Wrong tunnel-digging equipment used PAGE A2 • Uptown Pizza, Piggy Bank close doors PAGE A5 • South Uptown apartments PAGE A9 • Curbing contaminated recycling PAGE A12
November 28–December 11, 2019 Vol. 30, No. 24 southwestjournal.com
Depolarizing the dinner table Better Angels aims to help liberals and conservatives understand each other
By Michelle Bruch
‘This is me’ Linden Hills church’s new pastor is believed to be the first black transgender clergy in Minnesota’s history
After a long and winding personal journey, Rev. Lawrence Richardson was named the lead pastor of Linden Hills United Church of Christ in late October. Photo by Nate Gotlieb
By Nate Gotlieb
The Rev. Lawrence Richardson smiled at over 50 of his congregants, who stood clapping in the moments after he was delivered long-awaited news. On Oct. 27, Richardson was named the lead pastor of Linden Hills United Church of Christ at 42nd & Upton in a near-unanimous vote. He is believed to be the first black transgender clergy person in the state’s history. “Thank you all,” he said. “The future is so bright, and I’m so honored SEE RICHARDSON / PAGE A14 to be on this journey with you.”
Ian Stade thinks he just might be ready to talk about politics with family over the holidays. The Tangletown resident recently walked to Washburn Library for a Better Angels workshop that covered strategies for non-polarizing conversation. “They get it. They get that there’s got to be a way for us to get along with folks we disagree with in a constructive way,” Stade said. “It’s not about being right — it’s trying to be understanding. You’re not trying to win.” Thanksgiving dinners ran shorter in 2016 for people who crossed party lines, according to a study published in the journal Science. Bill Doherty, who directs the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at the University of Minnesota, is one of the co-founders of Better Angels, a nonprofit that aims to help liberals and conservatives understand each other. He said he sees political differences splitting families apart like never before. “Families are the last bastion of political diversity,” Doherty said. “A Trump supporter? A socialist? Whatever your worst fears are, they are represented in that person. And they’re in your family.” His biggest piece of advice? Don’t try to change anyone’s mind — you probably won’t. “If you want to rant about a particular politician, make it clear you’re not putting all supporters into the same box,” he said. “You can make strong, passionate points for your viewpoint without attacking the motives of everybody on the other side.” SEE BETTER ANGELS / PAGE A15
The Hill & Lake Press is asking for help Neighborhood newspaper has survived 43 years By Andrew Hazzard
Sometimes it takes fear of losing something before you can really appreciate it. For readers of the Hill & Lake Press, that fear came in October, when the 43-yearold community newspaper’s editor Jean Deatrick put a note on the front page letting readers know the monthly paper was struggling financially and that it would need help to continue. The Hill & Lake Press (HLP) covers the neighborhoods of Cedar-Isles-Dean, East Isles, Kenwood and Lowry Hill, offering news coverage and opinions and publishing meeting minutes and local notices. Like
many small newspapers today, HLP is currently embattled, with fewer staff writers and a smaller budget than in its heyday. “The question is, in this day and age, is a print newspaper still of value to the people in this community?” said Michael Wilson, an HLP contributor and local historian.
‘They had fun’ The Hill & Lake Press began publishing in 1976 as a paper for East Isles and Lowry Hill. Kenwood joined in the first few months, and by 1979, the paper included SEE HILL & LAKE PRESS / PAGE A11
B1
Hill & Lake Press managing editor Jean Deatrick and her daughter, business manager Heather Deatrick, stand with the newly printed November edition of the paper in Jean’s Lowry Hill home. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
Southwest Journal November 28–December 11, 2019
New Wedge ice cream shop
Turkeys in Kingfield
Holiday gift guide
Indoor play spaces
PAGE A3
PAGE A13
PAGE B1
PAGE B12
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
BY ZAC FARBER, KSENIA GORINSHTEYN, NATE GOTLIEB AND ANDREW HAZZARD
Gift-hunting season is officially upon us! Do you need a little inspiration? We dispatched our cheerful team of industrious reporters to flit elf-like through Southwest Minneapolis in search of the city’s most delightful treasures. Take a break from online shopping this holiday season, and enjoy a peek at what some of Minneapolis’ many thriving gift merchants have to offer.
A2 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
Man shot in chest in apparent carjacking
Wrong tunnel-digging equipment used in Kenilworth corridor First-day error briefly caused excess vibrations, rattled homes By Andrew Hazzard / ahazzard@swjournal.com
The construction of the light rail tunnel in the Kenilworth corridor got off to a shaky start when crews working near Park Siding Park in CedarIsles-Dean used a prohibited piece of equipment for a few minutes on Nov. 15, causing robust vibrations and angering residents. The half-mile tunnel, considered to be the most technical aspect of the Southwest Light Rail Transit project, was supposed to be dug using a hydraulic, press-in piler designed to reduce vibrations. But on the first day of tunnel construction, crews began that tunnel work using a vibratory hammer, which is prohibited in the Kenilworth corridor by the project’s contract, according to Sophia Ginis, manager of public involvement for Metro Transit. That equipment caused the ground to shake hard enough to trigger the project’s vibration threshold in the Kenilworth
corridor, Ginis said. Work has resumed using the hydraulic press-in piler. Matthew Dahlquist, who lives in the Cedar Lake Shores Townhomes adjacent to the Kenilworth corridor, said his home began shaking violently in the middle of the day on Nov. 15. The shaking went on for about 30 seconds. He said he heard a loud cracking sound and believes a kitchen cabinet shifted. The vibration paused and started again for five half-minute-long bursts, he said. Video from his house shows glasses on shelves shaking and clinking together. For Dahlquist, an error on the most litigated and discussed work along the 14.5-mile project does not inspire confidence that the construction won’t negatively impact his home moving forward. “This is one thing you should get right and
This hydraulic, press-in piler was supposed to be used to dig the light rail tunnel in the Kenilworth Corridor. Construction crews briefly used the wrong piling equipment on the first day of tunnel construction, leading to excessive vibrations for residents in the Cedar Lake Shores townhome development. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
they didn’t get it right,” Dahlquist said. Council Member Lisa Goodman (Ward 7) received many calls from constituents fearing damage to their homes. She called the incident alarming and said it makes her question whether the Met Council is conducting proper oversight of their contractors for the project. “Any oversight would be helpful at this point,” Goodman said. Ginis said the error happened on the first day of tunnel construction, and that the vibratory hammer is being used on other sections of the project, though it is prohibited in the Kenilworth corridor. For Goodman, contractors bringing the vibratory hammer to an area where it’s banned demonstrates problems with the way the project is being managed. “It’s not like picking up an apple when you’re trying to grab an orange,” she said. The vibration monitors the Met Council is using for the project can be falsely tipped off by as much as someone walking close to a monitor, Ginis said. Once excessive vibration is detected, Met Council staff are notified and immediately investigate the cause. If the excesses stem from construction, as in this case, work stops immediately. The Met Council has been in contact with the Cedar Lake Shores Townhomes and the Calhoun-Isles Condo Association regarding the incident, she said.
A man in his late 20s was shot once in the chest in an apparent carjacking near 36th & Lyndale early in the morning of Nov. 19. Police responded to reports of a shooting around 3:15 a.m. The victim was found in the street and taken by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center. He is in stable condition. The victim and his assailant were driving together on Lyndale Avenue in the victim’s car. After the shooting, the assailant fled the scene in the victim’s car, the victim told police. The assailant has not yet been identified, and the shooting is under investigation. Vehicle thefts in the 5th Precinct are up 46% so far this year above the five-year average, while violent crime totals are up 7%, according to the Minneapolis Police Department’s crime dashboard. But 5th Precinct Inspector Amelia Huffman said gun violence in the Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood where the shooting occurred is “very unusual.” The man shot on Lyndale Avenue was the year’s ninth shooting victim in Southwest Minneapolis, compared with 232 in the rest of the city. — Zac Farber
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southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 A3
By Andrew Hazzard / ahazzard@swjournal.com
Ben Spangler proposed to his Bebe Zito co-founder Gabriella Grant outside the home of their new ice cream parlor at 22nd & Lyndale. The shop will likely open in early January. Submitted photos
LOWRY HILL EAST
Milkjam ice cream maker opening new shop Ice cream is part of the courtship process for many couples, but for Ben Spangler and Gabriella Grant it’s taken center stage. “It’s absurd how much money we spent on ice cream when we were dating,” Grant laughed. All that money has proven to be an investment. Last month the couple got engaged outside of the future home of their new ice cream shop Bebe Zito, which will be opening at 22nd & Lyndale around the New Year. Bebe Zito pays homage to Grant’s Brazilian heritage and mirrors the ice creams Spangler creates: bold, inventive and catchy. As a child, Spangler made ice cream with his family, and when he started his first kitchen job in 2007, the ice cream machine was too tempting to leave alone. His first batch, date and lemongrass, was a sign of things to come. “I was very intrigued by: What else can you do?” Spangler said. While working as a pastry chef, he landed an appearance on the Food Network’s “King of Cones,” which re-sparked his ice cream love. In 2016, he was the mind behind the creative vegan flavors at Milkjam Creamery. Most recently, he worked as a pastry chef at Rustica. But he never stopped making ice cream, and the couple decided to go all in. Now, at Bebe Zito, Spangler is back to his explorative roots with flavors like Thai Tea, Pistachio with Lemon Zest and Almond, and
Flavors like Berry Cream can be enjoyed at the store or at home through Bebe Zito’s grab-and-go business.
Bebe Zito will feature original ice cream flavors like the Manda Chuva, Portuguese for bringer of rain, a blend of hazelnut brittle and caramel sauce.
Ambrosia Salad, a mix of coconut ice cream, marshmallows and shredded fruit, which pays tribute to the holiday side dish. “You never just do one flavor in an ice cream,” Spangler said. At Bebe Zito they plan to have a store of about eight regular flavors and several seasonal options. A big business focus will be on the grab-and-go freezer. About 75% of ice cream sales nationwide are take-home, Spangler said. They’ve been selling at pop-up events across the metro this year. Grant, an interior designer, worked with an architect to reimagine the former Fox Den Salon space. They’re excited to be in a walkable neighborhood. “This area has a lot of energy,” Spangler said.
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A4 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
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Goodfellas Barber Studio expands to Uptown A new barbershop offering a wide range of hair care is up and running on Lake Street. Goodfellas Barber Studio opened its Uptown location in late October, according to stylist Nick Castano. Goodfellas is a classic barbershop that performs all kinds of haircuts, designs and straight razor shaving, Castano said. They have barbers and two stylists who do perms and coloring, he said, and serve a diverse clientele of men and women. “We’re all just passionate about what we do,” Castano said. The studio at Lake & Bryant is full of cushy Seed Cafe-Modo Yoga SWJ 100319 6.indd 1
couches and lined with flat-screen televisions. Castano said they try to have a welcoming, family atmosphere in the shop. The Goodfellas brand started with a Downtown location, which has since been sold. Since then, they’ve launched locations in Richfield, Champlin and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Goodfellas is open Monday through Saturday and mainly sets up appointments via the Booksy app. Goodfellas Uptown Barber Studio Where: 906 W. Lake St. Info: tinyurl.com/goodfellas-uptown
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Hero Plumbing, Heating & Cooling is closing its four community gathering spaces, including three in Southwest Minneapolis, the company has announced. In 2014, Hero opened four gathering spaces to be a free venue for nonprofits and community groups to meet and work. In Southwest, Hero has gathering spaces in Bryn Mawr at Cedar Lake Road & Penn, in Windom at 54th & Nicollet and in South Uptown at 36th & Bryant. Those locations will all close at the end of 2019, the company announced. “After five amazing years, we’ve had incidents recently of people breaking rules at the facilities and taking advantage of the community service we are offering,” the company wrote in a press release. “It has caused us to reevaluate the risk associated with keeping these spaces open.” A North Minneapolis location has already closed. The spaces have hosted more than 5,000 events since opening, according to Hero. All current reservations will be honored.
