Know Your Operator: Marva Wagner

Marva Wagner felt stuck in her career until she found Metro Transit.

“I worked my way up to assistant manager of an eye care store,” Wagner said. “But after multiple times of being blocked from working into a general manager position, I knew I wasn’t valued.”

So, while still working, she sought out other career opportunities. It was at a People of Color job fair that she rediscovered Metro Transit.

“I had some family who worked there when the buses were red and the uniforms were green,” she said. “But this organization looked very different.”

She was impressed by the diversity of people who worked at the fair and at Metro Transit. Wagner was also floored by the amount of support applicants were provided by transit throughout the process – especially as someone without a Commercial Driver’s License. She continued working full time while studying to become a bus operator.

“It took me a few times to earn my CDL, but when I did, it was like Christmas,” Wagner said.

Today, she feels valued working extra-board or on-call shifts and looks forward when she’s called to work the METRO D Line, especially after working Route 5.

“It’s faster and better for my Route 5 customers – good working people,” she said. “It’s also great for operators because we don’t

Full- and part-time positions available!

have to worry about a farebox and can interact with people more.”

After four years and counting, she continues to look forward to her job at Metro Transit and knows that she’s not only valued but has opportunities to grow into other positions.

There’s no experience required – Metro Transit will give you the PAID training you need. You’ll earn $26.16 per hour to start and after one year of employment, your hourly wage rate will increase to $27.80 per hour. You›ll receive outstanding benefits, such as health care, annual salary increases, a pension plan, an unlimited-ride transit pass. Plus there›s growth opportunities. Many Metro Transit managers started their careers as bus drivers.

A/1 Contract No. 24-064 INVITATION TO BID

Sealed bids will be received by the Public Housing Agency of the City of Saint Paul at 200 East Arch Street, St. Paul, MN 55130 for FOUNDATION REPAIR

AND SITE IMPROVEMENTS AT 74 MARIA AVE., Contract No. 24-064 until 2:00 P.M., Local Time, on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, at which time they will be publicly opened and read aloud via the Zoom App. Bids may be submitted electronically, in a pdf format, to Northstar Imaging, www.northstarplanroom. com, or may be delivered to the address above.

A Pre-Bid Conference will be held in conjunction with a tour of the jobsite on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 at 1:30 P.M., at 74 Maria Ave., St. Paul, MN 55106.

Immediately following the conference there will be a Pre-Bid Tour of the site. All questions arising from this pre-bid conference will be addressed by addendum if necessary.

A complete set of bid documents is available by contacting Northstar Imaging at 651-686-0477 or www.northstarplanroom.com, under public plan room, FOUNDATION REPAIR AND SITE IMPROVEMENTS AT 74 MARIA AVE., Contract No. 24-064. Digital downloads are available at no charge. Contact Northstar for hard copy pricing.

Bids must be accompanied by a 5% bid guarantee, non-collusive affidavit, EEO form and Minnesota Responsible Contractor Compliance Affidavit. The successful bidder will be required to furnish both a satisfactory performance bond and a separate payment bond.

The PHA reserves the right to reject any or all bids or to waive any informalities in the bidding.

AN EQUAL JIM LEARY

OPPORTUNITY AGENCY PROJECT LEADER (651) 775-4094 JIM.LEARY@stpha.org

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder July 27, 2023

Senior Consultant - Software Engineer/Architect for Concord USA, LLC in Hopkins, MN. Req. Bachelor’s or foreign equiv. in MIS, Computer Science, Applied Computer Science, Computer Engr, or related discipline, & 5 yrs of progressively resp post bacc experience as a software developer, software engr, or related field working in business, IT, prof. services, and/or Big 4 consulting; or Master’s or foreign equiv. in MIS, Computer Science, Applied Computer Science, Computer Engr, or related discipline & 2 yrs experience as a software developer, software engr, or related field working in business, IT, prof. services, and/or Big 4 consulting. Required to have 3 or more of these requirements: documented exp. w/ microservices architecture & large-scale app. development; 2 yrs exp. working w/ AT LEAST one modern programming language; documented exp working w/ Integration platforms as well as related architecture & implementation solutions such as API-driven design, messaging patterns, & app. development best practices; demonstrable exp. w/ software development lifecycle, messaging patterns, endpoint security, interfaces w/ internal & external app., & database knowledge; exp. driving full cycle of project development, from requirements to delivery & support; historical exp. w/ web deployment support using Azure; documented exp. w/ core skills of REST, SOAP, Azure, JavaScript, React, HTML, Bootstrap, .NET Core & Framework; & demonstrable knowledge organization data follow & its use in mgnt decision making. Position is based out of & reports to Concord’s facilities in Hopkins, MN but allows for the option to telecommute from a home office anywhere in the U.S. Concord reserves the right to conduct background checks upon hire. Please submit résumé to Jennifer Jamison via email to jennifer.jamison@concordusa.com, reference “Senior Consultant - Software Engineer/Architect”. No agencies or phone calls please.

Please

Please

From Display Ad Department/MN Spokesman-Recorder

PHONE: 612-827-4021

FOR BILLING

Inquiries

& TEARSHEETS

PLEASE CONTACT ACCOUNTING DEPT billing@spokesman-recorder.com

EMPLOYMENT DISPLAY

SIZE: 2 COL X 6 INCHES

RATE $44.60 PER COL. INCH

SUBTOTAL: $535.20 PER WEEK

Please proof, respond with email confirmation to ads @spokesman-recorder.com.

The MSR handles billing digitally. This means you will get e-tears and e-mailed invoices unless you specifically request a hard copy.

