Daily Planet Originals

OUR STORIES | Behind the sign: Kim's story, from "sheltered life" to street corner

By Nick Sucik, TC Daily Planet

At 24 Kim is easily one of the most visible faces in Minneapolis.  Each day thousands of commuters see her on the corner of Lyndale Ave beneath the 94 bypass.  She has stood at that spot smiling and waving with her cardboard sign for the past two years.  Kim is homeless and spends her nights at a shelter.  Two years have been too long, and she's desperate to find a job as a way out.

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Pre-K, ECFE, talent testing concerns aired at St. Paul school board listening session

By Lauretta Dawolo Towns, TC Daily Planet

“We were fooled,” said one parent at the April 24 St. Paul school board listening session.

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Volunteer lawyers make personal connection with Minnesota immigrant students

By Erin Collins, TC Daily Planet

Navigate and ILCM organized a series of events to give information about DACA to young Minnesota immigrants. (Photo courtesy of ILCM)

“You might not believe this about lawyers, but we do appreciate when we can help individuals,” said Ed Wegerson, a volunteer attorney who has participated in the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota's

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MUSIC REVIEW | 2 By 4 Music Festival: Southern Culture on the Skids, 4ontheFloor & Erik Koskinen

By Ann Treacy, TC Daily Planet

Know what biases a review? When bassist Mary Huff singles you out to dance on stage! Or even better when some guy jumps on the stage to dance and the same bassist acts like a block to make sure you have enough space to dance–on stage! So my unbiased review is that this was the best show ever.

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A more lively theater scene: What the Twin Cities are doing well

By Sheila Regan, Behind the Story

Audience engagement at a Guthrie Theater Open Call event. Photo by Heidi Bohnenkamp, courtesty Guthrie Theater.

I had quite a few responses to the column I wrote about a month ago about how theater should be more like rock shows. Most of the commenters did not at all like what I had to say. I’m always happy to generate discussion, but I feel like I’ve been pissing people off right and left with this column lately (people were just livid about my caucuses are stupid piece), which confuses me because I don’t mean to be contrary, it’s just that I write in my column whatever I happen to be thinking that day.

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PHOTOS | St. Paul's Festival of Nations kicks off with a "World Class Bash"

By Ryan Cutler, TC Daily Planet

Photos by Ryan Cutler

On May 3, the 2013 Festival of Nations—Minnesota's largest multicultural celebration—began at the RiverCentre with a party aptly advertised as a "World Class Bash."

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It's going to be an "African Summer" at the Cedar Cultural Center

By Jay Gabler, Front Row Seat

Amadou & Mariam perform at the Cedar in 2012. Photo by Jon Behm for Reviler.

The Cedar Cultural Center has just announced the lineup for its "African Summer" series: six concerts featuring performers representing the power and diversity of African music today.

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Mark Andrew has "The Voice"—and a solid album, too

By Patrick Dunn, Arts Orbit

It’s great to see another product of the Minnesota music scene gaining some national recognition on NBC’s hit singing competition The Voice. Eden Prairie’s Mark Andrew (whose formal last name is Pudas) did Minnesota proud choosing the Bob Dylan classic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” for his blind audition that landed him a spot on Team Shakira. Mark’s voice has a unique tone that makes him stand out from most other singers who get lost trying to emulate a sound people already identify with another artist. He is also an experienced songwriter and knows his way around a six-string, having studied at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood.

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Arts Orbit

MOVIE REVIEW | "Iron Man 3" punches the clock

By Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet

You can see what they were thinking with Iron Man 3. After the escalating robotic carnage of the first two films in the franchise, followed by the grand fracas of The Avengers—in which Iron Man went through a wormhole to another part of the universe, then plopped back down to the pavement just in time for happy hour at Guy Fieri’s—it must have seemed like it was time for a relatively low-key outing, getting Robert Downey Jr. out of the suit and going back to basics. Maybe a subplot involving a cute kid.

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Land of 10,000 lakes — and not enough water

By Mary Turck, News Day

Think the end of the drought means no water problems? Think again. In lots of places, we are over-using groundwater, and the situation is getting worse by the year, if not by the month.

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