The Hero Community Gathering Space at 36th & Bryant will be closing at the end of the year, along with similar spaces in Bryn Mawr and Windom. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 A5
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Piggy Bank is the latest concept to fail at the 2841 Hennepin Ave. location, which has hosted six restaurants since 2013. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
UPTOWN
Piggy Bank shutters after a year The latest attempt to bring a successful restaurant to the Hennepin Avenue space next to the Uptown Transit Station fizzled out in less than a year. The Piggy Bank Eatery & Music Hall at 2841 Hennepin Ave. closed in late November, according to a sign posted on the door. A project from Kaskaid Hospitality, the company behind Crave, Union and Brit’s Pub, Piggy Bank opened last December as a blend of classic bar fare and vegan offerings from the Herbivorous Butcher. The restaurant expanded into hosting musical acts but ultimately couldn’t make it at the seemingly cursed address. Since Old Chicago closed at the location in 2012,
nothing there has lasted much longer than a year. Piggy Bank was the second run at the location for Kaskaid, which also operated Boneyard there in 2014. In 2015, it became a second location for Salsa a la Salsa, but it didn’t last. By October of 2016, it was GAME, an LGBTQ sports bar. Loring Park Vietnamese favorite Lotus came into the building in 2017 and closed about 18 months later. Calls to the restaurant and Kaskaid were not returned by press time. Piggy Bank Eatery & Music Hall Where: 2841 Hennepin Ave. S. Info: piggybankuptown.com
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After nearly 40 years on Lake Street, Uptown Pizza has closed its doors for good. Well known for its by-the-slice pizza and garlic knots, Uptown Pizza opened at Lake & Grand in 1980. On Nov. 16, the restaurant announced on its Facebook page that it had permanently closed. Calls to the restaurant were not
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A6 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
School district has budget gap $19 million gap projected for 2020–21 By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com
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Minneapolis Public Schools will need to make budget cuts or find operational savings for the 2020–21 school year because of a $19.1 million budget gap. The district, which operates 17 schools in the Southwest Journal’s coverage area — Minneapolis west of Interstate 35W and south of Interstate 394, plus Bryn Mawr — expects operating revenue to total $618.9 million and operating expenses to total $645.5 million, according to an initial budget forecast. It’s already set aside $8 million in reserves for next school year, but a $19.1 million gap remains. District leaders have said the gap is due to rising wages, increasing benefit costs, a decrease in state aid driven by declining enrollment and decreasing property tax revenue due to an error that caused property tax revenue to be higher in 2019. They said it’s also due to structural education-funding issues, notably a $56 million special education funding gap that’s the largest in the state. They have already made plans to cut the equivalent of 34 full-time teaching positions for next year because of a projected 2.1% drop in districtwide enrollment. But even if enrollment were to hold steady, the district would still have a $12 million to $14 million budget gap, CFO Ibrahima Diop wrote in an email. That budget gap would increase to $29.5 million for 2021–22 and $71.9 million by 2024–25 without cuts or other structural changes.
Diop said the district will make its determinations about cuts and any structural changes after the School Board discusses its values next month. School Board Director Jenny Arneson, who represents Northeast and the university area and is board treasurer, said the gap isn’t surprising, given the outcome of the 2019 state legislative session. The DFL-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate approved 2% increases to the basic student-aid formula in each of the two years, which was below what the Minneapolis district had hoped to see. Arneson also said she appreciates that district staff are being up front about the budget gap. The projected budget gap is the district’s third in four years. In spring 2017, the district made a 10% cut to its central services and trimmed school allocations by 2.5% because of a $28 million gap. In spring 2018, it made further cuts to its central-office and school allocations due to a $33 million gap. It also changed bell times at over 20 schools, which led to transportation savings by allowing fewer buses to run more routes. Operating revenue covers most of the district’s expenses, including salaries, transportation, maintenance and supplies. The district also has funds to cover major capital projects, debt service, food service and community education, but state law bars it from using those funds to cover general operating expenses. The School Board will vote on the budget in June.
Windom street reconstruction planned By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com
An isolated cluster of residential streets wedged between the Bachman’s parking lot and Highway 62 are scheduled for reconstruction in 2020. The $2.8 million project will remake the streetscape for a small Windom community, composed of fewer than 100 homes, which is surrounded on three sides by parking lots and highways and is only accessible by car from a single Lyndale Avenue intersection at 61st Street. The five short roads that serve the community — 61st and 62nd streets, Dupont Avenue, Colfax Lane and Aldrich Avenue — will all be reconstructed. The city will install new pavement, add curb extensions and narrow Dupont Avenue and 61st and 62nd streets. Those three streets’ boulevards will be widened and parking will be eliminated on one side of each street. Eighty-five residential properties and two commercial properties will be assessed for about a quarter of the project cost, and property taxes will cover the rest.
Most of the streets in the area were constructed in 1956. City staffer Becca Hughes said the streets are among the oldest in Minneapolis. “Based on the condition [and] the age, it’s time for those to be replaced,” she said. The project addresses one of two areas of city-owned streets in Southwest Minneapolis slated for reconstruction in 2020. The other is Girard Avenue between Lake Street and Lagoon Avenue in Uptown. Other Southwest Minneapolis street projects slated for 2020 include the resurfacing of 1st Avenue between Lake and 40th streets; the resurfacing of multiple Tangletown streets between 50th Street and Minnehaha Parkway; and the resurfacing of 3rd Avenue in Whittier and Stevens Square. The city plans to start the Windom project in spring 2020 and hopes to complete it by fall 2020. The City Council Transportation & Public Works Committee will hold a public hearing on the project Jan. 21.
A $2.8 million reconstruction project will remake the streetscape in a small Windom neighborhood wedged between the Bachman’s parking lot and Highway 62. Map courtesy of City of Minneapolis
southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 A7
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Southwest museums use various tools to glean visitor information By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@swjournal.com
The use of data analytics has become ubiquitous across workplaces big and small, from universities to small businesses and farms. Museums, too, are becoming increasingly tech savvy, using data to better understand their visitors and more precisely cater advertising and programming. The Southwest Journal checked in with three local museums — Hennepin History Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art and The Museum of Russian Art — about how they use data to track visitors, choose their operating hours and gauge interest in exhibits.
Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) collects data on its visitors through surveys, ticket sales and its Wi-Fi network. The Whittier museum has used that information to help triple its membership in recent years — up to 55,000 from 18,000. Tracking visitor attendance is difficult, because Mia does not charge for admission, said Eric Bruce, head of visitor experience and insights. He said the museum has been able to glean informaEric Bruce tion about its visitors through email queries to members and sales of tickets to special exhibits, among other efforts. He said data gleaned through Wi-Fi routers, which track visitors’ Wi-Fi enabled cell phones — even if they don’t connect to the museum’s network — has helped Mia get a sense of how people flow through the building. “The goal is to be able to learn more about what people are interested in so that [they] really feel seen,” he said. Mia, which is open six days a week and has a permanent collection of over 89,000 objects, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Surveys from 2018 found that a quarter of visitors are members, up 7 percentage points from 2015, and that members visit an average of eight times each year. Bruce, who has been with the museum since 2008, said Mia follows best practices when it comes to data privacy and doesn’t “research things we don’t need” or “keep data we don’t use.” Bruce said the museum also looks at the qualitative data it collects in the form of interactions between visitors and frontof-house staff, such as security guards. He told the story of a Vietnam War veteran and frequent Mia visitor who had a difficult time with the museum’s special exhibit on Vietnam War-era art. The man asked museum staffers if it would be possible to place an abstract sculpture of a wounded soldier in the exhibit. It wasn’t possible because of contractual obligations, Bruce said, but staffers ended up placing the sculpture on a different floor. “Within the week to have a sculpture pulled out of storage because of something a visitor said — I think that’s pretty rare in museum work,” Bruce said.
Hennepin History Museum Hennepin History Museum, located down the block from Mia, conducted a membership survey a few years ago but otherwise
hasn’t had an “overt effort to collect [visitor] data in real time,” said John Crippen, who has been executive director since August. Crippen, who previously worked at the Minnesota Historical Society, said that museum staffers likely have a better chance of getting to know visitors through John Crippen face-to-face interactions, given that they receive such a small number of visitors — about a dozen a day. He said the museum is analyzing the times of day when people visit in the hopes of answering the question, “Are we open the right hours for when people most want to come and see us?” The museum is currently open 1 p.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday and Friday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Tuesday and 1 p.m.–8 p.m. Thursday. It’s closed every Monday. Crippen said the museum doubled gallery attendance when it hosted the “Owning Up” exhibit that documented racial covenants built into property deeds in Minneapolis in the early 20th century. He said goals for early in his tenure include increasing visits and membership. “We just in general need to broaden the base of interest and support for the museum,” he said.
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The Museum of Russian Art During a 2018 analysis, The Museum of Russian Art in Windom discovered that it was “pushing out a lot of messages to ‘niche’ areas of interest,” development officer Alex Legeros said. “The art lover of the Twin Cities wasn’t our primary focus in our communications,” he said. Legeros said the museum, which has the equivalent of Alex Legeros 8.5 full-time staff members, “reoriented what it did top to bottom.” It began looking more closely at its audience and targeting messaging toward it. Legeros said the museum, which draws about 40,000 visitors annually, doesn’t have point-of-sale technology that can identify visitors’ zip codes from their credit cards. The museum gets some location data from the fraction of visitors who buy tickets on Groupon; Legeros said he knows that 70% of those visitors live in Southwest Minneapolis. “We’re gaining a sense of who our members are,” he said, adding that the museum also uses pen-and-paper tools, such as guest books, to collect information. In September, it had its biggest day ever in terms of visitor count at about 1,000. That was due to the Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day, an annual event in which people can receive no-cost admission to museums across the country by downloading free tickets. “If we had 1,000 people here every day, this place would just collapse,” Legeros said.
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WHAT DRIVES THE COST ON MOST REMODELING PROJECTS? Although the simple answer might be the contractor, the real answer is, “it depends.” We have a list of 120 categories that compromise a remodeling project. Complex projects involve more categories, and a price must be estimated for each element. We begin with baseline tasks involved in every project: electrical, plumbing, materials, carpentry, labor, permits, and rubbish removal. Additional costs might include cabinets and countertops for a kitchen, ceramic work for a bath, or hardwood flooring for a family room. Each item has the potential to vary widely in cost, depending on the owner’s selections. Also, there may be work required to meet current codes. All of these costs must be included in a complete remodeling project. So, back to the original question: what drives costs? All the parts necessary to complete a project, including the finishes selected by the owner.
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11/14/19 9/6/19 10:53 3:44 AM PM
A8 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
By Jim Walsh
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Invasion of the Kingfield Turkeys
I
n terms of urban animal kingdom legend, they don’t get much more legendary than how legendary the Kingfield Turkeys have become over the last few weeks. Legends, I say. Legends. The new kings of Kingfield. Six of ’em. Owning the neighborhood. Roosting in a tree over 37th & Nicollet. Stopping traffic outside Butter Bakery Cafe. Feasting on the seeds of the 39th & Van Nest community garden. Loitering outside Dave The Pie Guy, thinking about hitting Victor’s for breakfast. Crossing 39th & Blaisdell in formation, like the Beatles on the Abbey Road crosswalk. Hanging out in front of Lyndale Community School. Going to confession at Incarnation church. Since early fall the gang of six, the so-dubbed Kingfield Turkeys (a parent and her/his five babies), has been spotted by diligent citizens waltzing, sashaying, strutting, flying, roosting in, and waddling the streets of South Minneapolis, most frequently around Pleasant and Pillsbury avenues between 35th and 40th streets. They move in a pack and are, for sure, a sight to behold: pecking, prancing, preening, gobbling at each other and at us — pretty much whiling the day away like only truly free birds can. Stealthy buggers, too. I spent much of Monday morning trying to get a picture of the elusive beasts, hoping for an interview (“When will you show us your feathers? Why did you pick us, lucky us, to be your roostmates? Do you need a place to stay?”). But after a while I gave up because it felt like I was hunting for Nessie or Sasquatch, so mythical had these jive turkeys become to me after a weekend of monitoring the most excellent Kingfield Turkeys Facebook group (tinyurl.com/kingfield-turkeys). “I started the group page on November 5, but the turkeys have been around here as long as I can remember,” said Chris Flannery, a father of three and store manager who studied forestry and geography in college. “I remember back in August, seeing them when they were really tiny, just really little turkeys. I said to my daughter, ‘Let’s go walk up and say “hi” to the turkeys.’ So we did, and I took some photos and I just thought it was weird that there wasn’t a collective place to talk turkey and post pictures. “It’s been fun, and everyday I’m adding more people. I think it’s kind of nice because there’s so much negativity on Facebook. I’m in a lot of groups, and this is totally nondenominational. It’s about as nondenominational as you can get. It’s just turkeys walking around our neighborhood. Nobody’s fighting over what turkey said to the media or how turkey voted or what turkey tweeted or anything like that.” “I’ve been following the turkeys; it’s so fun,” said Kingfield resident Jane Onsrud, who provided the photo for this column. “It’s a way for the community to share in something. We don’t always have opportunities to do that, and I think the community feels a little ownership and protection of the turkeys now, and that’s cool.” “This seriously is the best thing on the internet right now,” wrote Kelly Rae Garland in the Facebook group. “I love these turkeys!!!”
