tangletown. The Minneapolis Planning Commission granted Joshua Segal a variance that allows him to include 10 parking spots in his proposed 23-unit building, instead of the one spot for each unit the city’s zoning code would otherwise require. The 5–2 vote on Oct. 7 came over objections from dozens of nearby residents, who said 10 parking spots aren’t enough for a neighborhood where on-street parking is already tight. “It would be irresponsible to only provide 10 spots to 23 residents,” neighbor Linda Carlson said before the vote. The commission ultimately voted 6–1 to approve the Fullertown Flats project at 4736– 4740 Grand Ave., a half block north of the 48th & Grand commercial intersection. The site, which currently includes a singlefamily home and a duplex, is currently zoned for high-density, multi-family development up to four stories in height, though no buildings in the immediate vicinity are taller than two stories and the Minneapolis 2040 plan calls for the site to be downzoned to 2.5 stories. Segal’s plans call for a mix of 14 studios, six one-bedrooms and three two-bedrooms and amenities such as a fourth-floor community room/coworking space and bike parking. He told Tangletown residents in September that rents in the building would average about $1,800 a month, including utilities and parking, with studios ranging from $1,200–$1,400.
Warners' Stellian SWJ 101719 H2.indd 1
A proposed 23unit apartment building near 48th & Grand has received Minneapolis Planning Commission approval, despite opposition from neighbors. Submitted image
He wrote in his application to the city that constructing a 23-unit building on the site wouldn’t be possible without the parking variance. He said he plans to move the existing homes to a vacant lot within a mile of the site. “I don’t know of a better spot in Southwest for a functional building like this and a spot more deserving than 48th & Grand for those in need of housing,” Segal told the Planning Commission. Unlike some small apartment buildings proposed in the last few years, the project does not qualify by right for a complete elimination of parking requirements. That’s because the 2015 ordinance that loosened parking requirements mandates that small apartments be within a quarter mile of a stop that buses visit at least every 15 minutes during midday to qualify for the parking requirement waiver. Segal’s proposed building is within a quarter
mile of bus stops for five different lines. While no single bus route has midday service every 15 minutes, the ease of access to routes 4, 18, 46, 113, 135 and 146 amounts to a similar level of convenience for transit riders, said staff for the city’s Department of Community Planing and Economic Development (CPED), which recommended approval of the parking variance. “I honestly cannot think of another site that’s this well connected by transit without qualifying for the transit incentive,” Kimberly Holien, the city’s land use, design and preservation manager, told planning commissioners. Still, dozens of nearby residents expressed disagreement with CPED’s recommendation, both in public comments and in testimony before the vote. They said the building would be out of scale with the neighborhood, depriving
their homes of light, and they worried it would clog Grand Avenue with renters’ cars, making the road more difficult to navigate during snow emergencies. Some residents urged the commission to delay the vote until November, when the Minneapolis 2040 plan is scheduled to take effect. “I’m asking you to think about the nitty gritty of a neighborhood when you make a decision,” said resident Barbara Davis, who argued that the hilly terrain of Tangletown makes walking to transit less convenient than CPED staff claimed. Before the vote, senior city planner Lindsey Silas said the site will retain its highdensity zoning district even after the 2040 plan takes effect; the plan’s land-use designations don’t carry legal force until the City Council writes them into the zoning code, which it aims to do next year. Commissioner Amy Sweasy said the commission has to judge applications based on current laws. Planning Commissioner Jeremy Schroeder, who represents Tangletown as Ward 11’s city council member, voted against the variance along with Alissa Luepke-Pier. He cited the block’s “snow issues” and said he disagrees with CPED’s assessment that the project meets the requirements for a transit-based parking reduction. Sweasy voted in favor of the variance. “This commission has voted to eliminate parking on so many pieces of property,” she said. “At least this one has some.” Segal said construction is tentatively expected to start in spring 2020.
10/14/19 2:55 PM
A10 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
Angela Conley finds value in ‘lived experience’
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When Angela Conley was elected to represent Hennepin County’s 4th District in 2018, she brought new perspectives to the county board. She was the first African American elected to the group and she had received county benefits as a young woman before making a career in human services. “When we talk about change, there’s value in the lived experience,” she said. “There’s value in that personal testimony. And I think I’ve been able to shed light on a lot of things to my colleagues that they may not have been aware of, because they haven’t been that close to the work.” Conley sat down with the Southwest Journal to discuss her first year on the board and the issues that motivate her work. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
How does your experience as a county staff member influence your work now as a decision maker? It’s a huge shift. In this role now, a lot of people think that I already know certain things because I worked in it, but I tell people, “Maybe I don’t. Present information to me as if I don’t know anything.” But I think spending the last 20 years working within human services at both the county and the state has given me a unique, inside view of how policies and decisions made up here affect direct-line workers, how they affect people who are impacted by our services.
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In recent 2020 budget talks, you pushed for a higher maximum tax levy with more funding toward human services. Why was that important for you and what shortcomings do you see within the county’s current human services? Over the last several years I’ve seen a disinvestment in human services and our programming. Over the last five years, human services in general has lost over $100 million. The fact that we haven’t filled vacant positions has resulted in increased workloads for our staff. There’re a lot more people entering our systems because we haven’t invested in shelter like we should have or should be. The numbers of people who are sleeping outside — unsheltered homelessness — has skyrocketed over the past two years. It just keeps going up. We’re on pace to see at most 2,000 people counted sleeping outside in January. Unacceptable. This is a crisis. And then we’re seeing these massive numbers of people who are addicted to various different substances. From January to September there were about 1,100 overdoses in the metro area. And most of them were concentrated in the district I represent, around the Phillips community. Fifty-one of those were fatal, and they’re hitting women the hardest, the majority of whom are Native American women. To me, we need revenue. [The property tax hike] was proposed at 4.75% and I talked to our CFO, our county administrator and asked, “What does 5.75% look like? What does that do to someone’s property tax bill?” I was satisfied that the administrator’s
Angela Conley. Submitted photo
proposal was a $56 increase on [the median value home’s] bills, and my proposal would add $13 on top of that. This would bring in an additional $8 million to human services that is desperately needed. Nobody wants to touch property taxes at all, so being able to take that risk and bring about from that a conversation — that was desperately needed. But it failed 5-2.
How do you think the county should continue to address the concentration of encampments on the Midtown Greenway? Fund human services. I’m just going to be very clear about that. We need to also think about repurposing dollars. Where are we spending money now that we could be spending to get people into housing, to protect vulnerable women, to get people places to sleep at night, to get more treatment out to folks? Treatment sometimes is a touchy subject, because not everybody’s ready for treatment. So, we need to be thinking about things like harm reduction — let’s help people who are addicted at least do whatever it is they are doing safely. What we did recently was approve $72,000 to get more street outreach workers from St. Stephen’s out to the Greenway. I don’t want to see a continued police response where we’re arresting our way out of addiction or arresting our way out of homelessness, because that doesn’t work, it never works. And that means we’re spending resources at the jail that we could be spending on human services. What’s been the effort you’re most proud of or excited about in your first year? I’m really proud that I’ve gone out and taken risks and been really firm about the things I believe in. Being firm about, “I do think we should raise your tax levy 1%.” That’s risky. I think also there are employees who see me and think there’s hope. There are people who live in our communities, who hear the passion in my voice when I talk about certain issues, who feel hopeful. We’ve had young interns in this office who see the way three black women in the District 4 office move and operate, and they’re inspired by that, inspired to enter into this realm themselves.
southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 A11
Minneapolis Public Schools examines retention practices District saw net loss of 800 students last school year
By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com
Field trips to feeder schools. Phone calls to students who miss more than two days of school. A change of culture to ensure kids of all races feel welcome. Those are some ideas a Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) taskforce charged with increasing student retention has been exploring. Since March, the group of about 25 school leaders and district staffers has been brainstorming ways to keep families in the district, which saw an 800-student drop between October 2018 and June 2019. Their aim is to create a systematic approach to retention that all schools could follow, Superintendent Ed Graff said at the Aug. 27 School Board meeting. MPS, which owns 75 buildings and runs nearly 70 schools, has seen its enrollment decline to just over 36,000 students as of October 2018 from more than 48,000 in 2000. The district says it loses 5,000 students a year to open enrollment in other districts and another 5,000 to charter schools. While it retains a higher proportion of school-aged residents in South Minneapolis than it does in North Minneapolis and Northeast Minneapolis, the problem has affected schools throughout the city. “We’re paying for a larger infrastructure than the school district can sustain with the number of students we have,” said Julie Schultz Brown, the district’s head of marketing and communications. Over 1,500 students left MPS during the 2018–19 school year while just 700 came into it. More than half of those who left were black and more than 80% were students of color and indigenous. A spring 2018 survey found that common reasons families leave the district include experiences with discipline practices, unmet expectations, lack of communication and moving out of Minneapolis. Brown is coordinating the retention taskforce. She said the group has focused on how to make students feel welcome. She said the group has divided into smaller subcommittees focused on everything from retaining students as they transition into middle school to improving school culture. The district is also talking about efforts to improve academic outcomes, Brown said, though it’s having those conversations as part of its strategic planning process. Graff plans to unveil a revised draft of the strategic plan next month, after a draft unveiled this past spring was met with skepticism. Brown said stabilizing and boosting MPS’ enrollment is critical to all students in Minneapolis, including those in Southwest Minneapolis, where most schools are near or at capacity.
Minneapolis Public Schools saw a net enrollment decrease of 800 students during the 2018-19 school year. Photo by Nate Gotlieb
MPS, which owns 75 buildings and runs nearly 70 schools, has seen its enrollment decline to just over 36,000 students as of October 2018 from more than 48,000 in 2000. “In order for the schools in the south to receive the support they need and offer their kids what they need and want, we can’t be using resources elsewhere,” she said.
