Nokomis

Powderhorn-Phillips

Riverside

by Elaine Klaassen

Buying Houses with Hot Dog Money

How does a creative, off-beat, good-hearted, multi-faceted individual carry out a social mission without writing endless grant proposals, receiving any government funding, or getting tied up in delays and bureaucracy? Ask Mike Davis, a natural born entrepeneur.
It all began a few years ago when Davis, a job counselor for ex-offenders, attended a committee meeting at the department of corrections. The topic of housing shortages came up. Where can ex-offenders live when they get out of prison? What is the solution? The committee concluded there was no solution. But Davis thought to himself, “I think I’ll buy a duplex. That will be a start. I’ll create a non-profit.”
Davis had no idea where he would get the money. Writing grant proposals drained away his time; he spent more time writing grants than helping clients. But one day in a St. Paul supermarket he saw a sign: “Would Your Non-Profit Like to Make Some Money?” So he went in to inquire. The gig was to sell pop and hotdogs (one hotdog and one pop for $1) in the parking lot of the store. The store would provide the cart and grill. The items to sell would be purchased from the store.
Davis started selling hot dogs on a Memorial Day weekend. Because he failed to read the instructions for the grill, it caught on fire and was about to explode when the fire department intervened. The parking lot had to be vacated and the store was left with a hole in the wall. While Davis realized he couldn’t return to that specific store, he reasoned he could learn from his mistake. For the rest of the summer, in 1997, he and a group of his clients sold pop and hotdogs every weekend, Friday through Sunday, in one parking lot or another. They made 54 cents on each dollar.
In January of 1998, his non-profit organization, called 9 to 5 Beats Ten to Life, was able to make a down payment on a duplex in the Phillips neighborhood. The place was pretty run down, so Davis, who at that time “didn’t know the difference between a hammer and a screwdriver,” used the public library to learn about home repair. He says, “You can learn anything from the library.”
He also tapped into the skills of his clients, many of whom had rehab experience. The job got done although Davis said it was hard to find “reliable, honest, good work-ethic clients.” He dealt with problems in his characteristic, no-nonsense way. He fired one worker on the spot for unacceptable behavior. The man, who was living elsewhere, had brought a woman to the house in progress. While she was sleeping he had taken her shoes so she couldn’t walk away in the snow. “That was abusive,” said Davis.

Slammer

By May of 1998, 9 to 5 Beats Ten to Life had bought another duplex in the Phillips neighborhood. That summer they fixed it up, while continuing to sell hotdogs. They also created their own line of soda pop called Slammer because Davis thought it would be cool to have their own pop to go with the hotdogs. After one failed flavor and with other flavors on the drawing board, the first successful flavor was Big House rootbeer. Davis had no reason to think it would be a money maker and so far it hasn’t been. “Actually this is one of the top three stupidest things I’ve ever done,” Davis commented, laughing about past mistakes.
Nevertheless he perseveres with Slammer because he’s already come this far. In terms of taste, his tenacity has paid off. The rootbeer is delicious and is now available at Fusion Coffee House at Bloomington and Lake, and at Mavericks and Icci’s in St. Paul.
How does one begin to make rootbeer? The reference department at the library faxed Davis his first recipe, which he mixed up in his kitchen, a somewhat odd thing for him to do since he hates to cook. He developed a base syrup from scratch, added extracts such as wintergreen and sarsaparilla and bought a carbonation tank to add the fizz. For about a week he took his “laboratory” to the garage of the condo where he lives. When threatened with eviction, he moved back into his kitchen but he had to take the racks out of his refrigerator to make room for the big containers.
When he got a brew he liked, he filled two kegs with it and went off to sell hotdogs in the Slammer Volkswagen Beetle he had bought in for promotion. Whether the Beetle truly promotes the product, he doesn’t know. But he does know the kegs were a huge success; customers encouraged him to bottle his rootbeer.
Bottling has been “unbelievably laborious.” Davis studied trade magazines and found out there are flavor houses all over the country where you can buy base syrups already made.
For his first run of 50 cases, Davis got his base from a house in Milwaukee, the various extracts from a company in St. Louis, the caps from Oregon, the bottles from Shakopee and the labels from a company in Wisconsin (also very expensive). To develop his recipe for bottling he spent an entire day testing and experimenting with all the different extracts at a flavor house laboratory in Milwaukee. Then, he did more research and talked to rootbeer experts. When he got ready to bottle, he went personally to the bottler in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and mixed the brew himself. On the way back to Minneapolis, he got lost, and didn’t get home for 12 hours. So, for his second batch, he gave the bottlers the recipe and they mixed it.
The first batch, just finished in August, has been sold and now the second batch is on the market. Davis hopes it will take off and be a money maker. At this point, it’s a sideline. Neither he nor 9 to 5 Beats Ten to Life depends on it for their living. Since September, he’s working again as a counselor.
For Davis there’s nothing better than doing something completely new. The rootbeer production is a big adventure. He’s a hands-on type of person who’s “not one bit afraid to try stuff.”