Kingfield Turkeys on the march through the alley behind Incarnation church in early November. Photo by Jane Onsrud
Apart from the fact that it reads like a real-time National Geographic feature happening right outside your front door, the Kingfield Turkeys Facebook group is a wonderful testament to people’s senses of humor and humanity, with neighbors, acquaintances and strangers joining in on the purest form of good gossip, the kind that gives a neighborhood sinew and something to chew on while milling around at the bus stop, bar or butcher shop. (Happy Thanksgiving to all humans and turkeys alike, by the way.) “I guess they find the urban environment pretty safe for them,” said Bryan Lueth of the Department of Natural Resources, who has done time as the DNR’s resident urban turkey expert. “There’s a general absence of predators, there’s no hunting season, there’s abundant food resources in the form of bird feeders and other landscaping plants that homeowners tend to plant, so I think life is pretty good for an urban turkey. They don’t face the normal mortality factors that more rural birds do. “And sure, an urban turkey can be ornery, but they’re a bird. What are they going to do to you? But for whatever reason, I do see these stories around the country, and they seem to have it in for postal carriers. I don’t know if it’s the color of the uniform or what, but there’s all these stories about turkeys harassing postal carriers.” Reports of East Coast turkeys terrorizing towns are fairly frequent, and in the Twin Cities, the Kingfield Turkeys are relative turkeys-come-lately to the urban turkey trot, which for a few years now has been led by the omnipresent turkeys of Northeast
Minneapolis (tinyurl.com/turkeys-terrorize), who have inspired not one but two Facebook pages and a Twitter account. What’s more, this year big gobblers have been spotted at the University of Minnesota campus and in Richfield; a traffic-blocking turkey recently took over the Hennepin-Lyndale Interstate 94 on-ramp; and in Moorhead last winter, the City Council met to address the “large populations of wild turkeys within city limits” that resulted from residents feeding the birds (tinyurl.com/moorhead-turkeys). “I’m an Eagle Scout, I grew up in Milwaukee,” Flannery said. “We lived on the far outskirts of Madison, Wisconsin, in a small town where we had turkeys and deer and everything as we were out in the country. Now we’re smack dab in the city, and there’s turkeys almost out our front door, which is fun for my wife and I.” Same here — that was me, in fact, gobbling loudly on my bike the other day, hoping to attract the real deal, and now I’m off again to do some more turkey hunting. I’ll post photos on the Kingfield Turkeys page if I score, but I’m in no hurry. “Absent someone intervening to capture them or something like that, they’ll probably be just fine for a while,” the DNR’s Lueth said. “They might get picked off by a coyote or owl or something, but other than that, I wouldn’t be surprised if they survived the whole winter.” Jim Walsh lives and grew up in South Minneapolis. He can be reached at jimwalsh086@gmail.com.
southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 A9
Routes and Roads Roads
By Andrew Hazzard / ahazzard@swjournal.com
Grand Avenue reconstruction calls for bump-outs, added green space
Minneapolis will completely reconstruct Grand Avenue between Lake and 48th streets in 2021, which many see as an opportunity to transform a significant roadway in Southwest. The project’s lead city planner, Forrest Hardy, said the reconstruction “allows us to do a lot of things.” The exact nature of those things is still being decided. Minneapolis officials held a Nov. 12 open house during which three early concept designs for the project were presented. Most of the 2.25-mile section of Grand Avenue has pavement over 60 years old and
Transit
A column on transportation in Southwest Minneapolis
lacks boulevard space for trees and plants common in Minneapolis, Hardy said. The primary goals of the project are to replace that aging infrastructure, to boost safety by reducing traffic speeds and improving pedestrian spaces and to improve stormwater management by adding green space, officials said. All three of the designs would add boulevard space for trees and other plantings adjacent to sidewalks, something currently absent on Grand that could help with both stormwater runoff and snow storage in the winter. The designs all maintain two-way vehicle traffic on Grand but differ
in how much space they allocate for on-street parking and separated trails for cyclists. A key question is how much space the city will use in reconstruction. The city’s right-ofway on Grand is 60 feet, but it currently uses about 54 feet. Minneapolis owns 3 feet of yard space closest to the street in city lots. Two design options call for using the full 60 feet, with one allowing on-street parking on both sides of the street, and the other allowing northbound on-street parking and adding an 8-foot bike trail to the north side. The third design sticks with the 54-foot usage
and maintains on-street parking on the northbound side of the street. Kingfield Neighborhood Association (KNA) president Chris DesRoches said he feels the 54-foot design is the most feasible because many lots on Grand Avenue have short retaining walls that would add cost and complexity to the project if removed. The KNA surveyed residents about the project and found they are mostly interested in walkability, pedestrian and bike safety and connections to commercial nodes, DesRoches said. SEE ROUTES & ROADS / PAGE A10
France Avenue chosen for E Line
Metro Transit planners have decided to route the future E Line bus rapid transit (BRT) along France Avenue in Southwest Minneapolis. The E Line would largely replace current Route 6 services along Hennepin Avenue, connecting Southdale Center to the University of Minnesota via Uptown and Downtown. Planners had been deciding between routing the line along Xerxes or France avenues in Southwest. “The real distinguisher is major destinations along France Avenue,” said Kyle O’Donnell Burrows, project manager for the E Line. The France Avenue alignment allows for stops at hubs like 44th & France, 50th & France and Fairview Southdale Hospital, a major employment and health center. Other potential stop locations include 47th & France, to connect with Southwest High
School, said O’Donnell Burrows. Currently, Metro Transit is soliciting feedback on potential stops through events like a Nov. 21 open house at Pershing Recreation Center in Fulton. Metro Transit has an interactive webpage (tinyurl.com/e-line-metro) where people can make suggestions at specific points on the street. In Southwest Minneapolis, the E Line will run along Hennepin Avenue through Uptown to West 36th Street, using Richfield Road, Sheridan Avenue and West 44th Street to reach France Avenue. Plans call for crossing the Mississippi River on Hennepin and taking University Avenue through Marcy Holmes to connect to the University of Minnesota. BRT service, planners say, increases speed and comfort of bus service with more developed stations farther apart than standard
stops, payment before boarding (at either the front or middle of the bus) and the ability for buses to communicate with traffic signals to get elongated or faster green lights at key intersections. Buses run about every 10 minutes, decreasing the need to plan trips in advance. Pending full funding, the E Line will be constructed in 2023. Metro Transit is in the process of building out its arterial BRT network, which started with the A Line along Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. This summer, the C Line began service connecting Brooklyn Center to Downtown via Penn Avenue in North Minneapolis. Other planned BRT service includes the B Line, which would run along Lake Street and Marshall Avenue, and the D Line, which would connect Brooklyn Center to Bloomington via Chicago Avenue.
The planned E Line bus rapid transit would connect Southdale Center to the University of Minnesota via France and Hennepin avenues in Southwest. Submitted image
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A10 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com FROM ROUTES & ROADS / PAGE A9
Developer has tentative plans for half-block-long apartment in South Uptown By Zac Farber / zfarber@swjournal.com
F E AT U R E D L I S T I N G S
A developer is fine-tuning plans to build a halfblock-long, multi-story apartment building on a stretch of Hennepin Avenue just north of Lakewood Cemetery. The Lander Group and ESG Architecture have tentative plans to build 75 apartment units above a 90-car underground parking garage at 3501–3525 Hennepin Ave., according to a Nov. 11 presentation delivered to a South Uptown neighborhood committee. The project would require the demolition of two houses, a 4,000-square-foot commercial building and a mixed-use building filled by Ophelia’s Salon and five one-bedroom apartment units. The proposed apartment building would range from 3–5 stories in height, and its northern tip would reach into the parking lot behind the commercial building owned by Lander at the southeast corner of 35th & Hennepin. “It’s not going to be this big mass,” South Uptown Executive Director Scott Engel said. “It would almost look like there would be three different buildings.” The proposed site of the apartment encompasses six city lots that are currently zoned for either medium-density residential or smallscale commercial uses, with apartments capped at four stories and commercial buildings at 2.5 stories. Under the Minneapolis 2040 plan, all six lots would be rezoned to Corridor 4 — a mixed-used designation allowing buildings of four stories or higher along high-frequency transit routes. Changes to the city’s zoning code are not expected until 2020.
A developer has tentative plans to build a 75-unit apartment on Hennepin Avenue. The two houses pictured and the two buildings to their north would be demolished. Photo by Zac Farber
The site has a steep grade differential angling down from Hennepin Avenue toward Girard Avenue, which would make it cheaper to dig underground parking than it would cost on level terrain. Engel said there were concerns in the neighborhood that the proposed building would tower over single-family homes along Girard. ESG Architecture’s Bob Loken told the South Uptown neighborhood’s land use committee that the project team wanted part of the apartment building to reach five stories to offset the cost of including city-mandated affordable units. A new Minneapolis policy requiring affordable housing in all new apartment projects over 20 units is due to be adopted by the City Council. Rents in the five apartments that would be razed are around $1,000 per month. The two three- and four-bedroom houses rent for
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$1,800 and $2,000 per month; both houses also contain separate basement units, each of which rents for $950. The Lander Group and ESG Architecture did not respond to requests to comment for this story. Engel said project staff plans to present “more firmed-up plans” in the coming months. Ken Bressler owns the two houses and the commercial building at 3517 Hennepin Ave., which serves as the office for his company Builders & Remodelers, Inc. He said he has signed a purchase agreement to sell Lander the three properties pending City Council approval of the redevelopment project. Bressler said that developer Schafer Richardson had approached him three years ago about building a 57-unit apartment building, but he wasn’t then ready to sell.
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To calm traffic, Public Works will be implementing bump-outs at intersections. The city is also considering options like chicanes, where extra curves and narrowing are added to portions of the street to slow cars. The city currently has no chicanes, Hardy said. “That would be really cool,” DesRoches said. Grand Avenue averages between 1,150–2,100 vehicles per day, which Hardy said is low for a collector street in the city. Every day, the city estimates, about 550 people board buses on Grand, 330 people walk its sidewalks and 80 cyclists hit the street. Grand Avenue is considered to be a middle ground between busy commercial and quiet residential streets with its mix of housing and business nodes. Matt Perry, who leads the Southwest Business Association, said the organization hopes to preserve on-street parking to help the 55 businesses it represents between 36th and 48th streets. Perry said about 50% of customers at local businesses come from outside of Southwest, typically by vehicle. Ashwat Narayanan, executive director of Our Streets Minneapolis, which advocates for safe pedestrian and bike conditions, said the reconstruction should make those businesses accessible for people using multiple transportation modes. He’d like the city to enact its complete streets policy and climate action goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled in the reconstruction process. “Today we have an opportunity to put safety first,” Narayanan said.
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southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 A11 FROM HILL & LAKE PRESS / PAGE A1
Cedar-Isles-Dean, according to a history compiled by Wilson for the paper’s 40th anniversary in 2016. The 1970s were a boom era for neighborhood newspapers. In 1978, there were 37 neighborhood papers in Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to a University of Minnesota journalism and mass communications study. At that time, Wilson said, putting out the HLP was a true community effort. People would gather at the home of the managing editor, a position that used to be rotated among the neighborhoods, to edit and lay out the press. Drinks were served. Most people involved were young professionals with families who wanted to highlight local news. “They had fun,” Wilson said. The paper ran joke issues and kids’ issues and tracked local development projects. It’s been following the Southwest Light Rail Transit project since the 1980s. Jerry Van Amerongen, a former syndicated cartoonist whose “The Neighborhood” series ran nationally in the ’80s, got his start in the HLP. The Mondale family lived in the area, and when Walter Mondale was serving as ambassador to Japan in the 1990s, his wife, Jean, sent back dispatches that were published in the Hill & Lake Press. She later compiled those articles into a book called “Letters from Japan.”
End of an era Deatrick came on board in the ’90s as the advertising manager and an occasional writer. The paper was coming to a crossroads, with several longtime contributors moving away or retiring. When the Southwest Journal launched in 1990, initially centering on Linden Hills, some at the HLP wanted to compete with the new paper, Deatrick recalled, but the paper opted against it. By 2002, a group of longtime paper staffers wanted to take the rest of the money, throw a party and shut it down, Deatrick said. But she didn’t want to do that. She and others said no, and Deatrick took over as managing editor. It was too important to let die. “There’s a great sense of value in knowing what’s going on in the neighborhood,” Deatrick said. Many neighborhood papers are gone now. The Longfellow Nokomis Messenger and The
Alley Newspaper in Phillips still run in South Minneapolis. The Camden Community News covers Northside neighborhoods. In 2018, the Bryant, Central and Lyndale neighborhoods banded together to begin publishing a new newspaper, Voces de Central, which prints in English and Spanish. When Deatrick took over, she homed in on the original mission of the paper: providing quality coverage of issues that matter to the four neighborhoods. “It has been Jean who has kept this paper going since 2002,” Wilson said.
