A teetering economy and a ramshackle housing market are forcing homeowners looking to sell to take extreme measures these days. It’s no secret that, thanks to unscrupulous lending practices and subprime and Alt-A mortgages, millions of homeowners got in way over their heads with the promises of refinancing and surefire growing equity dangled in front of them. Now, homeowners who are literally drowning in their suburban McMansions are willing to do anything to get out from underwater, including taking to Craigslist to offer cheap, Realtor-circumvented “trades” for more meager, average-sized homes. MORE »

On Saturday night, the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT) will present the second annual Fresh Traditions fashion show at the Varsity Theater, featuring five of the region’s most talented Hmong fashion designers. MORE »

Last week, the City of St Paul took a step toward rational land use policy when it passed modest regulations designed to get a handle on the locations of sober houses within the City, to determine whether the exemptions from local laws that they claim are deserved, and to prevent the clustering of many such houses on a single block. I worked to help pass that measure, and here’s why. MORE »

Africa is very important to U.S. national security, U.S. Representative Keith Ellison told the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder’s editorial staff during a July 11 visit to the newspaper. MORE »