Surviving the cold on two wheels: 10 tips to winter biking in Minnesota
|
“Ah, thank god it’s winter again,” said no Minnesota commuter ever.
Churches try to bridge differences over Marriage Amendment through conversations
|
What if the solution to our political gridlock was as simple as the ground rules they set in group therapy sessions like Alcoholics Anonymous? Rules that respect confidentiality, that ensure everyone is heard and get’s a fair turn, that encourage listening over speaking, and an atmosphere of respect by preventing cross-talk and interruptions.This is exactly the type of atmosphere that the Minnesota Council of Churches is attempting to foster in their Respectful Conversations Project, and their model is meant to accomplish the same thing that AA’s model attempts, to create honest conversation in a safe environment.The project, funded by the Bush Foundation, was launched back in May, to try and assuage the hostile climate surrounding the marriage amendment debate, which would constitutionally amend the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Their goal — to reach 2,000 people over 50 conversations and have respectful, non-heated conversations on the topic.”It’s about bringing people together across differences,” said Theresa Gardella, a volunteer who has facilitated four of these conversations. “This is a way of saying that we can still talk to one another, that we can still be part of the same community.”Gardella was one of the facilitators at a recent conversation on Nov. 1, at Joyce United Methodist in Uptown, Minneapolis. Continue Reading
Cargo bike: New Minneapolis bikes on the streets?
|
Can you imagine a future where you pick up groceries, friends and even a date on your bicycle? That’s the future Yuba Bicycles envisions, and they’re attempting to make it a reality.The company released their newest cargo bike, the Boda Boda on October 6 at Calhoun Cycles, during the 6th annual Tiny Bike Shop Concert, which partnered up with Banjo Brothers and The Beez Kneez this year, advocating healthy living, Minneapolis bike culture, local music, and sustainable living.”Cargo bikes are typically designed to carry a lot of payload,” said Kaytea Petro, the Marketing Director with Yuba Bicycles, “the trade off is that they’re slow and heavy. This cargo bike is a big payload cargo bike, but only weighs about 35 pounds, which is pretty much the same as any townie bike.”According to Petro, the Boda Boda can carry more than 200 pounds, where most bike racks are designed to carry roughly 20 to 50 pounds. The heavy payload, along with the lightweight frame makes it the perfect alternative to owning a car in the city, says Petro.”People that live in apartments or have limited storage, and have to carry their bike up the stairs, have a bike that they can carry a realistic amount of stuff on,” said Petro.You can also use the bike to pick up your kids, a friend or even a date, said Petro, who recently used the bike to take her fiancé out for pizza.The idea behind the Boda Boda is to help shift city living toward sustainability, said Petro. Cars pollute, they cost the consumer more to operate and maintain, and they take up much more space and resources, Petro continued. Continue Reading
It’s not just a toy, it’s a work of art: St. Paul resident’s K’nex ball machine goes viral
|
All play, no work made this St. Paul toy enthusiast go viral this month.
Fire fighters, art work connect Minneapolis to sister cities around the world
|
Donating just one fire truck wasn’t enough for Minneapolis. Last month, the City Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak approved the donation of a second retired Minneapolis fire truck to Eldoret, Kenya, just one of ten current Minneapolis sister cities.Sister Cities is an international program started by President Dwight Eisenhower to foster people-to-people diplomacy, according to the Meet Minneapolis website, promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation.While Minneapolis has ten current sister cities, it has had 50 Sister City relationships over the last five decades, said Bill Deef, Vice President of International Relations at Meet Minneapolis.”The first one was Santiago, Chile, in 1961,” said Deef. “The newest one is Najaf, Iraq, so that’s three years ago.”However, Sister Cities are not government-run programs in Minneapolis, said Deef. Instead, they are run by local committees and institutes and then supported by the city.”The Eldoret relationship is tied to the International Leadership Institute. The Swedish relationship is tied to the Swedish Institute. Continue Reading
On the edge of The Edge: YaYa contemplates closing St. Paul coffee shop
|
If you know The Edge Coffee House on University and Raymond in St.
Condemnation, fear and eviction at Westminster Court apartments in St. Paul
|
After more than a month of fighting to keep from getting evicted from their homes, the six remaining famil
Women entrepreneurs move to Central Corridor in St. Paul
|
Liz Abbene apologizes for being late as she unlocks the door to her new office space a few blocks from the intersection of Raymond and University Avenue in St. Paul.
Minneapolis hopes to double recycling with move from seven-sort to single-sort
|
After 30 years of curbside pickup for multi-sorted recycling, the city of Minneapolis is switching to single-sort recycling. On May 25, the City Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak approved a plan to move forward with single-sort recycling by 2013, in hopes of drastically increasing the city’s recycling rate.Currently, Minneapolis uses a seven-sort system, where residents must separate cans, plastic, glass, paper and cardboard, and magazines into different containers before being picked up by the city. The city then transports that pre-sorted material to a contracted recycling plant where they unload the differing containers separately, without much need to sort through the material.With single-sort, the material will arrive in one bin, leaving all of the sorting to the plants.”I’m extremely excited about it,” said Rybak. “For many years we had the right impulse, which is to ask more of our residents. The reality is it’s been clearly demonstrated that we can get dramatically more materials recycled by going single sort, so let’s do what we know is effective.”For the last decade, Minneapolis’ recycling rate has remained at a stagnant 18.1 percent. Continue Reading
Walker United Methodist Church community shares memories, hope at picnic the day after fire consumes sanctuary
|
Churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike gathered outside the ruins of Powderhorn Park’s Walker United Methodist Church Monday night, May 28, to celebrate the church’s annual Memorial Day picnic, despite the devastating fire the night before that injured five Minneapolis firefighters and destroyed the century-old building. The official cause of fire remains undecided but recent evidence (which can be viewed here) suggests the cause of the fire to be lightning.