Survival Deatrick is starting to think about retiring from the paper. She and her husband spend some time in Florida in the winter and she thinks the paper could use a new perspective. Someone offered to take it over a couple years ago, and she sometimes wishes she let them. “It’s probably time for me to step back,” she said. She has the same issues many editors do. There are a lot of moving parts. Contributors sometimes submit stories late or write too long. It costs $4,500 to produce 6,000 copies of a 12-page issue of the HLP, Deatrick said. The full 16 pages it regularly published before scaling back last year cost about $1,000 more. The smaller space is cheaper, but it forces her to cram in stories and ads. They switched printing companies last year, which has brought a cost savings. The paper also receives funding from the four neighborhood organizations it covers. Since 2005, Deatrick has been paid $800 per issue. The only paid contributor is longtime photographer Dorothy Childers, who gets $100 per issue. The paper has loyal advertisers, she said, but she doesn’t have time to go out and sell ads like she used to. For the last few years, her daughter, Heather Deatrick, has served as the business manager. After Jean Deatrick’s October article about the paper’s struggles, many people responded by opening up their wallets and their hearts — their donations accompanied by handwritten notes detailing memories of the paper. Deatrick was surprised and touched by the response and said the donations have been sufficient to keep the paper going. “We’re not going to go under,” she said.
A12 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
Green Digest
By Mira Klein
Curbing the city’s contaminated recycling Cleaner waste streams essential for collectors in tight market After decades of educational campaigns, recycling can seem like old news. But this year, Minneapolis is getting back to recycling basics. At issue is not the volume of recyclables, but rather their states of contamination — the proportion of discarded material that can’t be processed and must be sent to the trash heap. Compared with other cities, Minneapolis’s recycling numbers look pretty good. Municipal contamination rates are between 7%–9%, far below the national average of 25%. Kellie Kish, the city recycling coordinator, credits municipal success to regionally consistent recycling requirements; the rules about what is and is not recyclable are the same in the entire Twin Cities metro, cutting down on consumer confusion and allowing for more effective and streamlined public education campaigns. Manual collection also makes a difference. Many cities have switched to automated collection trucks, but the manual approach provides collectors with “an opportunity to look inside every single cart before it is dumped,” Kish said. Cleaner recycling is easier to process, makes for better products and ultimately holds higher market value. And because recycling is a commodity bought and sold through the private market, people have to make money in order for the system to function, whether through the sale of raw recyclables or the products they turn into. A 2018 change in China’s recycling import policy, restricting the types of accepted materials and setting stringent contamination limits, wiped out about 40% of the market for U.S. recyclables virtually overnight. Bins of old newspapers and excess cardboard suddenly became a lot more expensive to deal with and a lot less valuable, sending waste management companies into a panic and throwing the existences of entire municipal recycling programs into question. China’s policy shift isn’t going to spell the death of recycling for Minneapolis. The city has long been sending its publicly collected recyclables to the nonprofit Eureka Recycling facility
in Northeast Minneapolis rather than overseas. But local recyclers — both public and private — are certainly feeling the impact of the market downturn. As a result, they are eyeing contamination levels as a source of improvement. As reported earlier this year in Mpls.St.Paul magazine, market conditions forced Eureka to eliminate eight staff positions in recycling policy and education. And as the market for recyclables is increasingly saturated, the demand for clean, easy-to-process recycling grows greater — and the wiggle room for recycling mistakes shrinks. “Local [recycling] supply is so high now that the value for it is low,” Kish said. “To be able to sell your recycling in a market like this, the cleaner it is, the more attractive it is to sell.” Julie Ketchum is a public affairs liaison for Waste Management, a waste services provider that serves more than 20 million customers nationwide. She said the result of this oversupply is that “end markets can be more selective about what the end material is like when they receive it. And because of that, recycling contamination has become a big concern.” At the company’s Minneapolis recycling center in Northeast, Waste Management has an average of three facility shutdowns per day lasting 20 minutes each to remove plastic bags from machinery. But while public and private collectors can agree on the contamination problem, their responses look pretty different. John Melrose is a field foreman with the city’s solid waste and recycling department and a former recycling collector himself. Under city policy, recycling collectors are the first point of intervention for contamination mitigation. As he explained, collectors look in each recycling bin before dumping, and if they notice contamination, they leave an educational tag. After collectors tag a recycling cart, the city follows up with a letter explaining contamination concerns. If collection crews tag the same bin for contamination within the year, the cart
is pulled altogether. Residents can either pay a fee to get their recycling cart returned or wait three months before requesting another at no cost. Ultimately, whether contamination is flagged at the curbside level depends on who’s looking, Kish said. With between 700 and 1,200 stops on any given route, it’s inevitable that contamination gets missed even by the best-trained eye. Still, Melrose estimates that each collection crew leaves anywhere from 10–20 educational tags per shift. According to city data, since this protocol was initiated in December 2012, nearly 22,000 contamination letters have been mailed and almost 500 residents have paid fees to get their recycling carts replaced. This process only pertains to residents served by city recycling operations. Commercial facilities and residential buildings with more than four units are left to independently contract with private waste management companies. When it comes to private haulers, the city has no way of tracking contamination levels and little leverage to encourage improvement. Hennepin County does its best to fill the gaps, said Carolyn Collopy, the county’s acting supervising environmentalist. In addition to educational support, the county is flexing its regulatory muscle to give cities and customers more leverage to meet recycling goals. For example, under County Ordinance 13, adopted in 2017 with portions going into effect on Jan. 1, private haulers must meet new recycling label requirements and building managers must provide adequate recycling capacity for residents.
New recycling label requirements are going into effect on Jan. 1 for private haulers in Hennepin County. Image courtesy of Hennepin County
But there is little the city or the county can do to track, let alone intervene in, a relationship between two private entities. “It’s the hauler that has that direct relationship [with buildings],” Collopy said. “If we don’t know about [problems], we can’t help.” Private hauler contamination mitigation strategies include education, fees or simply pulling recycling service entirely. “Some haulers are quicker to fine and quicker to cut service than others,” Collopy said. When it comes to fines, however, “the unfortunate thing is that a lot of customers don’t notice those changes on their bills.” For collection companies, however, fines can be an important source of revenue in a struggling recycling market. “It’s frustrating to see because it’s not helping these properties,” Collopy said. “But there probably isn’t enough to legally incentivize private haulers to go the extra step.” Collopy suggested that there may be a role for consumer pressure. “The hauler also has a responsibility to provide accurate information to customers,” she said. “If you are a property manager who is having trouble negotiating with haulers, shop around!” From Melrose’s perspective, public collection makes a difference. “We’re not in this to turn a profit,” he said. “Our No. 1 goal is to provide the best possible service.” Of course, the city has an economic incentive to bring in the highest value recycling in the process. “These trucks don’t run on hopes and dreams,” he said.
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southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 A13
By Andrew Hazzard / ahazzard@swjournal.com
Traffic study examines changes to Minnehaha Parkway After seeing the results of a traffic study, Park Board officials are confidently moving ahead with plans to limit vehicle access on Minnehaha Parkway in Southwest Minneapolis, but the study has them reconsidering changes further east. The traffic study suggests the Park Board can continue with plans to eliminate two short sections of West Minnehaha Parkway: a section crossing the creek near Lynnhurst Recreation Center and a section abutting the south bank of the creek near Nicollet Avenue. (From the first section, vehicles would be rerouted to James Avenue and, from the second, they would be routed onto a parkway road that crosses Nicollet Avenue at street level.) These changes are the recommendations of a community advisory committee (CAC) convened as part of the Minnehaha Parkway Regional Trail Master Plan, an effort to shape the next 20 years of parkland around the creek. But plans to alter the parkway have drawn intense public ire. Current design concepts would discourage through traffic on the parkway by installing roadway barriers at Humboldt and Portland avenues and by removing the two stretches of parkway in Southwest. Staunch opposition to those ideas led to a pause in the master plan process this summer while the traffic study was conducted. The traffic study, which cost $37,725, counted vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist traffic on Minnehaha Parkway at three locations: at 50th & Minnehaha Parkway near Lynnhurst Park, on the southern portion of Minnehaha Parkway below the Nicollet Avenue bridge and at East Minnehaha Parkway & Portland. The counts were conducted on a Thursday and Saturday in October. The study’s results led planners to reconsider their ideas for Minnehaha Parkway near Portland Avenue, said Adam Arvidson, the MPRB’s project manager. The data showed that closing the parkway at Portland would lead to long backups. But Arvidson said the traffic study supported planners’ designs for the two sites in Southwest. Those designs have faced resistance from some area residents. A group called “Preserve
A presentation on the results of a Minnehaha Parkway traffic study on Nov. 19 was attended by about 100 people. The master planning process for the parkland around Minnehaha Creek has included proposals to limit vehicle access on the parkway. Photo by Andrew Hazzard
the Parkway” created a yard sign campaign in response to the plan and has been speaking at both CAC and standard Park Board meetings in opposition. While the group has been happy the Park Board has scaled back on plans to put through traffic barriers where the parkway intersects Lyndale and Nicollet avenues, its members would rather the CAC focus on improving traffic conditions, not restricting vehicles. “We’d like things to stay more or less as they are,” said Al Giesen, a Preserve the Parkway leader who lives along Minnehaha Parkway in Tangletown. Near the current Lynnhurst Recreation Center, planners are calling for the removal of a small stretch of Minnehaha Parkway north of 51st Street. Right now, that stretch of road provides access to the rec center, but plans are in place to eventually move the rec center north of 50th Street. Under the current plan, vehicles traveling north on that portion of the parkway would be routed west onto 51st Street and then onto James Avenue. The traffic study suggests the change would impact about 1,900 vehicles per day. During the
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. rush hour, the study estimates that 120 southbound vehicles and about 100 northbound vehicles would be shifted onto James Avenue. Some at the meeting expressed concerned about routing traffic near Burroughs School, but planners said the impact would be lessened because the school day ends at 3:40 p.m., about an hour before peak traffic time. “Traffic is not the reason to not do this,” Arvidson said. The changes would likely result in fewer conflicts between drivers and pedestrians and cyclists. The traffic study recorded 126 bikers and pedestrians passing through the intersection on weekdays in October and 272 on weekends; a July count recorded 384 pedestrian and cyclists crossing there in July. Near Nicollet Avenue, the study found removing the lower, one-way eastbound portion of the parkway that runs under the Nicollet bridge and diverting those cars to the upper parkway would roughly quadruple the number of vehicles that take the upper parkway daily. Today, the upper parkway averages about 300 vehicles per day west of
Nicollet Avenue and 560 vehicles per day east of Nicollet; traffic would increase to about 1,200 vehicles per day west of Nicollet and 1,500 east of Nicollet, according to the study. While the increase in traffic on the upper road would be high, planners said it would be in line with parkway traffic in other areas. “It would make the upper roads function more like the parkway as a whole,” Arvidson said. Dozens of Preserve the Parkway members attended a Nov. 19 public presentation on the traffic study, wearing nametags and passing out literature on the project. The group plans to continue voicing opposition to the changes throughout the CAC process. “We still have to convince them that even though they can, doesn’t mean they should,” Giesen said. Traffic, Arvidson emphasized, will not be the only factor in considering the future of the parkway. The CAC is still working through its preferred designs for the project, and CAC recommendations are ultimately nonbinding, with master plans subject to change after public hearings.
