Target planned for Lake & Fremont Page A4
Where We Live
Helping youth find a path to a brighter future Page B2
January 28–February 10, 2016 Vol. 27, No. 2 southwestjournal.com
FROZEN IN TIME A late freeze won’t stop the Loppet
Registration for some Loppet events was lagging behind 2015, but every slot for two skijoring competitions was filled by mid-January. File photo
By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@southwestjournal.com
If you stood on the shore of Lake Calhoun in late December and looked out across the acres of choppy, unfrozen water, you might have thought: This doesn’t look good for the Loppet. Luckily, the weather changed, and not a moment too soon. The City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival returns Feb. 5–7 for another weekend packed full of outdoor adventure. And festival organizers say things are looking up: the Chain of Lakes finally iced-over in early January, and with less than two weeks to go there was just enough snow to pull off
Debate churns over paid sick time
the cross-country ski races from Theodore Wirth Park to Uptown. That will please skiers who last year had to settle for a few laps around the snowmaking loop at Wirth — and not for the first time in the festival’s recent history. Despite Minnesota’s frosty reputation, it’s probably easier to plan a waterskiing event in July here than it is to plan a cross-country skiing festival in February. Or at least it seems that way. SEE LOPPET / PAGE A14
Le Parisien residents move out during extensive rehab work
By Sarah McKenzie / smckenzie@southwestjournal.com
A group tasked with making recommendations to the City Council on a mandatory paid sick time ordinance for Minneapolis workers has been gathering feedback at listening sessions with stakeholder groups throughout the city. The Workplace Partnership, a 19-member group appointed by city leaders, is expected to make its recommendations to the City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Feb. 24.
An estimated 40 percent of Minneapolis workers lack access to paid sick days, and women and people of color are disproportionately impacted. At a recent listening session at the Minneapolis Downtown Council office, downtown-based employers and workers offered viewpoints on paid sick day policies and wrestled with questions posed by SEE SICK TIME / PAGE A9
By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@southwestjournal.com
All of the residents have emptied out of Le Parisien, less than 10 years after the apartments opened at 2309 Lyndale Ave. S. Since becoming owner of the property through a foreclosure action, officials at Commerce Bank discovered moisture intrusion, mold and cracked stucco, according to court documents. Residents were asked to
leave the building last fall due to the scope of repairs. “It’s really quite a story. What went on there was just crazy,” said one former resident, who requested not to print his name. Le Parisien was originally designed to be “European-inspired and eco-friendly,” SEE LE PARISIEN / PAGE A15