Southwest Journal Dec. 15–28, 2016

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December 15–28, 2016 Vol. 27, No. 25 southwestjournal.com

Middle school students question their school’s controversial namesake

LEFT: The name of Alexander Ramsey is prominently featured on the east side of Ramsey Middle School, a feature that would be removed if the school’s name were changed. RIGHT: Students involved with the effort to rename Ramsey Middle School pose for a photo.

Photos by Nate Gotlieb

By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@southwestjournal.com

R

amsey Middle School students, parents and community members weighed the possibility of renaming the school earlier this month.

About 125 people met Dec. 1 to hear a student presentation about the school’s name-

sake, Alexander Ramsey, and discuss a potential name change.

Ramsey was the first governor of the Minnesota Territory and second governor of the state. He gained notoriety for his role in exiling thousands of Native Americans from Minnesota and his role

Gentrification debate heats up Views differ on whether rising affluence or deepening poverty is at work

in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

“We want a name to represent who we are as a school,” said eighth-grader Olivia Bordon, one of the students behind the push. “I don’t think Alexander Ramsey is a person who deserves honor.”

SEE RAMSEY / PAGE A15

Hennepin County aims to reduce HIV infections with new strategy Positively Hennepin plan calls for expanded HIV testing, preventative medication

By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@southwestjournal.com

The debate over whether gentrification is at work in Minneapolis neighborhoods heated up this fall when two University of Minnesota researchers released data from an ongoing study that they said show gentrification shrank the city’s pockets of affordable housing between 2000 and 2014.

“This is not just neighborhood improvement; this is neighborhood improvement on steroids,” said Ed Goetz, director of the

University’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.

Just as global warming threatens low-lying island nations with rising sea levels, Goetz said a tide of gentrification is swamping lowincome neighborhoods with rising housing costs. Goetz and his co-author on the study, Humphrey School of Public Affairs PhD candidate Tony Damiano, have labeled the SEE GENTRIFICATION / PAGE A11

By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@southwestjournal.com

Hennepin County on Dec. 1 unveiled a new comprehensive strategy for preventing and treating HIV. The Positively Hennepin strategy aims to increase HIV testing, expand access to preventative medicine, connect patients to care and raise public awareness. The strategy also aims reduce the number of HIV infec-

tions in the county by five percent by 2018.

“We can turn the corner on this,” Hennepin County Board Chair Jan Callison said, “but we cannot stop the spread of this disease alone.”

Hennepin County sees about 160 new HIV diagnoses a year, said Jonathan Hanft, SEE HIV STRATEGY / PAGE A16

A2 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Mpls Downtown Council DTJ 121516 H2.indd 1

12/8/16 5:35 PM

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 A3

By Sheila Regan

The L-shaped bar at Wesley Andrews was designed to encourage conversation and customer interaction with the cafe’s baristas. Photo by Sheila Regan

EAT STREET

Wesley Andrews Wesley Andrews is open for business on Eat Street, serving up artisan-style coffee and tea in an atmosphere meant to encourage conversation.

Owners Johan Podlewski and Jared Thomson wanted to create teas and coffee of such high quality that people would want to talk about them, Podlweski said. The L-shaped bar encourages people to ask the baristas questions.

“Basically, be ready to try something new,” Podlewski said. “You come in and try something different and talk to your barista.”

You might ask about the large glass contraption you’ll get handed when you order a cup of coffee. It’s called a Phoenix 70, which uses a slow pour method of crafting a cup of coffee.

The shop, located at 111 E. 26th St., also has

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multiple infusion steeping teas and a Slayer espresso machine, the only one of its kind in Minnesota.

“It works with a flow rate instead of pressure,” Podlewski said. “It has very expansive opportunities to bring out certain flavors that you can’t do with the standard style.”

Beginning next year, Wesley Andrews will be rolling out even more new methods for brewing tea and coffee.

“Basically every other month you can expect something new,” Podlewski said.

“It started out with conversation,” he said. “We wanted to provide a product that people wanted to talk about.”

Whole Sum Cafe + Juice Bar’s menu is expanding to include more food options and seasonal warm drinks. Photo by Sheila Regan

50TH & BRYANT

Whole Sum Cafe + Juice Bar Whole Sum Cafe + Juice Bar is now officially open for business at 824 W. 50th St., serving up juices, smoothies, coffee, tea and now food options, as well. It’s your one-stop shop for healthy eating, whether you come for espresso and the café’s wifi, stay for a bowl of soup or take your fresh juice to go.

Whether raw food is your thing or organic foods, you’re vegan, vegetarian or just have a general sense of wanting healthier options, Whole Sum has got you covered.

The way owner Evan Tepper explained it, they want to be a great option for people with a variety of healthy eating diets.

“I wish I exercised more and I ate better,”

Tepper said. “I would eat healthier and better if it were more accessible to me.”

That sense of accessibility also led to decisions regarding the layout of the coffee shop.

There are large communal tables for socializing and also single tables for folks who want to come in and spend some time by themselves.

With tons of natural light, cool light fixtures and plenty of bright art pieces, it’s a cheery spot.

Since they’ve opened Whole Sum the weekend of Dec. 3, Tepper says they’ve been introducing more warm drinks as well as food items. They’re trying out different soups, and they’re going to be introducing salads, wraps and different breakfast foods soon.

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A4 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

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Chris had everything worked out businesswise,” he said.

Prentice said Mrs. Dumpling will have a fastcasual atmosphere, with around 30 seats and a counter facing the kitchen. There won’t be fancy plates or glassware — just dumplings, sides and salads, plus tea, beer and wine. Eventually, they’ll have a walk-up window for late-night diners, offering a perfect spot to grab a bite to eat after bar close.

To help streamline, they’ll have a dumpling machine, which will form and also fill the dumplings.

“You can’t really hand-roll all of them, the cost is too high,” Prentice said. “We made a couple thousand dumplings for a couple pop-up events, and it’s quite a lot of time.”

Since his mom is Thai, Prentice has been tasting his mom’s dumplings since he was a little kid. Those are made with garlicky chives and a rice flour wrap, which gets fried on one side, and are served with sweet soy sauce.

Mrs. Dumpling will have a chicken-andshrimp dumpling that’s also Thai-inspired, as well as traditional pork-and-cabbage Chinese dumplings that he researched while staging in Szechuan. They also plan to have some Tibetan dumplings as well.

The main sauce the restaurant will offer will be the mouth-numbing “Old Lady Sauce”. It’s inspired by the biggest brand of hot sauce found in Szechuan, one with an old lady on the bottle.

Mrs. Dumpling is located at 700 W. Lake St. in the corner storefront formerly occupied by Milio’s Sandwiches.

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A new spot in the LynLake area will be serving up hot, delicious dumplings with tastes from all over Asia.

Mrs. Dumpling is spearheaded by head chef Dan Prentice, formerly head chef at United Noodles, and general manager Chris Jackson, formerly the chef de cuisine at Brasa, along with Jackson’s two sisters, Chanel Donahue and Kia Jackson, who had the idea of opening up a dumpling place. Chanel and Kia had spent a lot of time in China, Prentice said, and Kia still lives in Hong Kong.

“They came back wanting to eat dumplings, because that’s what they ate all the time in China,” Prentice said. “There weren’t any places to get it, except dim sum places, but that’s only on Saturday and Sunday mornings.”

According to Prentice, the two sisters had convinced their brother to help them start a dumpling spot, and that’s when Prentice came in. He was on his way to do some traveling around Asia with a one-way ticket when he was connected to Jackson through a manager at United Noodles.

Prentice was going to go to a cousin’s wedding in Thailand, where his mom’s family is from, and wanted to spend some time in other countries experiencing different cuisines. He planned to learn different methods through “staging,” a form of unpaid internship in restaurant kitchens.

Prentice and Chris Jackson went to Little Szechuan, in Minneapolis, and shared a hot pot together.

“We stayed in touch, and when I got back,

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After 22 years in business, D’Amico & Partners is closing their Hennepin Avenue D’Amico & Sons location and putting the building up for sale.

That location housed the first D’Amico & Sons restaurant, which Larry and Richard D’Amico opened to provide a more casual option to supplement their fancier D’Amico Cucina restaurant, which ran 22 years and closed in 2009.

“Changes happen,” Larry D’Amico said. “It’s part of life and part of our business life.”

Citing the fact that the building is a very valuable asset and that the restaurant had lower sales than their other locations, D’Amico said they would use the money from the sale to improve the other locations in the Twin Cities and Naples, Florida.

“The area has changed a little bit,” D’Amico said.

For example, the deal D’Amico & Sons offers where kids eat free on Sundays used to be hugely popular at their Hennepin location, but now there are less families in the neighborhood.

“In the suburban restaurants, Sunday nights are a zoo,” he said. “There are families with kids and there’s spaghetti all over the place. Hennepin used to be like that, because that area had a lot of families, but it doesn’t any more.”

Now, D’Amico said, there are more millennials and empty nesters, and not as many families, plus

many more restaurants without the addition of more people.

Fans of delivery at that location won’t lose the service, though. The company is keeping the same telephone number and will be offering delivery to the same area.

“We’re gong to have a virtual restaurant,” D’Amico said.

The same staff will move over to big kitchens in International Market Square, so delivery will continue without a hitch. And for folks in the area that want to go out to eat, there’s a location not too far away, on 6th & Hennepin, in addition to their locations at the University of Minnesota, on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, a new location called Market House by D’Amico at the Minnesota History Center and a forthcoming restaurant and seasonal food truck at the Mill City Museum, as well as their suburban locations.

Still, D’Amico said there is a bit of nostalgia in closing the Hennepin location.

“I remember when we first opened that restaurant, and I would drive by at night back and forth on Hennepin and look at it at night with the lights on inside,” he said. “I was so proud of it. …

I just thought it was this gift.

“But you know, there’s new gifts since then, and sometimes the gifts get old. We all got to do new things.”

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Roat Osha is off to a bit of a slow start at their new location at Calhoun Square. After needing to leave their previous location on Hennepin Avenue because it’s being turned into a Walgreens, they opened their new restaurant in Calhoun Square at the beginning of October, and are still making adjustments.

“It’s a little bit slower than we expected at first,” said Steve Hein, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Somsap Hein. “There’s definitely a big difference between here and that other spot.”

“It’s not as easy as just bringing it over here and everyone comes,” Hein said. “Parking is different here. Before we had a free lot and now we have a

pay lot.”

Still, Roat Osha has a nice following, and the Heins are looking at ways they can reach out to people that love the restaurant — as well as fans of Chiang Mai Thai, which previously had their spot in Calhoun Square.

Meanwhile, Hein said Somsap is looking to make improvements, both with the space and also on the menu.

“My wife is always looking at trying to change or adapt the menu to make it more user-friendly,” he said.

Among the new items are a coconut shrimp dish, Asian sausages and Thai salad wraps.

Although a highway project will soon force it to relocate, Good Grocer is moving ahead on plans to open a cafe in its Lake Street store.

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As construction for the new Interstate 35W ramp on Lake Street looms in the distance, The Good Grocer, whose building will be the only one torn down as part of the project, still hasn’t found a new home. But that’s not stopping them from continuing with their plan to open a new cafe in the store, which will open sometime in February.

Founder Kurt Vickman says the organization, which sells low-cost healthy foods and is partially supported by donations, is working with Hennepin County to find a new home. Moving locations will have an effect on the people the Good Grocer serves, as many walk or take public transportation to get to the store, Vickman said.

He said there’s a tremendous need for low-cost healthy groceries in the area they are currently located.

“People struggle to afford healthy food,” he said.

While they wait to figure out what comes next, the Good Grocer continues to improve their services.

Right now they have 3,500 different everyday healthy essentials for families, Vickman said.

They also launched grocery store delivery through Instacart a month ago, and they are partnering with Whittier Clinic to offer a discount punch card for the clinic’s clients.

Through donations, they’ve also raised money to open a cafe, which will serve free coffee.

“We want it to be a place where the community can gather,” Vickman said.

The cafe will have free wifi, as well as a breakfast bar.

“It’ll be a spot where they can be known and connect to folks, and we can connect to the neighborhood,” he said.

He said the store, located at 122 E. Lake St., aims for opening the cafe on Feb. 17, though that might change, depending on when their move date is.

“We don’t want to put our vision on hold to grow the store,” he said.

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At least two candidates are gearing up for a 2017 run in Ward 11: incumbent City Council Member John Quincy, who plans to seek a third term, and Jeremy Schroeder, the policy director for Minnesota Housing Partnership.

Schroeder, a Green Bay, Wis., native who moved to Minneapolis in 2011, has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector, previously serving as executive director of Common Cause Minnesota. This would be the Diamond Lake neighborhood resident’s first run for public office.

“I’m not running to be an elected official; I’m running to get things done,” he said. “I’ve always taken the job where I felt like I could make the biggest difference, and right now that’s City Council.”

A member of Quincy’s staff confirmed he plans a re-election bid.

Schroeder said he would be a more “proactive, engaged” leader at City Hall, pledging to be a transparent decision-maker who is responsive to the residents of Ward 11. He said messages from his neighbors are going unreturned by Quincy’s office.

“I’m an old organizer. You go to where the people are, and right now they’re on NextDoor, they’re on Twitter, they’re on Facebook, and you need to have a presence there to be genuine about looking into the community, and that’s not happening,” he said.

For Schroeder, part of being a proactive City Council member means working closely with small business owners as the city’s Working Families Agenda forces changes in the way they operate. Schroeder said he supports the earned safe and sick time measure that passed the council earlier this year, as well as a proposed $15 minimum wage ordinance that is expected to come before the council in the spring. But two key issues for business owners, city fees and property taxes, should also be a part of the conversation, he said.

“It bothers me that our City Council member is not walking hand-in-hand (with business) to make solutions possible,” Schroeder said.

Describing a city at the “crossroads,” Schro-

eder said equity and inclusion would also be a top priority. That includes improving the environment for women- and minority-owned businesses.

“I love Minneapolis, I think we’re at a great place right now, and how we address the inequities in our city will determine our success in the next 20, 30 years,” he said.

Schroeder again mentioned business in a discussion of the third leg of his platform: creating vibrant Minneapolis neighborhoods.

While his longer-tenured neighbors are rightfully proud of his neighborhood’s vitality, he said, the area is not seeing the same influx of new businesses as other parts of the city.

“And it’s something we could be doing much, much more with leadership and with having an advocate down at City Hall, someone that’s going to pick up the phone and recruit businesses to be there,” he said.

The son of two public school teachers, Schroeder said he’s “always been someone who’s very involved.” He spent a year in innercity Baltimore through the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, an experience that inspired him to earn his law degree.

Schroeder moved to Minnesota from Chicago, where he was legislative director for the Service Employees International Union before becoming executive director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

The coalition’s efforts to end the death penalty succeeded in 2011.

“After putting myself out of a job, we got to pick where we wanted to go and got to move to where our values were reflected,” he said.

“That’s how we ended up on the south side of Minneapolis.”

Schroeder and his wife have two boys, aged 2 and 4 — “and five chickens,” he added.

A Jeremy for Minneapolis fundraising committee was registered in October, according to Hennepin County records. That same database showed Quincy had about $12,800 in campaign funds at the time of his last annual filing in 2015.

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 A7

Council adopts 2017 budget The Minneapolis City Council on Dec. 7 approved Mayor Betsy Hodges’ $1.3-billion 2017 city budget.

The budget includes more than $1.3 million in new spending to hire 15 additional police officers, an item opposed by dozens who testified during two public hearings on the budget.

The budget also includes $400,000 to hire five additional full-time firefighters.

The 2017 budget represents a 7.7-percent increase ($94.7 million) over the 2016 budget.

It comes with a 5.5-percent increase in the city’s property tax levy compared to 2016, which hikes property taxes $66 on a home at the city’s median value of $203,000.

The 2017 budget is the first since the city’s landmark agreement with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to invest in roads and park maintenance. The $800-million, 20-year plan relies heavily on property taxes as a funding source, and in 2017 will produce about $3 million for park operations.

The budget also adds three fulltime city employees who will work closely with the small business community and help business owners navigate city processes.

But it was the funding for the Minneapolis Police Department that drew the most scrutiny from members of the public who spoke in front of the council. Many expressed concerns about police violence and how law enforcement interacts with communities of color and urged the council to invest the money in alternatives to policing.

“Spend the money on alternative programs to help youth, help the mentally ill, things that will actually change the community,” said South Minneapolis resident Peter Zeftel, who testified at a Nov. 30 public hearing on the budget. Of the more than 40 people who spoke that night, about three-quarters spoke against the new funding for officers.

Hodges insisted her budget, which included more than $1 million for community-based public safety strategies, took a balanced approach to public safety. The budget also puts $1 million into the department’s Community Service Officer program, a strategy intended to recruit more people of color to the force,

and sets aside $200,000 for mental health co-responders, who in a pilot program will be paired with officers.

“Tonight, we chose to make increased investments in partnerships with community that will build public safety and increased investments in the police department that will build public trust,” Hodges said in a statement.

During a budget markup meeting, council members Cam Gordon, Elizabeth Glidden and Lisa Bender attempted to shift some of the $1.3 million for the 15 new police officers into initiatives to combat domestic abuse and youth violence, but a majority of the council voted down their amendment.

“It’s ridiculous to talk about cutting police officers in this budget,” said Council President Barb Johnson, who noted the force has 100 fewer officers than in 2009 even though the city’s population has increased since then.

Longer response times are putting people in danger, Johnson said.

“Our no. 1 job in the City of Minneapolis is to make it safe,” said Ward 7 Council Member Lisa Goodman, who added that crime “affects everything else we’re doing.”

After lobbying from the local business community, the council increased the funding for the “navigators” who will work with small business owners on communication, education and licensing issues. Hodges’ budget called for one fulltime position, but that was increased to three.