Selling Educational Materials to Buy Houses

For his second fundraiser Davis has written and produced three videos and two manuals that cover everything ex-offenders need to know about staying on the outside. He went about the project with his characteristic sense of adventure not knowing it would turn out to raise so much money. The American Corrections Association in Maryland has picked up the materials and distributed them to correctional facilities throughout the country. The proceeds provided the downpayment for the third duplex.
The materials were created originally because Davis believes prisons don’t adequately prepare inmates for the outside world. 9 to 5 Beats Ten to Life: How to (Re)Enter Society, first a manual and then a video, was a matter of putting on paper the contents of a class Davis was teaching in a correctional facility.
Another video, Tough Questions & Tough Answers, deals with the most effective way for an ex-offender to disclose his/her criminal history to a prospective employer. Davis made that one by collaborating with a community college video class. 99 Surefire Ways to Stay Unemployed is a humorous manual made with the help of volunteer cartoonists.
The last and most artistic video, Out for Good, is Davis’ favorite. Interviews with role model ex-offenders, parole officers and one re-offender are interspersed with images of the Outside. By the time this project was in the works, Davis had been bitten by the film bug. One day from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. he wandered the streets of the Twin Cities with a film camera, collecting the Outside images. Then, he spent daily sessions for four months in the editing room, making decisions. A professional company put the whole thing together.
Davis’ philosophy is all about cause and effect. The instructions in the videos and manuals show the logical way to do all you can to avoid returning to prison. He says chemical dependency is probably the biggest deterrent to success. Self-sabotage, which he admits makes him very frustrated when he sees it, is the second.
Without being sentimental, Davis’ empathy for the ex-offender’s situation is evident. For Davis, “Death may be better than getting your freedom taken away. Whenever I walk away from any correctional facility I want to kiss the ground.”
In his educational material he understands and addresses the personality tendencies like impulsiveness and a need for excitement that gets offenders in trouble.
And he understands what men coming out of prison are up against. “I challenge anyone to come out of prison with nothing but the clothes on their back, $100 in their pocket, without education, addicted to drugs, no vocational skills, a poor rental history, poor credit and make it. If you’re a minority it’s even harder. Under these circumstances it takes enormous effort and excessive character.”

Correcting the Correctional Facilities

Davis believes that out of the prison population, one-third will make it no matter what because they are capable of enormous effort and have excessive character; one-third won’t make it no matter what; and one-third are borderline and could go either way depending on the guidance and opportunities available to them.
For the last third he would like to see changes in prison programs. He would like to see correctional facilities where the men had no idle time. They should be busy 16 hours a day. Counseling, drug treatment, education, literacy and vocational training should be mandatory, not optional. When men get out they need to go to work and don’t have time for other programs.
The vocational skills offered should correspond to current industrial demands and time should be taken off sentences for completing GED, AA, BA and Masters degrees. Most of all, the men should be guided toward finding meaningful work, something that fits with their own unique abilities and interests.

