Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/author/jeff-skrenes/page/3/)
West Broadway needs big ideas. The stretch along the south side of Broadway, from around Bryant to Emerson, needs comprehensive investment and change (as does Lyndale to Bryant, and almost every other segment along the corridor). Those two needs, however, do not unilaterally go hand in hand. At a West Broadway Coalition presentation tonight, Tim Baylor’s Pinnacle Management group exemplified that specific dynamic. Continue Reading
The newly-proposed conservation district ordinance should excite me. Either the preservationist in me should leap for joy that neighbors may have another tool available to preserve the character of their community, or the libertarian in me should bristle at the prospect of fewer property rights. Instead, I’m left shrugging my shoulders and responding with a resounding “meh.” Continue Reading
Open Streets, the re-purposing of long stretches of corridors ordinarily used for vehicular traffic, is coming to the northside in May this year. Over the last two years north Minneapolis has done the event on Lowry, but this year we will have an additional festival in the late spring. The most likely route will be along Humboldt and/or Irving Avenues along the proposed greenway routes, between Plymouth and 45th. Continue Reading
Shortly after its inception, Boom Island quickly became my favorite beer, and not just because it’s brewed right here in north Minneapolis. Every concoction, from the darker Hoodoo and Brimstone beers to the Silvus pale ale and Witness, have a unique taste and are well worth the price. The only problem was that the hours at their former digs made it hard to stop in for a growler. Plenty of local stores carry the beer, but the growler is definitely the economical way to go. Continue Reading
On Saturday, dozens of people from across the Twin Cities–and possibly beyond–converged on 1522 Hillside to do a volunteer clean-up. Growing up in a farming community, the trash-out of the house held similarities to good, old-fashioned barn raisings. What would have been a job taking up at least a full day’s work was instead completed in less than an hour. “Forty-one people in forty-one minutes” was how Nicole Curtis described the task. Most participants had expected to work for a few hours, and others arrived late under the assumption that there would be plenty to do all day long. The final tally was eighty-nine people who came to help. Continue Reading
We’re fresh off of a municipal election that used ranked-choice voting to create a nearly endless ballot that nobody could comprehend. And our statewide elections use what I consider a far superior model: an incomprehensible process that begins way the hell in February that nobody cares about. Candidates can’t even officially file for another three months, and already we’re taking the first steps to decide who gets elected. And since we’re basically a one-party town, the DFL precinct caucuses are where the action is. So unless you want your next round of public officials chosen by a few dozen party activists, you better find your caucus now. Isn’t democracy great? USA! USA! Continue Reading
First things first, I do think the Northside Achievement Zone is doing good work in north Minneapolis, and we’re a better community for it. And I chose to publish this now, instead of around the time of their gala, so as not to discourage supporters from attending. Continue Reading
At a recent community meeting, the Capri Theater presented its proposal for an expansion of their current building. Overall, these changes are excellent, and especially as someone who lives around the corner I cannot wait for them to happen. In fact, a main issue with the upgrades is that the fundraising needed will likely mean that we’re at least a year or even two or more away from breaking ground. Continue Reading
The storefront and office or living space at 404 West Broadway, the Vietnam Hong Kong International building, has been in limbo and a source of speculation in north Minneapolis. Today on a thread in the Old North Minneapolis Facebook group, some answers came forward, and they do not bode well for the building. Continue Reading
At today’s Community Development committee meeting the Minneapolis City Council took an initial step towards approving the sale of 2648 Emerson Avenue North, aka “The Sheltering Arms House” to a Charlie Browning. Charlie rehabs homes as his profession, and does excellent work. This is his first venture into north Minneapolis, and I can’t welcome him enthusiastically enough. The proposed rehab work would be to convert the four-unit structure into a spacious duplex, and then resell the property, hopefully to an owner-occupant. But even as a rental, the quality of work that Mr. Browning does will almost certainly attract good owners and tenants. Continue Reading