Years Later, Terrell Mayes Jr.’s Murder Still Unsolved

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It’s been three years, two months, and twenty-three days since Terrell Mayes was killed by a stray bullet.  Sixty thousand dollars in award money has been added to that time, but we are still waiting for enough information that leads us to his killer.  About a week and a half ago, Terrell’s mother posted in North Talk that nothing has been happening regarding this tragedy.  I gave my word that I would write up a post.  I’m late on publishing it, but there are personal reasons why this is a difficult post to write.A little over a year ago–January 10th, 2014 to be exact–I received news that my ex-wife’s youngest son passed away unexpectedly. Continue Reading

Laomerican Cuisine: Laopherd’s Pie

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[You can read the original post here: http://littlelaosontheprairie.org/2015/02/11/laomerican-cuisine-laopherds-pie/] Recently, Little Laos on the Prairie’s Bryan Thao Worra coaxed acclaimed Northside blogger and community builder Jeff Skrenes into being the guinea pig for a new addition to Lao American cuisine with a concept he referred to as Laopherd’s Pie. Ever a good sport, Jeff Skrenes took him up on it and shared his after-action report with us. You can read the original at North by Northside: A recent Facebook conversation with my favorite former Minnesotan,Bryan Thao Worra, centered around cultural comfort foods and culinary fusion.  As more and more Southeast Asians (and other immigrants) locate in Minnesota, they will bring their comfort foods with them–laab meat, papaya salad, sticky rice, etc.  Here in the midwest, we’ve already got plenty of our own comfort foods, such as shepherd’s pie, the infamous hot dish, and various jello and fruit conglomerations.So we began to ask ourselves, what would happen if some of these Scandinavian and Southeast Asian foods were to be combined in some unholy culinary syncretism? Continue Reading

How I would save the DEED house (2019 Aldrich Ave N)

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First things first, I wouldn’t actually save this house. Although I certainly would support anyone who might step up, there are other homes in need of my attention and this one doesn’t have enough going for it to be worth taking away from other preservation efforts. What follows is more of an exercise in fleshing out ways that such properties could be saved in the future. Continue Reading

What’s really happening on West Broadway?

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A recent Star Tribune article was quite critical of the lack of progress on West Broadway, and the director of the West Broadway Business Coalition then published a rebuttal detailing the economic development we have seen. I thought the first shot was perhaps a bit too bleak, while the WBC account painted a picture that was overly rosy. The truth, as is often the case, lies somewhere in between. Continue Reading

A tale of two bike paths

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*Comments here are in my individual capacity and not representative of the Jordan Area Community Council*

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to attend a neighborhood events where bike path options have been brought forward–a presentation by the city of Minneapolis about 26th Avenue North, and a Jordan Area Community Council listening session on the Humboldt/Irving Avenue proposal. While I could go into elaborate detail about each project, that’s a topic for another post or two. Instead, what intrigues me as of late is the community perception of each plan. Continue Reading