Debating a ‘top-down’ approach At the Aug. 27 School Board meeting, KerryJo Felder, who represents North Minneapolis, said the district’s approach to retention was too much of a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach. “We need to reach out to the families to ask them what they need in each individual school,” Felder said. “Because each school is going to be different.” North High School Principal Mauri Melander Friestleben, who previously served as principal of Lucy Craft Laney Elementary School, said taskforce members empathized with that sentiment. But she said there are basic retention activities — such as addressing the transition to middle school — that aren’t happening but should be. “That goes beyond where you’re located and where your families are,” she said. District leaders said the taskforce will keep meeting this year. They plan to concentrate this year’s recruitment and retention efforts between October and February — the period when families are asked to fill out their school request forms. A few marketing efforts started this past summer, such as projects to remind families about registration deadlines and to improve the websites of 13 low-enrollment schools. One of those schools was the pre-K–8 Jefferson Community School at 26th & Hennepin, which has seen enrollment drop to about 435 from over 700 in 2013. Jefferson principal Holly Kleppe said the school mailed out postcards to families this summer and also went door to door to all of its pre-K families to encourage them to stay there for kindergarten. Family liaison Saidi Omar said she thought the effort was successful, noting that it brought about half a dozen kids to the school. At an August open house, scores of Jefferson families registered for school, got no-cost supplies and learned about activities and programs offered by community partners, such as the Girl Scouts. Parent Fadumo Duale said she’s told other families about the school, which she called a “second home” for her three kids who attend it. That’s a sentiment district leaders are hoping to recreate throughout the district, both through programming and staffing. “We have to get to a spot where we feel really good about the services we’re providing students,” Friestleben said. “Then [engagement] will become really organic and authentic.” Charter Bank SWJ 101719 V3.indd 1
10/15/19 1:22 PM
A12 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
Routes and Roads
A column on transportation in Southwest Minneapolis
By Andrew Hazzard / ahazzard@swjournal.com
Lake & Excelsior work ending for the year Roads
Hennepin County’s project redesigning the meeting of Lake Street and Excelsior Boulevard in Cedar-Isles-Dean is about to wrap up for 2019. Construction crews have finished realigning eastbound Lake Street and have installed most of the new concrete that will form a larger pedestrian island at the intersection, according to Hennepin County.
Bikes
By the end of the month, the intersection will be repaved and new traffic signal poles will be installed. There will continue to be some lane closures in the area for construction this month. Crews will resume work in the spring, when landscaping will be added to the pedestrian islands.
Protection added to Blaisdell bike lane
Southwest cyclists will now be able to ride southbound from Whittier to Kingfield using protected bike lanes. Minneapolis Public Works added buffer strips and bollard protection to the Blaisdell Avenue bike lane between Franklin
Avenue and 29th Street the week of Oct. 11, according to a city spokesperson. The Blaisdell Avenue bike lane is now protected between Franklin Avenue and 40th Street.
New bollard protection has been added to the Blaisdell bike lane from Franklin Avenue to West 29th Street. The lane now has bollard protection from Franklin to West 40th Street. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
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A new city program seeks to bolster the use of low-carbon transportation options by placing rental bikes and scooters near major transit stops. The new “mobility hubs” are being piloted across the city. Southwest has two mobility hubs, at the Uptown Transit Station and at 29th & Lyndale. The hubs feature Nice Ride stations and designated parking areas for electric scooters. Wayfinding signs direct people to nearby parks, shopping districts and
vehicle share programs like Hourcar. The mobility hubs are currently in a threemonth pilot program that began Sept. 29. There are four hubs in North Minneapolis, four in Northeast and two in South. The program is supported by grants the city received from the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ American Cities Climate Challenge. Staff from the city, Hennepin County and Metro Transit will occasionally visit the hubs to educate residents on the transportation options and solicit feedback.
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southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 A13 FROM 3 STRINGS / PAGE A1
Over the past few years, 3 Strings students have learned to play guitar and have performed pop songs like “Walking on Sunshine” and Lady Antebellum’s “Stars Tonight.” They meet at 8:50 a.m. each day in Ruth LeMay’s second-floor guitar room at Southwest. On Nov. 8, they’ll perform during the keynote session of the 2019 National Association for Music Education National Conference in Orlando, Florida. Students in 3 Strings said they’ve enjoyed playing guitar and being with their friends during the class. Their parents said the group is a highlight of their kids’ days and that their kids are being taken seriously as musicians. “They’re part of the same things and the same events as the other guitar players,” said Sally Sexton, whose 10th-grade daughter, Brynn, takes the class. “That’s what I think is just so significant about 3 Strings. It’s not separate. It’s within the umbrella of the performing arts at Southwest High School.” “It’s true inclusion,” her husband, Tony Sexton, said.
An ‘aha!’ moment LeMay, a longtime music educator who founded Southwest’s guitar program, said her inspiration for the class came during an Army band performance at Southwest. She said she was sitting behind a group of special education students during the performance and that she noticed how they were clapping along. Some were also singing along — and in tune. “I really was engaged in watching the kids,” she said. Southwest didn’t have any music education for special education students at the time, so LeMay asked then-principal Bill Smith if she could start her own class. He gave her a semester to get it up and running. LeMay worked with special education assistant Artisha Knight-Milon to develop the class.
They tried having the students play traditional six-string guitars, but it proved difficult, so they cut off three strings on the instruments. Then they tuned the three-stringed guitars so they could be played by simply holding down the remaining three frets and strumming. “That was the huge ‘aha!’ moment,” LeMay said. In the past few years, 3 Strings has played alongside Southwest’s other music ensembles at various concerts, including the annual fundraiser for the school’s music department. Last spring it went on a tour of several of Southwest’s feeder schools, Sally Sexton said. On a September morning, 3 Strings set out to learn the Motown hit “Do You Love Me,” which LeMay plans to play during the Orlando concert. She displayed color-coded notes for the song on an interactive board at the front of the room. LeMay initially asked the students to play the song from beginning to end, but after it was apparent the group needed more practice, she worked on it in sections. “We can get it,” she told the students at the end of class. “We just have to focus.”
Changing perceptions Jackulin Cyrus has a 15-year-old son, D’Avian, who is starting his second year in 3 Strings. She said he’s been trying to find an activity he can do, given his disability, and that he has loved playing guitar. “To see his smile every day when he comes home from there, it brings me so much joy to see him so happy,” she said. Cyrus said D’Avian now wants to learn to play other instruments besides guitar. She said his first concert with 3 Strings brought tears to her eyes because she was so happy.
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3 Strings Guitars will perform Nov. 8 at the National Association for Music Education National Convention in Orlando, Florida. Submitted photo
She said she thinks the Orlando performance will change the way other people see kids with disabilities. Sexton said Brynn wanted to play guitar after seeing 3 Strings perform before she started high school. She said she’s appreciated the professionalism with which the Southwest staff has approached the class and how they’ve helped kids of all abilities participate. Tony Sexton said Brynn wants to make sure she can attend every rehearsal. Brynn and D’Avian will be among the 16 students with disabilities who go to Orlando in November. Also going are parents, staff, eight “support” students and four students who will be part of national honor ensembles. 3 Strings student Michael Grace, who has been in the band for two years, said he’s very excited for the trip and that he’s looking forward to playing guitar and eating good food. Grace graduated Southwest last year and now participates in the district’s Transition Plus program, which helps students with disabilities transition to adult life. He said he likes to perform with the 3 Strings group and that his favorite song to play is “We’ve Got the Beat.” His mom, Liz Hannan, said 3 Strings has made a big difference in his transition out of high school.
“I couldn’t have thought of a better way to set up the first year after high school,” she said.
Community support 3 Strings was one of two ensembles selected to perform during the keynote session of the National Association for Music Education conference. Denese Odegaard, past president of the organization, said the session will focus on inclusion. Odegaard, who works in the Fargo, North Dakota, public schools, said her organization is not only impressed with how LeMay has reached students with disabilities. She said it’s also impressive how LeMay has gotten buy-in for the class from the Southwest administration. “There are adapted music classes around,” she said, “but [LeMay] has just taken it to the next level.” LeMay said she’s looking to teach her 3 Strings methodology, which she calls “UnLocKeD,” to other music educators. A fundraising effort has collected tens of thousands of dollars to cover the costs of the trip, which also will include visits to Walt Disney World and the ocean. LeMay said any additional funds raised will go toward efforts to expand 3 Strings into other schools. “The community has just embraced this,” she said. “They seem to really understand the need of what’s been missing for kids.”
A14 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
Green Digest
By Mira Klein
LEEDing the Uptown development boom As Minneapolis aims to hit ambitious climate goals, what is green building’s place in the mix?