The Importance of Finding Your Life’s Work

Davis knows that work is about more than physical survival. Meaningful work is a rudder. It took him a long time to find out what he wanted to do with his life. In high school he had no guidance and dropped out. He drifted into the marines. He owned a fast food joint selling pizza by the slice but it was a disaster.
A career counselor finally helped him identify his consuming interest: helping the offender. He worked in halfway houses, finished his GED and a BA in human services. He became a job counselor and got a master’s degree in human development. His journey to self-knowledge continued. He jumped into his entrepeneurial life with a high level of self-awareness. He knows he hates marketing and committee meetings and is frustrated with people who can’t make decisions. He likes to act quickly.
Davis has no particular faith or spiritual life that propels him. He said, as though describing a mystery, that for some reason he’s not chemically dependent. And, it is somewhat mysterious that, although he grew up without mentors, he reaches out to guide and to help people who need it.
He’s a humorous, eccentric guy who wears apple hats and doesn’t judge men who’ve been in prison. He never lectures. He just wants to do whatever he can to help them find the knowledge and motivation and circumstances that will keep them on the outside.

Housing for Ex-Offenders

The three main problems ex-offenders face when they leave prison are housing, employment and staying free of chemical addiction.
According to Davis, jobs are plentiful and lots of bosses say, “I’ll hire your guys.” And, for ex-offenders struggling with chemical dependency, there’s “drug treatment on every corner.” The biggest problem is finding housing.
Adding to their first three duplexes, 9 to 5 Beats Ten to Life is now in the process of buying two more fixer-uppers in Phillips. Once tenants move into these properties, Davis doesn’t like to monitor their activities. He wants to “leave them alone so they can get on with their lives.”
To help them develop a good rental history, utilities are included in the rent. The phone is especially important because many ex-offenders have bad phone records and they also need to be able to stay in touch with their parole officers.
Davis is interested in keeping up the properties both for the tenants and for the neighborhood. While he doesn’t monitor the people, he does monitor the property, to protect the investment. His simple requirements are: pay rent on time, don’t cause problems and respect the property. That’s it. Some of the tenants have been evicted for violating these rules, some haven’t met parole conditions, and some are still there.
The block club around the first duplex says it is one of the better houses in the neighborhood. It has 90 percent fewer problems than other houses. One of the tenants there is a level three sex offender, meaning among those at the highest risk to re-offend. By law, the community must be informed when a person with such a history moves into the neighborhood. A meeting was held, the neighbors thanked Davis for being upfront. He gave them his phone number and told them to call him anytime if there was a problem. They have never called.

Anyone interested in purchasing Slammer or who knows an ex-offender in need of housing can contact 9 to 5 Beats Ten to Life at 651-649-4496.

Better Schools referendum
Dollars used for early childhood education, to decrease class sizes, to ultimately raise test scoresxx