Common Roots Cafe owner Danny Schwartzman said there was little guidance available to him as he navigated a “confusing” city process to open his Wedge-neighborhood restaurant nearly a decade ago. Schwartzman said he was able to exploit key connections to get help and learn the right questions to ask, but not all would-be small business owners are so lucky.

“Right now, large businesses and people who are connected get the support they need,” he said.

Glidden won’t run for re-election Ward 8 City Council Member Elizabeth Glidden announced Dec. 12 she would not seek re-election in 2017.

Glidden was first elected to the council in 2005 and is currently serving her third term. As of press time, no other candidates have publicly announced a run for her ward, which straddles Interstate 35W and covers parts of South and Southwest Minneapolis.

The Kingfield resident said she’d been weighing the decision for some time and finally decided she had “done her part on the City Council and it’s time for someone else to have a chance.”

“I feel like I’m really proud of some things that I’ve been able to work on, and I have a good list of things that are still ahead of me,” she said. “One of the things that gives me confidence is I feel like there are people who are politically and locally engaged in the 8th Ward who can see an opportunity to step up and get involved in local politics” Glidden revealed her decision in a post to her Facebook page. It read, in part: “In the coming year, I’m devoting myself to important work in progress, including voting

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10/19/16 9:35 AM

FULL SERVICE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT "I not only place great tenants, but I manage costs and minimize liability all while maintaining, improving and keeping your property in a sellable condition."

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Glidden currently serves as vice chair on the City Council. File photo

on a city minimum wage, defending Minneapolis as a sanctuary city, expanding civil rights protections to Section 8 renters, and organizing city leaders in Minneapolis and across the US around progressive policy issues.”

Glidden was an attorney practicing employment and civil rights law prior to entering office.

In 2013, she won a two-year Bush Foundation fellowship that she used to pursue an interest in promoting racial equity.

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A8 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

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By Jim Walsh

Making spirits bright

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L

izz Winstead brings her annual year-inreview show to the Cedar Cultural Center for three nights at the end of the month.

But considering everything that happened and continues to happen in 2016, from the deaths of Prince and David Bowie to the election of Donald Trump to the latest greatest daily threats to democracy, she could probably do a week’s residency. I got her on the phone from the nation’s capitol Tuesday night to talk about the strange times we’re living through, and her plans for the new year with her abortion rights advocacy group Lady Parts Justice.

Lizz Winstead at the White House holiday party Monday afternoon.

Photo by Bruce Cherry

WALSH: You were at the White House Christmas party today?

How did that happen? It had to be strange to be there, knowing what will happen Jan. 20.

WINSTEAD: My friend Bruce Cherry got

invited to the party and I was his date. Every moment of joy during the tour you were constantly jarred back into “And then this will be gone.” All these photos of the Obamas and their kids and of people who have helped make America better through philanthropy or charities, and you’re looking at these, going “Who’s going to be up here next year? There’s not going to be a single person who’s made America better.” It’s just insane. I had real mixed emotions, because I was really excited to be there because when you’re the abortion lady you never get invited anyplace.

With the new government about to gut federal funding to Planned Parenthood, what will Lady Parts Justice’s response be?

One thing I want to say is that I’m super-thankful that we’re not forming the organization in the wake of crisis. We have an infrastructure and a plan. We know that no matter who is elected, there will be people fighting against abortion access and reproductive access, so that was a given. My eyes were really opened in 2011 when I watched the state legislatures do this. So I knew full well and our mission is to raise awareness on a state level to get active with the activists, and we’ve done that. We’ve been to 10 states in the past 18 months. We rent a bus and we go do a multi-media comedy show that shows our videos and we do a talkback after our show. In June and July we’re going to 16 states, and we really want to galvanize people on the ground, working with the clinics and the local activists.

You love Christmas more than anyone I know, and you’ve spent your life working as one of the most active activists anywhere. How do we celebrate or party at a time when Trump is coming to power?

My theory, and especially with forming LPJ, has

been how do we create an activism that flows organically into the things that bring us joy. So now’s the time, as we gather with people, spend part of our time making plans about what we’re going to do. You know, why not start registering people to vote on Jan. 3? While the big Million Women March is happening in Washington (on Jan. 21), LPJ is deciding to stay in New York and we’re planning to do a volunteer fair that will have comedy during the day and a dance party that night celebrating Roe v. Wade. And we’re encouraging people who can’t make it to Washington to create volunteer fairs and bring organizations together.

What will you be talking about at the Cedar, and what is there to laugh about in these dark days? Is there a guiding principal in comedy that you’ve learned along the lines of laughing to keep from crying?

I think that, for me, if you’re laughing, you haven’t given up hope. That’s a really good thing. So every time someone laughs at a tweet, or a Facebook post, or when I’m on stage, that means you can see the humor in it, and that gives some hope. I think I’m going to play on the emotional rollercoaster that we’re all feeling. I did two shows with Ani DiFranco two days after the election, and talking to people about where they were at, and I’d just say, “Who hasn’t taken a shower in a week? Two?” And people were just like, “We get it.”

So telling the story of 2016, you can’t not talk about how we all reacted emotionally, how we all reacted to our relatives and our friends, and how our Facebook relationships with people have changed. All of those things are really fun explorations in our own humanity.

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Also, half of it is, “Where were you last year?

There was stuff to do last year, but, OK, you’re here with me now and you’re in you’re standing there in your mustard-stained ‘Nasty Woman’ shirt and you’re panicking and you don’t know what to do next.” We’re not sure what to do next. I think some of that is going to be really fun — who we blame, how we averted our eyes, what blinded us to allow this to happen and all of that stuff is really the story of 2016.

The poster for the show and the name is “Controversy,” a nod to Prince. What were you thinking, and what are you trying to convey?

Doing the show in Minneapolis just adds a certain thing. I’m a daughter of Minnesota. The album is in my top five albums, that’s just a given. The album was a reflection of the times (the mid-’80s) in a really profound way, the songs in and of themselves, and then the cover with the headlines from this Minnesota icon … I was like, this is the most controversial year I’ve lived through in my life, and Prince died this year. So to be able to replace headlines on that album cover with headlines from this year just seemed perfect.

Anybody who knows me knows that a crucial part of my upbringing was the music of him and First Avenue and being in that place, and I think with Prince being gone and the main lyric on that record being, “You’re gonna have to fight your own damn war.” It’s like yeah, we are, and that’s what we’re doing.

Jim Walsh lives and grew up in South Minneapolis.

He can be reached at jimwalsh086@gmail.com.

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southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 A9

Moments in Minneapolis

Shoppers on Nicollet Mall Bustling crowds of downtown workers and holiday shoppers make their way down a brand-new Nicollet Mall in late 1967.

Nicollet Avenue, long a central downtown shopping street, had just opened following its conversion into a curving pedestrian thoroughfare. This photograph was taken outside of Dayton’s, now Macy’s department store. The late 1960s and early 1970s was a transformative era for downtown Minneapolis; other major downtown projects of the time included a rapidly expanding skyway system and the completion of the IDS Center in 1972. Photo courtesy of Hennepin History Museum; for more information about the museum, please visit hennepinhistory.org.

Let your neighbors know they’re appreciated

Our annual Thank You, Southwest feature is coming up, and there’s still time to submit your message.

We’re saving space in the Dec. 29 Southwest Journal for your notes of thanks to the people and organizations who you really appreciated in 2016. If you want your note to be considered for publication, let us know who you’re thankful for and why by Dec. 21.

Submit thank you notes to dthomas@southwestjournal. com or write to Southwest Journal Editor, 1115 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55403.

Please include your name and neighborhood with your submission.

— Dylan Thomas, editor

A10 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Regla de Oro closing its storefront Owner’s health issues necessitated the move, but an online shop will stay open

By Sheila Regan

For six years, Regla de Oro has exemplified business with a heart. Owned by Jessica Smith, the retail store and art gallery has supported local artists, offered fair trade products from around the globe and given back to the community by donating proceeds to non-profit causes.

Now, Smith needs to take a break for health reasons.

The doors of Regla de Oro’s Lyndale Avenue storefront are closing, but Smith plans to stay in business through an online shop. Then, in the spring, she’ll be back in action, participating in sales around the Twin Cities and possibly opening a pop-up shop at an as-yet undisclosed location, she said.

Regla de Oro opened in November 2010 near Lyndale & Lake, then moved to its latest location, next to the World Street Kitchen, in 2012. The heart of its mission has been threepronged: helping local artists increase their visibility by giving the space to sell their work on consignment; helping global artisans earn a living wage within safe and healthy working conditions through selling fair trade products; and giving back to the local community by donating a portion of its proceeds from sales to various nonprofits, social justice groups and arts education programs.

Smith’s health issues necessitated the decision to close. In 2013, she underwent both a full hysterectomy and a preventative double mastectomy within seven months of each other. This was after she had been diagnosed with stage zero cervical cancer and found out that she had the BRCA2 gene mutation, which causes hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC).

Regla de Oro owner Jessica Smith is closing her storefront but will maintain an online shop. Photo by Sheila Regan

Now, Smith struggles with chronic pain as a result of her surgery.

“The first year after my initial surgery was just a killer because I had no idea how much pain I would be in,” she said.

Even now, her health makes it difficult to do all the things she needs to do to run the store, especially this time of year.

“It’s really hard during the holiday season to do so many holiday shows and maintain the store. It’s just really taxing,” she said. “The chronic pain really takes its toll.”

Outpouring of support Smith said she was surprised by how many responses she’d gotten to the announcement in the shop’s newsletter of Regla do Oro’s

closing. People wrote to say how much they loved the store and how they were going to miss it.

“That was really heartwarming,” Smith said.

“I just want people to know we are not closing our business, we are just closing our storefront.

We are still going to have our online shop and we’ll have occasional sales around the Twin Cities starting in the spring.”

Marita Bujold, an artist who had shown her work at the store’s first location, said Regla de Oro was a reminder of what’s possible in terms of a fair trade economy.

“This is precisely the kind of thing we ought to support,” Bujold said. “It should be the norm rather than the aberration.”

The storefront space will be open through Christmas Eve, with big sales not only on arts and products but also on the cases and fixtures in the store. After that, art belonging to local artists who have consigned at the store will go back with them, and the global fair trade items that haven’t sold will go into storage before Regla do Oro starts up again in the spring at sales around the Twin Cities, such as the World Jubilee.

Planning for the future

Regla de Oro sells work by local artists and fair trade craft items from around the globe.

Photos by Sheila Regan

Smith will be doing another surgery at the end of this year, to correct the chronic pain issues that resulted from her HBOC preventative surgeries in 2013. After that surgery, she plans to get lots of rest.

“I’m just going to stay at home and sleep, regroup and figure out what I’m going to do next,” she said.

After her break, besides running her online shop and participating in sales around the Twin Cities, Smith said she wants to get more involved in advocacy.

“I’d really like to be able to work with different business associations to start promoting fair trade,” she said.

She hopes to be able to connect different fair trade businesses, as well as businesses that offer some fair trade products, together, “so they’re not working in a vacuum,” she added.

I just want people to know we are not closing our business, we are just closing our storefront. We are still going to have our online shop and we’ll have occasional sales around the Twin Cities starting in the spring.

— Regla de Oro owner Jessica Smith

In that regard, Smith has already taken several steps.

About six months ago, she started a Twin Cities Fair Trade retailers Facebook group, where people could share different ideas and sales that they were going to be attending.

“We want to make sure we are not duplicating product if there are events we are going to together,” she said.

Ideally, she hopes to work on a creating an online space for both retailers and consumers as a first step.

“That will help lay the groundwork to get people more on board,” she said.

IF YOU GO: Regla de Oro’s “12 Days of Christmas” sale When: Through Dec. 24.

Where: 2743 Lyndale Ave. S Info: shop.regladeoro.com

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 A11 FROM GENTRIFICATION / PAGE A1

phenomenon “the shrinking city,” and said it’s likely to continue because of a confluence of trends: safer, cleaner downtown neighborhoods; employers relocating from the suburbs to city centers; significant local investments in transit, sports stadia and other amenities; and a preference among young workers for urban living.

The two shared preliminary findings in late November, prompting a firm rebuttal from another University faculty member, law professor Myron Orfield. Eleven months earlier, Orfield set out to debunk what he described as myths about neighborhood change in a January 2016 paper, in which he wrote that his review of the data showed “little or no evidence of gentrification in any Minneapolis or St. Paul neighborhood.”

Questions about motives and methodology have been raised on both sides.

Even a basic definition of gentrification is matter of debate by academics, but it’s generally described as the change that occurs when lowincome areas experience an influx of new, more affluent residents. A wave of investment follows, raising property values and forcing those with lower incomes to move.

Orfield said the only parts of Minneapolis experiencing anything like that are Uptown and other parts of Southwest — but since they weren’t low-income to begin with, it’s not really gentrification.

“But in these poor neighborhoods, the rents have gone up not at all,” Orfield said in a December interview. “What’s happening in these neighborhoods is people there have gotten a lot poorer, and that’s because of racial segregation and because of the concentration of poverty.”

Debating signs of change Orfield said affordable housing developers seize on studies like Goetz’s, build more units in already struggling neighborhoods and worsen the concentration of poverty, which he argued had far-reaching negative effects. He has advocated strenuously in recent years for dispersing affordable housing in more affluent neighborhoods and suburbs.

Goetz described Orfield’s repeated references to affordable housing developers as part of the “poverty housing industry” as “reprehensible,” and said it was Orfield who distorted the data with “dodgy methodology.” Goetz and Damiano filtered census data through three established gentrification indices to come up with their results, and found just over one-third of low-income census tracts showed signs of gentrifying in Minneapolis.

Many of those potentially gentrifying tracts are located in near-downtown neighborhoods and adjacent to significant public investments, including light rail lines and the Midtown Greenway. A few are scattered across the North Side.

Goetz said a slight increase in rents between 2000 and 2014 was just part of the story.

Affordability also has to do with household income, and census data indicates wages are largely stagnant or in decline for Minneapolis renters — dramatically so for African Americans renters, who saw the median income of their demographic group drop 44 percent, to $14,951 in 2014 from $26,729 in 2000.

The median income of Latino renters dropped by about one-quarter over that same period, while white renters saw just a slight increase.

“For Latinos and Hispanics, their affordability is now confined to the really the near South and the Near North sides of the city,” Goetz said. “If you’re African American, there’s not a single neighborhood in the city where the median renter and afford the median rent. The city has disappeared for African Americans in terms of affordability over this time period.”

Orfield and Goetz agree that incomes clearly declined for some demographic groups between 2000 and 2014. But Will Stancil, an attorney at the University’s Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity, where Orfield serves as

director, questioned the reliability of the rent data that serves as a basis for Goetz and Damiano’s research.

Rent data is collected through surveys, which have a high margin of error, and in areas as small as a census tract, even one new apartment building opening with higher rents than neighboring properties can skew the data, Stancil said.

“I went and looked by hand at the 26 tracts they said were gentrifying, and in 21 of the 26 tracts poverty has increased since 2000,” he said. “In I think 13 of them, poverty has increased by more than 10 percent.”

“What we’re saying,” added Orfield, “is the neighborhoods where schools are becoming all black and poor, neighborhoods where the banks are disinvesting, neighborhoods where rents are lower than almost any other rents, where people are not moving in, where incomes are not increasing to any substantive degree are not gentrifying.”

Views on gentrification To an outsider, gentrification can look like a positive change; formerly run-down neighborhoods are refreshed with new housing and businesses.

“A $10 or $12 dollar Icehouse burger is delicious, but I also want the $2 or $3 taco. I want the reasonably priced bowl of pho,” said Whittier Alliance Executive Director Ricardo McCurley, reflecting on the way Eat Street has evolved in recent years — an example, in his eyes, of gentrification’s double-edged sword.

As new apartment buildings go from plans to reality in Whittier, McCurley wondered if the neighborhood’s identity would change.

“With that diversity, we have a richness that we don’t want to lose,” he said.

The flipside of the renewed vibrancy gentrified neighborhoods experience is the displacement of lower-income residents, who leave behind familiar neighborhoods and social networks.

It’s also one of the most difficult effects of gentrification to track with data, Goetz said, which is why he and Damiano plan to gather anecdotal evidence through interviews during the second phase of their research. They expect to share those findings this spring.

For Owen Duckworth, a coalition organizer at the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, a nonprofit that works for racial, economic and environmental justice and health equity, the evidence of ongoing and widespread gentrification is easy to spot in recent newspaper headlines: residents forced to move after a developer purchases St. Anthony’s Lowry Grove mobile home park in June; low-income residents leaving the Crossroads at Penn in Richfield ahead of its conversion into the upscale Concierge Apartments in the fall of 2015; residents of Glendale Townhomes in Prospect Park protesting the public housing project’s potential redevelopment at City Hall in March.

Duckworth said the academic debate over “displacement” glosses over “the real impacts on people.”

“We call it the loss of people’s homes or communities,” he said.

Jennifer Arnold, a former Lyndale Neighborhood Association organizer who is now director of Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia (Tenants United for Justice), said she believes recent rent hikes at QT Property Management buildings in Lyndale are yet another example of gentrification, forcing some residents to relocate to cheaper housing in places like Richfield. The city’s rental market is already tight and, from Arnold’s perspective, development around the Midtown Greenway is putting pressure on property values several blocks south.

“What I’m seeing is landlords seeing an opportunity,” she said. “There’s a squeeze in apartments, so there’s an opportunity to raise rents and (go) upscale”

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A12 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

News

Edison integrates real-world learning into new business program Shirley Poelstra and Michael Iacarella walked around Iacarella’s classroom the morning of Nov. 30, helping their 30-some students identify their strengths and how they relate to the school’s mission statement.

The longtime business teachers were helping the students develop a “personal pitch,” which several students then presented to the class. The activity wrapped up the morning in Edison High School’s new Entrepreneurship Academy, a three-period-long class that combines business, environmental science and English with soft skills preparation.