F
ive years ago Michael Peterson moved to Uptown from his longtime home near Lake Harriet. Peterson and his wife, who were looking for a more walkable, transit-friendly and sustainable lifestyle, had plenty of options to choose from. They scoured the scores of newly developed highend apartment complexes that line either side of the Midtown Greenway, eventually settling on Track 29, a 200-unit building on Bryant Avenue completed in 2014. Track 29 is next door to LEED Silvercertified Elan Uptown Apartments, across the Greenway from the LEED Gold-certified MoZaic office/retail complex and just two blocks east of the LEED Silver-certified Blue Apartments. Uptown’s green building boom, although not at pace with its luxury residential boom, is nevertheless noticeable. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely recognized green building certification program in the United States. Operated through the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council, LEED provides both a framework for sustainable building practices and a system for third-party verification. Other certification systems include Energy Star, Net Zero and Living Building Challenge. All of these programs are voluntary. The Minneapolis plan review process includes a checkbox for green building, “but it’s a self-labeling mechanism,” explained Vicki Carey, senior building inspector for Southwest Minneapolis. It’s difficult to evaluate implementation in practice because green building features are largely absent from the city building code, said Jon Sutherland, Carey’s Uptown counterpart. “If it’s not in the building code, then we’re not looking for it,” he said. Green building holds greater urgency as the Twin Cities region anticipates housing an additional 888,000 residents by 2040. According to the United Nations Environmental Program, building construction and use together account for 39% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions annually. In Minneapolis,
The Blue Apartments, a LEED Silver-certified residential complex at 29th & Aldrich, is just one of many area developments that employ sustainability rhetoric as a marketing tactic. Photo by Mira Klein
this percentage is nearly double: Buildings accounted for 71% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2015. While the 2040 plan outlines a series of policy goals to decarbonize the built environment, Minneapolis already ranks high by national green building standards, coming in fifth among major cities in the 2018 Green Building Adoption Index. The vast majority of Minneapolis’ greencertified projects are located in Downtown, but there are a half dozen or so LEED projects within Uptown’s central corridor and many more that tout other sustainable features. And they are advertised accordingly. From the liberal use of the prefix “eco,” to code words like “livability” and “walkability,” Uptown’s new developments are marketed with phrases that aim to evoke a sense of do-gooder sustainability
coupled with the ease of high-end living. But green-tinted language is not unique to LEED-certified residences. “Almost all of the buildings you run into now, that’s just their lingo,” Peterson said. This was true of Peterson’s experience with Track 29, which, although not LEED certified, was built with environmental features including on-site stormwater management and sustainable landscaping practices. Such features were ubiquitous among the buildings Peterson toured. “It’s pretty much a can of corn,” he said. “It’s all the same.” Despite the seemingly standard nature of sustainable features from one new development to the next, green building experts are clear that not all “greening” is the same. “Nothing is truly green or sustainable; it’s what you
compare it to,” explained Melissa Rappaport Schifman, sustainability consultant and author of “Building a Sustainable Home.” Schifman’s book chronicles the process of obtaining LEED certification for her home 10 years ago. It wasn’t until construction was complete that Schifman learned about the Net Zero model, a certification even more stringent than LEED. “If I had known, I never would have run a gas line into my house,” she said. Although LEED is popularly treated as synonymous with green building, skepticism remains that it is the best way to achieve climate targets. LEED was always a compromise. When the program started in the late 1990s, it succeeded because architects were able to transform what were once considered radical ideas into commercially viable products. In the decades since, this mainstreaming has made room for LEED standards in municipal building codes, raising the bar for construction across the board. But the exploding business of LEED certification has tied its operations up in the business of profit-oriented developers. And ultimately, by pushing for technological fi xes, LEED leaves the fundamentally social relationship between people and the built environment unchanged and unchallenged. As reported by CityLab, LEED founder Bob Berkebile himself holds reservations about the program’s environmental impact. “The certification has become: Your building is doing a little less damage to the environment than everyone else’s,” he said. “But that means you’re still having a negative impact. I think that’s a failure.” Even in LEED buildings, differences in environmental impact are largely lost in translation from developer to property manager to resident. Craig Wilson, founder and principal at sustainability advisory firm Sustology, identifies a tendency to overemphasize features with marginal impact like rooftop solar over high-impact features like insulation. SEE GREEN DIGEST / PAGE A16
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southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 A15
By Andrew Hazzard / ahazzard@swjournal.com
Compromises reached in Southwest parks plan The final meeting of a group of community members helping plan the future of 43 neighborhood parks in Southwest Minneapolis was marked by compromise, a fitting end to a process where several interest groups lobbied to realize their conflicting desires. The community action committee (CAC) charged with approving a Southwest Service Area Master Plan for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board held its 16th and final meeting Oct. 7, reaching consensus on design recommendations for all local parks and finding compromise on issues that had dogged the process for months, like the balance between diamond and field sport facilities and full court basketball at Mueller Park. “The biggest challenge people wrestled with, to a person, was how to reconcile different wants with limited resources,” said Brian Nalezny, an East Harriet resident who chaired the Southwest CAC.
Courts and diamonds At the final meeting, the CAC approved plans to distribute diamond and field sport facilities at four large parks in Southwest: Armatage, Kenny, Linden Hills and Pershing Field. • Armatage Park will be dedicated to diamond sports with batting cages, pitching mounds, one standard high school diamond and three multiuse diamonds for baseball, softball or kickball. • Kenny Park will focus on field sports with plans for two large multi-use turf fields. • Linden Hills Park will hold a premier, fenced-in diamond for high school softball, a smaller diamond, one large field and three
medium-sized fields. (The fields are planned to overlap with outfield space.) • Pershing Field Park will have two multiuse diamonds, one large field and one smaller field. The park will also add batting cages and pitching mounds. Mueller Park in Lowry Hill East is relatively small but has been a big source of debate throughout the CAC process, with disagreements generally falling along age lines. Area CAC member Katie Jones had pushed for full-court basketball, citing the young demographics in the area. Some nearby park residents and the Friends of Mueller Park group had advocated for maintaining the current half-court basketball to avoid losing more natural areas. The park formerly had a full-court basketball area that was cut in half in the late 1990s. Longtime residents said the court attracted bad crowds and noise, which younger people throughout the CAC process have labeled as generalizations steeped in racism. Ultimately, the CAC approved a design with a smaller, 65-by-50-foot full-court basketball area, which will ensure no nearby mature trees are felled.
Nature vs. recreation A recurring debate throughout the process was natural versus recreation space. Many members of the public attending meetings questioned the need for amenities and favored nature areas. Design elements such as removing paved surfaces along two blocks of The Mall in Uptown and adding pollinator gardens throughout neighborhood parks should have
diamond sports, between tennis and pickleball provided constant debates throughout the process. O’Dell said the CAC admirably fulfilled its responsibility to learn about the area’s parks and hear from invested parties. “They were all open to different groups,” she said. O’Dell said the do-it-yourself skatepark at the 28th Street Tot Lot, the amount of pollinator gardens included throughout the parks and the decision to focus on diamond sports in Armatage and field sports at Kenny were some of her favorite design elements in the plan.
Next steps The Southwest Service Area Master Plan CAC was able to reach a compromise that will return full-court basketball to Mueller Park in The Wedge. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
a positive environmental impact, said Colleen O’Dell, the MPRB project manager for the Southwest Parks Plan. CAC members pointed to efforts to improve the water quality of Spring Lake at The Parade in Kenwood as an example of park design benefiting the environment. “The parks are the first-line defense for climate resilience, and I think this CAC did a good job of respecting that,” O’Dell said. When planning the future designs of 43 parks, CAC members heard from people supporting many activities. Finding a balance between nature and recreation, between field sports and
The CAC-approved designs are not the final master plan. Their designs are currently being compiled into a final report, which will be posted for a 45-day public comment period in November, O’Dell said. There will be a public hearing before commissioners vote on whether to approve the plan. Changes can be made by planners or commissioners in response to public comments. Designs approved in the master plan will be implemented over a 20-year period, according to each individual park’s position in the MPRB equity matrix for capital improvements, which ranks parks for renovation money based on the socio-economic status of the area and repair needs. A cost estimate for all the design elements in the plan will be included in the final report. Money for the improvements generally comes from the Park Board’s 20-year fund, donations and grants.
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A16 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com FROM 2040 PLAN / PAGE A1
Stolen yard signs
new built form map would already meet goals for more housing, he said, so staff would pay more attention to factors like a project’s affordability and access to jobs. The City Council is currently scheduled to
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formally adopt Minneapolis 2040 on Oct. 25. The amendment that would allow three-unit homes in single-family areas may go before the city’s Zoning & Planning Committee on Oct. 31, followed by the full City Council on Nov. 8. 52
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In Minneapolis, the 2040 plan continues to be contentious. The groups Smart Growth Minneapolis, Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis and Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds continue to challenge the 2040 plan in court, alleging that it would cause environmental harm. And a recent bid to create a conservation district for about 25 homes in the West Calhoun neighborhood, an area that would open to 10-story buildings under the 2040 plan, was met with 178 pages of public comments. Some were fiercely opposed, fearing “hundreds of copycat applications” and “death by a thousand cuts for Mpls 2040.” And some were fiercely supportive, saying that if “fine, beautiful, historic homes are demolished, the damage is done and cannot be undone.” From his apartment window on Sept. 22, Lyndale resident Devin Hogan watched someone steal his “Neighbors for More Neighbors” lawn signs from the corner of 34th & Nicollet. When Hogan opened the window and yelled, he said the person looked him in the eye, hesitated, then tucked the signs under their arm and quickly walked away. “This is how I always put it in my head: There is more to life than opposing places for people to live,” Hogan said. “The 2040 plan really isn’t that radical in some ways.” He pointed to projects like Fullertown Flats in Tangletown, where zoning at 4736–40 Grand Ave. currently allows the four-story building by right, while the 2040 plan calls for just 2.5 stories on the site. In Whittier, city officials recently approved a five-story building at 26th & Blaisdell where 2040 zoning would only allow three stories. In general, the 2040 plan directs building heights of at least 10 stories and no maximum to Downtown’s central business district, 10- to 30-story buildings near Downtown and along high-frequency transit routes, six stories along high-frequency transit corridors and three to four stories along transit routes farther from Downtown. Zones allowing up to three stories would provide a transition to residential areas that mirror the scale of single-family homes. For example, the plan would upzone Downtown, areas along the Midtown Greenway, major intersections like Lake & Hennepin and blocks surrounding the future West Lake light rail transit station. The plan would downzone some blocks that are not on major streets while upzoning other blocks that successfully lobbied to downzone in the 1950s–80s, removing a patchwork of zoning in neighborhoods like The Wedge and Whittier.
would look like on a normal Minneapolis lot [without] variances.” Schaefco Development did not immediately comment on the proposal. Southwest Minneapolis resident BruceTwin Brunner previously constructedSweeney aLake triplexLake on a vacant lot at 3450 Grand Ave. S., and he’s waiting for 2040 adoption to determine how to finish off a basement at another building. It’s much easier to convert a single-family home into a duplex than a triplex, he said. Triplexes fall under commercial building code, requiring fire-rated and sound-rated walls and flooring, taller ceiling heights and architectural renderings. “Is it possible? Yes. Is it very difficult? Yes,” he said. It makes more financial sense to build a triplex from the ground up, he said. The City Planning Commission approved the triplex zoning code amendment Oct. 7 in a 6-1 vote. The nay vote came from Alissa Luepke-Pier, who said she’s not opposed to density, but she worries about outside real estate investors exploiting communities like North Minneapolis, denying homeownership and furthering disparities in wealth the 2040 plan aims to fix. Converting family-size housing into efficiency units would hurt North Side neighborhoods where many residents are under age 18, she said. “It seems to me that if we honor what we stated was our No. 1 goal of the comp plan, we should at least get the inaugural one right,” she said. Planning Commission President Sam Rockwell said in response that the triplex amendment is part of a broader package of policies that include raising the minimum wage and adding renter protections. “From an equity standpoint, this isn’t something that should be seen in a vacuum,” he said.
