Scott Russell, Writer

There have been many programs, initiatives and promises over the years to improve opportunities for Minneapolis’ families and children, particularly on the Northside. Still, achievement and opportunity gaps persist. So now comes the latest of these initiatives: “NAZ”, the Northside Achievement Zone, which says it hopes to raise student achievement by duplicating some of the strategies of Geoffrey Canada’s high-profile Harlem Children’s Zone — but without the charismatic leadership of Canada or the multi-million dollar funding and new educational programming it has. MORE »

The Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board (YCB) is working on a Minneapolis Children’s Report Card, probably to be issued by August 1. The Board has been around for 20 years but often worked in obscurity. The Report Card is the Board’s effort to refocus its work and take a higher profile role in advocating children’s policy. It will try to bring attention to the state of the city’s kids and improve civic efforts to make their lives better. MORE »

Tenant advocate Eric Hauge said Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s decision to cut $50.8 million in next year’s rent credit is the same as a tax increase. MORE »

The Midtown Farmers’ Market’s future is uncertain. The property it has used rent-free for six-plus years is going up for sale soon. Yet vendors and patrons have reason to be hopeful. MORE »

In the Somali language, there are words for “crazy” and “sane,” but there are few if any distinctions in between, said David Schuchman, the director of Immigrant and Refugee Behavioral Health for Volunteers of America (VOA). In contrast, U.S. doctors have the huge DSM-IV manual listing several hundred mental disorders — schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, delirium, depression, attention deficit disorder, dissociative disorders, eating disorders and more. MORE »