BILLING

& TEARSHEETS PLEASE CONTACT ACCOUNTING DEPT @ BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM

Prep

Software Engineering Manager: Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN

From Classified Department/MN Spokesman-Recorder PHONE: 612-827-4021

FOR BILLING INQUIRIES & TEARSHEETS

Please contact Accounting Dept @ BILLING@SPOKESMAN-RECORDER.COM

RAMSEY COUNTY LEGAL NOTICES FLAT RATE: $110

Please proof, respond with email confirmation to ads@spokesman-recorder.com unless you specifically request a hard copy

Req. Master’s deg. in Software Engineering, Computer Engr., Computer Science, or Information Tech. or rel. engr. fld. & 3 yrs. exp. as a software engineer, software test engineer, or rel. occupation in software testing; or Bachelor’s deg. & 5 yrs. of exp. Must poss. a min. of 2 yrs. of exp. w/each of the following: test automation frmwks., such as Appium & Selenium; Jira, Gitlab, Visual Studio, Eclipse, Jenkins, CI/CD, & Advanced Lifecycle Mgmt. Tools; writing in programming languages such as C, C++, Java, or Python; software testing of mobile apps. on iOS & Android; Networking protocol & tools such as VoLTE, LTE, 3G, CDMA, UMTS, QXDM, QPST, HPQC, Wire shark or Phoenix Fast trace; using tools incl. relic, Splunk or Conviva to analyze the logs of real time users & identify the root cause of the issue; Internet of Things platform developing end-toend validation using SQL, Restful API, Postman, & Selenium WebDriver; & requirements mgmt. system & defect mgmt. apps. Position is open to telecommuting from anywhere in the United States. Apply at https://jobs.medtronic.com/, Req. #230009OC. No agencies or phone calls. Medtronic is an equal opportunity employer committed to cultural diversity in the workplace. All individuals are encouraged to apply.

The MSR handles billing digitally. This means you will get e-tears and e-mailed invoices unless you specifically request a hard copy.

View

Continued from page 12 women’s basketball team under Head Coach Dawn Staley

Continued from page 12 driving during the first half.”

Summer 2004

During this WNBA season, McCray-Penson teamed with former Minneapolis North girls basketball great, 1998 Miss Basketball, and All-American Tamara Moore to play one season for the Phoenix Mercury.

Before a five-year career in the WNBA, Moore, who is currently the men’s basketball coach at Mesabi Range College, starred at the University of Wisconsin from 1998-2002. She was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.

January 2009

McCray-Penson was an assistant coach for the University of South Carolina

She was in the metro area to scout future Miss Basketball and McDonald’s All-American Tayler Hill, at the time one of the nation’s top girls basketball players for City conference champ Minneapolis South. South was hosting the annual Twin Cities game against St. Paul City Conference champion Central.

As fate would have it, McCray-Penson wound up sitting next to me during the game. We talked basketball as Hill led the Tigers to a 6042 victory. Hill ended up choosing Ohio State University and went on to outstanding collegiate (2009-2013) and WNBA (2013-2018) careers.

Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader comments at mcdeezy05@gmail.com.

NLBM president in 2011, but he was with the Kansas City institution for a lot longer.

“When I walked into that one-room office 30 years ago, that was the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum back then,” said Kendrick. We sat at the Twins ballpark in between his umpteen scheduled appearances that the team set up for him during his two-day visit.

“I didn’t realize it at that point in time, but I had just walked into what would become my passion,” he said.

Like his mentor and friend O’Neil, Kendrick is prodigious in extolling the greatness and historical significance of the Negro Leagues. As was O’Neil, Kendrick is passionate and charismatic as he tells endless and entertaining stories, as well as constantly educating everyone about the history of Black baseball wherever he goes.

“O’Neil told me something many, many years before he passed away,” Kendrick recalled. “‘If you find a job that you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.’ That doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy.”

As museum president, Kendrick runs its day-to-day operations and development along with fundraising for the not-for-profit organization.

“Obviously my job is to go out and raise money,” continued Kendrick. “And anytime you gotta raise money, that’s always challenging.” Currently his goal is to raise the necessary funds to build a new 30,000 square-foot building “adjacent to the Passo YMCA” in Kansas City. “The Passo YMCA is the birthplace of the Negro Leagues.” This new education and research center “will be attached to the historic YMCA and create what I call a Negro Leagues campus…an international headquarters for both Black baseball and social history,” stressed Kendrick, located at 18th and Vine, where the NLBM currently stands.

“This is a civil rights social justice museum seen through the lens of baseball.”

Kendrick’s voice is now heard on the new “MLB The Show 23,” video game, along with archival footage and related illustrations from the Negro Leagues. Eight Negro Leaguers are also featured in the new game.

“I’m so excited about the things that are happening around me,” exclaimed Kendrick. “Many young people and young adults are falling in love with the Negro Leagues through this gaming platform.

I’m having young kids of all colors come into the Negro

Leagues Baseball Museum and want to seek me out, because I’m narrating.”

Black baseball before major league integration was an economic engine for the communities that had Negro Leagues teams. “Stars stayed in the same neighborhood. I saw [them] every day at the same barbershop. I worshiped with them, ate at the same restaurant because that’s what segregation did,” said Kendrick. “I also wanted to emulate them. But not just for their athletic ability. I wanted to emulate them as men.

“The Negro Leagues is one of those great American success stories that should always be shared,” stressed Kendrick. “I’ve been blessed to do this work.”

Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments at challman@ spokesman-recorder.com.