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A14 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com FROM RICHARDSON / PAGE A1
Richardson, 38, has been at the church in various roles since 2014, most recently as associate pastor. He’s the church’s fifth lead pastor since the late 1940s but has perhaps the most unusual story of any of them. A St. Paul native, he was raised female in a family of Southern Baptists. His father physically abused his mother, and his parents separated when he was 6. After a period of homelessness, his mother eventually began a romantic relationship with another man, but he, too, was abusive, both physically and sexually. At 9, Richardson moved in with his paternal grandmother. Richardson said his life stabilized in the years after the move. But at 16, his grandmother saw him holding hands with a gender-nonconforming person and was furious. Richardson identified as queer and had romantic relationships with people of different gender identities. His grandmother, a devout Southern Baptist, thought homosexuality was an abomination. Richardson said she kicked him out the night she saw him holding hands, and he was homeless for the next nine months. His grandmother let him return with the onset of cold weather on the conditions that he not “be gay” and not return to their St. Paul church, Shiloh Missionary Baptist. She and his great aunts also subjected him to an exorcism. “I finished out my senior year [of high school] coming home as late as I possibly could and leaving as early as I possibly could,” he said. Richardson graduated Highland Park High School in 2000 and matriculated to St. Catherine University in St. Paul. He said he maintained good grades his freshman year but became depressed, in part because of his isolation from the church, to which his grandmother said he couldn’t return. Church had been a central part of his life, and Richardson said he felt alienated without it. “To not have that, it was like, ‘Oh, what do I do?’” he said. Just before his 20th birthday, Richardson said he attempted suicide by overdosing on pills. His grandmother was the first person who was called. “For her to see me there, it made her feel responsible,” he said. Richardson and his grandmother reconciled after the suicide attempt, and he took time off of school and moved back in with her. She died of lupus in June 2004, at age 66. Richardson’s father, with whom he had been estranged and who also had lupus, committed suicide four days after her death. It was around that time that Richardson began seriously considering a career in the clergy. He began working as a part-time associate minister at a smaller church in 2004 while finishing at St. Kate’s and beginning a job with Ameriprise Financial. But he said he felt a “calling” to become a pastor and to spread the “story of God’s love.” “I know what it’s like to live in a space where you don’t feel loved by anyone,” he said. “To know that the most supreme being loves you, that kind of trumps everything else.” In 2006, he began seminary at Liberty University, a Baptist school founded by Jerry Falwell, Sr., a famously homophobic televangelist who once described members of a gayfriendly church as “brute beasts.” Richardson said he attended the school because he wanted to have leverage with his more conservative family and because
It was really great to be in a place that wanted my gifts and skills and not just what I could do for their marketing material.” — Rev. Lawrence Richardson
I know what it’s like to live in a space where you don’t feel loved by anyone. To know that the most supreme being loves you, that kind of trumps everything else.” — Rev. Lawrence Richardson
Photo by Nate Gotlieb
he planned on preaching to people who “thought that LGBT people are going to hell and can’t go to church.” He said he loved his classes there but mostly stuck to himself. One of the few non-white students at Liberty, he said he has had to choose which of the school’s lessons to keep. “Apart from its very conservative and sometimes sexist and racist ideology that — if we’re honest — I think all religious systems have to face,” he said, “the things that I learned are still serving me today.” In 2007, a year before Richardson graduated seminary, he was introduced to the United Church of Christ, a liberal mainline protestant denomination, through a TV ad the denomination had created. The ad showed a diverse group of people, such as a gay couple, a single mom and an Arab man, being “ejected” from a church. At the end of the commercial, a message on the screen said that “God doesn’t reject people,” and “neither do we.” “I said just kind of out loud in passing prayer, ‘God, if I ever find a church like that, I will serve that church with my life,’” Richardson said. After graduating, Richardson served as a youth pastor at Lyndale United Church of Christ and also worked as an associate pastor at Grace United Church of Christ. It was around this time that Richardson, who had never identified as female, started grappling more deeply with questions about his gender identity. He said that when he first heard the word “transgender” at age 28, it was a label with which he identified. “By that next January, I was like, ‘This is me,’” he said. Richardson started gender therapy in February 2010, began taking hormones in June and legally changed his name that July. He also underwent gender-reassignment surgery. He said it wasn’t until 2013 that he could look in a mirror and feel comfortable with who he saw staring back. In January 2013, he officially became pastor of Shift United Church of Christ, an online church he had founded. Between 2010
and 2012, he also sold trans-specific medical supplies, such as chest binders, prosthetics and urination aids, through his company, Stand-To-Urimate. Richardson had a longtime female partner in the 2000s, and they separated during his transition. He officially earned his ordination in the United Church of Christ in 2013 and found a position at Linden Hills United Church of Christ in 2014. He subsequently worked as a consultant and then an associate pastor for the church before the Oct. 27 vote. “It’s quite a wonderful partnership,” Richardson said.
Pastor Lawrence Founded in 1902, Linden Hills United Church of Christ was originally a “summer church” for Minneapolitans who didn’t want to go back to the city for Sunday worship, said the lead pastor, Rev. Eliot Howard. It was a Congregational church until it became affiliated with the United Church of Christ in 1961. It’s considered by the UCC to be an “Open and Affirming” church, meaning it welcomes LGBTQIA people into all ministries, rites and church offices. Out of the nearly 5,000 UCC churches, about 1,600 are Open and Affirming, said Andy Lang, who runs the denomination’s Open and Affirming Coalition. Howard, who became pastor in 1993, said Richardson is a good listener who makes people comfortable and has a “deep faith” that “guides him and makes him who he is.” Kathryn Kaatz, who serves as the church’s assistant moderator — a lay position that’s equivalent to vice president — said she’s always felt strongly that Richardson is good for the congregation. “I think he can be very visionary, and that’s what a lot of mainline Christian churches need these days,” she said. The Rev. Norma Burton, who has been the church’s community minister for over 28 years, said Richardson brings an enthusiasm for trying new things. “Lawrence is a very easy person to like and
I think he can be very visionary, and that’s what a lot of mainline Christian churches need these days.” — Kathryn Kaatz, Linden Hills United Church of Christ
to love,” she said. “He’s very thoughtful of people. He makes everyone feel welcome.” Richardson said one thing that attracted him to Linden Hills United Church of Christ is that the congregation doesn’t judge him for his gender identity but sees him “first and foremost as ‘Pastor Lawrence.’” “It was really great to be in a place that wanted my gifts and skills and not just what I could do for their marketing material,” he said. For now, he is adjusting to the new role alongside Howard. He said his immediate goals are to “firm up” connections with local neighborhood organizations and elected officials, increase sustained donations and secure the future of the building. The church is looking to co-locate with another congregation. The congregation isn’t worried about losing the building, Richardson said, but it wants to ensure that it remains “a viable community space that extends beyond all of our lives.” He said he sees himself being at Linden Hills UCC for at least 15 years, noting that he’s in his third year of a 10-year leadership program for which the congregation is paying. His inclination to stay for the long term appears to please his congregants. “He’s a real person,” Burton said. “I think he’s very secure in who he is, and I think when people are that way, it’s very easy to relate to them because you’re not always waiting for them to be somebody else.”
southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 A15 FROM BETTER ANGELS / PAGE A1
Better Angels is hosting workshops at local libraries and launching a new class adapted for families. The New York-based nonprofit started in 2016 with a call between David Blankenhorn, who evolved from a fighter to a supporter of gay marriage, and David Lapp, a Midwestern scholar focused on marriage and relationships. Immediately following Donald Trump’s election, they talked about the public reaction where they lived. Manhattan: funereal. Southwest Ohio: ecstatic. Blankenhorn and Lapp decided to bring together 10 Trump supporters and 10 Hillary Clinton supporters in the rural town of South Lebanon, Ohio, and they asked Doherty to build the workshop. “We asked people why they came,” Doherty said. “They said, ‘We can’t go on with this rancor. We have schools to run, we have hospitals, we have to raise our children. We cannot continue this way.’” Building on the first group’s enthusiasm and early media exposure, Better Angels took a bus tour to hold workshops in eight states, riding on former Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s campaign bus and staying in people’s homes. “Doing these workshops every day, I really began to see the importance of distinguishing the person from the position. You can believe that a viewpoint is completely wrong without believing everyone that holds it is stupid or ill-motivated,” Doherty said. “There are lots of reasons why people vote for who they vote for.” The name Better Angels is a reference to Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address in 1861: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
The state of polarization Republicans and Democrats are increasingly critical of each other, and increasingly likely to say the other side is more “immoral” than other Americans, according to a poll conducted in September by The Pew Research Center. Divisions between the two parties are increasing, said 85% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats in the survey of more than 9,000 adults. Yet 81% said they were concerned about the partisan divide. A recent workshop at Plymouth Congregational Church emphasized that polarization often happens when like-minded people talk to each other, especially if they’re demonizing the other side. “We get too insulated, and then we pile on,” Armatage resident Stephanie Bender said. Within a like-minded group, people tend to move to the loudest, most extreme position, said Better Angels moderator and Lynnhurst resident Bruce MacKenzie. Groups with equal numbers of opposing viewpoints, however, tend to find common ground. Minneapolitans see polarization happening locally as well. “Just look at the 2040 plan,” Stade said. “Density versus property rights, I guess, is
“Better Angels is not about everybody being centrist, or purple. It’s certainly not about people giving up their core values,” said co-founder Bill Doherty. “But it’s how we think about and talk about and talk to people who disagree with us.” Photos by Michelle Bruch
what people might say. The roots of some of those things go way, way back.” “I’m just tired of walking on eggshells,” said Carol Marchel, who taught a recent workshop at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis. She practiced Better Angels’ strategies last Thanksgiving. She asked her nephew if he had a personal story that informed his views on universal health care, and he talked about his experience in the military with substandard government health care. “I think it takes one person to break the ice and to know how to do it in a way that feels safe to the other person,” she said. “Ultimately, if we don’t have the skill to talk to other people about politics, we’re taking away a plank of democracy.”
How to depolarize Better Angels has lots of advice. Challenge stereotypes of the other side. A conservative is not interchangeable with President Donald Trump, for example. Be self-critical. Think how an eavesdropper would feel about your conversation. Avoid labels that shut down conversation, like “racist” or “hypocrite.” “We get into this exaggerated rhetoric that feeds itself,” Doherty said. Other advice relates to basic communication skills: Use “I” statements. Talk about personal experience and recognize that people’s views are informed by different life experiences. Find areas of agreement to disarm the other person, even if it’s simply agreeing that an issue is a “mess.” Acknowledge complexity with statements like: “I don’t think anybody’s figured this one out yet.” It is not necessary to agree on facts to have a conversation. Regarding family disagreement, remember that this isn’t your first rodeo. Prepare and respond differently. One-on-one conversations are best. “If I could somehow convey the cathartic effect of sitting down with people who disagree … people wouldn’t have such hostility toward the other side,” said Rob Weidenfeld, a Better Angels member.
Lowry Hill East resident Chris Lance (center) attended a Better Angels workshop Oct. 26 at Plymouth Congregational Church. He said he’s noticed that people often paint the other political side in broad strokes.
Depolarization in action Where Weidenfeld lives in rural Ohio, red and blue Better Angels members decided to tackle gerrymandering. While he said their influence was likely limited, they appeared at shopping centers and doorknocked to support a referendum on the issue. Ohio residents overwhelmingly voted in 2018 to create a bipartisan, public process for drawing congressional districts. Casting for a second issue to take on, one of Better Angels’ Tea Party members suggested the corrupting influence of money in politics. “My jaw dropped. I was really shocked to hear that,” Weidenfeld said. The bipartisan group embraced the idea “No Ballot, No Buck,” and is studying ideas to limit outside campaign contributions. Reds and blues are often not as separated as they think, Weidenfeld said. On the first day of the public impeachment hearings, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Eden Prairie) and Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Duluth), announced that their staff attended a Better Angels workshop together. Both are freshmen in “flipped” districts, and both are members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. Philips’ press secretary, Sam Anderson, said it was an encouraging day. “It reaffirmed that most of us got into this business to help people,” Anderson said. “A great thing about the way the exercises are structured is that it’s as much about learning things about yourself as it is about people on the opposite side of the aisle.” When former Minnesota legislator JoAnn Ward (DFL-53A) started her freshman term in 2013, she was stunned. Late at night on the House floor, she watched legislators give speeches to rooms that were largely empty, save for the camera. People across the aisle weren’t communicating. When she suggested a less adversarial atmosphere, she was told things don’t work that way. “They will work the way we decide they work,” she said. “If we try to create a culture that’s respectful, engaging and inclusive, then we need to do it differently.” Ward helped start the Civility Caucus, providing a chance for bipartisan brown-bag lunches and visits between metro and rural districts. She tried to convince legislators that bipartisanship would look good on a resume, although some worried it could damage their careers. “It really does take courage to approach someone of a different mind than you are,” said Ward, who is now training to become a Better Angels moderator. As chair of the Conservative Caucus in the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Bruce Morlan is advocating for action that he thinks conservatives can get behind. The group is lobbying for a carbon fee and dividend, which would use market forces to price
energy so that environmental effects are taken into account. Morlan is a state-level coordinator at Better Angels, and he appreciates the effort to depolarize debate. “We have a sense that there may be a lot of people in the Republican Party that would be OK with doing something, or actually would like to see something done, but the current environment is not very conducive to going against the tribes in either party,” he said. “There is possibly more support than we see at the ballot box.” Locally, Doherty is involved in a 2017 initiative that came in response to high-profile police shootings of black men. FATHER Project Director Guy Bowling was reaching “outrage fatigue” as a black man, and he wondered whether Doherty, who is white, could help build relationships between black men and Minneapolis police. Following a year of intense discussion involving six officers and six black community members, the group has gone on to hold community conversations, advocate for safe housing and become involved in police training.