Areas shaded in blue indicate zoning districts that will open to triplexes for the first time under Minneapolis 2040. 55
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What’s next In the months since approving the 2040 draft, council members have restricted tenant screening, capped renter security deposits and asked city staff to start looking into rent stabilization. The council is considering a permanent inclusionary zoning policy that would take effect Jan. 1, aiming to produce more affordable units as part of new development. Following a rezoning study, city staff expect to change the entire city’s “built form” guidelines, revising maximum building heights, bulk requirements and setbacks. Bender said the timeline for implementation is not yet finalized, and she wants to make sure new development is tied to other goals like transportation infrastructure and affordable housing. A multi-year process would implement a new Land Use map — adding more places for commercial space, for example, so residents can find what they need closer to home without Lake using a car. The map would also protect land Harvey designated for industry and jobs in portions of Windom and Northeast Minneapolis, where housing would be off limits. “Where the rubber hits the road most directly is with development review,” Bernard said. Following the rezoning study, city staff expect to see fewer exceptions to zoning requirements. Lake Pamela Bernard said developers seeking exceptions would need to make the case that they’re furthering the goals of Minneapolis 2040. The
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Triplexes under scrutiny The Cedar-Isles-Dean Neighborhood Association is questioning the practicality of triplexes in single-family zones, based on one “real world example of what development under the proposed 2040 plan might actually look like” at 2820 St. Louis Ave. “That triplex required five different variances,” said board member Evan Carlson. “I really challenge the city to give us some actual renderings of what this hypothetical triplex
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Property managers steer clear of discussing features that convey operational and maintenance costs, such as highefficiency heating and ventilation systems, Wilson explained. “The world should be working by highlighting the embedded costs,” he said. “But we don’t have that level of transparency currently.” This misrepresentation is not only rhetorical, Wilson said. It is underselling the real financial savings that a holistic green building approach can bring. Developers may be wary of upfront costs, but green building can realize a significant return on investment. According to the CBRE Group, a real estate
services and investment firm that co-produces the Green Building Adoption Index, real estate investors are increasingly coming on board. In its 2018 real estate investor survey, CBRE reported that for the first time a plurality of investors identified sustainability as an important asset selection criteria. “This reflects a gradual trend of increasing investor interest in sustainability,” the authors wrote. But in neighborhoods like Uptown, where residential growth is dominated by national and multi-national development entities, this argument must contend with the realities of the speculative market. “Developers who flip [buildings] don’t care about the long-term financial impact [of green building],” Wilson explained. Financial savings — even if real-
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Diamond Lake
ized after only one or two years — don’t hold the same relevance in the short-term analytics of speculative real estate. According to Peterson, Track 29 has gone through three different owners in his five years of residence, passing through the hands of some of the biggest real estate players in the country including Greystar, Village Green and Lincoln Properties. Uptown’s built landscape is at once seemingly uniform in its green rhetoric and highly differentiated in green building practice. Certifications may vary, but “zen gardens,” complementary recycling totes and ownership structures are mirrored from one building to the next. If, as Peterson suggests, all of the Uptown
developments are essentially undifferentiable from the consumer perspective, where does the leverage point for better green building lie? “You’d have to talk to the state building code division,” Sutherland said. “They are the ones that give us the code.” As Wilson argues, consumer pressure must play a big role. But the process of greening Uptown must also contend with the large sums of capital that dominate its shape — a flow that is sustained by both investment and consumer demand for luxury. Right now, Wilson said, “People just want to feel OK about their consumption.” Sustainability rhetoric may pull people inside the leasing office door, but ultimately, he said, “it’s luxury that sells.”
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A18 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com FROM WAGE THEFT / PAGE A1
More cops on the beat
The federal investigation illustrates the scope of a crime that takes a huge toll on workers yet frequently goes unreported. Academic studies estimate workers lose millions of dollars from wage theft each year in Minneapolis, according to Brian Walsh, an attorney who manages labor standards enforcement for the city’s department of civil rights. Additional resources for fighting wage theft are on the way. In August, the City Council passed an ordinance that will allow Walsh’s office to enforce violations by local businesses starting next year. The ordinance is essentially a municipal code version of the Minnesota Wage Theft Prevention Act that Gov. Tim Walz signed into effect in July, which creates more protections for workers and adds criminal penalties for employers who commit wage theft. Right now, enforcers in the city’s office of civil rights only have authority to compel compliance with Minneapolis’ ordinances on minimum wage and sick and safe time. In January 2020, they’ll be able to enforce all aspects of the state law. “This is frankly a huge expansion of authority and we do not take it lightly,” Walsh said.
Wage theft is any underpayment or nonpayment of earnings. In Minneapolis, it is most common in the construction industry, Walsh said. He said low-wage, immigrant workers are the most vulnerable to wage theft. The nature of wage theft ranges from deliberate stealing by employers to poor payroll systems that employers don’t bother to update, Walsh said. Often, in a purely economic sense, it’s in employers’ interest to cut corners, he said. Most labor laws on the books date back to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The Minnesota Wage Theft Prevention Act and the overlapping ordinance approved by the City Council in 2019 are attempts to create a system that works for laborers in the modern economy, where many employees are subcontractors. “Essentially, the rules had not caught up to evolutions in our economy,” Walsh said. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) estimates around 40,000 workers are not paid what they’ve earned each year. The new law requires employers establish a regular payday, keep better records of their employees’ hours and wages and provide workers with information about their wage, pay date, benefits and rights at the start of employment. It also gives the state labor department more resources to investigate
Eat Street violations The Eat Street crackdown found cases of wage theft big and small along Nicollet Avenue in Southwest. All told, 12 restaurants owed $367,000 to employees. Some, like Salsa a La Salsa and Pancho Villa, owed money to workers at multiple locations. Marissa’s Supermarket and Bakery was the largest violator, with a reported $67,128 owed to 27 workers. Rainbow Chinese owed $42,756 to eight employees. Pancho Villa owed $37,523 to the 29 workers at their
Low-wage, immigrant workers are the most vulnerable to wage theft. Nicollet Avenue location, plus $21,000 more to their employees in Monticello. Most restaurants did not respond to questions from the Southwest Journal. Rainbow Chinese owner Tammy Wong said she had no comment. Colleen Doran, who co-owns Black Sheep Pizza with her husband, Jordan Smith, said their violations came from employees working at multiple locations. Their three locations each have different tax identifications and have separate payrolls, Doran said, which meant they didn’t track if a worker logged more than 40 hours between multiple locations. A Department of Labor inspector went over their records and determined they owed 17 employees a total of $7,560 due to uncounted overtime over a three-year period. “We paid each of the affected employees immediately as well as the corresponding fines, which also went directly to the staff,” Doran said in an email. The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division found the violations during an education and enforcement initiative aimed at the restaurant and grocery industry in the Midwest in 2018. Overtime violations are among the most common and costly forms of wage theft in Minneapolis, according to Walsh. If employees’ hours aren’t tracked properly and they aren’t paid the time-and-a-half they’re owed, workers can be out a lot of money. “It can add up real quick,” he said.
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payroll violations and establishes a new misdemeanor criminal statute to charge employers who hinder labor department investigations. The law gave the state labor department $3 million to establish its wage theft program. Over the next year the DLI is hiring and training seven wage theft investigators to enforce the law, according to DLI Commissioner Nancy Leppink. The city ordinance essentially puts more cops on the beat in Minnesota’s largest city. “We know the problem is so widespread that there’s no way the state, even with additional resources, could enforce all the violations,” Walsh said. Although the state law budgeted for more staff to crack down on wage theft, the city’s enforcement team is not expanding. The department has three full-time lawyers and one support staff member, Walsh said, and does not have plans to add more staff at this time. In bigger cases, the city will likely look to bring in help from Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office for enforcement, which is allowed by the state law, Walsh said. Because wage theft generally targets lowincome workers, cracking down on the practice can put more money in the pockets of people who need it most. “The policy intent really is to keep our local economy healthy by recognizing that workers are consumers, too,” Walsh said.