Students will work on real-world projects during second semester, an effort the program’s teachers say will provide them valuable business experience.

“This is giving them the know-how so that they can do it, and I think that’s really critical for a lot of our kids,” English teacher Jessica Scott said.

Poelstra and Iacarella developed the Entrepreneurship Academy with help from the founder of a similar program at Minnetonka High School, called Vantage. That program integrates real-world business projects into multi-period courses such as business analytics and digital journalism.

Vantage founders Brent Veninga and Chris Pears have helped develop similar programs in four other Twin Cities-area school districts, including Minneapolis. Edison is the only school in Minneapolis to offer the program.

Veninga said the business community has been receptive about the programs, noting

Business teacher Mike Iacarella works with 11th-graders Der Her (right) and Lisa Jara during the new Edison Entrepreneurship Academy class. Photo by Nate Gotlieb

partnerships with Target and other big companies.

“They need these future employees,” he said. “There’s definitely a need, and it’s exciting to see.”

Edison’s Entrepreneurship Academy students have benefited from Veninga’s connections, learning about pricing from a Target corporation guest speaker and visiting companies such as Caribou and Graco. They also spent three days at Rotary Club’s Camp Enterprise, a program that teaches business, leadership and entrepreneurship.

Junior Alan Vang said he’s learned how to cooperate with teammates, be a leader and communicate as part of the Entrepreneurship Academy, adding that it’s helping him prepare for college.

Classmate Manny Hill said he’s learned how to dress for a business environment and skills such as how to write a business proposal.

“This class is actually teaching you outside

By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@southwestjournal.com

Ex-Whittier principal charged for misusing funds

experiences that you really need,” he said.

Poelstra and Iacarella opened the class to juniors and seniors, getting 32 kids to sign up.

Students receive one credit in science, one in English and one in business. They also earn credit in entrepreneurship from Minneapolis Community & Technical College.

Poelstra and Iacarella teach the class with Scott and science teacher Erin Ridley, along with two facilitators from the sustainability and entrepreneurship nonprofit Spark-Y. Students are working with Spark-Y this first semester on projects such as building infrastructure inside the school’s greenhouse and creating a garden-to-cafeteria concept.

Facilitator Rachel Mazac said the plan is to implement the proposals at the start of the new year.

The students will work on projects within the community next semester, partnering with organizations such as the YMCA, Allina Health and potentially Northeast-based Art Force Academy, Iacarella said.

Poelstra works with the students on soft skills such as constructive criticism and teamwork. They’ve also had business professionals work with them on resumes.

The program has come at no added cost to the school, Iacarella said.

Edison offers several other business classes, in addition to the Entrepreneurship Academy. It also has its well-established Voyager program, which combines career and worksite seminars with mentoring and job experience.

Northeast charter school wins innovation award Yinghua Academy in Northeast has been honored by the statewide charter-school association for its partnership with the Minnesota Online High School.

The Minnesota Association of Charter

Schools honored the K–8 Chinese immersion school for creating free online Chinese courses for students who may not have access to highlevel courses.

The school and the Minnesota Online High

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A former Whittier International Elementary School principal has been charged with three felony counts of theft by swindle for using a Minneapolis Public Schools credit card for personal expenditures.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the charges against Anne DePerry on Dec. 7. DePerry used her MPS credit card for more than $11,000 in purchases for personal use and another $5,000 that was unaccounted for or suspicious, according to the county attorney’s office.

Per the county attorney’s office: A random audit by the school district in October 2015 turned up a charge on DePerry’s MPS credit card at a hat store overseas.

The auditor looked at six weeks of charges

by DePerry and found that others were for non-school-related expenses.

DePerry told the auditor she must have accidentally used the wrong card and offered to write a check for the $1,700 in charges turned up over the period.

A complete audit found that DePerry made $11,830 in non-school-related charges from December 2013 through September 2015. It also found another $5,440 in charges that were suspicions but could not be completely ruled out as school related.

The auditor told the Minneapolis police investigator that it was unlikely DePerry could have charged the items by mistake.

DePerry resigned her position with MPS on Nov. 11, 2015. The district sent a letter to parents a week later, saying that she had “grossly misused public taxpayer funds.”

DePerry, 55, was originally hired by the district in 1993 and became principal of Whittier in July 2012.

Two of the counts of theft by swindle carry maximum sentences of five years and or $10,000. The third count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and or $20,000.

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southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 A13

The Great Northern festival to showcase Twin Cities as winter wonderland The seasonal celebration will bring together the area’s existing winter traditions Eric Best / ebest@southwestjournal.com

What happens when you let the City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival, the St. Paul Winter Carnival and the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships snowball into one winter celebration?

The Great Northern, according to organizer Eric Dayton.

The new festival, led by the Askov Finlayson and Bachelor Farmer founder, will bring together the three foundational organizations, along with Northern Spark and celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern and his Food Works Inc., next month to further brand the state as a national winter destination and the season as a “defining asset” for attracting tourism.

“We are Minnesotans and this is the North.

Winter is not a season we should hide from or apologize for,” Dayton said in a statement.

“The Great Northern is a festival co-created by the leaders of our premier winter events and brought to life by Target, one of our most beloved hometown companies. Together we aim to bring a new, annual tradition to Minnesota that promotes year-round outdoor activity and provides fun and inclusive programming for locals and visitors of all ages. Winter is a defining element of our state, and it’s time we reposition it from a liability to one of our greatest assets.”

The Great Northern, named as a nod to the Great Northern Railway that connected Minneapolis and St. Paul to the West Coast, will run

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Jan. 27–Feb. 5 with events and programming around the Twin Cities. Dayton compared the festival to the similarly collaborative South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

“The historic Great Northern Railway transported visitors from around the country to our state, so it is only appropriate that we share in its name as we work to attract visitors nationwide to the festival in years to come,” he said.

The Winter Carnival, scheduled for Jan. 26–Feb. 5, will bookend the 10-day celebration.

Thousands of hockey players will take to Lake Nokomis Jan. 26–29 for the Pond Hockey Championships during the Great Northern.

And the Loppet is expected to draw more than 10,000 skiers, fat bikers and other participants, in addition to tens of thousands of spectators, to Minneapolis Feb. 3–5.

Organizers have yet to formally announce additional events or food programming.

The festival, which is sponsored by Target, is anticipated to draw more than 350,000 attendees in its inaugural year, though that includes the guests of the existing foundational events.

R.T. Rybak, the CEO and the president of the Minneapolis Foundation, announced at a Dec. 1 press conference that the organization will support a temporary art display on the south end of Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.

In addition to Dayton and Zimmern, the Great Northern’s leadership team includes Rosanne Bump, president and CEO of the Winter Carnival; Steve Dietz, founder and president of Northern Spark; Carson Kipfer,

co-commissioner of the Pond Hockey Championships and John Munger, executive director of The Loppet Foundation.

Organizers say a wide range of programming could be added in future years. In 2018, the festival dates will align with the Super Bowl hosted by U.S. Bank Stadium.

“This is one more really giant step forward to let people know what a fabulous place this is in the wintertime. And, of course, when it leads [into 2018] with the Super Bowl … it’s going to be a phenomenal boost to the amenities we’re providing and a reason for all those people to come back to Minnesota after the game is over,” said Gov. Mark Dayton.

Mayor Betsy Hodges said the festival is an opportunity to showcase a “great urban winter experience.”

“In Minneapolis, we don’t apologize for winter — we embrace it,” Hodges said. “The Great Northern is a bold step forward in showcasing the great events and endless possibilities that both Minneapolis and Saint Paul have to offer our residents and visitors in winter, and a great way to define ourselves to the world as vibrant, year-round cities where we let nothing hold us back.”

For more information on the festival, visit TheGreatNorthernFestival.com.

12/13/16 11:25 AM

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 A15 FROM RAMSEY / PAGE A1

Many in attendance appeared to feel that way. An informal survey after the event found that a majority of attendees thought the name should be changed.

Broken treaties, war Ramsey was appointed governor of the Minnesota Territory in 1849. He teamed up with the territory’s congressional representative, Henry Sibley, to negotiate treaties with the Dakota in 1851, forcing them to cede almost all their land in Minnesota and eastern Dakota.

“He knew that his political future depended on his ability to open up lands west of Mississippi for settlement,” said Christine Herbaly, who manages the Alexander Ramsey House in St. Paul.

The U.S. government paid only a fraction of the agreed-upon money in exchange for 35 million acres of land. The treaty also called for reservations on both the north and south sides of the Minnesota River, a provision the U.S. Senate later eliminated.

Ramsey was later investigated and acquitted

by Congress on allegations of fraud connected to the 1851 negotiations, during which traders pressured and threatened the Dakota with military force. He became governor of Minnesota in 1860.

By 1862, the Dakota had lost most of their land in Minnesota and were dependent on government treaty payments for survival. Four Dakota hunters killed five white settlers on Aug. 17, 1862, and several tribes decided to wage war on the whites, a six-week conflict that resulted in more than 600 deaths.

Ramsey declared in a September 1862 address to the Minnesota Legislature “the Sioux Indians of Minnesota must be exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the state.”

Thirty-eight Dakota men were hanged in the aftermath of the war, and about 2,000 Dakota were forced from the state. That included

about 1,700 Dakota people, mostly women and children, who were forced to march from the Minnesota River Valley to Fort Snelling, where they spent the winter. It is estimated that between 102 and 300 people died in the camp, mostly due to outbreaks of measles and other diseases.

“There was deaths from sun up to sun down according to the oral history,” said Dakota elder Chris Mato Nunpa, whose grandmother was killed during the march.

Ramsey’s government began offering bounties for Dakota scalps following the war.

American forces also began punitive expeditions in the war’s aftermath, eventually forcing the Dakota onto reservations outside of Minnesota.

“Those were genocidal actions,” Mato Nunpa said, “the way they just slaughtered hundreds and hundreds of people.”

Annual push Ramsey Middle School students learn Minnesota history, including the 1862 war, in sixth grade. Each year, a discussion emerges about renaming the school, said former history teacher Kara Cisco.

“There’s always students that feel both ways,” she said.

This year, the push to rename Ramsey started at the beginning of the year, with students creating an Instagram account to advocate for the change. A group of students presented information on Alexander Ramsey during the school’s Native American Family Involvement Day assembly, and some began writing letters in support of the change.

Paul Sommers, the teacher leading Thursday’s event along with Elissa Cedarleaf Dahl, said the goal of the event was to deepen the community’s understanding about the school’s name. He said afterward that he was “stunned by the growth of the students awareness in their power in collective voice as the conversations continued through the night.”

Ramsey Middle School teachers Paul Sommers and Elissa Cedarleaf Dahl lead an event about potentially renaming the school. Photo by Nate Gotlieb

Costly process Minneapolis Board of Education policy requires board approval to rename buildings and facilities in the district. The policy requirements include input from the school community.

Site council recommendations must include information on how the site plans on providing appropriate signage and paying for any changes in current signage.

A change requires a two-thirds majority of site council members and superintendent approval before a School Board decision.

The board has changed the names of buildings three times in recent memory, all of which involved instances of schools merging to a twocampus model.

Director of Policy Development Nan Miller wrote in an email that costs go beyond simply changing signage. The district makes reports and keeps records based on existing names of

schools, Miller wrote, and it would be costly to change those records.

Community members weighed some of those positive and negative consequences in their small-group discussions on Thursday.

They noted a new name could create a more welcoming environment and better represent the school’s values. They also noted that a name change could create a false sense of accomplishment and complacency and could be a sensitive topic for families with a long history at Ramsey.

Most students in attendance appeared to be for the change, saying that Alexander Ramsey doesn’t represent the school’s values and that a rename could inspire change on a broader scale.

“We’re not going to try to erase the history of the school,” said Bordon, the eighth-grader.

“We just want a new name, but it’d still be the same school.”

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A16 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

In some ways, we are the victim of our own success. People still suffer discrimination and stigma.

— State Sen. Scott Dibble

Anton LaMar speaks during a conference announcing Hennepin County’s new HIV strategy. Photo by Nate Gotlieb FROM HIV STRATEGY / PAGE A1

coordinator of the county’s Ryan White Program, which provides care for people living with HIV. About 40 percent of people with HIV in the county are not accessing care.

The new strategy aims to identify and re-engage people with HIV who have not accessed care or who have dropped out of it. It calls for better utilizing data to connect people to care, scaling up routine testing and reducing HIV-related stigma.

The strategy comes about six years after

the federal government released its own HIV/AIDS strategy. Work on the Hennepin County strategy began in 2015, with about 50 community stakeholders contributing to it, Hanft said.

More than 4,300 people with HIV were living in Hennepin County as of 2014, according to the county, with 168 new diagnoses in 2015. Hanft said 12 percent of people with HIV in Minnesota don’t realize they have it.

More than 1.2 million people nationally are living with HIV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and one

in eight of them don’t know it. The number of new HIV diagnoses fell 19 percent from 2005 to 2014, but progress in reducing the disease has been uneven.

The infection hits especially hard among people of color and men who have sex with men. Blacks are five times more likely to acquire HIV than whites, and men who have sex with men are 52 times more likely to acquire HIV than other men. One of two black men who have sex with men will acquire the infection in their lifetime.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that it costs about

$380,000 to treat HIV/AIDS over a person’s lifetime.

Dr. Nicholas Vogenthaler, medical director of the Positive Care Center at HCMC and the Red Door at Hennepin County Public Health Clinic, said HIV-positive people live as long as their HIV-negative peers, however.

Central to the new strategy is increasing opportunities for HIV testing, something federal guidelines recommend routinely for people between 15 and 65 years old. HIV testing is covered as a preventative service under the Affordable Care Act, meaning that it’s covered without a copay.

The county says it would like for 90 percent of residents living with HIV to know their status by 2018.

The strategy also calls for increased access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, a daily pill to prevent HIV that can reduce risk by up to 92 percent. The county hopes to double the number of high-risk people on the medication by 2018.

The county also hopes to retain 80 percent of people diagnosed with HIV in care and achieve viral suppression in 70 percent of people diagnosed. Viral suppression means a person has a low amount of HIV in their blood and a reduced risk of transmitting the virus.

The county unveiled the strategy as part of the 28th-annual World AIDS Day. About 55

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southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 A17

IN HENNEPIN HIVHIV IN HENNEPIN COUNTY

COUNTY

4,349

168 Number of new diagnoses in Hennepin County last year, up from 157 in 2014

People diagnosed with HIV living in the county as of 2014

92 Angie Kotrba, Hennepin County community health specialist, talks with another staff person at the county’s Red Door STD/HIV clinic. Photo courtesy Red Door Clinic

percent of all Minnesotans living with HIV reside in Hennepin County, and 25 percent of new HIV cases in the state are identified at the county’s public health clinic.

“If we can turn the curve in Hennepin County, we believe we can turn the curve on a statewide basis,” said Minnesota Department of Health Assistant Commissioner Paul Allwood.

Reducing discrimination, stigma State Sen. Scott Dibble spoke during the unveiling ceremony and said the strategy

is a great way to pull together. Dibble said the stigma of HIV and AIDS still remains, despite advances in diagnosing and treating the disease.

“In some ways, we are the victim of our own success,” he said. “People still suffer discrimination and stigma.”

Ejay Jack, who supervises the HIV outreach team at Red Door, said people still have the idea that HIV equals death, adding that he hopes for a larger media campaign to get people asking more questions.

Hanft said the county hopes to hire a community organizer and find out more

Percent a daily medication, called pre-exposure prophylaxis, can reduce the risk of HIV

38

Percent of people living with HIV who are not in care, according to the county

SOURCE: HENNEPIN COUNTY Source: Hennepin County

about what’s behind the stigma.

Anton LaMar, a 28-year-old ballet dancer living with HIV, said he felt very alone when he was diagnosed in 2012. LaMar spiraled into a depression, he said, and was unmoved by the notion that he could have a normal life.

He said he doesn’t see enough concern about HIV and AIDS from the general public but appeared hopeful that the new strategy could help.

“Things are getting better,” he said. “It’s conversations that make it good.”

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A18 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

After 44 years representing District 60B in the state House, Rep. Phyllis Kahn is contemplating life after the legislature. Photo by Dylan Thomas

A FIGHTER UNTIL THE END Phyllis Kahn reflects on her 44-year career at the Capitol

By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@southwestjournal.com

When she began clearing out her St. Paul office, Rep. Phyllis Kahn posted on her door a letter from the Minnesota Historical Society that she’d held onto since 1975, not long after she’d been elected to the second of her 22 terms in the state House.

Those 44 years at the capitol had the veteran DFLer tied with Rep. Lyndon Carlson of Crystal as the state’s longest-serving state legislator. But four decades ago she was notable for another reason — as one of six women elected to the overwhelmingly male legislature in 1972, five of them for the first time.

“The letter says because you are such an important historical figure, we are very interested in what you do, so don’t throw anything away,” she said. When she recently spoke again with someone at the historical society, in the weeks after she lost her District 60B seat to Ilhan Omar in the Aug. 9 primary, Kahn pointed to the letter and said, “That’s the problem.”

Dealing with the clutter that accumulates over a long legislative career is Kahn’s primary focus at the moment. In a recent conversation at the Aster Cafe, not far from her home on Nicollet Island, Kahn said she is still

pondering her next steps.

“I’m putting everything off until January, but the Loft (Literary Center) has a memoirwriting class, and I think I’m going to take that,” she said. So, there will be the box — or boxes — for the historical society, and a pile of papers for herself, too.

Besides her many years representing the neighborhoods around the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus, Kahn is also known as the legislator who bikes and plays ice hockey, who holds a doctorate in biophysics (Yale University, 1962) and is, at age 79, as feisty as ever. It shows when she is asked to reflect once again on the primary, which turned out to be a stepping stone to Omar’s historic election as the first Somali-American state legislator in the country.