Skeptics of depolarization Better Angels has its critics. In a June 2019 op-ed in the Washington Post, Julie Kohler wrote that so-called “love politics” falls short, especially if it flattens anger in the face of injustice, holds no one to account, wants women in particular to calm down or overlooks problems that divide us, such as deliberate disinformation. “Love politics’ proponents frame our nation’s ills as interpersonal and, in so doing, gloss over structural inequities, fundamental clashes in values, and discrepancies in access to power,” she wrote. Better Angels’ supporters have responded to this sort of critique by saying that shouting at each other isn’t sustainable. “We do not have to tilt into the ‘bothsidesism’ that suggests that both sides of an argument are always equally right or equally wrong,” John Wood Jr., Better Angels’ director of media development, has written. “That is not always the case. Yet, however right one might be in an argument, progress in a civil relationship depends upon us listening to and understanding one another.” Marchel, the aforementioned Better Angels moderator, said her husband thinks she’s wasting her energy. “I know that Better Angels gets sort of teased as being a feel-good approach to political strife,” she said. But she’s still trying. “It’s not an approach that hurts anything. And it can certainly, I think, help,” she said. Eli Mulvihill, a Northeast Minneapolis resident, was energized by a recent workshop. “I’m OK no matter what their politics are,” Mulvihill said. “I feel like I have the skills to get back into the conversation again.”
Southwest Journal November 28–December 11, 2019
HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
BY ZAC FARBER, KSENIA GORINSHTEYN, NATE GOTLIEB AND ANDREW HAZZARD
Gift-hunting season is officially upon us! Do you need a little inspiration? We dispatched our cheerful team of industrious reporters to flit elf-like through Southwest Minneapolis in search of the city’s most delightful treasures. Take a break from online shopping this holiday season, and enjoy a peek at what some of Minneapolis’ many thriving gift merchants have to offer. We hope our gift guide can spark some ideas for what to buy to please your loved ones. Happy holidays! PAGE B4
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southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 B3
Bring home the bacon By Carla Waldemar
Bacon!
Now that I have your attention, let me introduce a new restaurant, an import from Denver lodged in Downtown East’s Canopy Hotel. It’s called Bacon Social House, and that staple isn’t just for breakfast anymore. America’s favorite sinful indulgence informs nearly every dish on the menu, starting with the cocktail list. Yes, my Bacon Old Fashioned came garnished with a bacon strip, abetting the bacon bitters in the glass. My companion’s gin and tonic, however, favored a branch of rosemary (“sprig” doesn’t do it justice) and a half-moon of grapefruit. Both tasted mighty good. So did the menu’s flat-out bestseller, a flight of you-knowwhat masquerading as a starter ($10, enough for sharing). That’s six bacon strips in six styles: applewood, barbecued, candied, habanero, paleo and French toast. They’re accompanied by a kitchen scissors, enabling all dietary evildoers to snip off a couple of inches of each. It’s fun. To ensure we wouldn’t be hounded as health-food nuts, we also ordered that lovely side dish called poutine, my favorite Canadian export. Here, a plate of fries comes blanketed with your choice of gravies: a vibrant green-chili number mined with cubes of tender pork and a traditional sausage gravy. Ask nicely and they’ll give you both. Bypassing other starters (including pork sliders plus a thick-cut slice of bacon for $4) and a quintet of salads ($12–$15 range, featuring a bacon Cobb), we proceeded to the burger list ($15 range) — ours served with slender, sweet potato fries fresh from the fryer and spared of extra grease. This smokehouse burger utilizes Black Angus beef to form a buxom patty atop a straight-arrow bun, upon which rested (of course) more bacon — this time, sweet with applewood smoke. The cast also includes blue cheese, a tomato-based, sweet-tart “smokehouse” sauce, bacon onion jam and errant wisps of arugula, just to throw your doctor off the track. I chose from the list of house specialties ($12–$24) — meatloaf, salmon, baby backs, steak frites, bacon mac and cheese and (my selection) walleye. The slim, slivery slice of fish proved dry and boring beneath its crust of blue-corn tortilla chips. (Maybe they don’t do walleye in Denver?) It’s accompanied by a perky succotash and modest basiltarragon sauce. There’s dessert — two house-made items, but we were already comatose. For the hardy: the bacon-flecked brownie or the bread pudding. Service is friendly but vacant; we had to try to flag down our waitress several times as she strolled leisurely between empty tables. The decor is as upbeat as the menu, and the bar seating packed-packed-packed.
BACON SOCIAL HOUSE Canopy Hotel 700 3rd St. S. 612-428-7107 baconsocialhouse.com
Blank Friday A Zen Alternative to
Black Friday Friday, November 29, 9am–4pm On the day of the year that has become most associated with American consumerism and shopping, we’d like to offer people a respite. Practitioners and the general public are invited to an open house with talks by our teachers and ongoing meditation. Put aside the shopping cart and spend some time at the Zen Center. mnzencenter.org/blankfriday.php
Free Classes (No registration needed) Introduction to Mindfulness: 9:30 & 12:30 The Healing Power of Looking at a Blank Wall: 11:00 & 2:00
Minnesota Zen Meditation Center 3343 East Bde Maka Ska Parkway, Mpls 55408 mnzencenter.org • 612.822.5313
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B4 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
» LOWRY HILL
Children’s art books While the overall selection at the Walker Art Center’s gift shop seems to have dwindled over the past year, its section of children’s books and toys remains a go-to when it comes to presents for tots. From hand-felted mobiles to artfully designed wooden blocks, the store offers many options for aesthetically conscious babies (or their parents). A number of books and flashcards aim to inspire an early appreciation for art. We recommend Italian artist Fausto Gilberti’s children’s book “Yves Klein Painted Everything Blue and Wasn’t Sorry” or “Baby Art Gallery,” a set of high-contrast blackand-white cards with images referencing works by Picasso, Matisse and others. For a fun activity you can gift the interactive kids book “Art This Way” to a young art appreciator and then take them on a stroll through the Walker’s galleries, where they can see works by Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol and other artists mentioned in the book. Price: Under $20 Where to find it: The Walker Shop at the Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Place
» KENWOOD
‘The Forever Sky’ by Thomas Peacock The Northern Lights are a spectacle for anyone to see, especially considering Minnesotans don’t have to go far to get a glimpse. Thomas Peacock, a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, writes of that experience in his recent book “The Forever Sky.” The book follows two young brothers, Niigaanii and Bineshiinh, who look to the night sky for answers. They observe the constellations, picking out shapes that resemble moose and loons, until one night, beautiful colors fill the sky. The two brothers learn that the Northern Lights are the spirits of their ancestors and, after some time, are presented with a message that furthers their understanding of their family history and their culture. The book is beautifully illustrated by Annette S. Lee and is sure to bring the wonderment of the Northern Lights to any kid reading it. Price: $16.95 Where to find it: Birchbark Books, 2115 W. 21st St.
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southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 B5
» LINDEN HILLS
Hagen and Oats cribbage boards These wooden cribbage boards, created by Newport, Minnesota-based Hagen and Oats, have the state of Minnesota carved out of them. One of the boards, created for the company’s “Stainbow” initiative, has the colors of the rainbow. The company donates 10% of Stainbow sales to organizations supportive of the local LGBTQ+ community, such as St. Paul-based Reclaim. Hagen and Oats, which designs custom wood decor and signage, was founded in 2015 by sisters Anna Hagen and Nikki Hollerich. The duo sells their wares at over 50 locations, including the Mall of America and Grand Collective in St. Paul. A popular item is custom dog portraits, Hollerich said. Price: $25 (price of cribbage board at hagenandoats.com); $34.95 (price at Bibelot + GoodThings Linden Hills) Where to find it: Bibelot + GoodThings Linden Hills, 4301 Upton Ave.
» LYNLAKE
A labradorite pendant Crystals have gained popularity in recent years for their potential to heal, but they’re also aesthetically pleasing to the eye. If you swear by the power of the crystal, ZRS Fossils and Gifts in LynLake has you covered. Labradorite is a beautiful blue-green crystal and it’s said to have “magical prowess.” A card near the pendant claims that the crystal enhances experiences including telepathy, prophecy, spiritual connections and more. It also “protects and strengthens your personal energies.” Even if you personally don’t believe in the crystal’s powers, you can definitely appreciate its beauty. ZRS Fossils and Gifts has the largest selection of fossils and crystals in the Twin Cities. Walking into their store on Lyndale is almost like walking into a museum and the staff are excited to help you find the best healing crystal for all your needs. Price: $158 Where to find it: ZRS Fossils and Gifts, 3018 Lyndale Ave. S.
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B6 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
» LINDEN HILLS
France 44 gift baskets Linden Hills-based France 44 sells three standard gift baskets. Its wine-and-cheese basket has three half-pound cheese wedges, Minnesota honey, chocolate, Potter’s crackers and two bottles of wine. The beer basket has a selection of the store’s bestselling and favorite Minnesota beers, such as St. Louis Park-based Steel Toe Brewing’s Size 7 India pale ale. A third basket comes in the form of a tote bag and has popcorn, granola and chocolate chip cookies, among other goodies. Customized baskets are also available and can include wine, spirits, beer, cider, food and other accessories. Price: $69.99 (beer basket), $79.99 (snack tote), $99.99 (wine and cheese basket); custom baskets start at $50 Where to find it: France 44, 4351 France Ave.
» 50TH & FRANCE
Cryotherapy Give the gift of restoration with a gift card to Halo Cryotherapy in Fulton. It might seem odd to want to step inside a dry nitrogen vapor chamber at negative 230 degrees in the middle of winter, but you’ll feel better afterward. Cryotherapy is used to treat soreness, inflammation and pain and also helps improve blood flow. The treatments burn a considerable number of calories and are known to release endorphins in a way that mimics a runner’s high. Cryotherapy has become a common recovery tactic for professional athletes. Just be sure your loved one is using the proper protective footwear. Price: $100 for four sessions for new clients. Where to find it: Halo Cryotherapy, 3615 W. 50th St.
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southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 B7
» TANGLETOWN
100% natural beeswax candles Any excuse to visit The Foundry Home Goods on the corner of 48th & Grand results in at least a half hour of close looking and a considerable amount of longing for the tightly curated selection of items on display. As you wend your way through the store and try to resist the urge to pick up every delightful tool or trinket in sight (a petite black goat hair dust brush! a white porcelain fine ginger grater!) you might stumble upon a bundle of amber-hued beeswax candlesticks — a Foundry Home Goods staple. These locally crafted candles hail from the Ellis family’s fourth-generation-run farm in western Minnesota and burn beautifully at the dinner table. It’s a gift that keeps on giving: The candlesticks are long-lasting and can be used for many a merry occasion, and once they’ve been used, your recipient will surely delight in replenishing their stock with their own visit to the store. Price: $8 (for 10-inch taper) Where to find it: The Foundry Home Goods, 322 W. 48th St.
» 50TH & FRANCE
Magic Light Wand The holidays are a magical time of year, so it only makes sense to give a wand. The Magic Light Wand puts the power of the season in your hands. The wand syncs up with the lights on your tree or in your yard and gives kids (or adults) the power to control the lights with a simple flick (or click). Rena Lenz said she ordered the Magic Light Wand at her Fulton gift shop Burlap & Brass after seeing her nieces and nephews enjoy it last holiday season. It’s a fun and interactive gift that might be best to give before Christmas and Hanukkah to get the most out of the season. Price: $22 Where to find it: Burlap & Brass, 5013 Ewing Ave. S.
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B8 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
On the scene
By Erin McNeil
No place like Pemberley for the holidays In this new column, theater critic Erin McNeil reviews the Jungle Theater’s production of “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.”
T
he Jungle Theater is known for balancing their seasons with crowdpleasers, heady dramas, quirky ensembles and more than a little girl power. “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,” a riff on “Pride and Prejudice” set two years after Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth Bennet, is perfectly at home in this lineup. Centered not on sassy, selfdetermined Elizabeth but on her oft-maligned, introverted younger sister Mary (Christian Bardin), the play creates space for a different type of heroine; by focusing on Mary instead of Elizabeth, it challenges the notion that we must change ourselves in order to be loved. Is it a bit shmaltzy? Sure. But it leans in to our current nerdy female fan culture in which millions of young women watch “Harry Potter” or “Twilight” and imagine themselves as Hermione Granger or Bella Swan. As playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon know, Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet was the original reader surrogate — witty, detached and misunderstood. By elevating Mary to the role of heroine, Gunderson and Melcon’s “Miss Bennet” gives modern audiences a relatable champion. In 2018, the play was one of the most-produced pieces of theater in the United States. Those familiar with “Pride and Prejudice” (and its many, many screen adaptations) will slip
Arthur de Bourgh (Reese Britts) and Mary Bennet (Christian Bardin). Photo by Dan Norman
right into the familial patter and hierarchy of the Bennet sisters. After marrying Mr. Darcy (James Rodríguez), Elizabeth (Sun Mee Chomet) is now the mistress of opulent Pemberley Hall. Jane’s (Roshni Desai) marriage to Mr. Bingley (Jesse Lavercombe) seems precisely as happy as anticipated and they are eagerly expecting their first baby. Lydia (Andrea San Miguel) feigns happiness with her marriage to Mr. Wickham, but her over-the-top giggles and unsettling attentions to the newly rich Arthur de Bourgh (Reese Britts) betray her real circumstances. Her interest in Arthur is shared by Anne de Bourgh (Anne Hickey), but he ultimately ends up with Mary.