Restaurant
Amount owed
# of Employees owed
Marissa’s Bakery
$67,128
27
Rainbow Chinese
$42,756
8
Pancho Villa
$37,523
29
El Nuevo Mariachi
$16,303
8
Eat Street Social
$12,130
13
Salsa a La Salsa
$8,204
9
Black Sheep Pizza
$7,560
17
southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 A19
Actor Remy Auberjonois makes a home in Kenwood By Ksenia Gorinshteyn
Kenwood resident Remy Auberjonois’ career has taken him to Broadway and beyond, working alongside actors like Jon Hamm on “Mad Men” and Jesse Eisenberg in an offBroadway production of “Asuncion.” Auberjonois grew up in Los Angeles and said he knew throughout his childhood that he would become an actor. While he was in elementary school, his father, René, was on television — in shows like Charlie’s Angels and Beyond Westworld — so it had always seemed like part of the plan. “It’s a little bit like taking over the family store,” Auberjonois said. “People ask, ‘What’s it like to have a dad who does that?’ I think it’s much more of a leap for someone whose parent is a dentist or an accountant to find their way into the theater. It was just known and valued in my family. It’s what I understood people to do.” Auberjonois brought a theatrical ambition with him to the East Coast. After earning a master’s degree in fine arts at Yale, he worked on TV shows, films and Broadway productions. But Auberjonois sometimes had doubts about his choice to follow in his family’s footsteps and found the work of acting to be repetitive and tiring. “I struggled earlier on in my life to sort of really try to understand: Is this actually something I want to do? Or is it kind of a default?” Auberjonois said. “I called myself ‘Doctor Lawyer
Doctor’ because I was doing a lot of TV where I would play a doctor or a lawyer, and I kind of plateaued in my interest in being an actor.” However, Auberjonois had a breakthrough in a 2012 Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” He was cast as the boss of Willy Loman — played by Philip Seymour Hoffman — and Entertainment Weekly wrote that Auberjonois made “an indelible impression.” “It actually pushed me to do something else, [and I] decided I really wanted to try my hand at directing,” Auberjonois said. After “Death of a Salesman,” Auberjonois and his wife, Kate Nowlin, began the process of writing a film called “Blood Stripe” for Netflix. The film tackled the subject of post-traumatic stress disorder through the eyes of a Marine, played by Nowlin, who has just finished three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. After living in New York City for some time, Auberjonois and his wife realized they didn’t want to raise a family there. The pair decided to film “Blood Stripe” in the Twin Cities, and after filming, Auberjonois suggested to his wife that they move here. Nowlin is from St. Paul and has family in the Cities. “We were looking for a place where our daughter could have trees and feel grass under her feet and, at the same time, be in a place that does have the kind of cultural foment that Minneapolis really has,” Auberjonois
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said. “The audiences in the Twin Cities are really engaged and the production value at the Guthrie is as good as anything you might be able to get on Broadway.” Auberjonois has been in three Guthrie productions since moving to the Twin Cities, including “Noises Off ” in the fall of 2018, “Cyrano de Bergerac” this past spring and now “The Glass Menagerie.” In the Tennessee Williams play now showing on the Guthrie’s main stage, Auberjonois plays protagonist Tom Wingfield, a man reflecting back on his life and recalling what it was like to lose his father and have to take care of his older sister and his mother. Auberjonois said that he regretted not accepting the role of Tom 17 years ago when a San Francisco production offered it to him right out of college and that he felt grateful the Guthrie gave him a second chance. “I had these fancy new agents and they said, ‘No, you shouldn’t do a play right now; you have to go to LA and get a big TV job,’” Auberjonois said. “At the time I thought, ‘I’m going to get to do that someday.’ And then, after a while, it really felt like the one that got away.” Auberjonois said he’s come to know and understand the character of Tom Wingfield. He said he hopes that audiences will feel the same way while watching the show, which is playing at the Guthrie through Oct. 27.
Kenwood resident Remy Auberjonois plays Tom Wingfield in the Guthrie’s “The Glass Menagerie,” which is a part he said he’s been waiting to play for 17 years. Submitted photo
Southwest Journal October 17–30, 2019
Digging the Midtown Greenway trench
A makeshift bridge was built for streetcar passengers and pedestrians at Lyndale Avenue during excavation of the 29th Street Track Depression from 1912–16. Photos courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society
As the sunken railway route was dug from 1912–16, flower gardens disappeared, railroad flagmen lost their jobs and streetcar passengers were forced to ‘portage’ through a mucky excavation site. By Zac Farber
In the years
before 1912 — when railroad crews began to carve a 20-foot-deep, three-mile-long strip out of the city’s belly — most of the trains traveling the Milwaukee Road from Chicago to Seattle would roll through South Minneapolis alongside 29th Street. At each of 25 intersections — from James Avenue to Hiawatha — the sound of an approaching train would prompt a man holding a large white flag to emerge from a little shack. Most of these flagmen had retired or been injured from regular railroad work, and their job was to serve as the city’s crossing guards — hand-lowering the gates and signaling for pedestrians, automobiles, horse-drawn carriages and electric streetcars to stop. SEE MIDTOWN GREENWAY / PAGE B3 Industrial shippers, who had built factories, storehouses and warehouses along the rail line, were displeased that the trench literally cut the ground from under them.
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southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 B3
A bend was made in the formerly straight conveyor of the DeLaittre-Dixon Lumber Company after the rail line was lowered. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society
FROM MIDTOWN GREENWAY / PAGE B1
Between trains, a number of flagmen spent their time gardening, and the 29th Street corridor became known for its lush landscaped patches, where the amateur horticulturalists grew pansies, nasturtiums, bachelor’s buttons, climbing vines, sunflowers and potatoes. “I guess the men become lonesome stationed on these crossings all day without steady work to keep their minds occupied so they find pleasure in keeping these little gardens and flower plots,” a flagman named I.H. Graft told the Minneapolis Tribune in 1913. The construction of the 29th Street trench eliminated the need for these flagmen, the historian Tom Balcom said during a Sept. 30 lecture on the history of the Midtown Greenway. Balcom read from John Luecke’s 2010 history book, “More Milwaukee Road in Minnesota,” during the lecture, which was organized by the Linden Hills History Study Group.
“The crossing guards were either released or reassigned and the shanties were closed and, with their attendant gardens, eventually removed,” Balcom read, adding: “If you ride the Greenway at all, you’ll know that some of those gardens have reappeared.”
Lowering the tracks
After the Milwaukee Road’s transcontinental line was completed in 1909, traffic in Minneapolis increased dramatically, with about two dozen freight and passenger trains steaming through Midtown every day. Though the trains were kept to 6 mph, the 33 at-grade street crossings posed a danger to the city’s more than 300,000 residents. “There was a surge of accidents resulting in injuries and deaths,” Balcom said. Streetcars crossed the train tracks at Lyndale, Nicollet, 4th, Chicago, Bloomington and Cedar avenues, and many worried about the risk of a catastrophic collision.
A 1909 proposal by the Milwaukee Road to close 19 city streets and depress 14 others was met with widespread derision, so the railroad suggested a more ambitious solution: the digging of a trench along 29th Street all the way from Humboldt Avenue to 19th Avenue — most of the distance between Lake of the Isles and the Mississippi River. The City Council approved the 29th Street Track Depression in December 1910, though it angered industrial shippers, who had built factories, storehouses and warehouses along the rail line, and were displeased that the trench would literally cut the ground from under them. There followed two years of litigation — between the industries and the railroad and between the city and the industries and between the railroad and the city. One case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that “railroad corporations may be required, at their own expense, not only to abolish grade crossings, but also to build and maintain suitable bridges.”
A dirty ‘portage’
Excavation of the track depression caused a massive disruption in the lives of city residents. Streetcars would stop at the construction zone and passengers would get off and “portage” through the dust and muck of the trench before boarding a train on the other side. “The portage could not have been enjoyable as it involved trudging down the embankment, crossing the ... tracks amid the flurry of construction activity and then scaling the opposite bank where the connecting streetcar hopefully waited,” Luecke wrote. “One can only imagine the disgust the streetcar passengers voiced as they experienced this difficult connection.” It took a crew of about 500 men four years to complete the trench. They worked west to east, and when they were finished digging, they had moved enough earth to fill the Foshay Tower more than five times. SEE MIDTOWN GREENWAY / PAGE B4
A 140-year-old rail corridor
Future
1909
1881 The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway begins running through Minneapolis along the route that is now the site of the Midtown Greenway.
The Milwaukee Road’s transcontinental rail line is extended all the way to the Pacific Coast. Traffic in Minneapolis increases dramatically, with about two dozen freight and passenger trains steaming through Midtown every day.
1910 The Minneapolis City Council approves a plan to lower the 29th Street rail line below street level by digging a trench all the way from Humboldt Avenue to 19th Avenue.
1912–16 Crews work to dig the 20-foot-deep, three-mile-long 29th Street Track Depression. The finished trench ranges from 39–90 feet wide.
1917 The last of the 28 concrete bridges spanning the trench is completed. The bridges were designed by city engineer Frederick William Cappelen.
1998
2000–06
The last Twin Cities & Western Railroad train runs through the 29th Street corridor.
The Midtown Greenway is opened in three phases to bike and pedestrian traffic.
The Metropolitan Council has tentative plans to build a lightrail line through the Greenway trench, adjacent to the bike-andpedestrian trail. The line would connect the Blue Line’s Midtown station to the Green Line’s West Lake station.
B4 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
Buildings along the trench had to be propped up with wooden stilts. The wood supports were later filled in with concrete. Photos courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society
FROM MIDTOWN GREENWAY / PAGE B3
The laborers had access to steam-powered pile drivers and bulldozers, and they loaded soil into side-dump railroad cars that carried the dirt to St. Louis Park, where it was tilted into the swampy wasteyard of Bass Lake. After the earth was removed, massive retaining walls needed to be built to hold back the trench’s north embankment. Complicating the work were the oil, lumber and coal shipping buildings located next to the tracks. “If you’re building a trench and the industrial building is right next to the trench, how do you keep it from falling over into the trench?” asked Aaron Isaacs, a former Metro Transit planner and rail historian. “They had to jack it up and put in temporary [wooden] bracing and then they would fill it in with concrete.” The railside industries adapted to the change in grade by using cranes and conveyor belts to lower materials down to the track and by constructing short rail spurs leading from the main track into their buildings’ lower levels. A huge grated door in the Greenway’s south wall can still be seen where an industrial spur once serviced the Buzza Company Building.