Some argued Kahn should have retired gracefully after 44 years instead of running against Omar, who had a stronger showing in the city’s DFL convention and was propelled into office on a wave of support from the district’s large East African community and endorsements from prominent DFLers, including former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and state Sen. Scott Dibble. When she

You know, if I hadn’t (run) I would’ve always thought it might’ve been different.

My characterization is you always have to go down fighting.

— Phyllis Kahn

was reminded of this, Kahn was taken aback.

“What?” she exclaimed. She said a friend made the same suggestion early in this year’s re-election bid “and I kind of really took him on, and he backed away from that.”

“You know, if I hadn’t (run) I would’ve always thought it might’ve been different,” she said. “My characterization is you always have to go down fighting.”

Kahn said she didn’t believe either Omar or Mohamud Noor, the third candidate in the three-way primary, “really were qualified to be in the legislature — except as a symbol.”

Asked if she couldn’t have been considered a “symbol” back in 1972, Kahn replied: “Well, then. Not now.”

Looking back

Phyllis Kahn hung on to this political cartoon, a reaction to her 1989 proposal to lower the state’s voting age to 12. Submitted image

Kahn grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., the daughter of a doctor father and a schoolteacher mother. Her mother taught biology at James Madison High School, which Kahn also attended and which boasts an impressive list of alumni, ranging from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (’50) to Mad Magazine publisher William Gaines (’39).

The school also counts three U.S. senators among its graduates: Minnesota’s Norm Coleman (’66), New York’s Charles Schumer (’67) and Vermont’s Bernie Sanders (’59).

“I know she taught Norm Coleman, because we had a conversation about it,” Kahn said.

“But I have a feeling she taught all of them, because you had to take a science for an academic degree in New York, and you know those guys didn’t take physics or chemistry.”

One of Kahn’s signature accomplishments came early in her career, when she authored the 1975 Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, pioneering legislation that created no-smoking areas in public settings. She is proud, too, of years championing bike paths and trails, as well as her push for gender equity in sports funding.

She has also, over the years, backed some offbeat causes, authoring a “bong water” bill that changed the law so that the weight of the water in drug paraphernalia couldn’t be used as part of the calculation in drug possession cases, even if it contained traces of illegal substances. In 2015, a Waseca man’s four-year drug conviction was tossed out because of Kahn’s legislation.

She has also made recent attempts to change the law so that 18 year olds can drink in bars.

“The other thing I pride myself on is I have the wettest voting record compared to the driest lifestyle of any legislator, I think,” she joked, noting she was also behind a successful 1970s effort to allow alcohol to be served in Dinkytown.

Kahn is particularly proud of a recent accomplishment, a money-saving plan to consolidate the state’s computer data centers.

It demonstrates how a legislator with experience and an eye for details can take on an issue that has gone overlooked.

It’s common these days for long-serving elected officials to comment on the increasing partisanship they’ve witnessed over their careers, and Kahn is no different. She also lamented the proliferation of omnibus bills, which she said reduce opportunities for individual legislators to author legislation and shepherd it through the process, as well as what she described as a trend toward secrecy and behind-closed-doors negotiations.

Silver linings After two bruising primary battles — an eightpoint win over Noor in 2014 and then her third-place finish behind Omar and Noor this summer — Kahn said she was finally tiring of elections. This would have been her last whatever the outcome, she said.

“I woke up on Wednesday morning (after the primary) and I thought, I never have to go to a meeting I don’t want to go to and I never have to be polite to a (jerk) again,” she said, using a term that couldn’t printed in a newspaper. “Although the reaction from many people has been: We’ve never observed you being polite to anybody.”

Kahn is able to see a silver lining to what was a disappointing election season.

“There were three things I was totally glad about in the election,” she said. “Obviously, Hillary (Clinton) won the state and she won the popular vote.

“Then, Rick Nolan won in the 8th District,” she went on, adding that she and the DFL U.S. representative from Crosby were friends who had many conversations over the years, and she admired especially the way he could dig into specifics of bills and find ways to direct resources back to his district.

There was one more thing.

“I was certain we were going into the majority (in the state legislature), and I was really looking forward to another term in the majority with (Mark) Dayton as governor,” she said. “And, you know, even though I’ve continually gotten things done in the minority, I’m not so anxious to spend another term in the minority, particularly in this climate.

“I think being outside throwing stones is better than being inside trying to get something done at the moment.”

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 A19

Painting the town red As he prepares to open his next concept in the North Loop, Red Cow owner Luke Shimp takes the top honor for local restaurateurs.

Eric Best / ebest@southwestjournal.com

You’d think after being named the state’s top restaurateur several years ago Luke Shimp would have taken it easy, but the Red Cow owner is already on to his next brand of restaurants.

Shimp, who owns and operates three of the burger restaurants across the Twin Cities, has been named the Minnesota Restaurant Association’s 2016 Restaurateur of the Year. He’s the first person to win the award twice following his first time being honored in 2009 as the CFO and co-owner of Blue Plate Restaurant Company.

The award comes as Shimp is opening what he envisions could be another fast-growing restaurant brand in Minneapolis. He’s enlisted former Parella chef Todd Macdonald to lead Red Rabbit, an Italian concept that will open this month on Washington Avenue in in a former North Loop auto shop building.

As Shimp explained in a conversation with the Southwest Journal in December, it’s a focus on building leaders and an inward-facing guest experience that propels his concepts to success.

The interview has been edited and condensed.

SOUTHWEST JOURNAL: First off, congratulations on your win. How does it feel?

SHIMP: Outstanding. Obviously to have

your peers in the restaurant community to recognize you twice is really cool. And with two different companies and having been a part of two leadership teams, it’s really neat to accomplish that.

What do you think is working for Red Cow? I think it’s really our culture. I tell our team members that our deal is that we’re a leadership company that just happens to serve food and beverage. What we’re actually putting a huge emphasis on, along with hospitality and great food, is leadership and making sure our general managers and kitchen managers and sous chefs are all getting the leadership development to really make great employees and people who want to work for us.

Red Rabbit is a great example. During this

but we focus on people more. Are you learning how to have conversations with people and boosting your emotional intelligence? Or are you just worried about someone filling out a checklist and hitting all the metrics? And, to me, that’s management. Leadership is people.

I really drive that home, and that starts at the top of the company.

It’s something that started at [Blue Plate Restaurant Company]. It’s something I learned in auto racing when I worked with coach Joe Gibbs [at Joe Gibbs Racing]. I was 27 when I left racing and I certainly didn’t know what I had been exposed to. And so I’ve taken a lot of those lessons and utilized them in how I develop my team.

Switching to your new restaurant.

When did you decide to pursue Red Rabbit?

Red Cow owner Luke Shimp.

Submitted photo

hiring process, I was very nervous about hiring during the holiday period. We’ve actually had no problem hiring staff. For me, that was really a testament to our culture and reputation.

External guests are people who walk through the front door. Internal guests are our employees. We focus on the internal guests first because we have to make sure that our team members are happy, that they’re satisfied, that we’re providing them with the opportunity they need to be successful. If you do that, I feel that it automatically flows over to the external guest experience.

What does leadership development look like?

Training is certainly a piece of it. We have a leadership development coach who works with all the different leaders in the company.

We have study groups. We have quarterly training sessions on how to be a leader. During our one-on-one weekly meetings there’s a lot of focus on what it means to be a leader. A lot of people think being a leader is task-oriented,

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I always wanted to do a neighborhood pizza joint of some sort. It really stems from chef Todd having availability. To me it was about all if I found the right guy or gal I would do another concept, and having Todd be available in the market was one of those moments like “OK, let’s do it.” We were actually looking at a Red Cow out of state in Colorado. After introspecting, I didn’t think we were ready.

We knew it was going to be “red” and it was going to be an animal. It was really important that the two brands had some continuity. I assume we’ll do more than one Red Rabbit. As to how many, I’m not sure.

How did you develop the menu?

Everything in our company like that — the architecture of the menu and the cuisine, the vision — comes from me, and then it’s collaborative from there on out. Then it’s Todd, our sous chef Drew Yancey and executive chef Travis Langely. Todd, my wife and I flew out to Los Angeles and Portland and did a little West Coast tour for one week and toured a bunch of places. I’d say locally my favorite pizza place is Pizzeria Lola. I think [owner] Ann Kim is a phenomenal pizza specialist. When people

are talking pizza in town and we’re in the same conversation, I’ll consider it a success. Black Sheep Pizza too. [Chef] Jordan Smith’s pizza is awesome. I’d say they are my two benchmarks.

What can we expect at Red Rabbit when it opens Dec. 20?

If you think Red Cow: Fine burgers, beer and wine. This is Red Rabbit: Pizza, pasta and oysters. Price points are similar. Here we’re doing lunch and dinner. At some point, probably six to eight months down the road, we’ll offer brunch. During lunchtime there’ll be some more sandwiches and salads on the menu.

There’s a smattering of to-share items. There are about 10 pizzas fired in a wood-fire oven and then about 10 pastas.

The cocktail program is amped up a bit over Red Cow’s, which I think is understated. I think this will start a new conversation about [beverage director Ian Lowther] and his cocktail program even if he’s done it at Red Cow. There will be about five tap beverages here.

I think there’s going to be a pineapplecello, a limoncello, cold brew coffee and two tap cocktails.

Why the North Loop?

I said it would take 18–24 months for the right spot to come and, lo and behold, it took about six. I had looked at the Cheeky Monkey space that Revival obtained over in St. Paul. That’s where we were going to go, but this became available and worked out perfectly. I think with all the activity up and down Washington Avenue, all the way down to the East End where the stadium is and all the way down to The Freehouse, it’s amazing. With The Washington renovation, the Hewing Hotel coming in, with Shinola having come in a few years ago, it’s definitely in a bit of a turnover phase. With all the residential development this was ripe for it. I think we got in at the right time.

A20 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

By Nate Gotlieb / ngotlieb@southwestjournal.com

Food waste represents biggest recycling opportunity, study finds Food waste represents the biggest opportunity for Hennepin County to reduce trash and increase recycling, according to a study released last month.

County residents can also increase recycling by throwing away less paper and cardboard and more frequently utilizing drop-off sites for items that aren’t accepted in curbside recycling programs.

The study looked at trash from the Diamond Lake, Near North and Powderhorn neighborhoods during the week of May 8. It concluded that Hennepin County wouldn’t be able to reach the state-imposed goal of a 75-percent recycling rate by 2030. Achieving a 50- to 60-percent rate is more realistic, the study said, but will still be a challenge.

The county had a 46-percent recycling rate in 2015.

“The results still show that we have a lot of work to do,” said Ben Knudson, a county recycling specialist. “There’s still a lot of obvious things we can do to make progress.”

The study says recycling organics represents one of the biggest ways the county could

improve its rate. Hennepin County recovered 4 percent of organic waste at the time of the study, a figure that could improve once more cities implement curbside organics-collection programs.

Households in 13 of the county’s 45 cities participated in organics recycling in 2015, but about 78 percent of those households were in Minneapolis, which began its citywide organics program in August 2015.

The countywide figure could increase in the coming years, however, as Hennepin County begins to increase funding for organics programs.

The county plans to nearly double organics program funding in 2017 to about $720,000, which represents about 20 percent of the recycling funds it receives from the state. By 2020, the county will spend 50 percent of its recycling budget on organics, Knudson said.

“The long term vision is that people would have the ability to participate in organics if they want to,” Knudson said.

Minneapolis reached a 40-percent opt-in rate with its organics recycling program in October, with more than 42,500 households participating.

The city had collected more than 2,700 tons of organics at the time.

Minneapolis recycling coordinator Kellie Kish said the city’s 40-percent opt-in rate is one of the highest in the country among comparable organics programs. She said a combination of educational outreach, door-to-door conversations and community events have proven effective at increasing numbers Kish said the priority next year would be to work within cultural communities to promote the program.

St. Louis Park had the second-most utilized organics program last year, with more than 1,460 households participating. The city has a 15-percent opt-in rate, said Public Works Services Manager Scott Merkley, and a goal of about 30 percent.

Merkley said St. Louis Park is hoping it will increase participation in the program by waiving a $10 quarterly fee.

The county’s study also found that residents could more frequently utilize drop-off sites for items that can’t be recycled curbside. These include items such as yard waste, textiles, scrap

metal, electronics, mattresses and recyclable plastic bags and film.

The study also found that residents could be recycling more paper and cardboard. It noted that reducing the amount of waste generated in the first place is the most impactful wastemanagement practice.

Food comprised nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of the trash in the study. Materials less than half an inch in size (6.3 percent) was the next most prevalent category, followed by compostable paper (5.7 percent), diapers and hygiene products (4.9 percent) and pet waste (4.9 percent).

Actual trash comprised 40.8 percent of material thrown away. Organics comprised 24.9 percent, recyclables comprised 13.8 percent and construction and demolition materials comprised 8.9 percent.

The study did not look at commercial trash, which has a higher proportion of recyclable and compostable materials, according to the county.

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Nonprofits discuss path to climate justice Minnesota communities can continue advancing clean-energy policies despite Republican election victories, leaders of local environmental nonprofits said earlier this month.

The state will need to replace 70 percent of its electricity-generation capacity in the next 20 years, said Timothy DenHerder-Thomas of the Minneapolis nonprofit Community Power, which supports clean-energy policies. While certain actions may not be feasible in a Republican-controlled state legislature, there is plenty of action Minnesota can take, he said.

“Action on climate change isn’t something that’s going to hurt our communities,” said DenHerder-Thomas. “This is the best thing that we could be doing for our communities.”

DenHerder-Thomas was among the nonprofit leaders who spoke at the Dec. 5 post-election

climate-justice event at Plymouth Congregational Church. More than 350 people attended the event, which was hosted by a coalition of 10 environmental and liberal nonprofits.

The nonprofits organized the event to provide a space for community building, processing and planning for advancing climate justice under a Donald Trump administration, said Patty O’Keefe of the organization MN350, which works on climate issues in the state.

“It would be easy to look at what Trump said about climate change and feel climate action is a lost cause,” O’Keefe said. She added that there are a lot of “levers” for advancing local, municipal and state policy that don’t rely on the federal government.

Trump said last month he has an “open mind” on climate change but has called it a hoax in the

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DenHerder-Thomas said Community Power wants to see a stronger focus on energy efficiency. He noted a desire to build an electric grid based on renewable energy while “doing it in a

way that is long term more cost effective for the community.”

DenHerder-Thomas led a breakout session during which people discussed clean-energy action ideas such as pushing cities and government agencies to install solar and energy-efficient components.

Other leaders talked about the importance of finding common ground with people with whom they may disagree. Ulla Nilsen of MN350 said a majority of people support action on climate, noting the importance of creating an emotional connection when discussing the topic.

“Imagine the number of people out there who are waiting to be asked, waiting to be engaged,” said Kate Jacobson, program director of MN350.

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By Eric Best / ebest@southwestjournal.com

Commissioners approve 2017 budget Next year the board launches a 20-year plan to reshape the city’s neighborhood park system Eric Best / ebest@southwestjournal.com

Next year has a lot in store for the city’s parks as the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board begins sowing the seeds of major investments into neighborhood parks.

Park commissioners voted Dec. 7 to approve a $77-million 2017 budget, which reflects the board’s largest property tax increase in at least a decade. A 10-percent levy increase includes a one-time base increase of $3 million, or 5.7 percent, for the 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan, a plan put together with the City Council and Mayor Betsy Hodges to raise funds to counterbalance years of budget gaps in maintaining Minneapolis parks and roads.

The tax increase is more than twice as much as what the Park Board has typically seen in the past 10 years thanks to the base increase, which is intended to equate to approximately 1 percent of all city tax levies for 2016.

Commissioners had requested an even higher 13.3-percent property tax levy increase to cover a potential $15 minimum wage, but the Board of Estimate and Taxation, which sets the maximum property tax levy, didn’t include funding for it.

The increase brings the Park Board’s tax levy to $59.7 million, up from this year’s $54.3 million. This includes $1.7 million for the Tree Preservation and Reforestation Levy, which will not see additional funds next year. For every dollar Minneapolis residents pay for property taxes in 2017, 8 cents will go to the Park Board.

“The 2017 budget fully integrates the 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan into the MPRB budget and is the first MPRB annual budget to use a racial equity lens for budget decisions,” Superintendent Jayne Miller said in a statement. “The 2017 budget continues to reflect the MPRB’s commitment to strategic long-term planning by focusing on sustainable funding, supporting ongoing operations, addressing threats to the urban tree canopy, continuing refinement and implementation of operating efficiencies and targeted service

Bassett’s Creek Park is set to see nearly $100,000 in improvements next year thanks to a 20-year plan to repair the city’s neighborhood parks. Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

delivery, and aligning employment and asset investments to meet changing demographic needs across the city.”

The City Council and Park Board passed concurrent ordinances related to the 20-Year Neighborhood Park Plan in April and May, respectively. City officials estimate the plan will raise approximately $800 million over two decades, which will include $11 million for parks and $22 million for streets annually, plus scheduled inflationary increases. The plan addresses a projected annual funding gap of $15 million for capital needs in neighborhood parks and an estimated $30 million needed annually for street reconstruction.

To guide investments, commissioners took a data-driven approach and crafted an ordinance over the summer that created a racial and economic equity system. The criteria prioritize parks in areas of concentrated poverty around the city, especially neighbor-

hoods in which there’s racially concentrated poverty. A neighborhood can also receive points for having a larger total population, more children and higher crime statistics.

Thanks to the neighborhood parks plan, the budget includes $1.6 million in playground and field investments in Bossen Field Park, $263,000 in playground improvements at Luxton Park and $725,000 to upgrade the new pool at Phillips Community Center, among other projects. Several million dollars will also go toward general repairs for recreation center roofs, lighting in neighborhood parks and keeping up air conditioning across the system.

