Southside Pride

	Phillips/Powderhorn Nokomis Riverside
November 2007

Phillips/Powderhorn: Nov 2007

Powderhorn Writers mark a decade of prose, poetry

Did anyone catch the license number of that Tyrannosaurus Rex running through South Minneapolis on Halloween? We spotted the 49-foot-long dinosaur in front of Steve Bruggeman’s house at 3507 24th Ave. S.

At 7 o’clock on Friday evening, Nov. 16, the Powderhorn Writers Festival (PWF) will be celebrating 10 years of grassroots, literary endeavors, culminating in a tribute to the founding visionary, Roy McBride, who, in 1997, brought together area writers and artists in a festival that has continued to this day, hosting myriad events, from writing workshops to poetry/puppetry cabarets. This fall’s event boasts a sweeping lineup of readers, including Amy Ballestad, Emily Bright, Laura Flynn, Margo McCreary and Maureen Skelly, that will give testament not only to Powderhorn’s rich literary past, but to its future, as they come together under the roof of the May Day Café. Roy McBride himself will be the evening’s keynote performer and will enjoy the unveiling of a new 10th Anniversary PWF broadside featuring his poetry and the visual art of Powderhorn’s renowned color woodcut master, Nick Wroblewski.

They lie to us

Plan Afghanistan and the war
on drugs

In the New York Times on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007, a headline read: “Taliban Push Poppy Production to a Record Again.” It seems we are meant to conclude that the Taliban are growing opium and pushing heroin on the youth of America. The lead sentence in the article confirms this supposition: “Afghanistan produced record levels of opium in 2007 for the second straight year, led by a staggering 45 percent increase in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province, according to a new United Nations survey to be released Monday.” Much later in the article, David Rohde, the author, admits that only four or six of the 13 districts in Helmand are controlled by the Taliban. Most of the article describes a U.S. sponsored agricultural fair in Helmand meant to encourage farmers to grow alternative crops to opium poppies. This fairytale portrait of well-meaning Americans trying to lead Afghani farmers onto the straight and narrow seems almost too good to be true. And it is!

Powderhorn crime watch

Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct crime statistics for October count the 40th homicide victim for the city so far this year and at least two violent sexual assaults. Powderhorn, Phillips, Central, Corcoran, Bryant, Bancroft and Standish neighborhoods are included in the Third’s crime reports.

Click here for a list of articles for Nov 2007

Nokomis: Nov 2007

City loses library representation

City Council Vice President Robert Lilligren (DFL-Ward 6) and Minneapolis Library Board Secretary Alan Hooker hear concerns at a public hearing about the already approved consolidation of the Minneapolis and Hennepin County library systems.

All eight trustees of the Minneapolis Public Library Board and most of the City Council gathered in the atrium of the downtown Central Library the evening of Nov. 7 to bid a fond farewell to the city’s library system as it is has existed for at least half a century.

Advertised as a public hearing about the consolidation of the Minneapolis and Hennepin County library systems, the merger has already been approved by government overseers including the City Council, library board, mayor’s office, county board and state Legislature—making it, as City Council Vice President Robert Lilligren (DFL-Ward 6) said before calling the meeting to order, “pretty much a done deal.”

New LRT planned for VA

Plans for several developments in the Nokomis neighborhood are moving forward with a healthy dose of critical input from area residents. Planning for the light rail and its two area transit stations has shown the train to be a mixed blessing for its neighbors. Sites included for revamping and construction include land along Riverview Road and 54th Street and development of the 50th Street and VA Medical Center LRT station areas.

Transport dept dubbed ‘broken’

Rep. Bernie Lieder (DFL-Crookston), a retired engineer and the chair of two House transportation committees says that Governor Pawlenty’s vetoes of transportation funding over the last several years caused a shortage of bridge inspectors and compromised the safety of state road infrastructure.
“I think that [the governor’s refusal to sign funding bills] relates to personnel shortages in the Department of Transportation quite a lot,” said Lieder. “One year wouldn’t have been bad, but the last couple of years we reached a real low point as far as funding goes.”

Click here for a list of articles for Nov 2007

Riverside: Nov 2007

Community stands with immigrant workers in dispute

Best Brands is creating a crisis for families and communities suffering from this economic loss.

Calling for a resolution to human rights violations taking place at the Eagan plant of Best Brands Corp., current and former employees together with Workers’ Interfaith Network have contacted the President/CEO of the bakery, Scott Humphrey, and made several attempts to resolve the issues. After nearly two weeks, the company still has not agreed to meet with workers and WIN.

Meeting set for potential major source of pollution

Biomass burner subject to discussion

A public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 13, to discuss the permit for the Midtown biomass facility proposed for 28th Street and 20th Avenue South in Minneapolis. The evening will begin with a half-hour presentation to begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a question and answer period until 8:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church located at 2730 East 31st St., Minneapolis.

Ink, watercolors, and the meaning of it all

The 2nd Moon Coffee Cafe on Franklin Avenue is showing a collection of watercolor and ink drawings by Seward neighborhood artist Eric Skoglund.

His collection of enjoyable drawings with texts inside them calls attention to the difficulties specific to our times, as well as to those inherent in the human condition. For example, one drawing, “Not American Idol,” funny and ominous at the same time, is captioned, "Once the chicken had a 15-year lifespan."