Concurrent with the excavation, 28 concrete bridges were constructed to span the trench. Clearance below the bridges was only 18 feet, so the City Council had to pass an ordinance banning trainmen from riding atop cars in Minneapolis. Before rails could be placed, bulldozers first scraped and graded the track bed, Isaacs said. “Ties were manually dropped off flatcars and moved into place by hand. Special flatcars with gantry cranes moved the rails into place. The spikes may have been pounded into the ties by hand or by using compressed-air spike drivers. Hopper cars dumped the ballast onto the track and it was probably spread by track-mounted plows, then tamped down with compressedair-powered machines.” The 29th Street Track Depression was completed in 1916, and rail service continued through the corridor until 1998. The Midtown Greenway was opened to bike and pedestrian traffic in three stages between 2000 and 2006, and the Metropolitan Council has plans to someday build a light-rail line through the trench, adjacent to the bike-and-pedestrian trail.
The Elliot Fuel Company built angled storage bins along the natural slope of the excavation instead of retaining walls.
A feature story published in the Minneapolis Tribune in July 1913 told the swan song of the flagmen hired to warn of approaching trains. The men beautified 29th Street “with climbing vines and settings of velvety green grass and gorgeous flowers,” but they lost their jobs when the railroad tracks were lowered below street level.
ND Awards recognize the rchitects, and designers who o keep the feel and charm of neighborhoods intact.
2019 Minneapolis + St. Paul
BLEND Award Winners
mittal at ARD.ORG
Thank you to all the builders, architects, designers, and homeowners who submitted projects! Please consider these professionals when planning your next remodel or building project! Contact information at www.blendaward.org
The 2019 BLEND Award winners are: ST ! BE HOW S IN
Minneapolis Tangletown Neighborhood
Tangletown Bungalow Rejuvenated Designer: Jeff Nicholson, Quartersawn Design Build Builder: Quartersawn Design Build
dline iis s July 31, 2018
Designers: David Heide and Chris Christofferson, David Heide Design Studio Builder: Dovetail Renovation
Complimentary Carriage
Milwaukee Avenue Side Porch
Designer: Brad Schulz
Architect: Charles Levin
Builder: Minneapolis Saint Paul Garage Construction
Builder: Charles Levin Architects
Minneapolis Kingfield Neighborhood
Saint Paul Macalester Groveland Neighborhood
Builder: Metropolis Construction
ders, Architects, s, and Homeowners
Saint Paul Revisited
Minneapolis Seward Neighborhood
Architect: Scott Newland, AIA; Newland Architecture
OR ENTRIES !
Saint Paul Lexington-Hamline Neighborhood
Minneapolis Fulton Neighborhood
Craftsman Entry Enhancements
END ND AWARD
ST ! BE HOW S IN
Kings-Maplewood Restoration Designer: Charlie Simmons, Charlie & Co. Design Builder: John Kraemer & Sons
Minneapolis Calhoun-Isles Neighborhood
Saint Paul Macalester Groveland Neighborhood
Tudor Redux
St. Paul Residence
Architect: Tammy Angaran, Assoc. AIA; Peterssen Keller Architects
Architect: Petra Schwarze; TEA2 Architects
Builder: Terra Firma Building and Remodeling
Builder: Martin Keller Builders
Minneapolis Armatage Neighborhood
Minneapolis Fulton Neighborhood
Rethinking Newton
Chowen Charmer
Designers: Jim Scott and Bill Nagel; Locale Design Build
Designer: Brad Schulz
Builder: Locale Design Build
CONGRATULATIONS!
Builder: Al Theisen Homes
Check out these and past year winners at www.blendaward.org.
Find information on award-winning builders, architects, and designers, as well as project inspiration and how to submit your project for a BLEND Award.
The BLEND the Awards recognize the builders, architects, and designers who know how to keep the feel and charm Awards recognize our neighborhoods intact. Please consider these professionals when planning your next remodel or building tects, and of designers who project! Submissions for next year’s awards open in July. Stay tuned to blendaward.org for more information. eep the feel and charm of ghborhoods intact. Thank you to our sponsors!
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B6 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
By Meleah Maynard
How to care for native bee houses
I
t’s not news to anyone that honeybee populations are declining due to disease, pests, loss of habitat, pesticides and other issues. But most of us have a lot to learn about native bees, which I’ve seen many more of in my garden this year. North America is home to about 4,000 native bee species, many with names that reflect their nest-building styles and/or habits such as leafcutter bees, mason bees, cuckoo bees, bumblebees and carpenter bees. Often so small as to go unnoticed, native bees of various sizes and colors are out there busily foraging and pollinating plants. But unlike honeybees, most native bees are more solitary than social. They don’t live in hives or work together as a group. Instead, they create nests of their own in all kinds of oddball places: mud holes, abandoned burrows, fallen trees and tunnel-like spaces such as hollow plant stems and holes made by woodpeckers and bugs. Sure, you might see a bunch of native bees nesting in the same small area, but they’re still going to keep mostly to themselves even though they’re neighbors. That I’ll-do-mything-you-do-yours style of communal living has inspired the creation of all sorts of native bee boxes; the cuter ones are dubbed houses or hotels. In an effort to help native bees, well-meaning people, including me, have gone out and bought (or built) a bee house of one kind or another. Once I nailed the house up, I did some research to better understand how to care for it and found out that having a nesting spot for native bees can be a great thing if you manage it properly. But things can go terribly wrong if you don’t. Just like human dwellings, unkempt bee houses can be gross places that play host to viruses, pests, fungi, bacteria and other harmful things. If you want to help keep the bees you’ve invited safe and healthy, here’s what you need to know. Bee dwellings are designed to replicate the different sorts of nesting sites many native bees like, so they’re usually some kind of a wooden structure with a whole bunch of hollow tubes made of reeds, bamboo, heavy cardboard or other tunnel-like material in one area. Other spaces are stocked with blocks with holes of various widths and depths drilled in them, and maybe even some pinecones. (To learn more about native bees and how to build your own bee house, visit tinyurl.com/umn-bee-lab.)
Meleah’s bee house can’t be cleaned. It will need to be thrown away after its second season. Photos by Meleah Maynard
Bees nest and lay eggs in different ways but, in general, they mate in the spring and summer and the females lay their eggs inside whatever cavity or tunnel they’ve made or found. Often, the mom bee divides the nest into separate brood cells, starting at the back of the cavity or tunnel and moving outward,
You can tell a tube has been used when the end has been sealed up.
so that each egg is laid in its own separate space with just enough pollen to feed the emerging larva. Sections are sealed with a bit of mud, leaves, flowers or whatever else she’s got on hand until, finally, she reaches the end of the tunnel and caps the end with more of the same. I’ve watched bees doing this at our bee box all summer, and it’s been an amazing thing to see — all those tubes packed with different-colored material, bees-to-be tucked snugly inside. As you can imagine, those tubes and holes are going to get pretty mucked up by summer’s end. Here’s the problem: If you bought a cheap, but cute, little bee house like mine to see how this whole native bee thing works, those tubes and blocks are probably glued in so you can’t take them out to clean them. It’s fine to reuse a house two years in a row, but after that, those bargain houses need to be thrown away since they can’t be cleaned. My bee house was $14, so I’m fine with having made that initial investment in bee housing. Now that I’ve seen how bees really use it, I plan to ask my handy husband, Mike, to help me build a nicer bee box that we can clean next year. (This Xerxes Society article explains how to clean bee boxes properly: tinyurl.com/xerxes-bees.) Whether you use an inexpensive, throwaway box, you buy a high-quality one (Crown Bees is a good source) or you make your own, there are a few things you can do as winter approaches to help protect the beesto-be. Sometime in October, take your bee
Bee dwellings are designed to replicate the different sorts of nesting sites many native bees like. house down and put it in an unheated shed or garage so that hungry birds and other critters won’t snack on what’s inside. In early spring, when the first flowers arrive, put the bee box inside a cardboard or plastic container with a small hole cut in the top or side. Find a spot outside that’s protected from rain and wind and allow the bees some time to emerge and fly out of the box through the hole. It’s best to have a fresh bee house already waiting nearby for them to start using. Once the bees are all gone, which might take a couple of months, depending on the type of bees that have nested, you can clean the box if it’s cleanable. If you’d like to learn more about native bees, have a look at local author Heather Holm’s fantastic books “Bees: An Identification” and “Native Plant Forage Guide and Pollinators of Native Plants.” Meleah Maynard is a Minneapolis-based writer and editor who blogs at Livin’ Thing — livinthing.com.
southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 B7
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B8 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
By Katherine Huber
Benefits of eating seasonally
HOW TO EAT IN SEASON 1. Shop at farmers markets first. Stop by your neighborhood farmers market and see what produce is in season. Create your weekly meals based on the ingredients you pick up at the market. 2. Ask the vendor their favorite way to prepare each food item. Conversations with the vendors at your local farmers market can yield delicious recipes.