So far the Park Board has only released plans for the first five years of investments.

Miller’s budget also includes a new youth violence prevention position in the Park Police Department. The board will begin to buy and implement enough body cameras to cover all normally assigned patrol staff, or

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The budget supports efforts to reopen Meadowbrook Golf Club and reopen the back nine at Hiawatha Golf Club, which were closed after torrential rains in the spring 2014 devastated the courses. The budget includes a target date of Aug. 15, 2017 for a reopening event at Meadowbrook.

Miller also budgets for new park operations manager positions for each of the five service areas in the city’s park system. Two will be funded by the additional neighborhood park funds and the elimination of one vacant foreman position.

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An Aldi grocery store is planned for the ground floor of the Rex 26 development at Lyndale & 26th.

Submitted image

Planning Commission moves Rex 26 development forward Rezoning, variance applications approved in 8–1 vote

The Minneapolis Planning Commission on Dec. 5 approved nine applications for a proposed apartment and grocery project at the southeast corner of 26th & Lyndale.

The commission voted 8–1 to approve the applications for Rex 26, a five-story, four-floor building that would include 77 apartments and a 20,000 square-foot retail space.

Applications included two to rezone the site to allow for a broader range of retail and commercial services and car-related uses. They also included one to allow for a five-story, 62-foot building in the new zoning district.

The building would include a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments along with 152 parking spaces in two floors of underground parking. Cars would access the site from Lyndale Avenue South and exit onto West 26th Street. Trucks would exit through the public alley.

Minneapolis-based Master Properties is the developer for the project.

The Planning Commission Committee of the Whole reviewed the project twice this year. Master Properties eliminated a floor, reduced the overall floor area, modified the building shape and more as a result of the committee’s feedback.

Area property owners voiced concern about the project. They raised issues such as the building’s size, increased traffic and the building negatively affecting the character of the neighborhood.

Garfield Avenue property owner Peter Robinson said the project would destroy the alley that runs parallel to Lyndale Avenue, adding that he’s concerned about pedestrian safety on 26th Street.

“This doesn’t seem to be thought out in terms of how its footprint fits with the rest of the neighborhood,” Robinson said. “It’s much too big a building for the appearance of the rest of the neighborhood, and the traffic is going to be horrendous.”

Common Roots Café owner Danny Schwartzman said the proposal is much better than it was before the revisions but said he is

This doesn’t seem to be thought out in terms of how its footprint fits with the rest of the neighborhood.

It’s much too big a building for the appearance of the rest of the neighborhood, and the traffic is going to be horrendous.

— Garfield Avenue property owner Peter Robinson

concerned about traffic and a single tenant taking up that much square footage in the retail space.

Commissioner and City Council Member Lisa Bender said adding 77 new housing units in a neighborhood that has a tight housing market is a good thing. She said she was impressed with the improvement of the project since the August meeting, but said it was “too bad” the developer had not yet brought the revised project to the Whittier and Lowry Hill East neighborhood associations.

Commissioner Amy Sweasy voted against the proposal. She said she was particularly concerned that the neighborhood groups did not see the latest iteration of the project.

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 A23

Development Update

Denver-based Brickstone Partners has proposed a 200-unit apartment building at 3100 W. Lake St., a property just north of Lake Calhoun.

Image courtesy Brickstone Partners

Apartment proposed at 3100 W. Lake St. Project could be six, nine or 13 stories

A Denver-based developer has unveiled three designs for a proposed 200-unit apartment at 3100 W. Lake St., a property just north of Lake Calhoun.

Brickstone Partners presented the proposal for an apartment building of six, nine or 13 stories to the Cedar-Isles-Dean Neighborhood Association on Dec. 12. The apartment would be located on the north side of West Lake Street and bordered by the Lake Calhoun Flats Apartments, the Loop Calhoun Condominiums and the Lake Point Condos.

The property is currently home to a 50,000-square-foot office building, which would be demolished.

A 13-story tower would be constructed of “high-quality concrete and high-end finishes,” according to a Brickstone press release. It would allow for “significant” green space between the adjacent properties and would maximize open space.

The nine-story building would be C-shaped and made of concrete and wood. It would have slightly less open space than the 13-story option.

A six-story building would have a wood frame and a donut shape. It would be much like standard six-story, multi-family projects prevalent in the marketplace, according to Brickstone, and would offer a more continuous fabric façade along Lake Street. The option offers the least open space.

All three options would include about 200 units, 295 underground parking spaces and amenities such as a rooftop pool, a fitness center and yoga rooms. Brickstone Principal Dan Otis said the goal would be to include a gourmet coffee shop and juice bar at street level.

Otis said he believes the 13-story design is the best fit because it allows for more green space and a “responsible footprint.”

“It opens up about 100-plus feet of additional green space,” he said. “It creates more of a park-like setting.”

Otis said the intent is to develop a luxuryapartment community. He said for-sale condos would only work if the building were 13 stories tall.

The property is currently zoned OR2, which limits building heights to the lesser of 56 feet or four stories. The site is located within a shoreland overlay district, which limits building height to 35 feet. Brickstone could apply for a conditional use permit to exceed the height limits, however.

The existing properties north and west of the site are five stories, according to the neighborhood association’s land use and development committee.

Brickstone has been involved in more than 2.1 million square feet of office, retail and multi-family investment and development since its founding in 2001. Minneapolisbased ESG Architects will serve as the project architect, and Adolfson & Peterson Construction will serve as the general contractor.

Brickstone bought the property for $8 million in August 2015. The neighborhood association asked for the three options based on the firm’s original plan for a taller building.

“It was really kind of a nonstarter,” said Bob Corrick, chair of the association’s landuse and development committee. He said traffic and lane closures are concerns for the project, noting that his committee has requested a traffic study from Brickstone.

The neighborhood association has not yet chosen which, if any, of the three design it favors. Corrick’s committee will hold a public hearing on the project Jan. 26, and the neighborhood association board of directors could take a formal position on Feb. 8.

Visit cidnalanduse.wordpress.com to submit comments and follow the project.

Public comments may be submitted at any time to Corrick at corrickcidna@gmail.com.

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Southwest Journal December 15–28, 2016

Charitable Giving GUIDE

S

By Sheila Regan

omewhere between the spirit of giving inspired by the holiday season and this being the last chance to do any tax write-offs sits a perfect storm for the flurry of donations that go toward charitable organizations at the end of each year.

This year, with uncertainty over how social service organizations will fare in a new presidential administration and a disconcerting rise in anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic rhetoric around the country, there’s an even more urgent push toward making sure groups that provide support and advocacy for the most marginalized among us have the funding they need. Choosing where to give is going to vary with each person depending on what they’re really passionate about, but here’s a list of organizations doing work to ensure we don’t leave anybody behind.

SEE PAGE B4

Where We Live

A JOURNAL COMMITMENT TO HIGHLIGHTING GREAT COMMUNITY CAUSES

Isuroon

Fartun Weli

at the Isuroon offices.

Submitted photo by Christine E. Dietsche

Isuroon is a hub for Somali women and their families

An empowering force for Somali women During her struggles to conceive a child, Fartun Weli tried with difficulty to find infertility resources in the Twin Cities that reflected her perspective as a Somali woman. So in 2010, Weli started the Isuroon infertility and health issues project to examine the effects of infertility on mental health and stress levels in Somali women.

“Somali culture highly values a woman’s ability to have children,” Weli said. “Women who are unable to bear children face high levels of social and emotional stress. I wanted to empower these women and to help them understand their worth beyond childbearing.”

While its direct services such as health care counseling and food distribution are integral to the organization, Weli — an activist and public health graduate student with two decades of experience in the medical field— considers Isuroon’s work in public-health research and legislative lobbying two of its most important aspects.

Location Weli believes the wellbeing of Somali women depends not only on their physical health but also on the support of the 3416 Nicollet Ave., broader Twin Cities community. Through its advocacy work, Isuroon introduced two bills into the Minnesota Legislature Minneapolis addressing health disparities and providing funding for Somali women’s health programs. Ahead of the recent election, the organization received a small grant to get out the vote within the Somali community.

Contact Civic engagement is important to the Somali people, according to Weli.

886-2731 “In Somalia, they understood that the political process affected every aspect of their lives,” she said.

Preventative health care is one of many challenges facing Somali women living in Minnesota.

Website “Prevention is not part of our culture,” she explained. “Even when they’re insured, Somali women have some of the www.isuroon.org lowest health care access. You see them end up in the ER with chronic illnesses, because it’s not a priority for them to go to the doctor when they’re taking care of six or seven kids on their own.”

Year Founded After conducting education sessions that increased breast-cancer screening rates among participants, Isuroon is working 2010 to develop and test a culturally specific curriculum that focuses on cervical-cancer prevention, raises awareness of infant mortality rates and addresses the disparity in health care access for Somali immigrants from a public policy standpoint.

“The bottom line is health care access,” said Weli, “We can’t talk about upward mobility of Somali women if they’re not healthy.”

During a recent food distribution event, which take place three Wednesdays a month at Isuroon’s Nicollet Avenue headquarters, volunteers took numbers and packed up food for a cluster of Somali women and children waiting in the lobby.

Isuroon’s food distribution is unique in that it adheres to halal (strict nutrition guidelines according to Islamic law). According to a 2010 Ramsey County Public Health report, foods specific to the Somali culture are often hard to find locally. While there are more than 300 food shelves in Minnesota, the Brian Coyle Center in Minneapolis is the only other food shelf in the state that serves halal food.

One of the volunteers assisting with food distribution that day was Leyla Ahmed, a volunteer with Isuroon since 2011. Many of the organization’s volunteers got involved after benefiting from its services themselves.

“When I first moved here, I didn’t know how to drive a car,” Ahmed said. “Fartun pushed me to get a driver’s license and helped me find work. I was able to save money and bought a little car.”

Connecting Somali women with resources to help them become self-reliant is the underlying goal of Isuroon, said Weli, not offering handouts. She chafes at the stereotype that Somali immigrants are, as she put it, “leeches attached to the system.”

“The first generation of immigrants are always poor, so our job is to help families get on their feet,” she said. “There are things that are stacked against us — being new, being women, with high illiteracy and the language barrier — but the energy and drive is there,” she added, citing the nearly 160 small businesses in the Twin Cities that have been founded by Somali women.

“Isuroon is like the pulse of the community,” said Weli. “Our mission is to give Somali women the tools to be successful.”

What you can do Donate online. Funds help with the costs of operations and food distribution supplies.

Volunteer to help educate the Somali community and advocate for Somali women’s needs.

Contact local government representatives to encourage them to address the specific needs of Minnesota’s Somali community..

1,000 Somali families served by

‘The bottom line is health care access’

‘The pulse of the community’

By the numbers

its food distribution since it opened on May 16, 2016

345 Somali women participated in health education workshops in 2015

220

medical school students attended classes to help them address the specific health needs of Somalis in 2015

140

Somali women participated in Isuroon health care focus groups in 2015

25

pregnant Somali women served by Isuroon-trained doulas in 2015

About the Where We Live project This project is an ongoing series spearheaded by Journals’ publisher Janis Hall showcasing Minneapolis nonprofits doing important work in the community. The editorial team has selected organizations to spotlight.

Jahna Peloquin is the writer for the project. To read previous features, go to southwestjournal.com/section/focus/where-we-live

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B3

Restoring a

century-old Linden Hills landmark • LAKE HARRIET SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY IS FIXING UP ITS HISTORIC HOME •

By Sheila Regan

F

or its 100th birthday, the building that houses the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community is ready for a little touch up.

Listed in 2014 with the National Register of Historic Places, the building is poised for a substantial restoration, if the community’s fundraising efforts go as planned.

This winter solstice, members of the community plan to celebrate their home’s remarkable architecture as they look toward spiffing it up to its former Classical Revival glory.

First known as the Lake Harriet Methodist Episcopal Church, the structure became the Church of Divine Science, a New Thought church, in the 1950s, according to Gary Perisian, who is President of LHSC. Then, in the 1980s, the Church of the Divine Science had a split, and became Lake Harriet Community Church, Perisian said.

Perisian joined the congregation around the time they changed their name to Lake Harriet Spiritual Community, in 2001.

“I was looking for something different,” he recalled. “I had quit drinking and AA wasn’t the thing for me.”

Seeking a way to figure out why he had been drinking, Perisian was drawn to LHSC in part because of the building. Over the years, he has

put in a lot of work to maintain it.

“The building was one of the things that kept me around there,” he said.

J.P. Fulton, the architect, did a series of nine churches across the country.

“All of them were influenced by the Pantheon in Rome,” said Steven Johnson, a ministerial guide in the community. Johnson said Fulton was a 32nd degree Mason, and imbedded Masonic symbolism into the design.

Perisian said LHSC took on the task of restoring the building in earnest a few years ago, first by getting it on the National Register of Historic Places.

“It’s a very complicated process,” he said.

Luckily, they found an expert named Tammy Lindberg, a historian who would help them through the application.

“She was very helpful in giving advice,” Perisian said. “It was something I knew nothing about. She gave us pointers along the way.”

From there, Lindberg connected the community to Alex Haecker, of AWH Architects, who, coincidentally, had a connection to the building through taking yoga classes. The coincidence makes sense, given the fact that LHSC rents out space to a yoga studio that has been conducting teacher trainings for years, as well as other wellness groups who lease space from the organization.

Haecker said his work started with applying for state Legacy Amendment fund grants through the Minnesota Historical Society.

Haecker’s firm created a 150-page report that provided an assessment of the building’s condition, indicating high and low priorities.

According to Haecker, Perisian has been instrumental in keeping the building in good condition over the years, by doing things like making sure it doesn’t leak.

“It’s actually in really good shape,” he said.

However, there are major repairs that still need to be done, such as masonry issues on the outside, a roof that needs to be replaced and trim board that is starting to rot.

In addition, there are historic details that are currently covered up, which the restoration will be able to correct. For example, on the dome of the building, the original vertical siding has been covered up with asphalt sheets.

Lake Harriet Spiritual Community’s home overlooking Linden Hills today and, above, one of the building’s lead glass windows.

Submitted photos by Alex Haecker

The Lake Harriet Spiritual Community’s Classical Revival-style building was constructed in 1916, when it opened as a Methodist church. Submitted photo

Haecker has been studying the original drawings, which show that there was asbestos board that once had details on it. Eventually, part of the restoration will involve adding that detail back in — without asbestos, of course.

The lead glass windows are an important feature of the building and will be an important part of the restoration process, Haecker said.

“The glass is liquid, and they’ve started to sag quite a bit,” he said.

As part of the condition assessment report, Haecker’s firm has been talking to GayteePalmer Stained Glass, the successor to Ford Brothers, who made the original windows.

“The company is going to take them apart and redo them all,” Haecker said.

Haecker said the building’s design is a prime example of the City Beautiful Movement, which came into popularity around the time of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

“It’s one of the last examples in Minneapolis of that period,” Haecker said.

Like other City Beautiful buildings, LHSC sits on a prominent site, on a hill, and has classical references such as domes and columns.

The building’s original design also has a unique door system between the education wing and the sanctuary, though it’s currently not in use. The wall was able to lift up, so that the two areas could become one space.

“It was a pretty cool design,” Haecker said.

The door, which would be part of the indoor renovations, will have to wait until the outside is restored, however. Right now, LHSC is hoping to raise $1.5 million through grants and fundraising to complete the exterior renovation before shifting its focus to the interior.

So far, LHSC has been successful in raising the capital for the building’s improvements when needed. Through Kickstarter, they were able to raise $10,000 to fix the rotting sections on the North side of the building, and they have earned grants from the Minnesota Historical

Society for the work put in by AWH architects to define restoration needs of the building.

“It’s a good example of a grassroots effort from a great group taking ownership and stewardship of this building,” Haecker said. “They are keeping it alive and respecting its history while they adapt it for their own uses.”

According to Johnson, the ministerial guide, the 100-year celebration will be blended with the community’s annual winter solstice gathering.

“It’s perfect timing,” he said. “It’s the turning point of the year, and the turning point of the century mark of the building.”

Johnson said the celebration would include a short discussion about the building’s recent placement on the national register, as well as information about the restoration work that needs to be done.

“We’ll show some slides of the building design, and how it connects to the Pantheon and masonic symbols,” he said.

The evening will include a simple solstice ritual where guests set intentions for the new year, as well as music by Bevani, a classically trained flutist, and Minneapolis vocalist Emily Colay and her chorus of feminine voices.

IF YOU GO: Lake Harriet Spiritual Community winter solstice and 100-year celebration When: 7 p.m.–9 p.m. Dec. 20 Where: LHSC Sanctuary, 4401 Upton Ave. S. Info: lakeharrietspiritualcommunity. org, 922-4272. There is a $10 suggested donation.

B4 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Charitable

Giving Guide

Juxtaposition Arts juxtapositionarts.org 588-1148

Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA) isn’t just any youth arts program. The North Minneapolis institution empowers young people through training and opportunities in the arts, investing in the community in meaningful and often innovative ways.

The heart of their mission is nurturing of the creative genius of youth. They do that through classes that teach the basics of art, both in practice and in theory, and also through their programming for high school students designed to give them a firm grounding in artistic careers.

Led by DeAnna and Roger Cummings, JXTA provides apprenticeship programs for young artists to train in areas such as design, contemporary fine art, public art and more. In these labs, the youth get not just arts training but also a chance to earn wages while learning skills that will help them build a future career in the arts.

JXTA demonstrates its commitment to North Minneapolis by collaborating with local businesses and organizations, beautifying spaces and growing the wealth of knowledge and skills needed to improve the neighborhood through the young people that live there.

Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative beaconinterfaith.org (651) 789-6260

A lack of affordable housing is a huge factor contributing to Minnesota’s homelessness problem. According to Wilder Research, 41 percent of homeless adults are on a waitlist for subsidized housing, and another 14 percent can’t get on a waitlist because it’s closed.

That’s why resources such as Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative are so important. Once known as Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation, Beacon is now made up of 87 different congregations, all committed to ending homelessness through its housing program, the Families Moving Forward shelter program and public advocacy.

Serving people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, HOBT collaborates with SCHOOLS and COMMUNITIES on unique, interactive ART RESIDENCIES that nurture the creative spirit and encourage a sense of joy and wonder.

If you are interested in an art residency for your school or organization, visit hobt.org or call 612.721.2535 for more information.

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Since their first housing development opened in 2003, Beacon has housed nearly 800 men, women, children and youth, and they’ve built or preserved 473 homes, more than half of which have supportive services that help people get out of homelessness.

They currently serve 75 families each year and have a goal of creating 1,000 affordable homes by 2020.

Uniquely, Beacon has initiated housing developments targeted at teenagers and young adults, many who have been through the foster care system. The first, Nicollet Square, opened in 2010, and it has 42 studio apartments. Prior Crossing, with 44 studios for formerly homeless youth, opened this fall, and Beacon has a third building in the works in Edina. In addition, Beacon’s housing developments reach a variety of populations, including families with young children, single adults, elders, refugees, students and others.

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B5

Isuroon’s Halal food shelf isuroon.org 886-2731

Fartun Weli has a bit of a knack for sussing out need within the Somali community. In 2010, after experiencing infertility, Weli founded Isuroon, a nonprofit that was aimed at addressing the needs of Somali women who struggled with reproductive issues. Since then, the nonprofit has expanded to provide a wide array of culturally competent support around women’s health.

Last summer, Weli went after another need for Somali women and families and opened a Halal food shelf. Weli

PFund Foundation pfundfoundation.org 870-1806

The PFund Foundation was founded in mid-1980s in the midst of the AIDS crisis affecting primarily gay men. A lot has changed since then, both for the organization and for the LGBTQ population as a whole, but what remains the same is PFund’s commitment to making sure that people in the community not only live free from discrimination but also thrive.

The foundation invests in leaders from LGBTQ and allied communities in a variety of fields — including the arts, education, the nonprofit sector and more — who do outstanding work in eradicating homophobia

found the Somali community was underserved in this area and went about making it happen.

There were many hoops to jump through, such as getting a city ordinance changed to allow food shelves in commercial areas, but that wasn’t the worst. After Isuroon opened the new food shelf last summer, it was targeted by fake news sites that posted false information about the nonprofit. It was subjected to death threats, as well.

Despite this negative reaction by some, Isuroon continues to do the good work of keeping Somali families healthy and nurtured.

and transphobia and in improving lives. They currently pay particular attention to LGBTQ populations that experience acute marginalization, including people of color, Indigenous populations, first-generation immigrants and trans communities. The foundation also works with LGBTQ people in North and South Dakota, where there are less robust legal protections against discrimination.

Using an intentionally transparent decision-making process involving a committee of volunteers, PFund awards grants as well as scholarships that can go toward academic programs or leadership development opportunities, giving new tools to people doing good work. They also take care to act as a bridge between their grantees, donors and funders, facilitating partnership opportunities and projects that utilize collaboration within the greater LGBTQ sphere.

B6 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Charitable

Giving Guide Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations cairmn.com 206-3360

With anti-Muslim rhetoric at a fever pitch these days, consider a donation to the Minnesota chapter of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations. They take protecting civil rights seriously, with emphasis on ensuring that American Muslims are able to live free from profiling, discrimination and hate crimes.

Part of a national group that has 35 offices nationwide and in Canada, CAIR-MN provides legal services for Muslims and others who have experienced religious

Twin Cities LISC tclisc.org (651) 649-1109

Community development is a cornerstone of healthy communities, and Twin Cities LISC has been doing the work for over 25 years.

Initially focused on creating affordable housing, Twin Cities LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) has since expanded into a multi-pronged approach, partnering with nonprofits, government entities and businesses to create opportunities in education, healthcare and childcare.

The organization develops affordable, mixed-use and supportive housing, supports commercial development, initiates projects that create healthy amenities in neighborhoods and promotes engagement with neighbors. Focusing on high poverty neighborhoods in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, as well as one neighborhood in Hopkins, Twin Cities LISC does everything from reviving vacant storefronts to providing job training for people with low incomes. Other initiatives include creating green spaces and community gardens, providing financial coaching to build assets within struggling communities and much more.

Twin Cities LISC has also embraced creative placemaking as a key tool in reviving neighborhoods, bringing businesses and neighbors together with a goal of making their communities more vibrant.

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discrimination, defamation or hate crimes.

They lobby on behalf of Islamic interests at the state capitol, work with local media to make sure the Muslim community is portrayed accurately and without stereotypes and promote a grassroots response to critical issues. In addition, CAIR-MN conducts research relevant to the American Muslim community, especially related to civil rights, and has put out publications such as “The North American Muslim Resource Guide: Muslim Community Life in the United States and Canada.”

CAIR-MN has won numerous awards for their advocacy, research and education work from organizations such as the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, the St. Paul Foundation and the St. Cloud Times, among others, and continues its work making sure that Muslims living in Minnesota get the same rights as everyone else.

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B7

Women’s Environmental Institute w-e-i.org (651) 583-0705

When she’s not battling it out in the Minnesota Legislature or teaching in St. Catherine University’s Master of Arts in Holistic Health Studies program, Karen Clark heads the Women’s Environmental Institute on a volunteer basis, along with her partner, Jacquelyn Zita, also a prominent women’s studies scholar.

Their background in women’s studies drives the mission of the organization, which seeks to spread knowledge about environmental issues and policies that are relevant to women, children and communities par-

ticularly affected by environmental injustice.

The institute hosts workshops, retreats and trainings on sustainable agriculture for emerging farmers and developers, runs a CSA (community supported agriculture) program and advocates around environmental justice policy.

Affiliated with the highly acclaimed Growing Power organization based in Milwaukee, Women’s Environmental Institute also nurtures and supports partner organizations, particularly within the native community. The institute promotes education about healthy food and gardens and helps to facilitate local community gardens, including one in the Little Earth urban housing complex in South Minneapolis and Mashkiikii Gitigan (Ojibwe for “medicine garden”), built in 2013 on a formerly contaminated vacant lot in the Phillips neighborhood.

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Voices for Racial Justice

voicesforracialjustice.org 746-4224 Wonderful schools, beautiful lakes and bike paths to put other states to shame are just some of the reasons Minnesota tends to top lists every year of great places to live. That is, if you happen to be white.

The unpleasant truth of our state, and of the Twin Cities in particular, is that we have some of the worst racial disparities in the country. Voices for Racial Justice takes the problem head-on, focusing

their mission on tackling the gaps between white people and people of color in our community.

Among their notable initiatives include a yearly Racial Equity Agenda document outlining priorities that will benefit communities of color and native communities at the policy level. They also put out a legislative report card so that voters can keep track of lawmakers who make decisions in line with equitable progress.

Taking on issues such as education, economic opportunity, health, criminal justice and public transportation, the organization does the important work of figuring out the nooks and crannies where, as a community, we can be making substantive changes to create a more equitable place to live.

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B8 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Charitable

Giving Guide Minnesota Reading Corps

minnesotareadingcorps.org 206-3030 No child should be deprived of the gift of reading, and that’s why nonprofits like the Minnesota Reading Corps work tirelessly to make sure young people don’t slip through the cracks.

An initiative of ServeMinnesota, Minnesota Reading Corps tasks participants of the AmeriCorps program with reaching out to children between age three and grade three to ensure they become proficient readers.

Their approach is rooted in evidence-based best practices, meaning the organization monitors the effectiveness of their work through research and assessments.

The well-trained AmeriCorps volunteers give young people one-on-one attention, an approach that allows the volunteers to meet the individual needs of the students they are working with. The results are hard to argue with.

Independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago found students who were tutored by Minnesota Reading Corps achieved higher literacy levels than those without tutors, and the impact was even greater among high-risk students.

Annually, the organization reaches about 30,000 students at 900 preschool and elementary school sites around the state.

American Refugee Committee arcrelief.org 800-875-7060

Right now, the world is facing the worst humanitarian crisis in a generation. With millions of Syrian refugees displaced from their homes, the time is now for the international community to step up and take action.

For Minnesotans, it’s painful to see the horrendous images in the news of children dying and families being torn apart.

At the same time, it’s not always easy to know where to send money to help those in need. The American Refugee Committee (ARC) has gotten very high ratings from independent sources that track the accountability and transparency of charitable organizations.

The American Institute of Philanthropy gave ARC an A+ rating for their work, while Charity Navigator gave them a score of 95 out of 100. From Uganda to Somalia and from Rwanda to Thailand, ARC has years of experience helping people survive conflict and crisis and to rebuild their lives.

ARC has the experience and knowledge to take on the current emergency the world faces. Contributing to ARC is a part of standing together as a global community to help those in some of the most dire situations.

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southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B9

Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota plannedparenthood.org/ planned-parenthoodminnesota-north-dakotasouth-dakota / 821-6190

Think of Planned Parenthood as the bastion of defense for women’s health care.

For women without insurance, it’s the place they can go to receive everything from life-saving cancer screenings to routine physical checkups. For over 100 years, the national organization of Planned Parenthood has been educating women on their reproductive options to keep them healthy, safe and able to make the best decisions about their bodies and their families.

ACLU of Minnesota aclu-mn.org (651) 645-4097

Protecting the rights of individuals is paramount to any working democracy, and luckily our forefathers didn’t forget to add a Bill of Rights to our Constitution. Today, there’s no greater champion of free speech and other personal rights than the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Minnesota chapter has been around since 1952, engaging in litigation and public education and lobbying on behalf of Minnesotans for over four decades. It’s a non-partisan organization, meaning they’ll

Planned Parenthood has been controversial because they provide abortions, but their work has actually helped to keep abortions to a minimum by making sure every woman — no matter her financial situation — is able to access safe and effective contraception.

The organization has also done important work staving off sexually transmitted diseases, which have shown to skyrocket in areas like southeastern Indiana when clinics were shuttered a few years ago. It turns out giving women the tools to plan their families and make safe and healthy choices is the best option in the long run for everyone.

Your donation will get divided equally to support the regional Planned Parenthood and the national organization, which helps to put pressure nationwide on lawmakers to protect this important institution.

valiantly defend anyone’s civil liberties, even if that person has objectionable views.

That’s part of the reason the organization is so essential.

Besides freedom of speech, the ACLU currently outlines a number of key areas of focus, including voting rights, racial justice, fairness in the criminal justice system, immigrants, youth, LGBT rights, privacy rights and more. Some of their recent work includes a mobile app that can be used to upload videos of police misconduct, litigation against law enforcement agencies involved in the death of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile and a successful lawsuit against the ban on transgender surgeries for medical assistance recipients.

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B10 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Focus

Dear Santa

Janelle Ranek’s annual “Letters to Santa” show returns to Bryant-Lake Bowl

By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@southwestjournal.com

THE WEDGE — Bryant-Lake Bowl’s holiday lineup includes a few shows that could rightly be called “BLB classics.”

These are annual offerings that pack them into the bar-restaurant-bowling alley’s cozy black-box theater year after year, like “A Very Die Hard Christmas” — making its fifthannual appearance this month— and novelist and actor Lorna Landvik’s improvised “Party in the Rec Room,” which has been running even longer. For a decade now, BLB audiences have willingly subjected themselves to annual screenings of 1978’s campy and (deservedly) much-maligned “Star Wars Holiday Special,” bravely sacrificing 90-plus minutes of their lives to raise money for Toys for Tots.

Then there’s Janelle Ranek’s “Letters to Santa,” which Ranek — who lives in the

CARAG neighborhood just across Lake Street from the BLB — has been putting on every Christmas season for something like 15 years, now. That’s ample time to build a following.

“I have some people who, after the show — I have know idea who they are — say, ‘We come every year,’” she said. “It’s cool, because some of the characters are kind of iconic, and people really expect them.”

Ranek developed the idea for her onewoman show from her concept of Santa Claus as confessor — the all-seeing, knows-whenyou’ve-been-bad-or-good character from “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.” (When you really think about it, the jolly old elf is creepier than the NSA.) Ranek has performed on Twin Cities stages for more than 20 years, appearing at the Chil-

The character of 8-year-old Lois is largely based on “my own bizarre childhood,” Ranek said.

Submitted photo

dren’s Theatre Company, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres and Jungle Theater. She has a background in improv, including early career stints with Brave New Workshop and Stevie Ray’s Improv Company. These days, she teaches and runs workshops.

The 90-minute show, co-written with Brenda Lucy, is mostly scripted but also includes improvised elements. Let the kids stay home and watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” again; this holiday special is for the adults.

Each year, Ranek plays 10 or more different characters who each want something special for Christmas and are keenly aware that St. Nick knows exactly how naughty or nice they’ve been over the past year. The quickchange character transformations, which take place in full view of the audience, are part of the show.

“I figured it out, and over the years I’ve put in about 45 different characters,” she said.

“And if a character comes back, and oftentimes they do because people really like them, it’s just like (real) people: They have a different story. Time has passed, and they want something else.”

Take little Lois, who is perpetually 8 years old in Ranek’s world (and a bit hyperactive).

One year, all she wanted from Santa was to become a superhero.

“The following year, she had a cape, and there were people who actually noticed it,” Ranek said.

Holiday wishes get a little twisted in “Letters to Santa.” A slightly maniacal, overbearing mother schemes with Santa Claus to bring her closer together with her adult son.

“She wants Santa to injure her so her son will take pity and not leave for a job,” she said.

For the closing segment of “Letters to Santa,” Ranek becomes perhaps her favorite character, Gloria, whose signature accessories are a cigarette and vodka martini. She takes

Janelle Ranek embodies a variety of characters. Submitted photo

questions from the audience and dispenses profanity-peppered advice through a smudge of misapplied lipstick.

“It’s just a free-for-all,” Ranek said. “…

There’s really no telling what Gloria will do.

She can kind of get away with anything.”

She said “Letters to Santa” is “not incredibly raunchy, but it has a nice bite to it.” After 15 years of performing for holiday audiences, she knows people are seeking a bit of an escape at this time of year.

“I honestly think people, especially now, they want to laugh,” Ranek said. “They want to be entertained.”

LETTERS TO SANTA GENETICALLY MODIFIED When: Dec. 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30.

All shows at 7 p.m.; doors at 6 p.m.

Where: Bryant-Lake Bowl, 810 W. Lake St. Info: 825-3737, bryantlakebowl.com

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B11

By Linda Koutsky

A picture-perfect New Year

D

orothea Lange once said, “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”

We all capture today’s moments with photos.

Lots of photos. In fact, we’re taking more photos today than ever before. Facebook alone has 200 million new ones uploaded every day.

Their archive is 10,000 times larger than the collections at the Library of Congress.

But are we creating lasting memories?

Sharpen your photography skills in the new year by joining a club, taking a class or attending inspiring presentations. Your photographic documents of time will become more thoughtful and enduring. Happy New Year, and here’s to good memories.

Crosstown Camera Club Christ Presbyterian Church, 6901 Normandale Road, Edina crosstowncameraclub.org

The Crosstown Camera Club welcomes photographers with all levels of experience.

Activities include salon-style competitions, workshops, social outings and exhibits. Meets the third Thursday of the month at 6 p.m., September through June.

Fort Snelling State Park Camera Club 101 Snelling Lake Road, St. Paul fsspcameraclub.org or dnr.state.mn.us/ state_parks/fort_snelling/index.html

Hone your nature photography skills at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota

raphy Boot Camp, Documentary Photography and iPhone Photography Boot Camp.

Minneapolis Photo Center

photo editing & organizing; and raptor photography with owls, vultures and eagles from the University of Minnesota Raptor Center.

2400 N. 2nd St. mplsphotocenter.com

Minnesota Nature Photography Club REI, 750 West American Blvd., Bloomington minnesotanature.org

rivers. See wildlife, giant cottonwood trees and river shorelines. Presenters and photo challenges concentrate on the park and experiences with nature. There is no fee and all are welcome.

Meets the first Saturday of the month at 9 a.m. in the visitor center.

Tucked away on the second floor of a formerly shabby warehouse near the river in north Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Photo Center is a wonderful resource. Studios, equipment rental, darkrooms, exhibits, classes, competitions, ongoing presentations and critique groups make this hidden gem a home for pros and beginners.

Two regular monthly groups inspire and educate. F-Stop, led by documentary street photographer Tom Arndt, promotes aesthetic and technical growth through critique and discussion on the third Wednesday of each month ($5 at the door). Commercial and fine art photographer Michael Crouser facilitates Photo Union League. Discussions, assignments, and critiques guide and inspire photographers of all levels on the second Tuesday of each month ($27 for members or $30 for nonmembers; register online).

Independent Filmmaker Project

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

550 Vandalia St., Suite 120, Saint Paul ifpmn.org

3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska arboretum.umn.edu

While IFP concentrates on filmmaking, they also have many still photography classes and photo exhibits in the Marsden/Gustafson Gallery, named for two revered Minnesota photographers. Upcoming classes include DSLR Photog-

Learn tips and techniques from renowned photographers in the middle of one of Minnesota’s premier outdoor spaces. Upcoming classes include: photographing Bruce Munro’s light installation; Winter Wonders; lightroom

Whether you’re into film, Polaroids, digital cameras or phonography, make it a goal to improve your photography — and memories — in 2016. Photo by Mia Domenico

Founded in 1956, this club fosters continuing education in the art, science and technique of nature photography as well as enjoyment of the outdoors. Meetings, held on the third Wednesday of each month, include a presentation, fellowship and competition among members. The club is affiliated with the Photographic Society of America.