by Jennifer Harriss

On November 7th, Minneapolis voters will be asked to renew the Better Schools referendum levy. This levy was first approved by the voters in 1990, and overwhelmingly renewed in 1996. This time, it will continue until 2008.
In the 10 years since the levy was first approved, test scores in Minneapolis have consistently gone up. For example, students who have been in the smaller class sizes for 7 years passed the basic skills reading test almost twice as often (79.4% compared to 42.3%) as students who have come into the district from larger class settings. According to information at the Minneapolis Public Schools website, students in Minneapolis have improved their passing rate on the basic skills reading test by 70% since 1996, versus a 3% gain statewide. Each demographic group has improved its passing rate every year.
There are approximately 2600 seniors in Minneapolis public schools. 597 of them are credit-ready to graduate, but still need to pass one or both of the basic skills tests. Of those, 121 are special education students, 216 have a limited English proficiency, and 137 have joined the Minneapolis system since 1997, and therefore have not had the same benefit of smaller class sizes.
The Minneapolis referendum also raises money used for early childhood education, including Way To Grow, Head Start, and ECFE programs, and to buy additional spots in preschool programs. If not for these programs, many more students would come to kindergarten without the basic skills needed to start learning, which would affect all children, according to Cheri Pancratz of the school district.
At the high school level, the money is used to allow more advanced classes and greater choice of elective classes. Zee Gregerson at South High said that they have determined that if the referendum does not pass, they will face cuts in four areas: Advanced Placement classes for college credit, advanced math and science classes, the arts, and ‘special methods’ used to assist students with special needs with classwork. Since the advanced classes have the fewest students, they are the most vulnerable; also, with less money the basics must be funded first. The average class size at South would rise from 27 to about 36.
Class size isn’t the only thing that will be affected, according to Kevin
Welsh, principal of Bancroft Elementary in South Minneapolis. "Many things that we are doing that are making progress we just wouldn’t be able to afford," he said. For example, they would probably not be able to offer full-day kindergarten, since approximately 160 new students who would need to be accommodated. They would lose many lower-seniority teachers, and other teachers would come from other schools, who wouldn’t be familiar with the community school program at Bancroft. Their arts focus, too, would probably be cut, and with 79 percent of their students living in poverty, this is often the only exposure to various arts they get. Class sizes would rise from 19 to 29 in grades K-2, and from 25 to 35 in grades 3-5. Welsh feels that “this place isn’t going to be the same” if the referendum doesn’t pass.
The amount levied for a $100,000 house in Minneapolis under the referendum would increase by $10.50 a year, to cover the costs of inflation.

x

Proposed library triples in size
290,000 square feet would feature gallery, coffee shop, access for disabled persons, skyway entrance

by Jennifer Harriss

The Central Minneapolis Public Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, was built in 1961. It has the largest collection in the state, with over 2.5 million books and other materials. More than 44 percent of the households in Minneapolis used the Central Library in 1999.
The building has space for only 1.6 million items, so 85 percent of its collection is located in stacks not available to the public. There is no additional room to add computer terminals, training locations, etc. It is not up to fire code, and many of the rare and valuable documents and books are at risk due to poor environmental conditions. It is not compliant with the ADA accessibility requirements.
This November 7, voters in Minneapolis will vote on a referendum to pay for a new central library, as well as fix up many of the community branches, through an increase in property taxes. For a $130,000 home, the increase would start at $5.35 per year, increasing over five years to $58.69 per year, about 16 cents a day.
The new library would more than triple the public space, from 84,000 square feet to 290,000 square feet, and include an interactive children’s area, a new teen area including computers and books for young adults and homework help, a greatly increased public art space, a gallery and a coffee shop. It would also be significantly more accessible to people with disabilities.
Based on other cities’ experience, visits to the library would probably increase from 800,000 visitors per year to 1.5 million, and school groups would increase from 300 to more than 500 per year. It would be connected by skyway to housing and downtown, and it is planned to connect to the proposed Hiawatha LRT route as well.
According to a study commissioned by the Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library, 75 percent of the households in Minneapolis have used city libraries in the last year. The support for a new library has increased from 56 percent in 1997 to 62 percent today, and the support for improved community libraries is at a resounding 88 percent. Sixty-five percent of Minneapolis residents are willing to accept an increase in their property taxes to pay for the new library.
If the referendum is not approved, the Library Board would need to approach the legislature, according to Mary Lawson, director of the Central Library. The city is not able to issue bonds for the amount needed to repair the Central Library without authorization through a referendum from the voters. The community library improvements could be financed through the city’s Capitol Long Range Improvement Program over 20 years or so, but the Central Library’s needs are too great to use that program.
Ms. Lawson also notes that with increasing use of technology, they are seeing an increase in use of other materials. For example, the Central Library has seen a 14 percentincrease in book circulation.
The referendum will be on the ballot on November 7.