Eating with the seasons provides an opportunity to explore how our food choices reflect the values we want for the world. Submitted photos
“W
hat’s for dinner?” For many years this question was determined by the changing of seasons. Each harvest calendar brought a new variety of foods, and their preparation complemented the seasons and climate. Fresh asparagus and spring greens transformed into light soups and salads, offering a taste of new life as winter melted into spring. A bowl of fresh strawberries acted as the perfect afternoon refreshment during a hot summer day. A hearty stew of white beans, kale and potatoes could provide an extra layer of warmth during the long dark winter. Yet with the emergence of technology facilitating the storage and transportation of food across the country — and even across
the world — our connection to the harvest year has changed. With access to all food all year round it’s no wonder we’ve become disconnected from the food on our plate. Of course, advances in food technology have allowed for increased food accessibility and convenience, but these benefits have come at a cost — one that impacts individual health and the health of our planet. Eating with the seasons provides an opportunity to explore how our food choices reflect the values we want for the world. Eating in season often means shopping and purchasing from local farmers and vendors. Money spent with local businesses stays closer to home and is reinvested in more local businesses and services. Eating in season also has a positive impact
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on the environment by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, since food need not travel as far to get to our plates. Food grown out of season often requires the increased use of herbicides and pesticides to produce the yield needed to meet the cosmetic standards of conventional grocery stores. Finally, eating locally and in season builds more connected communities by creating opportunities, such as farmers markets, for neighborhoods to gather. Katherine Huber is a registered dietitian nutritionist and a board member of Neighborhood Roots, the organization that runs the Fulton, Kingfield and Nokomis farmers markets.
3. Join a fall or winter CSA (community supported agriculture) program. Many farmers are now offering fall and winter CSAs to provide access to produce and food products that last through the winter months. 4. Pay attention to prices at the grocery store. When a food is out of season, its price is higher due to decreased yield and/or increased transportation costs. 5. Embrace roasts, soups and stews. These meal ideas are the essence of fall cooking. Sheet-pan meals of roasted vegetables with meat or beans provide a quick and simple dinner. Soups and stews are an easy way to enjoy the warming flavors of fall.
southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 B9
Moments in Minneapolis
By Karen Cooper
Alice Ames Winter: A leading woman of the Progressive Era
Alice Ames Winter was prominent in using the influence of wealthy women to address social injustices, and she created opportunities for middleclass women to learn and discuss their roles in improving civic life. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society
T
he row of three brick condominiums on the southeast edge of Lake of the Isles seem a little out of place. The lake is otherwise nearly entirely ringed by single-family homes that are among the most exquisite in the city. Those buildings are duplexes, with two units in each. They were built in 1922 as rentals. Long before they became condominiums, one of the apartments at 2833 Lake of the Isles Parkway was home to Thomas G. and Alice Ames Winter. Thomas was in grain trading and did well enough, but history’s spotlight shines on Alice Ames Winter. Born in 1863 and married in the 1890s, she was a young matron during the blossoming of the Progressive movement in Minnesota, a time when political power was increasingly sought and attained by women. Women were considered guardians of the home, but their concerns were far broader. An advocate for early childhood education, Winter was elected president of the Minneapolis Free Kindergarten Association in 1896. She soon forged an alliance with the League of Jewish Women to promote — and fund — the training of kindergarten teachers and
In 1907 Winter became the first president of the Minneapolis Women’s Club. Photo courtesy of the Hennepin History Museum
their classes. In 1901 she was a member of the Consumers League, which kept a sharp eye out for sweatshops in Minneapolis. Women were organizing for social change, and Winter led these efforts in Minneapolis. She is honored as a foremother of women’s suffrage
This row of brick duplex apartment buildings was built in 1922 on the southeast edge of Lake of the Isles. Thomas and Alice Winter lived in a unit in the middle building. Photo courtesy of the Hennepin History Museum
Over Forty-Five Years of Quality Service
at the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial on the grounds of the Capitol in St. Paul. This was a time when “the leading women” were known by their inclusion in “the best social sets in the city.” Winter was not only socially distinguished, but she was prominent in using the influence of wealthy women to address social injustices. She also created opportunities for middle-class women to learn and discuss their roles in improving civic life. In 1907 she became the first president of the Minneapolis Women’s Club. She was an able executive and led women to agitate for what we take for granted: janitorial service and indoor plumbing in the schools, recess for school children and public playgrounds. In particular, Winter did not allow political or religious differences among women to distract from accomplishing their goals. After serving as a district president in Minnesota, Winter was elected president of the national General Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1920. This organization represented over 2.5 million women. Her previous experiences reaching across barriers of class and religion were good training for maintaining this larger network of socially active, politically aware women who were out to get things done. The GFWC started libraries and committed to lifelong learning. They worked for women’s
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suffrage, for the first pure Food and Drug Act and to give citizenship to women independent of their husbands. In 1924, Winter was honored by the building of The Alice Ames Winter Demonstration House. This fine stucco house at 1630 Hennepin Ave. served as office and meeting space. The house also gave women a chance to see the best of home-keeping practices. This was the culmination of decades of work by women to acquire and use civic and political power. Winter encouraged women to work together: “Women have linked themselves together to get and to give and to do. Do not be isolated. Join the other women who are in the midst of things. You will get help. You will give strength.” She lived on Lake of the Isles until 1928, when she moved to Pasadena, California, to work on motion picture standards. The Demonstration House was used until at least the 1960s, when it was moved to a lot near the University of Minnesota. Today the house is gone, and a new apartment building has arisen on its lot. If your house is included in the Hennepin History Museum photo collection, you can ask Karen Cooper for a house history by emailing her at yf@urbancreek.com. Look for your Southwest Minneapolis house at tinyurl.com/hhm-houses.
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B10 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
MAKAYA McCRAVEN AND ASTRALBLAK
Community Calendar.
Makaya McCraven, a “beat scientist” who has helped to introduce jazz and improvisation to the next generation, performs a Walker co-commissioned performance debut. Twin Cities-based funk, soul and hip-hop collective Astralblak (pictured) opens.
By Ed Dykhuizen
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD! THE MUSICAL! Minneapolis Musical Theatre presents a campy new adaptation of the classic George Romero zombie film.
When: Thursday, Oct. 17–Sunday, Oct. 27 Where: Phoenix Theater, 2605 Hennepin Ave. Cost: $25–$35 Info: phoenixtheatermpls.org
When: 7 p.m. for Astralblak and 9:30 p.m. for Makaya McCraven on Friday, Oct. 18 Where: Walker Art Center Cost: $26, $20.80 for Walker members Info: walkerart.org/ calendar
CASA MINNESOTA TRIVIA NIGHT AND SILENT AUCTION All proceeds will support CASA Minnesota and CASA Cares, which support and promote court-appointed volunteers who advocate for abused and neglected children. Food is included in the ticket price; beer and wine will be available with a donation.
When: 5:30 p.m.–9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17 Where: St. Mary’s Lake Calhoun Center, 3450 Irving Ave. S. Cost: $250 for a table of eight; $35 for individuals in advance, $40 at the door. Info: casamntrivianight2019.eventbrite.com
LYNDALE’S ANNUAL FALL FUNDRAISER Come in your favorite spooky costume for a chance to win a prize while supporting the Lyndale Neighborhood Association.
When: 6:30 p.m.–9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17 Where: HUGE Improv Theater, 3037 Lyndale Ave. S. Cost: Suggested donations of $20 online and $25 at the door. Info: tinyurl.com/lyndale-fall
COMPANIONS FOR THE TRANSITION — UNDERSTANDING OPTIONS From palliative care providers and hospice workers to death midwives, doulas and funeral celebrants, there are more resources to consider than ever before for the end of life. Join the discussion of these emerging roles with a panel of experts from the field.
Where: Lakewood Cemetery, 3600 Hennepin Ave. Cost: Free Info: tinyurl.com/lakewood-end-of-life
BORGEN PROJECT INFORMATION EVENT
ART MEETS EXPERIENCE
This event will inform people about the Borgen Project and how they can help reduce global poverty and the issues that surround it through volunteering, fundraising or contacting their congressional leaders in support of legislation.
Everett and Charlie Gallery will host a Friday evening reception featuring a trunk show from leather artisan Darren Ouimette and live music from rock songwriter Steve Noonan.
When: 5 p.m.–7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25 Where: Everett & Charlie Gallery, 2720 W. 43rd St. Cost: Free Info: everettandcharlie.com
DISCOVERY DAYS: DESIGN CHALLENGE Create a new invention, explore ways to improve existing technology and show off your creation with fellow innovators.
When: 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 Where: The Bakken Museum, 3537 Zenith Ave. S. Cost: With standard admission: $10 adults, $8 seniors and ages 13–24, $5 ages 4–12. Kids in costume get $1 off admission. Info: thebakken.org/events
When: 4 p.m.–5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28 Where: Uptown’s Hero Community Spaces, 3554 Bryant Ave. S. Cost: Free Info: borgenproject.org
POET LOUIS JENKINS Poet and playwright Louis Jenkins reads from his new book, “Where Your House Is Now.”
When: 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28 Where: Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Ave. Cost: Free Info: plymouth.org
When: 4 p.m.–6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18
COMMUNITY HALLOWEEN PARTIES FOR FAMILIES
ARMATAGE FALL FEST This safe fall party for the whole family will have a decorated trick-or-treat trail in which kids stop at each station to receive treats and prizes. Other activities include a horse-drawn hayride, bonfire, s’mores, music and much more.
When: 6 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25 Where: Armatage Recreation Center, 2500 W. 57th St. Cost: Free Info: minneapolisparks.org
MONSTER MASH HALLOWEEN PARTIES
HALLOWEEN AT THE HILLS
Both parties, at Lynnhurst Recreation Center and Windom South Park, include a moonwalk, age-appropriate games, activities, crafts and treats.
This annual Halloween party is in a fun and safe environment perfect for the whole family. Treats will be provided.