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center 3815 American Blvd. E., Bloomington fws.gov/refuge/Minnesota_Valley/ Events.html

This secluded nature area near the airport makes for a great escape from the city. Minnesota Zoo photographer Adam Borgstahl shows his work in visitor center gallery through Jan. 28.

Classes in the new year include lectures, photo hikes and the wildlife photography hack called “digiscoping” — using a smart phone or digital camera with a spotting scope.

Read more of Linda Koutsky’s suggestions at southwestjournal.com. Click on “Weekend Tourist” under the “Voices” tab.

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B12 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Southwest Journal Poetry Project

Winter Poetry ’TIS THE SEASON FOR celebration, anticipation, inebriation, hibernation… and remembering. Local poets submitted a treasure trove of wonders — angels and eggs and ice houses, coffee and convertibles, birds and cats and dogs — oh my! — and (as always) love. All of it awaits your pleasure: for the holidays and those long, cold months that follow. May your spirits be bright and your New Year happy!

Doug Wilhide is the poet laureate of Linden Hills and poetry editor for the Southwest Journal

Glass breaks, plastic melts— Resistent, rechargeable Hold me in your ear.

I dial you in.

There’s still room in my contacts.

You look funny in FaceTime.

Instagram for days before our flesh met.

We touch, we kiss—wow!

Angel Speech

Clouds In My Coffee

Melissa S. Anderson

John O’Connor

Angels are forever going around saying the same thing – “Do not be afraid” – but they don’t always sound the same.

Pour the half-and-half in the coffee, And a little small voice, hasty and shrill, Says “Stir it! Stir it quickly!

Those roiling clouds are unacceptable!”

Some are tender and reassuring, like a mother bending over a toddler’s bed in the night.

Others are jocular and upbeat, like a leader summoning courage from his motley band, undaunted by the odds.

Some are calm and steady, like an instructor at your back, who knows you can do what you think you can’t.

One angelic being shows up in heavy boots and a work coat, driving a big truck down the snow-packed freeway.

He slows to a stop on the shoulder and backs the rig up.

Before you realize what’s actually going on, he has wrapped a chain around your trailer hitch, and his vehicle is heaving you and your sorry car out of the snowbank where you were trapped.

Before he drives off, he leans out the cab window and yells, “Hey! It’s OK. Yer gonna be fine.”

It isn’t the coffee talking -This is before the first cup.

You sit there listening.

Eventually, it shuts up.

And then a Zen voice says, quite quietly, That maybe haste is not so good.

It speaks in favor of serenity.

It says that some things work out as they should.

No matter what you think or what you’ve heard, Sometimes you just leave everything unstirred.

Garage Doug Wilhide

I own an imaginary garage, a large building housing my collection of transportation, archived until we perfect teleportation.

Here you will find my MGB — the British Racing Green convertible with freedom dreams of my youth still intact and seats so tight I can no longer get in or out of it.

Here are my Jaguars — gorgeous styling, crappy engineering.

One has a double exhaust and two gas tanks: You throw a switch on the dash to change them… but knowing when requires a mystical connection to mileage.

Here is my Bentley and my Silver Shadow — built for kings and pashas and for me as I’m chauffeured through my movie-star, estate-owning 1920s.

Here is my Ford Woody station wagon — that carried my big board to beaches and breakers I never actually saw or surfed.

Love Haikus for a Technical World Carolyn Light Bell

You smelled like roses.

I chewed on your ear How do we do it screen-time?

Love is now instant— Cell phones, ipads, GPS Rechargeable you!

My right-off-the-production-line Model-T is over there, never driven, and my shiny 1950s beauties — the Corvette and the T-bird convertible.

The Duesenberg rarely goes out — an F. Scott mirage.

The Morgan roadster, with suitcase strapped to the back, is reserved for driving on weekends down to the country house.

My garage sits next to my hangar which houses my Spads and Spitfires — all in mint condition, never shot down — and the Pan Am Clipper ready for its run to Hawaii: flights of fancy for another poem.

An Abundance of Eggs James P. Lenfestey

These kind little brown people visit from the grocery store where they live alone in a rack far from the moist worries of the greens and the desert of dry cereals.

We keep them in the best bedroom in the refrigerator, though like all good guests they are pleased to lie at ease on the couch of the counter at the temperature of the day.

They are neither orbs nor ovals but light bulbs lighting up the morning, gentle bullets bent on healing the world.

They hide inside cakes, thicken sauces, live with lemons in the soup.

Eggs reveal themselves one at a time in the form of a human child, or several gathered warm in the hand

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B13

under the hard pecks of annoyed mothers.

From the pan two yellow eyes stare up at us, sunny-side up indeed, despite the spray of sea salt and black cinders of pepper rained down upon them.

Every egg awakens wide-eyed and innocent, even on a frying dawn portending storm, or at sunset dropped in the boiling sea.

Teams of horses and wagons on lakes.

They would drill large holes with augers, And cut precise blocks of frozen lake water.

Piled onto wagons, stacked in ice houses, Covered over with saw dust They lasted all through the summer.

On hot steamy days people came To buy ice for ice boxes and coolers, To keep food and bait cooled.

My eyes hold yours.

We weave raindrops into a blanket for two, for me and for you.

You played hearts and I played spades.

You called me flighty and it reminded me of birds.

It was marvelous.

Now I harvest frozen memories Cover them in moon dust And keep them for summer.

Soon we will reach Winter Solstice The shortest day of the year, then The days will be getting taller.

Harvest your ice.

Over the Edge, Again Daniel Shaw

Two sips into a 6-oz cappuccino gratitude blossoms desert flower on the heels of a shower.

Messages

I seize my cell in a blur of fingers, fashion passionate text, embellish with an emoticon, hit send before reason can slam on the brakes.

The cats have left notes all over the house that say they are tired of moonbeams and algorithms.

They have grieved, apparently, and are also grieving the loss of summer.

Remorse is a heartbeat behind.

I tremble like a thief who hears a floorboard creak overhead.

I slowly scour the message for relief a drunk replaying the revels of last night’s binge, beg history for a reprieve Samsung for malfunction.

I have offered the crispy skin of my dinner, a shot glass of whole milk, a white bath towel folded in the sun and barely got a sniff or testing paw.

This malaise maligns our weekends leads to blank stares, more napping, which leads to dreaming.

No luck.

That wild, unedited declaration — lion’s roar, naked soul — is loose in the world.

Mark Gehrman

Preparing for a Change Laurie Lykken

The leaves are shed… well, almost anyway.

Winter with his icy voice clearly is on his way.

I linger by the window taking in the view: a woodpecker, a squirrel both collecting winter fuel.

For me a change of oil, a shot against the flu, and checking all my outerwear another time or two.

My scarf could use a washing; my mitten needs a mate.

Each year at this time I find there’s less to celebrate.

Like the bears that once lived here, I’d prefer to hibernate.

Winter Time

Of Birds Miriam Moore-Keish

Bruce David Peck

As a child I found winter enchanting.

The sound made as boots crunch in snow Was a very different kind of alive.

With a child’s enthusiasm And a child’s metabolism Nothing would keep me indoors.

Hard water fishing is what they called it.

Sitting in shacks on frozen lakes They farmed ice in the winter,

I sat and thought about rain and living in a cloud and I thought about Detroit and how you called it home even though your heart was never there but your heart was never anywhere, I suppose.

I ask them to please remember tuna, remember the dazzling, dangling glint of December, the buffet of aromas on guests shoes, open windows, open doors, flies, bugs, birds, boxes, the darting squirrel and yes — the calm muggy grass of July as it will all come again very very soon.

Beautiful Morning Quentin Moore

We lay twined like vines in deep spring Crawling up each other’s hearts No parapets or horns sounding war Just you and me and our quandaries.

This morning There was no need for jargon My brown soaked legs wrapped around your olive tone Our limbs spoke of love far below the surface Far beyond the ticks and tocks Far beyond the holidays celebrated in the name of…

Your lips slight and slender I watched as you dreamed — How one smiles while so still is a beautiful trick!

The birds began their call and response.

Our three-year-old boxer hates poems But loves waking us up with kisses.

Your eyes opened and said “beautiful morning” And I fell in love all over again.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY

B14 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Gadget Guy

By Paul Burnstein

A guide to streaming video

T

hese days, more and more people are using video streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Video. Convenience and ease-of-use are big attractions. Still, there are several different ways a person can access these services — from your TV, laptop, smartphone and more.

Many questions around access come up with clients all the time: Should I use a smart TV? Do I connect my computer to my TV? Is it easier to just watch on my laptop?

If you’ve grappled with questions around the best way to access your streaming services, allow me to run down the options here and then come back to me with any questions you may have.

To start with, here are my top-level recommendations and potential avoidances: Recommended: Amazon Fire TV Would not buy: Apple TV, unless you are fully invested in the Apple ecosystem

Following is a list of popular options, all of which include the ability to stream Netflix.

(This list does not include the gaming sets or lesser-known niche boxes available.)

Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick My current favorite streaming set is the Fire

TV due to its availability of apps and services, easily usable interface, voice search and ability to play 4K video. The Fire TV Stick is like a junior version with less power and lacking 4K video playback capabilities. The Stick was just recently upgraded to a better processor and included remote with voice search (and Alexa, Amazon’s digital assistant). However, it is still behind the full Fire TV as far as specs and performance. Both devices are under $100 with the Stick coming in under $40.

Android TV While I am a huge fan of Android, I do not personally use Android TV. I had a previous generation Google TV and loved it, but it stopped receiving updates long ago and then lost the ability to run many of my desired programs. The only advantage I see to owning an Android TV is the ability to play content from the Google Play Store. However, as you will see below, the Roku can handle that as well. The price range here is all over the board depending on who makes the box.

Apple TV The Apple TV is built to be a part of Apple’s ecosystem, so if iTunes is where you have built your video library and where you choose to rent

from, then this is the right device for you. It is worthwhile noting that Amazon Video is not available on the Apple TV, which is a deal-killer for me, personally. But for people who don’t use Amazon Video (and don’t have Amazon Prime), the lack of support may not be an issue.

Apple recently stopped selling the third-generation Apple TV, which was under $70, so now the entry point starts at $129.

Google Chromecast The Chromecast is not a traditional streamer. It is an extension of what you can watch on your phone or tablet as it “casts” video from your device to your TV. There is no remote control and you will need your phone/tablet to use it, but at $35 ($69 for the just announced 4K

Ultra version), it is an inexpensive way to make your “dumb” TV smarter.

Roku Roku plays well with others and has the ability to stream Amazon Video as well as Google Play movies and TV. It also plays the usual fare like Netflix and Youtube. Unfortunately, Apple’s iTunes is not accessible through Roku. Roku has a very simple interface and a plethora of apps available. Plus, you can get a streamer for under $30!

There you have it. Enjoy your streaming!

Paul Burnstein is a Tech Handyman.

As the founder of Gadget Guy MN, Paul helps personal and business clients optimize their use of technology. He can be found through www. gadgetguymn.com or via email at paul@gadgetguymn.com.

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B15

Mill City Cooks

Recipes and food news from the Mill City Farmers Market

Six tips for building the perfect cheese platter

T

he holidays can be stressful enough without the thought of studying to be cheese monger for every party. Let the Mill City Farmers Market help you build the perfect cheese platter full of delicious local farmstead cheeses.

ability to talk directly to the people who spend hours crafting your cheese from the animals they work with every day. Learn some colorful descriptions and unique traits about your cheeses so you can tell your guests why farmstead cheeses are so special.

1. Pick a theme Choose light cheeses like Singing Hills chèvre for appetizer-themed platters and full-flavored rich cheeses, like an aged cheese from Cosmic Wheel or Prairie Hollow, for dessert themed platter. Or select several different textures of sheep's milk cheeses from Shepherd’s Way, or several different types of cheeses in the same family from different farms to compare.

Our choice: a variety of cheeses made from a combination of cow’s milk, goat’s milk and sheep’s milk to get the true Minnesota farmstead cheese experience.

2. Buy the right amount If you are serving the cheese platter before the meal, plan on 1–2 ounces of each cheese per person. If you are serving the cheese after the main dinner course, you’ll want 1–1 1/2 ounces of each cheese per person. Choose between three and six cheeses to give your guests enough selection and conversation.

3. Don't crowd the platter Give each cheese enough room so guests don’t

Light cheeses like Singing Hills chèvre are great for appetizer platters. Submitted photo

have to worry about poking a pinky in the Havarti. Consider separating pungent smelling cheeses from light, delicate ones so the scents do not combine.

4. Add some extras While it is not necessary to serve bread with cheese, it is nice to give hungry guests some extras on the plate for pairing and visual contrast. Add something sweet to Prairie Hollow sharp cheddar cheese, like French Nugget chocolate or tart artisan pickles from Martha's Joy or Kiss My Cabbage. For a fresh pop of color, add some fresh herbs, apples, jam or sliced radishes. A bread basket from

one of Mill City Farmers Market’s bakeries or homemade crackers from Very Prairie are also a nice touch.

5. Serve cheese at room temperature

You can shop from all of the Mill City Farmers Market’s cheese vendors at the indoor winter farmers markets located inside the Mill City Museum Saturdays November through April. Mill City Farmers Market’s remaining 2016 holiday market is 10 a.m.–1 p.m Dec. 17.

Pick up local greenhouse and storage vegetables, pasture-raised meat and eggs, unique gifts and all your holiday groceries from local artisans at the Mill City Farmers Market winter markets. You can find more information and seasonal recipes at millcityfarmersmarket.org.

— Jenny Heck

CHEESE VENDORS  Prairie Hollow Farm, Elgin: fresh and aged cow’s milk cheeses

Take your cheeses out of the refrigerator about an hour before you plan to serve them.

Cheeses enjoyed at room temperature have the best fragrance and taste.

 Singing Hills Goat Dairy, Nerstrand: goat’s milk feta, chèvre, and curds

6. Talk to the farmers

 Cosmic Wheel Creamery, Clear Lake, Wis.: fresh and aged cow’s milk cheeses

The biggest and best advantage of buying local cheese at the Mill City Farmers Market is the

 Shepherd's Way Farm, Nerstrand: fresh and aged sheep's milk cheeses

B16 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

The green people feeders

By Carla Waldemar

If you build it …

And there they were: the suits from its home in East Town’s Wells Fargo Tower, neighborhood condo dwellers and voyeurs of the nearby stadium. The bar — a beaut by any standard, and top of the list among those with Irish DNA, as owner Dermot Cowley of O’Donovan’s Irish Pub, Jake O’Connor’s, etc. can claim — was packed as if Prohibition were to be reinstated any moment. The whole room, bordered by a pretty balcony, pulsed with energy. Its kitchen could send out Kraft dinners and still keep its license for printing money.

Fortunately, the fare is more ambitious. All the hot buttons have been pushed, from ceviche and sliders to beet salad: the comfort foods of the 2000s. But are they well crafted? To be honest, there’s room for improvement. But points for a crew who knows that and offers a 15-percent discount while a crew who previously delivered simpler pub fare irons out the kinks.

From the apps ($10–$18), we splurged on the foie gras mousse. While bearing that trademark liver taste (which I adore), the dollops were near-flimsy in texture, surrounded by an overdose of craisins, some glazed cashews, sere bits of bacon and, as the menu promised, “sweetened white

Pullman.” What, you may ask? (We did, because the only Pullman I could think of was that basic, uninteresting sandwich loaf. Well, that’s what it was: just bits of diner toast.)

Glancing through the salad list ($9–$16), along with the mandatory beet-and-chèvre were a straight-up Caesar, a baconblue, an ahi tuna and our choice, ideal for autumn, the imaginative-sounding meld of butternut squash and wild rice. A bed of mesclun came scattered with tasty squares of the squash, more craisins (they’re everywhere), a few candied pecans and lots of dried-out, hard and unappealing kernels of wild rice.

Entrées range from salmon ($24) to ribeye ($39). We settled first on the shrimp risotto ($25), far and away the hit of the evening: sweet corn, green peas and cherry tomatoes shining among the New Orleans-style, almost sticky rice.

Loved it. But no sign of the promised truffle essence, which, if present, the whole room would detect at first sniff.

Next, the kitchen’s signature dish, the crackling pork shank ($35 and meant for two, although this notorious glutton would have no trouble polishing it off solo): tasty, slow braised until pull-apart-tender meat joined by root vegetables, Granny Smiths and bland, short-order-style mashed potatoes in a mild

cider demi-glace. But no cracklings. And that’s the sex appeal the shank has to offer. We asked the manager, who explained, “No-no-no: Just seasoned like cracklings.” Nope.

Or order the sea bass, a lamb shank with the same root veggies, a Cajun pork chop, plus loads of burgers and sandwiches (those, $15 range).

Dessert? The usual suspects, plus our choice — because it sounded different — a tahini semifreddo. It’s presented in scoops rather than the customary slice (and that’s fine), but — tahini? It’s OK — but why?

There’s a sunny will to please here, from servers to manager (who also is the sole athlete allowed to sprint up the spiral staircase of the formidable wine wall), so I’m betting on a long life for the place.

MCKINNEY ROE 530 S. 4th St. 545-5863 / mckinneyroe.com

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 “Scrubs” nurse married to Dr. Turk 6 Suddenly became attentive 11 Letter addition letters 14 They may be gray 15 Make one of many 16 __ polloi 17 Brown bread 18 Files in a recycle bin 20 Gathering for February’s big game 22 Exploit 23 Flooring choice 24 Irish lullaby syllables 26 Colombia neighbor 28 Lead-in for jet or prop 32 Gritty genre 33 Second of three O’s 35 Job rights agcy.