UNDER THE FLIGHT PATH

Archaeologists release findings from April Camp Coldwater Dig; Bureau of of mines purchase by MAC delayed

by Dean Lindberg

“The brass crucifix is from a rosary and appears to be of eighteenth century French origin,” according to a recent archeological report. A gun side plate recovered was made somewhere between 1700 and 1785 features a “”serpent or dragon” inscription and “is probably from a pistol of fowling piece and is likely British or American in origin.”
Other artifacts found this April include hand painted Coldwater era pottery, window glass and bottle fragments, square nails, a ceramic pipestem and bowl fragments, bone and metal buttons, a buckle, and shell and bone fragments. All the items have “use dates from about 1830 to around 1860,” according to archaeologist Christopher Schoen, who supervised their removal.
“It certainly is the largest deposit of Camp coldwater artifacts ever found by any archeologist,” according to Dr. Bruce White, an anthropologist and expert in Camp Coldwater history. “These materials have potential to teach us more about the history of the area.” However, Schoen, an archaeologist for Louis Berger and Associates, and author of the report commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), recommends that “no additional archaeological investigations are warranted” in the dig sight near the Bureau of Mines campus and within yards of the new Highway 55. White’s original report, which triggered this April’s digs, can be read on the internet at http://www.tc.umn.edu/~white067. He anticipates adding a full rebuttal to recent MnDOT conclusions to his site by the end of October.)
“The specious Berger report is just more offal from another foreign hired-gun for MnDOT," Southside resident and historian Robert Mosedale remarked while indicating his confidence in White’s opinions. “The exciting artifacts uncovered suggest the need for an independent panel of Minnesota experts to protect our heritage as construction continues in the area.”
White’s pleasure at the discovery of artifacts is tempered with concern that the historic area may be invaded by “pot diggers” and further destroyed, if not given protection as an official archaeological sight.
Schoen postulated that grading for trolley and Veterans Administration construction projects may have pushed artifacts into the area where they were unearthed. The comment prompted White to state that the original locations, if the artifacts have been moved, has never been determined. “Preliminary work for Highway 55 done years ago may have moved the recently recovered artifacts to their present location,” White told Southside Pride. “If the materials did, in fact, get to where they are without proper archaeological work, it indicates badly done archaeology.”
The Bureau of Mines property, located in the center of the old Camp Coldwater community, is the area where many believe more information about artifacts could be found. The location has great archaeological potential.
But it is also the focus of a conservation plan being designed as part of its pending purchase by the Metropolitan Airports Commission. MAC and BOM officials had anticipated this plan would have been sufficiently resolved to allow transfer of the property by the end of September. Now, according to officials, the transfer date is “up in the air.”
A seven day public comment period, which was to have preceded the BOM purchase, has been extended for an indefinite period “to enable additional public participation, and consultation with interested parties,” according to a notice published by the National Park Service. The date for closing the public comment period will be announced with the publication of a Draft Environmental Assessment that will made available for interested parties to review. Written comments are still being taken and can be sent to: National Park Service 111 East Kellogg Blvd. Suite 105, St. Paul MN 55101.

City seeks proactive role in airport
A September 13th special, meeting of the City Council transportation committee drew over 40 activists and public officials together in the first attempt to develop a city action plan concerning airport environmental issues.
The meeting, chaired by 11th Ward City Council Member Dore Mead was attended by 12th and t13th Ward Council Members Sandra Colvin Roy and Barret Lane, as well as Roger Hale head of the MAC planning and environment committee and representatives of South Metro Airport Action Council (SMAAC) and Residents Opposed to Airport Racket (ROAR).
The groups agreed to push for an expedited phase out of the noisy, hush kitted DC-9s and 727s, establishment of a noise budget for the airport with financial penalties for violations, commence planning for the day when the airport can no longer meet the region’s air transport needs, and study the health impacts of airport noise and air pollution.
R.T. Rybak of ROAR labeled the event “historic, with a caveat,” commenting it will take more than hope and good will to translate ideas into action. The full City Council is expected to help accomplish that task by approving the recommendations in its regular meeting September 29th.