Opinion

OPINION | Reduce prison phone costs, for stronger families and safer communities

Martha Wright is an 87-year-old grandmother and a retired nurse. When her grandson, Ulandis Forte, went to prison in 1994, she was determined to keep in touch. Wright knew her grandson had made a mistake, but she did not want him to feel abandoned. More than grandmother's intuition, research also shows that prisoners who maintain family connections are much less likely to re-offend, breaking the crime cycle.

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OPINION | Minnesota legalizes same-sex marriage, but my same-sex marriage was real before the law passed

Instead of attending to the novel I was supposed to be working on, I spent the afternoon in front of the TV watching the debate over and vote on the same-sex marriage bill in the State Senate on TPT’s Minnesota Channel. I listened to the passionate and heartfelt speeches given by DFL Senators Scott Dibble, Jeff Hayden, Patricia Torres Ray and others in favor of passing the bill for legalizing same-sex marriage, and — to be honest — I muted the TV sound when senators opposing the bill had the floor.

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COMMUNITY VOICES | Safe, Decent and Sanitary Housing in Minneapolis? Where?

I have lived in the city of Minneapolis for 9 years and never once have I lived in an apartment that was not filled with serious Housing Code Violations.

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COMMUNITY VOICES | Popular culture's appropriation of the Harlem Shake

UPDATED: February of 2013 forever engrained flailing bodies, ridiculous costumes, and a deep, chopped and screwed voice commanding  everyone to “do the Harlem Shake” in the minds of h

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NEIGHBORHOOD NOTES | Doodle Bird Design + Gifts opens in Ericsson neighborhood

Doodle Bird is located at the intersection on 28th Ave. and 42nd St.

A new gift shop has moved to the 42nd St./28th Ave. intersection.

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MN VIDEOS | Summit Hill Neighborhoods construct mandala-shaped community garden

Between fifty and sixty community volunteers showed up on a cloudy Saturday morning to construct a mandala-shaped community garden in St. Paul's Summit Hill Neighborhood. The garden is located on park land and the goal of the garden's founders is to "empower people through organic gardening to inspire greater self-sufficiency, sustainability, and environmental responsibility."

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COMMUNITY VOICES | The Carving Out of Minnesota's Future

Taconite plants are among the largest energy users in Minnesota.

The Minnesota omnibus energy bill  HF 956 / Companion

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