When: 1 p.m.–3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 Where: Lynnhurst Recreation Center, 1345 W. Minnehaha Pkwy., and Windom South Park, 5821 Wentworth Ave. Cost: Free Info: minneapolisparks.org
When: 3 p.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 Where: Linden Hills Park, 3100 W. 43rd St. Cost: Free Info: minneapolisparks.org
THRILL KENWOOD Activities include zombie makeovers and caricatures, live music and dance performances, a Halloween Creation Station, strolling performers, treat bags and a Global Simultaneous Thriller Dance at 5 p.m.
When: 3 p.m.–6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 Where: Kenwood Community Center, 2101 W. Franklin Ave. Cost: Free Info: minneapolisparks.org
southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 B11
Get Out Guide.
A spooky, scary, silly fall It might not be Halloween quite yet, but the celebrations have already started. Get into your spooky mood early with these events.
By Sheila Regan
FOLKTOPIA PRESENTS: MS. LUISA EATS TRICKS & TREATS Ms. Luisa loves to eat, loves to sing, and gets into lots of antics in this show filled with opera, social commentary, burlesque and guitar virtuosity. Performed by Parker Genné, who has taken the character to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as San Francisco and New York, Ms. Luisa is joined by a cast of performers that includes Lauren Asheim, Morgen Chang, Sean Hansberry, Tom Johnson, Jacob Miller and Katherine Skoretz.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 Where: Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater
Cost: $12 advance, $15 door Info: bryantlakebowl.com
CABARAVE: MADHAUS 2 BAREBONES HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA Your Halloween season won’t be complete without visiting the BareBones Puppets Annual Halloween Puppet Extravaganza! This spectacle of puppetry, stilt-walking, storytelling, fire dancing, and theater takes place in the wooded Hidden Falls Regional Park. It’s a massive undertaking led this year by artists Rah Diavola and Angie Courchaine. The project involves a giant cast and crew of artists putting in hundreds of volunteer hours. Dress warm, bring a thermos of hot cocoa and get ready for an event that’s part entertainment, part ritual.
When: 7 p.m. Oct. 25, 26 and 31, Nov. 2 Where: Hidden Falls Regional Park, 1305 S. Mississippi Blvd., St. Paul Cost: $10–$20 Info: barebonespuppets.org
Horror movies come to life with aerial arts, Cyr-wheel performers, live painting, music, dancing and more. It’s part party, part performance, rooted in pop culture, circus, dance and fire.
When: 8:30 p.m. Oct. 25, 26 and 31 Where: The Lab, 700 N. 1st St.
Cost: $30–$40 Info: thelabtheater.org
HALLOWEEN DANCE PARTY Party experts Flip Phone and DJ Shannon Blowtorch team up for a wild “Strange Things” Halloween Dance Party, with a wealth of drag stars including RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 3 Winner RAJA and Season 1 contestant Meatball, who was also a contestant on the horrorthemed drag contest Dragula. Local performer TYGRA hosts, with Blowtorch and Flip Phone’s DJ Fancy Restaurant operating the tunes. There’s a $500 cash prize, so pull out all the stops.
When: 9 p.m.– 2 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 Where: First Avenue & 7th Street Entry, 701 N. 1st St.
Cost: $18, $40 VIP Info: tinyurl.com/flip-phone-dance
CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Gives in to gravity 5 Annoying little kids 9 Hunter’s plastic duck, e.g. 14 Clear off the road, as snow 15 Actress Gilbert of “The Conners” 16 Make amends 17 What “Ten-hut!” is short for 19 Income __ 20 *Do business shrewdly 22 Tidy up 23 “__ you kidding?” 24 Off-the-wall 27 Walmart warehouse club 28 *Murmur lovingly 32 Muslim mystic 33 Lake near Carson City 34 *Basic experimentation method 39 Sea item sold by 39-Down, in a tongue-twister 40 Say no to 41 *Like a typical walking stride 44 Bygone Japanese audio brand 48 Conclusion 49 Boardroom VIP 50 The Lone __ 52 Compromising standpoint ... and what the answers to starred clues contain? 55 Deck alternative 58 Belittle 59 17-syllable Japanese poem 60 Suffix with major 61 Auth. unknown
62 Desert retreats 63 Monica’s brother on “Friends” 64 German thinker Immanuel
DOWN 1 Reproduces like salmon 2 __ Gibson, first African-American to win a Grand Slam tennis title 3 Pep rally cheer 4 Candy and such 5 Turkey’s largest city 6 Principal 7 Spur to action 8 Beach footwear 9 Job of typing in facts and figures 10 List-shortening abbr. 11 Courteney who
Crossword Puzzle SWJ 101719 4.indd 1
played Monica on “Friends” 12 Single 13 “By all means!” 18 Phillies’ div. 21 Significant stretch of time 24 Twice cuatro 25 Way in 26 Forest female 29 “__ tree falls in the forest ... ” 30 High-end chocolatier 31 __ es Salaam 32 Lustful 34 At that time 35 Oboe or clarinet 36 Not feeling well 37 __ volente: God willing 38 Vigorous qualities to put into one’s work
39 See 39-Across 42 Nancy Drew’s beau 43 Walk feebly 44 Arctic jacket 45 Exotic lizard kept as a pet 46 Was happening 47 Passionate 51 Buenos Aires’ country: Abbr. 52 Karaoke prop that often ends in “c” nowadays 53 Jared of “Dallas Buyers Club” 54 Tolkien creatures 55 Vietnamese soup 56 Small battery 57 “__ the season ... ”
A Fully Funded 9-day study tour to Japan Two Southwest students (Josephine Spanier and Alexius Nafziger-White) were selected to participate in the “KAKEHASHI Project – The Bridge for Tomorrow” - funded by the government of Japan after they participated in the national Japanese language competition. This project gave them a fully funded 9-day study tour to Japan last July. They were able to meet the Imperial Princes Takamado and the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe. A recognition and Award ceremony for recipients of the MN World Language Proficiency Certificates and Bilingual Seals was held on September 25th in the Davis Center of Minneapolis Public Schools. Elizabeth Bieger has demonstrated proficiency at the ACTFL Advanced Low level and received the highest award, a Platinum Seal in Japanese language. Please congratulate this talented student when you see her!
Crossword answers on page B12
10/9/19 11:58 AM
Southwest High SWJ 101719 4.indd 1
10/7/19 2:25 PM
B12 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
Mill City Cooks
Recipes and food news from the Mill City Farmers Market
Artisan baker got started by watching YouTube
W
ith this year’s departures of Salty Tart and Heritage Breads from the Mill City Farmers Market, bread lovers are happy to see a new bakery, Lowertown Bakehouse, filling the void. Chris Sarles opened Lowertown Bakery in the spring, baking bagels and sourdough breads with a cottage food license in his apartment. Now, working in a professional kitchen, Sarles’ business is quickly growing to offer a wide selection of breads and sweets. Sarles started baking as a line cook. At the end of his shifts, he would experiment with impromptu desserts for the restaurant. When asked where he learned to bake, Sarles explained that he’s self-taught. “I’m going to sound like a nerd, but for the past couple years, I’ve stayed up all night reading a cookbook or a pastry chef’s Reddit or livestreams on YouTube. It’s mostly trial and error.” Lowertown Bakehouse uses heritage flour from farmers market neighbor Sunrise Flour Mill. Much like an heirloom vegetable, heritage wheat is not commercially processed or genetically modified. Additionally, chefs, bakers and eaters love the fresher flavor and find the gluten easier to digest than that of conventional wheat. However, working with heritage flour comes with many challenges. Unlike commodity wheat, heritage is tricky. Protein counts, oxidization and many other charac-
AT THE MARKET
Schedule and more information available at millcityfarmersmarket.org.
Chris Sarles is the owner and lead baker at Lowertown Bakehouse. Submitted photo
teristics vary with freshly milled grains and affect the baking process. “I liked the challenge [of working with heritage flour],” Sarles said. “I had bread dialed down, and then I was back to square one. There are hundreds of idiosyncrasies about heritage flour, and there’s a little bit more of a magical, tactile feel.” And it’s a good thing Sarles enjoys a challenge. His next steps are navigating the complex world of growing his company from a cottage food business out of his apartment to an LLC that is now baking for wholesale
accounts, upgrading to a commercial bakery and even taking on part-time employees. But Sarles isn’t navigating the baking or business planning alone. He’s grateful to be working with many mentors and partners, including James Beard-award winning chef and restaurateur Tim McKee (owner of Octobar), who is Sarles’ landlord at his new baking space in the Market House Collaborative in Lowertown St. Paul. Sarles is also soaking up wisdom from Salty Tart pastry chef Adrienne Odom (another Market House neighbor) and numerous others, eager to see his business succeed. “I almost have too much help right now — it’s hard to reply to all the emails,” he said. “I feel really blessed.” — Jenny Heck
Ingredients 1 cup sifted Heritage Turkey Red flour 1 cup Sonora soft white wheat flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon Vietnamese cinnamon 1¾ sticks sweet cream butter 1½ cups baker’s sugar 2 room-temperature eggs 1 pound roasted pumpkin or winter squash, mashed Method Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together. Set aside. Whip butter in stand mixer for one minute. Add sugar and mix on medium-high for two minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until each is incorporated. Add pumpkin/squash and mix until it looks curdled. Add dry ingredients. Mix until fully incorporated. Pour into greased baking pan lightly dusted with flour. Pat sides and tap bottom of pan to remove air bubbles. Bake for 40–45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
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Swedish Motors
From Chris Sarles, Lowertown Bakehouse
You can find Lowertown Bakehouse at the Mill City Farmers Market’s final outdoor dates on Oct. 19 and Oct. 26 and at the indoor winter markets starting Nov. 2.
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LOWERTOWN BAKEHOUSE PUMPKIN BREAD
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Crossword on page B11
10/9/19 11:58 AM
southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 B13
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B14 October 17–30, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
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southwestjournal.com / October 17–30, 2019 B15
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