65 French season

9 Sch. near the Rio Grande

40 Electrified particle

37 Adobe file format

66 Pianist Watts

10 Iris part

41 Colorful card game

38 George Washington never slept there

67 Bubbling hot

11 Occasions that usually elicit big smiles

42 LG rival

68 Director Anderson 69 Seven-__ cake

12 Fair activity for kids

48 Facade

70 What 20-, 38- and 58-Across have in common

13 One of the fam

50 Charlize of “Monster”

19 Waffle maker

51 Coastal fuel extractor

21 Baker’s units

52 1950s disasters

25 “Walk me!”

54 Easy-to-read font

27 4 x 4, briefly

1 Takeout packet

56 Marriage acquisition

29 Tighten, as laces

2 Stir to action

30 Nectar eater

59 Perfumery that created Tabu

3 One with a sickle

31 French “Wowza!”

60 200-lap race, briefly

4 Operate using a beam

34 Leather punch

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5 Houston pro

36 Miler Sebastian

62 Asian desert

6 Daily paper logic puzzle

38 Follow too closely

63 Grass coating

7 From the beginning

39 Mythical hero with a labor force?

42 Singer Carly __ Jepsen 43 Sainted fifth-century pope 44 Novelist Deighton 45 Publication sales fig.

47 1983 60-Down winner Tom 49 Siouan tribe 53 Big aluminum producer 55 Yale Blue wearer 57 Took cover 58 Heavenly protectors 63 Fleeting affair 64 “The Maltese Falcon” actor Peter

DOWN

8 Dough drawer

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46 Early steam engine fuel

Crossword answers on page B19

12/13/16 11:00 AM

HOLIDAY WORSHIP

Invitation to Southwest Minneapolis residents and families

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL

Christmas Eve Service

“Sar Shalom” (Prince of Peace) — December 24th, 5– 6:00pm —

Candlelight service of Christmas music and worship with refreshments afterwards.

Nursery provided.

(Note: There will not be a Sunday morning service on Christmas Day.) Knox Church 4747 Lyndale Ave. So. Minneapolis, MN 55419 www.knoxpc.org

Westminster

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12/9/16 10:49 AM

First Christian Church

Holiday Services Christmas Festival Sunday December 18 | 8:30 & 10:30 am

Family-Friendly Christmas Pageant December 24 | 4 pm Christmas Eve Worship December 24 | 8 & 10 pm Christmas & New Year’s Day December 25 & January 1 | 10 am

(Disciples of Christ)

An open & affirming, welcoming community of faith in the heart of the Twin Cities Sunday Morning Worship – 10:30 a.m.

Special Advent Services: December 17: Blue Christmas Service at 2:30 p.m.

December 24: Family Friendly at 4 p.m.

Lessons & Carols at 10 p.m.

(Communion served at both)

December 25: Carol Sing at 10:30 am Westminster Presbyterian Church 12th & Marquette Downtown Minneapolis 612.332.3421 westminstermpls.org

Located in the SpringHouse Ministry Center

610 West 28th St. www.fccmpls.org

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12/13/16 2:52 PM

B18 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Get Out Guide.

By Eric Best / ebest@southwestjournal.com

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE IN CONCERT

WHAT THE ELF!?

If “The Christmas Carol” isn’t your kind of holiday tradition, the Brave New Workshop’s latest show could be for you. The sketches of “The Brave New Workshop’s 2016 Holiday Revue: What the Elf?!” hit on all the latest holiday touch points, from Prince and David Bowie songs translated into holiday cheer to the anxiety of attending holiday parties, all to comedic results.

The Minnesota Orchestra is getting into the holiday spirit with the latest show of its popular Live at Orchestra Hall series. For their next cinematic performance, the musicians will bring Dimitri Tiomkin’s score from the beloved film “It’s a Wonderful Life” to life while the classic plays on the large screen.

Where: Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall When: Dec. 17 at 8 p.m., Dec. 18 at 2 p.m.

Cost: $30–$80 Info: minnesotaorchestra.org

Where: Brave New Workshop Comedy Theatre, 824 Hennepin Ave. S. When: Through Jan. 28, 2017 Cost: $33–$38 Info: bravenewworkshop.com

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southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B19

THE SOULSTICE

CAROLS & BARRELS

TIG NOTARO

The Soulstice is back at Aria for its third year, officially bringing in the winter season with fresh musical talent from Minneapolis. This year, the mini seasonal festival features young up-and-comers based in the City of Lakes such as Blanda, a 20-year-old DJ and pianist performing jazzy trip-hop; Kwey, a Ghanaian-American producer and soulful multi-instrumentalist; and indie electronic artist and DJ Su Na. Psychedelic pop-rockers Solid Gold, veterans of the Twin Cities music scene, round out the lineup. Soulstice will have food trucks O’Cheeze and Gastrotruck on hand to serve up soulwarming fare.

Able Seedhouse + Brewery is hosting a festive night of beer, art and music to benefit fellow Northeasters Sarah Jane’s Music School. Bring some friends and join a group sing-a-long of holiday favorites with Sarah Jane Perbix and her students while helping out the music school’s scholarship program. Beyond the brews, Potter’s Pasties will have warm pies, Empire Coffee + Pastry will have Christmas cookies and there will be hot cider for kids.

Whether you know her from Amazon’s “Transparent” or her Grammy Award-winning stand-up performances, Tig Notaro has made a name for herself by delivering honest, often dark comedy. The comedian, who will take her act to the Skyway Theatre this month, recently produced and starred in “One Mississippi,” a semi-autobiographical series that debuted earlier this year. If she wasn’t doing enough, Notaro recently released a New York Times best-selling memoir, “I’m Just a Person,” detailing her experiences with cancer, a breakup and other calamities.

Where: Able Seedhouse & Brewery, 1121 Quincy St. NE When: Friday, Dec. 23 from 6:30 p.m.–11 p.m.

Cost: Free, donations recommended Info: ablebeer.com

Where: Aria, 105 N. 1st N. When: Dec. 22-23 from 8 p.m.–2 a.m.

Cost: $20 Info: facade-creative.com

LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING Whether it’s because you’re a bit behind or you have a really long list, many of us are scrambling for our last gifts this holiday season. Well, you’re in luck, because between now and the holidays there are several markets that are perfect for picking up last-minute items for anyone on your list.

CRAP CRAFT For many, 2016 hasn’t been a great year. In fact, it was crap. The Grown-Up Club, a monthly activity group founded in 2013 for reluctant adults, is hosting a crappy crafting session for those of us who are down in the dumps. Participants can make ornaments inspired by a certain brown emoji and spruce them up with all sorts of felt, feathers and other fixings. They could be a last-minute addition to a Christmas tree or even a little fun gift for a friend to commiserate with. Don’t miss the group’s next event, Tryorama, a diorama fair for grown-ups next month at Sisyphus Brewing.

LAST CALL: A HOLIDAY MARKET It’s last call for gifts if you still want to make it this season. The Food Building is hosting its own mini market, complete with brews from Fulton Beer and classic holiday movies and music. On top of its own resident companies — including Red Table Meat Co., the Lone Grazer Creamery and Baker’s Field Flour & Bread — the Northeast Minneapolis food business incubator will feature freshly printed goods from The Bitter Buffalo, gift boxes courtesy of Minny & Paul, nonprofit Still Kickin and many more. The event includes a giftwrapping station too.

Where: Common Roots Café, 2558 Lyndale Ave. S. When: Tuesday, Dec. 20 from 6:45 p.m.–9 p.m.

Cost: Free, $5 suggested donation Info: grownup.club

Give a Gift to the People and Park You Love Adopt a refurbished bench or engrave a brick paver at Lake Harriet and leave an impression that lasts for years to come!

5” x 5” paver with three 12 character lines — $75 5” x 11” paver with four 12 character lines — $125

Where: Skyway Theatre, 711 Hennepin Ave. When: Sunday, Dec. 18 from 6:30 p.m.–11 p.m.

Cost: $29.50–$35 Info: skywaytheatre.com

PROCRAFTINATE Procraftinate is an under-utilized term meaning to delay or postpone holiday gift shopping, and now it’s also an event for procraftinators. The Minneapolis Craft Market is hosting an emergency shopping event featuring a couple dozen artisans and other makers at Lakes & Legends Brewing so you can catch up on gift giving all in one place. Shopping opportunities include everything from artsy upcycled bags and more from Maps and Scraps to one-of-a-kind jewelry from Perpetually au Courant.

And if decorating presents isn’t your thing, there will be a gift-wrapping station so you can sneak all your goodies under the tree before anyone can even notice.

Where: Lakes & Legends Brewing Company, 1368 LaSalle Ave. When: Saturday, Dec. 17 from noon–5 p.m.

Cost: Free Info: mplscraftmarket.com

Where: Food Building, 1401 Marshall St. NE When: Friday, Dec. 23 from 3 p.m.–9 p.m.

Cost: Free Info: foodbuilding.com

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specialolympicsminnesota.org

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B20 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

Neighborhood reflections

By Scott J. Newland

Leaving (a) home

T

his morning, a patch of sunlight caught my eye and led me to the window. The first snow of the season had coated the roofs, and, looking east over the alley to the neighboring houses and treetops, a sudden thought came to me: By the time the snow is gone for good in the spring, we will be, too.

It was an unexpected and poignant moment, and it got me thinking …

My wife and I have lived in this old house for over 24 years. We were married only a year before we moved in, and for both of us this has been the first house we’ve owned. Standing at the window, I couldn’t help but think of what we’ve experienced here, the many and varied changes over the decades.

Part of the looking back was the history of physical improvements that we’ve made: new boiler, new windows, new roofing, a gutted and modernized bathroom, added insulation, rebuilt chimney top, refinished floors, painting and more painting. The list has been endless (as have the expenses).

There is no doubt that in many ways it’s a

A paper birch has grown from sapling to mature tree since the Newlands moved into their Lynnhurst home.

Submitted photo by Scott Newland

better house now than it was in 1992. And we have tangible proof of the passage of time: The paper birch that we planted as a sapling in the front yard when we moved in is now a mature tree taller than the house.

But we are not just leaving a house. We’re leaving a home; a place that we’ve grown into and have raised a family in. It is a place that contains

memories, or rather a place that has hosted countless scenes that have become memories: coming home parties, baptism parties, birthdays, play dates, sleepovers, confirmation parties, bridal showers and graduation parties. Christmases, Thanksgivings, open houses, special dinners and conversations around the fire.

Until they moved to their respective college

dorms (sorry; “residence halls”), this was the only home our two children had ever known.

It has stood witness to times of great joy as well as quiet sufferings from miscarriages and the grieving of lost parents and other loved ones. It has been home to us through all of this, and it is this that we’ll probably miss the most.

A home is much more than an array of walls under a sheltering roof, more than a list of rooms with spaces to store our stuff. A home is a personal nest that protects, supports and enables life.

We are leaving this Lynnhurst home to a new family, the ninth to occupy it since its 1930 construction. We are leaving it for a new house in the wild west (the Fulton neighborhood). There, we’ll start building new memories and get to know new neighbors.

But part of us will be left behind in this home that we’ve loved and lived in for so long.

Scott J. Newland, AIA, has been a residential architect at Newland Architecture, Inc. since 1999.

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ROOFING

SIDING

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WINDOWS

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5/18/15 10:05 WalkerAM Roofing SWJ 2cx3.indd 1

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5/17/16 3:30 PM

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12/13/16 4:20 5:02 PM

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B21

A Real Lumberyard

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Mike Mohs FOR Construction SWJ 050516 2cx2.indd 1 37 YEARS

*On Settergren’s Referral4/27/16 List*

3:26 PM

MN # 5276

LANDSCAPING

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Minneapolis, MN Licensed

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www.premierlawnandsnow.com

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7/22/11 5:22 PM

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George & Lynn Welles

Certified Arborists (#MN-0354 & #MN-4089A)

23 yrs. Fully Insured

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4/4/16 10:03 AM

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Hardwood SWJ NR2 2cx2.indd 1 12/6/12 Harlan 5:36 PM

of Snow Removal

ROOF SNOW & ICE REMOVAL

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The NARI logo is a registered trademark of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. ©2008 NARI of Minnesota.

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YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD COMPANY

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8/15/16 11:19 AM

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8/9/16 3:17 PM

The best local coverage

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Topside Inc SWJ 121516 2cx3.indd 1

12/9/16 4:14 PM

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MAINTENANCE

Hammer Guy SWJ 2013 2cx1 filler.indd 1

3/28/13 2:57 PM

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3/3/16 4:11 PM

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CALL 612.825.9205

2:41 PM

Lumberyard of the Twin Cities

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M-F 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am-Noon • 3233 East 40th St., Mpls • 612-729-2358

2:02 PM

■ 1-40 Yard Containers Available ■ Residential & Commercial

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SWJ 121516 Classifieds.indd Harrison Electric SWJ 092216 1cx3.indd 9/20/16 22 11:07 AM

12/13/16 4:27 PM Hiawatha Lumber 2cx1.indd 3

11/11/16 Total 4:23Sanitation PM 082806 2cx1.5.i1 1

8/16/06 9:59:54 AM

B22 December 15–28, 2016 / southwestjournal.com

MAINTENANCE

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Classifieds

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Great references

prairie-woodworking.com

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11/11/16 4:18 PM

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12/13/16 9:53 AM SPREAD THE WORD.

TELL YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL BUSINESSES ABOUT IT.

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PAINTING

Tell the Merchants SWJ 012411 2cx1.indd 1

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PAINTING

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FOR ADS CALL 612.825.9205

Painting by Jerry Wind SWJ 123115 2cx1.5.indd 1

1/18/11 9:37 AM

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“We take pride in our work so you can take pride in your home.”

Professional painting service designed to meet all of your residential and commercial painting needs.

ER

AFT

Call Kevin McNealey for FREE Estimates: 612-825-1809 612-685-0210

Licensed • Bonded • Insured

blueladderpainting@gmail.com

1

PAINTING & DECORATING

– Linden Hills Since 1980

A SW tradition of excellence since 1970

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ORE BEF

TO PLACE AN AD IN THE SW JOURNAL CALL 612.825.9205

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Cedar

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3/29/13 9:12 AM

10/18/16 11:32 AM

Lumberyard of the Twin Cities Decks / Fences • Garden Beds/Pergolas M-F 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am-Noon 3233 East 40th St., Mpls • 612-729-2358

REMEMBER: Regular Furnace Maintenance Saves You Money A $99 FURNACE MAINTENANCE CLEAN & SAFETY CHECK INCLUDES: Clean the furnace cabinet • Inspect all vents and seals Clean all blowers and motors • Clean all hoses and filters Run and test the system through three cycles • Clean the exhaust vent Clean the blower compartment • Clean the thermostat Clean the humidifier pan and drain hose • Clean the air intake hood

612-825-6867 • WELTERHEATING.COM 11/11/16 4:13 PM Ray N. Welter SWJ 090816 2cx2.indd 1

For your free onsite quote call:

Brad Amidan (763)221-5717

8/29/16 Blown-in 2:58 PM Insulation SWJ 120116 2cx2.indd 1

TO PLACE AN AD IN THE SOUTHWEST JOURNAL CALL 612.825.9205 SWJ 121516 Classifieds.indd 3

Dave Novak

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7/2/12 10:37 AM

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afreshlookinc.com

Hiawatha Lumber 2cx1.5.indd 4

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Local 1Novak references.

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Blue Ladder SWJ 021116 1cx2.indd 22/9/16 Greco 11:22 AM Painting SWJ 050516 1cx2.indd 4/26/16 1 12:20 PM

ORE BEF

6/29/15 1:14 PM

11/28/16 9:05 AM

12/13/16 5:00 PM

southwestjournal.com / December 15–28, 2016 B23

PLUMBING, HEATING, COOLING PRO MASTER Plumbing, Inc.

Full-Service Plumber

Furnaces Boilers • Air Conditioning • Geothermal Heating • Infloor Heat • Air Quality • Maintenance •

Our Contractors have local references

•

651-337-1738

promasterplumbing.com Call Jim! since 1904

Pro Master Plumbing SWJ 071615 1cx1.indd 7/2/15 1Hammer 3:20 PM Guy SWJ 2013 1cx1 filler.indd4/9/13 1 10:09 AM

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4/19/16 contractors 10:09 AM SWJ 2016 2cx2 filler.indd 3

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7/18/16 3:00 PM

REMODELING

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6/14/16 12:55 PM

EK Johnson Construction

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OFF

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VANMADRONEMETALWORKS.COM

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3/18/16 10:18 AM

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3/24/14 10:02 AMRemodeling SWJ 073015 2cx2.indd 2 Roelofs

7/28/15 3:01 PM

2nd Stories • Additions • Kitchens • Basements Baths • Attic Rooms • Windows

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612-924-9315

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License # BC 378021 6/10/13 3:28 PM

Window Shopping made Local

Fusion Home Improvement SWJ 021314 2cx3.indd 1

1/31/14 10:44 AM

MDWILLIAMSHOMES.COM 612-251-9750 Lumberyard of the Twin Cities M-F 7:30am–5pm, Sat 8am-Noon 3233 East 40th St., Mpls • 612-729-2358 SWJ 121516 Classifieds.indd 4 Hiawatha Lumber 2cx3.indd 3

12/13/16 4:28 PM 11/11/16 Sylvestre 4:25 PM Remodeling & Design SWJ 072816 2cx3.indd 1

7/21/16 Mark 4:22 D PM Williams SWJ 051916 2cx3.indd 1

5/17/16 3:34 PM

URGENT CARE

NEW EXPANDED HOURS Mon-Fri 8AM-8PM

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Your Neighborhood Urgent Care at Calhoun Village • Serving children and adults of all ages • In network with all major insurance plans • Family owned • Physician staffed • Walk-ins Welcome!

612-285-9996 www.twincitiesmedicalclinic.com 3264 West Lake Street | Calhoun Village Shopping Center, Mpls, MN 55416 TC Medical Clinic SWJ 120116 FP.indd 1

11/29/16 12:34 PM