Much of the play’s charm lies in its ample opportunities for ensemble work, clever one-liners and nostalgic connections both to Jane Austen’s beloved characters and the holiday season. The central arc of the play is Mary and Arthur’s intellectualized but incredibly sweet courtship. They find in each other learned, kindred spirits. Unable to sugarcoat their observations or blunt their witty remarks, both feel misunderstood and admonished by their families. Kind but socially awkward and slightly mechanical, both gravitate toward the no-nonsense. Bardin and Britts work together exceptionally well, crafting moments of hilarity and tenderness perfectly tailored to Mary and Arthur’s romance. Physical and expressive, both manage to flow effortlessly between comedy and real heart. Which brings me to my favorite directorial choice by Christina Baldwin: the guttural playfulness embedded in this show. Characters grunt, repeat emphatic gestures, groan and resort to smaller sounds in moments of heightened passion. Perfectly embodied in Anne de Bourgh’s imperious sputtering and Lydia’s incessant squeaking, this hammy use of sound/language functions in two discrete ways. First, it is funny in a very visceral way. Second, and more importantly, its informality highlights the characters’ pleasure in being together, regardless of how exasperating family can be. It’s a lesson uniquely suited for the impending holiday season. In “Pride and Prejudice,” Elizabeth admits that she started loving Mr. Darcy after seeing
Pemberley, so questions of money, power and its relationship to happiness and love have always been important to these characters. Mary and others spend so much time in this play encouraging Arthur to take full advantage of his white, male, landed privilege in order to make himself happy. There is something performatively self-sacrificing yet actually self-serving in Mary’s continued persuasions — after all, if Arthur chooses his own happiness, it seems he will also choose her happiness and security. While this notion fits with the characters and the source material, the playwrights do not grant the same type of agency to Mary as Austen gave to Elizabeth. When Elizabeth (finally) agrees to marry Darcy, he has performed numerous selfimproving tasks to win her over; he is the solicitor, she is the decider. By contrast, Mary’s arc exists not in picking Arthur, but in letting herself be vulnerable enough to let him know how she feels about him. While Mary isn’t as compelling a romantic protagonist as Elizabeth —who is? — she is assuredly a different kind of aspirational heroine, one who learns to make her desires and feelings known. A holiday tradition to rival “A Christmas Carol” at the Guthrie and British Arrows Awards at the Walker, the Jungle Theater team has created a nostalgic and very funny winner in the continuing adventures of the Bennet sisters. Erin McNeil is a museum professional, writer and entrepreneur living and working in Minneapolis.
AGAMIM CLASSICAL ACADEMY tuition-free classical education
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HOLIDAY WORSHIP & EVENTS CHRISTMAS DAY December 25 Mass at 7:30 AM, 9:30 AM, Noon, 4:30 PM
CHRISTMAS EVE December 24 Mass at 3 PM, 5:30 PM, 8:00 PM Vigil of Lights at 11:30 PM followed by Midnight Mass
Presents the 34th Annual Holiday Concert
What Sweeter Music Mary Kay Knapp, Director • Mary Fadden, Accompanist
12/14 @ 7PM • Church of the Ascension 1723 Bryant Ave. N., Minneapolis
12/15 @ 3PM • Wayzata Free Church 705 County Rd. 101, Plymouth
Freewill Offering • www.womenofsongchoir.com
T h e Ba s i lic a of
St Marks Episcopal Cathedral SWJ 112819 H18.indd 1
sai nT Mary
Hennepin at North Sixteenth, Mpls 612.333.1381 – www.MARY.org
11/14/19 Basilica 3:52 of PM St Mary DTJ 113017 H18.indd 1
Celebrating music that uplifts, entertains and inspires.
11/20/17 Women 4:19 of PM Song SWJ 112819 H18.indd 1
11/15/19 3:16 PM
COME CELEBRATE THE SEASON ADVENT WEEKEND SERVICES
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. & Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
Christmas Masses
ADVENT WREATH MAKING
Sunday, December 1 – 10:30 a.m.
ADVENT COMMUNAL RECONCILIATION Tuesday, December 10 – 7:00 p.m.
FEAST OF CHRISTMAS
Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24 Masses at 4:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. *Carols at 3:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Solemnity of Mary Mother of God
Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25 Mass at 10:00 a.m.
FEAST OF THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY Tuesday, December 31 – Mass at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 1 – Mass at 9:30 a.m.
Father Bill Murtaugh
The Church of Christ the King 5029 Zenith Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55410 612-920-5030 www.ctkmpls.org
First Christian Church
Christ the King SWJ 112819 9.indd 1
11/21/19 Annunciation 3:19 PM Catholic School SWJ 112819 9.indd 1
11/14/19 4:00 PM
Browse and Buy Homemade
HOLIDAY TREATS
(Disciples of Christ) 610 West 28th St. www.fccminneapolis.org
Specialty and Gluten-Free Available
Join us for special
ADVENT & CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES!
Dec. 7 from 9a - 4p Dec. 8 from 9a - 1p
Heaven and Nature Sing: 300 Years of Joy to the World Sundays, Dec. 1, 8, 22, 10:30 am
Simply Christmas Children’s Pageant | Dec. 15, 10:30 am
Holden Evening Prayer Service Wednesdays, Dec. 4,11,18, 6:00 pm (Soup Supper Dec. 4 & 11, 5:30 pm)
St. Luke’s Cookie Walk www.st-lukes.net
FROM ALL OF US AT THE SOUTHWEST JOURNAL
Blue Christmas Service Dec. 21, 3:00 pm
Christmas Eve Service with Communion Dec. 24, 7:30 pm Worship SWJ 112819 FP.indd 1 First Christian Church SWJ 112819 9.indd 1
11/25/19 10:59 AM
St Lukes Episcopal SWJ 112819 9.indd 1
11/25/19 11:52 AM 11/19/19 4:54 PM
B10 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
BRITISH ARROWS AWARDS 2019
Community Calendar.
One of the Walker’s most popular traditions is back for the 33rd year, showcasing an eclectic mix of mini-dramas, high-tech extravaganzas, wacky comedy and vital public service announcements.
By Ed Dykhuizen
When: Friday, Nov. 29– Sunday, Dec. 29 Where: Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Pl. Cost: $14, $11.20 Walker members, students and seniors. Ticket includes free gallery admission. Info: walkerart.org
THE REAL CHRISTMAS CAROL It’s been seven years since his “special friend and partner” Jacob Marley died, so Ebeneezer James Caterwald Scrooge sets the record … well not straight, but right, in this one-man, R-rated show.
When: 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, and Friday, Dec. 6; 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15 Where: Phoenix Theater, 2605 Hennepin Ave. Cost: $15 Info: phoenixtheatermpls.org
THRIFT-STORE RE-PAINT Teens can help redecorate the library’s teen space using acrylic paint to add creatures, characters or monsters to thrift-store oil paintings. Materials provided.
When: 6–8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3 Where: Linden Hills Library, 2900 W. 43rd St. Cost: Free Info: hclib.org
MINNESOTA STAR WATCH PARTY WITH MIKE LYNCH Join Mike Lynch, meteorologist at WCCO Radio, for an indoor orientation on constellations and then, weather permitting, move outdoors to view the universe through Lynch’s giant reflector telescope.
When: 6–7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4 Where: Walker Library, 2880 Hennepin Ave. Cost: Free Info: hclib.org
LETTERS TO SANTA … ASSEMBLE! In Janelle Ranek’s one-woman sketch comedy show, each character has their own bizarre requests for Santa — some naughty, some nice and some downright ridiculous.
When: 7 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Dec. 5–21 and 27 Where: Bryant-Lake Bowl & Theater, 810 W. Lake St. Cost: $15, $12 in advance Info: bryantlakebowl.com
FIRESIDE CHAT: UNCOVERING A HISTORY OF INCARCERATED GIRLS Sheila O’Connor discusses her book “Evidence of V: A Novel in Fragments, Facts and Fictions,” which reveals the little-known history of incarcerating adolescent girls from throughout Minnesota for “immorality” at the Minnesota Home School for Girls in Sauk Centre.
When: 2–3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 Where: Hennepin History Museum, 2303 3rd Ave. S. Cost: $8, $5 students and seniors, free for members. Info: hennepinhistory.org/events.html
FULLER ANNUAL GINGERBREAD ADVENTURES People of all ages will be decorating and designing gingerbread creations.
When: 1–3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 Where: Fuller Recreation Center, 4802 Grand Ave. S. Cost: Free Info: minneapolisparks.org
A WINTER SOUVENIR – MLADA KHUDOLEY & DENIS EVSTUHIN IN CONCERT This celebration of 10 years of classical music programming at The Museum of Russian Art will feature works by Mozart, Rimsky-Korsakov, Johann Strauss, Irving Berlin and a host of traditional Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish and American holiday songs.
When: 7–9:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 Where: The Museum of Russian Art, 5500 Stevens Ave. Cost: $30 general admission, $25 TMORA members, $15 students Info: tmora.org
SOSPIRI DI NATALE This concert of baroque music inspired by nativity stories includes guarachas, jácaras and villancicos from Spain and Latin America and songs by seicento Italian composers like Monteverdi and Merul.
DISCOVERY DAYS: CODING Try your hand at using code to control robotic creatures, program a light show and create music.
When: 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 Where: The Bakken Museum, 3537 Zenith Ave S. Cost: Included with museum admission: $10 adults, $8 seniors 62+, $8 ages 12–24, $5 ages 4–12, free for children 3 and under and members of The Bakken Museum Info: thebakken.org/ events
When: 7:30–9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 Where: The Art Gallery @ Hennepin Methodist, 511 Groveland Ave. Cost: $15, $5 for MinnesotaCare/Medical Assistance cardholders Info: sospiri.org
ZORONGO PRESENTS AY QUÉ CALOR (SO HOT!) All ages are invited to see flamenco music, song and dance performed by the Zorongo Dancers, La Conja, Juanito Pascual and Ben Abrahamson.
When: 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8 Where: Icehouse, 2528 Nicollet Ave. Cost: $20 advance, $22 at the door Info: icehousempls.com
FESTIVUS DU NORD PARTY WITH THE BAZILLIONS This concert celebrates the inaugural Merry Makers Studio holiday shop, which will showcase local brands in a manner reminiscent of the former eighth floor of Dayton’s Downtown Minneapolis during the holiday season.
When: 3:30–6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8 Where: Third Haus, 4420 Drew Ave. Cost: $10 Info: truenorthcollaborative.com/merry
southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 B11
NO COAST CRAFT-O-RAMA
Get Out Guide.
Head to the Midtown Global Market for this long-running event celebrating its 15th year and featuring live music.
By Sheila Regan
When: 3–8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6; 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 Where: Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St. Cost: Free Info: nocoastcraft.com
FAIR TRADE HOLIDAY MARKET Fair trade craft items support artisans from all over the world.
When: 8:30 a.m–3:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8 Where: Basilica of Saint Mary, 88 17th St. N. Cost: Free Info: tinyurl.com/ft-market-2019
CRAFT BASH ’Tis the season for crafting and this year there are a ton of options for craft lovers. Whether you’re shopping, simply admiring or want to try your hand at doing crafts yourself, here are some of our favorite craft-focused events.
CRAFT MARKET AT HOLIDAZZLE Take the plunge into the heart of cheer with the Minneapolis Craft Market located at Holidazzle in Loring Park. Peruse everything from hand-carved wooden toys to fiber art as you take in the beautiful lights.
When: Nov. 29–Dec. 22 Where: Loring Park, 1382 Willow St. Cost: Free Info: holidazzle.com
6TH ANNUAL MADE BY HANDS HOLIDAY SALE
Curators Tricia Heuring of Public Functionary and Leslie Barlow of Studio 400 teamed up with the American Craft Council and Parallel Cafe + Events to choose 70 artists and artisans for this year’s Craft Bash. Besides shopping, you can make yourself a mini-portrait, try your hand at printmaking and watch live glassblowing. The “Decked Out” preview party the night before features craft cocktails, DJing by Sarah White, live painting and a donut cart by Nolo.
