By the People's blog

by Ellen Tveit, 10/4/08 • On a spectacular fall afternoon, Neil Cunningham led me through a planting of native Minnesota hazelnut and plum trees, grasses, and elderberry bushes—not the kind of scenery you’d expect to find across the street from a Burger King in a lower-income neighborhood.

By the People is a weblog on civic engagement produced by the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Minnesota.

by Ellen Tveit • 10/4/08 • On a spectacular fall afternoon, Neil Cunningham led me through a planting of native Minnesota hazelnut and plum trees, grasses, and elderberry bushes—not the kind of scenery you’d expect to find across the street from a Burger King in a lower-income neighborhood.

By the People is a weblog on civic engagement produced by the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Minnesota.

by Ellen Tveit • 9/30/08 • Annette Kuyper exudes energy and, dressed in jeans and a hoodie when I first met her, I assumed she was in her mid-30s. She probably isn’t much older than that, actually, but she’s already been through the deployment of her son to Iraq.

By the People is a weblog on civic engagement produced by the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Minnesota.

by Grant Stevenson, 9/11/08 • “Organizing is a way to integrate my faith and everyday life”

Grant Stevensen is the pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minn., and president of ISAIAH, an organization with 90 member churches in the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, Minn., united for social racial and economic justice. He has been involved in organizing for 10 years.

by Ellen Tveit, 9/8/08 • Wouldn’t it be great if a city could utilize its resources to close the achievement gap between white and minority students AND develop a saner transportation system?

By the People is a weblog on civic engagement produced by the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Minnesota.

by Daniella Fisher, 8/26/08 • A recent visit to Rex Ace Hardware and Country Store in my hometown of Petaluma, California reminded me that businesses can serve as more than just a place to buy products. In small towns, the local grocery or hardware store often also serves as a community gathering space, where town residents can get advice from the proprietor (and anyone else who happens to be inside), meet fellow community members, learn about the town’s happenings, run into old friends – and, yes, make a purchase.