Twin Cities farmers want city officials to do more for urban farms

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Urban agriculture may be a growing trend, but some Minneapolis farmers believe the movement may become stagnant if city officials don’t make active pushes to support it. Stone’s Throw Urban Farm co-owner Eric Larsen said urban agriculture could have a real, sustainable future if the City of Minneapolis chose to act on current momentum. But farm projects, like his in Minneapolis, won’t grow if the resources are not there to help the farms sustain themselves. “[Urban farming] may still carry on as it is right now, people practicing it on their own,” Larsen said. “But I don’t think it will take off unless there is some sort of motivated and unified investment from a real strategic level.”

Urban agriculture is the process of growing or raising food in urban areas, rather than in traditional rural settings. Continue Reading

OUR STORIES | Emilia Gonzales Avalos on immigrants and GED

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Emilia Gonzales Avalos is the director of advocacy and community engagement at NavigateMN. Recently, we talked about immigrants and GED classes in Minnesota. [FULL DISCLOSURE: Cirien Saadeh works for the Asamblea de Derechos Civiles and works on immigration issues.]
To start, what is Navigate? Navigate is a leadership development program for immigrant young adults in Minnesota facing financial, social and legal barriers to achieve their dreams through changing unjust systems. Through NAVIGATE, these young adults help their community and themselves by working to access college education, jobs and legal status. The GED is an important tool for many immigrant communities and communities of color. Continue Reading

Local, national leaders discuss transit equity in St. Paul

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A sense of powerlessness on the part of transit riders, jobs and economic development, equitable and comprehensive transit in Minnesota — these were some of the issues up for discussion at a St. Paul transit forum that included national and local voices. On January 14, local community members, including politicians, community organizers, and transit leaders were joined by national union leaders for “Everyone Deserves a Seat:  Transportation, Jobs, and Equity Forum” at the Carpenters Local Union 322 in St. Paul. Core to the panelists’ discussions were the ways in which they believe that Minnesota’s transit systems must develop. Continue Reading