When: Preview 6:30–10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6; main event 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 Where: Parallel cafe, 145 Holden St. N. Cost: $25 for the preview party; Crash Bash is free Info: tinyurl.com/craft-bash-2019
Head to Bauhaus Brew Labs’ heated patio for an array of designs, home goods, rebel needlepoint and more.
When: Noon–8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30 Where: Bauhaus Brew Labs, 1315 Tyler St. NE Cost: Free Info: bauhausbrewlabs.com/events
CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Be indecisive 6 Crop-raising business 10 Tightly closed 14 San Antonio landmark 15 Almay rival 16 Whittle (down) 17 Screenwriter’s creation 19 Ferris wheel, e.g.
Southwest High School Basilica Concert
20 Oblong pastry 21 Outback and Legacy autos 23 Outdoor gear giant 24 Chickadee kin 27 Beam of light 28 Gucci or Versace, notably 33 Nest egg letters
Choirs, Orchestra, Guitar Ensembles, and the Wind Ensemble combine to create an enchanted evening of music in a breathtakingly beautiful space.
35 Office sub 36 Poker pot pay-ins 37 Leave high and dry 39 “Are we on for the project?” 41 Social slip-up
67 Have to have
12 Pakistani tongue
68 Botox targets ... or what 17-, 28-, 45- and 60-Across all have
13 Many short-sleeved shirts 18 “The Count of Monte __”
40 1862 Tennessee battle site 43 Brewery vessel 46 Former name of Vietnam’s most populous city
42 Cole Porter’s “Well, Did You __?”
DOWN
44 “Of course!”
1 Communion bread
22 Iranian faith featuring a 19-day feast
2 Wonderland visitor
25 Big place to surf
49 Poker table giveaway
3 The 4 Seasons frontman Frankie
26 __ card: smartphone component
50 Vanilla extract meas.
4 Jane Austen classic
52 Combustible heaps
53 “That’s deplorable!”
5 Spanish-speaking Muppet
28 Stories by devoted readers 29 Percocet, e.g.
54 Land down under?
45 Grand Central, for one 48 Civil War side: Abbr.
57 Strange thing 59 Supermarket section with a scale 60 Math student’s plotting sheet 63 Sailors’ patron saint 64 “That stings!”
6 Tit-tat link
30 Great Salt Lake state
7 “Thrilla in Manila” victor
31 Genesis creator
8 Knocks hard
33 Letter-shaped beam
9 “I’m up!”
34 Tennis rival of Roger, familiarly
65 Partner of well
10 Artificial bronzing product
66 Mathematician Turing
11 Beauty salon focus
Crossword Puzzle SWJ 112819 4.indd 1
32 That, in Toledo
37 Actor’s rep. 38 Like thick fog
Over 300 high school students collaborating and making music.
47 Longtime chum 50 Easy hoops shot 51 Tech mogul Jobs 53 Thought 55 __ mater 56 “T” on a test 58 Surrealist Salvador
Painting by Scott Lloyd Anderson, former SWHS parent
Friday, December 6, 2019 - 7pm Doors open at 6:15pm for seating, donations accepted at the door.
61 Top pitcher 62 Scholar’s deg. Crossword answers on page B12
11/25/19 11:19 AM
Southwest High SWJ 112819 4.indd 1
11/19/19 6:30 PM
B12 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
Unsung Architecture
By Adam Jonas
Appreciating the design of our indoor play spaces
A
s the days get shorter, public play spaces throughout the city transform from green soccer fields and baseball diamonds to light poles wrapped in twinkling lights and ice rinks fending off mounds of snow. The seasonal change anticipates the first big flakes when Lyndale Farmstead and other park hills are thronged with sledders. There are endless opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors throughout the holiday season. But, when fingers and toes finally feel the effects of frosty temperatures, it’s OK to head inside for play sans snowsuits. Fortunately, the metro offers unique spaces that adults and kids can equally enjoy: everything from soaking up sun in the Como Conservatory to creative construction at Leonardo’s Basement. You needn’t go far to find enjoyable drop-in gems in Southwest ranging from restaurants to free public spaces to museums such as the Bakken or the American Swedish Institute. As you bring your family to the city’s many cozy, kid-friendly public spaces this winter, take some time to appreciate the small architectural decisions that have helped make them magical. From the street corner, Sovereign Grounds at 48th & Chicago exudes the hefty smell of roasting coffee beans similar to many java joints, but on the inside this coffee cafe is as much (if not more) about playtime than it is about caffeinated meet-ups. Owner Hakan Sezer took the concept of a live-work space to a whole new level when he opened the doors decades ago. His family didn’t have money for daycare so he essentially made his own: a playroom for his three kids adjacent to the barista counter. The space also resonated with the community and the playroom that once benefitted Sezer’s kids is now enjoyed by his granddaughter Charlotte. Generations later, the business continues to be a community draw: Kids can enjoy running through tiny buildings and playing with toys while parents can sip on unpretentious lattes. Fig + Farro at Hennepin & Lake also greets guests with a play space immediately at the front door. Slatted wood walls define a special place for kids while helping to keep toys contained. The openness in the slats enables
The children’s area at the Walker Library is cozy for adults and kids alike.
George Hill, 3, of St. Paul jumps into a pile of Fatboys this summer in the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s multi-tiered family room. Submitted photos
adults to keep an eye on things from their tables, while kids maintain a sense of their own space (from a child’s height, the slats appear to be more opaque). Within this magical zone, an A-framed “tree fort” is home to stuffed animals to snuggle up with while watching the action on Lake Street from a healthy distance. Also in Uptown, the Walker Library brings a bright spot to reading on a cold winter’s day. Daylight harvesting monitors rise out of the roof to give a well-balanced glow of daylight to the interior. The bright yellow boxes in the
ceiling provide a stark contrast to the former underground library it replaced five years ago. The children’s area is cozy for adults and kids alike — a series of steps offer different levels for kids to play/read on and lead up to a window seat perfect for curling up with a book. The grand atrium at the Minneapolis Institute of Art greets guests with art from around the world and opens to views of Washburn Fair Oaks Park to the north vis-a-vis the calming foreground of the Chinese Rock Garden. The atrium offers a
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1/15/18 1:13 PM
Let the community know of other indoor gems you or your youthful friends have enjoyed in Southwest by emailing adam@locusarchitecure.com or tagging us and the place on Facebook at facebook.com/LOCUSArch or on Instagram (@LocusArchitecture).
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welcoming place for respite after strolling through the galleries but, just around the corner, the multi-tiered family room is stocked with books, games, artful toys and human-sized bean bags to help kids get their energy out. Edinborough Park in Edina is uniquely positioned as an indoor playground adjacent to an assisted living facility. The overlap of programming benefits all ages — both those observing the action and those jumping into it head first. While there are a variety of indoor activities (a gym, pool, bouncy castle, toddler area and amphitheater), perhaps the most spatially notable is the four-story Adventure Peak. Kids and adults can endlessly run around the hamster-cage maze of ladders, slides and tubes — probably the closest thing the inner metro has to St. Louis’ City Museum.
1-866-585-8549 embryodonation.org/adoption/
CROSSWORD ANSWERS
National Embryo Donation Center SWJ 032119 HBC.indd 2
3/15/19 10:29 AM
BUNS
28th & Hennepin in Uptown (612) 870-4466 • islesbun.com Isles Bun & Coffee SWJ 020719 V12.indd 2
Crossword on page B11
1/23/19 10:55 AM
Crossword Answers SWJ 112819 V12.indd 1
11/25/19 11:17 AM
southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 B13
By Dr. Teresa Hershey
Should I buy health insurance for my pet?
T
he best way to think about health insurance for your animal is that it is another budgeting tool. For most pet owners, health insurance won’t save them money in the long term. In fact, if you had the discipline to put money aside every month for your pet in an account that you didn’t touch except for pet medical expenses, you would, on average, end up ahead. Insurance companies depend on many people buying in and the general pool of patients being healthy. It is the rare pet owner who pays a small amount of money into the system and gets a lot of money out. Owning a pet is very expensive. A 2017 CNBC report showed that the average cost of owning a dog over its lifetime is $27,000– $42,000; for a cat, it’s $21,000–$30,000. This includes food, litter, health care, grooming and all of the other necessary costs of taking an animal into your home. For the average person, this cost is manageable spread out over time, but if a medical problem occurs, you could be facing several thousands of dollars in medical expenses that are due immediately, and that’s where people find themselves in trouble. An acquaintance of mine recently got into a situation where her dog ate a toy, and it appeared the dog needed surgery. Since it was the weekend, she had to go to the emergency clinic. They quoted her $4,000–$5,000 for the surgery. Her budget couldn’t cover the cost, so she was forced to consider euthanasia if the dog got worse. Luckily, with IV fluids and pain medication, the dog passed the toy and avoided surgery. But a situation like this is the perfect example of why having health insurance for your pet can literally be a lifesaver.
will not pay for. For example, if a pet is getting its teeth cleaned and needs a tooth pulled, sometimes the insurance company will only pay for the extraction itself, not for the other things, like anesthesia, that are necessary to do the extraction. Also, it is very important to know that most insurance companies do not cover preexisting conditions. It is best to purchase insurance for your animal when they are young and healthy. Getting insurance for your pet if it already has multiple diseases will likely cause you frustration because many of your pet’s ailments will not qualify for reimbursement. Here are some budgeting tools to consider: • A good resource for exploring pet insurance companies is petinsurancereview.com. • CareCredit is a credit card for your pet that allows for no-interest financing for a period of time. Clinics that accept CareCredit set the terms for how long you have to pay off the bill without interest. Typically it is 6–12 months.
There are many pet health insurance companies to choose from now. Each one structures its policies slightly differently, so it is important to understand how the insurance works when you buy it. For example, some insurance companies have a perincident deductible that must be met before they will reimburse for care. Other companies set their deductibles per pet or per year. Most insurance companies don’t cover the office call charge, and there are sometimes restrictions on what the company will or
• Some hospitals offer wellness plans that allow you to spread the cost of preventative and other health care over time. • Some hospitals offer in-house payment plans to help with budgeting.
Most insurance companies do not cover preexisting conditions. It is best to purchase insurance for your animal when they are young and healthy.
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Dr. Teresa Hershey is a veterinarian at Westgate Pet Clinic in Linden Hills. Email pet questions to drhershey@westgatepetclinicmn.com.
TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL 612.825.9205
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*On Settergren’s Referral List*
FOR 39 YEARS
It is always important to talk to your veterinarian about your financial situation before treatment. Your veterinarian wants to help find solutions that fit within your budget.
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Licensed • Bonded • Insured
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YOUR LAST ROOF.
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2/28/19 2:37 PM
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3/11/19 2:24 PM
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A RATING
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TM & © 2012 MGM.
e Lifetim ty n a r r a W
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11/25/19 4:08 PM Quarve Contracting SWJ 020917 1cx2.indd 2/6/172 Siwek 2:32 PM Class 1cx2_a.indd 1
8/30/18 Midwest 3:39 PMExteriors SWJ 052115 2cx3.indd 1
5/18/15 10:05 AM
B14 November 28–December 11, 2019 / southwestjournal.com
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10/22/18 12:47 PM
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7/12/18 1:35 PM
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Our Contractors have local references
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2:37 PM
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grecopainting.com info@grecopainting.com 11/25/19 2:50 PM
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southwestjournal.com / November 28–December 11, 2019 B15
PAINTING
PLUMBING, HVAC
TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL 612.825.9205
Lic. #61664PM
Free Estimates
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Licensed Bonded Insured Over 29 Years experience
•
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Insured | References
612-310-8023
Family Owned for Over 60 Years
Dave Novak
35+ yrs. experience Lic • Bond • Ins
Novak Painting SWJ 020818 1cx3.indd 12/22/17 1 10:03 AM
greg@chileen.com
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you dream it
7/3/18 1:36 PM
we build it
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7/28/15 3:01 PM
612-669-3486
ekjohnsonconstruction.com
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1/31/14 10:44 AM
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612.424.9349
612.424.9349 612.424.9349
World’s Greatest Tune-U World’s Greatest Tune-Up Includes:
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+
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+
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+
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Upon completion you will be emailed a detailed, full color report, educating you on the condition of your equipment
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MONEY BACK GUARANTEE MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
If yourIfheating system stopsstops working for any reason your heating system working for any reason after our tune-up services, we’ll credit the cost after our tune-up services, we’ll credit theof cost of the tune-up towards a repair the tune-up towards a repair
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MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
Upon completion you will be emailed a detailed, If your heating system stops working for any full color report, educating you on the condition BACK GUARANTEE after our tune-up services, we’ll credit the cos ON REPORT MONEY Hero Heating SWJ 082318 FP.indd 1 9/4/18 7:01 PM of your equipment the tune-up towards a repair ailed a detailed, If your heating system stops working for any reason