German food, music and more

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German immigrants were among the first settlers in the North End neighborhood and Saint Paul’s Oktoberfest honors that heritage. This year’s Oktoberfest is on Saturday, October 11, from noon to 11 p.m. at Rice Street and Geranium Avenue. German foods, including sauerkraut and brats, apple strudel and Black Forest chocolate cake, German beer and Riesling wine will be featured at the 8th annual event. Admission to the grounds for the family friendly event is free. Most activities take place indoors in a climate controlled setting. Continue Reading

New playground at Lewis Park

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Last week neighborhood families celebrated the dedication of a new tot lot at Lewis Park located at Wayzata and Marion Streets in Saint Paul’s North End. The new playground is on the grounds of the Lewis Park apartments, which is a totally accessible building. A design team made up of residents of the building created a wish list for the playground equipment. Then they got together with city parks and recreation designers to come up with the best type of equipment, ground cover, and lighting for the playground. “The surface and equipment provides accessibility for everyone,” according to Bryan Murphy, a landscape designer with Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. Continue Reading

Rash of burglaries sparks new block club

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A rash of burglaries in the area have unnerved residents of this usually peaceful and relatively crime free neighborhood in the North End. On October 1, neighbors came together for the first meeting of a new block club, and the meeting focused on concerns about the burglaries. According to Rice Street beat officer Steve Lentsch, there is no one method of operation in these burglaries. The home burglaries have taken place night and day, sometimes with forced entry, other times through unsecured doors. During some of the burglaries residents were at home, other homes were robbed while the occupants were away. Continue Reading

New Director at Union Park

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Roger Bromander is the new executive director at the Union Park District Planning Council 13 in Saint Paul. A resident of the city since 1993, Bromander has extensive experience in land use planning and consulting. Most recently he served as chair of the Housing and Land Use Committee for the Macalester–Groveland Planning Council neighborhood, where he lives. He has a Masters degree in Non-Profit Management from Hamline University. For more information about Union Park community and council, see Working to work together.Bromander started at Union Park at the end of September. Continue Reading

Coen Brothers come to Rice Street

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It was back to the 60s when the Coen brothers came to Rice Street on Monday, September 29. They brought their crew to film scenes for their new move, “A Serious Man,” which takes place in the late 1960s and is scheduled for release in December 2009. Herb Yoch is the longtime owner of the Rice Street Do It Best Hardware at the corner of Rice Street and Jessamine where a three car crash scene was staged for the movie. Just for the day, his store, which is a fixture on Rice Street, was renamed Gurlock Hardware. Brian Yoch, Herb’s son, says that the trim on the store was given a fresh coat of paint and signs were taken down and replaced with 60s era signage. Continue Reading

Egal Shidad: Stories of Somali health to air October 6

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Every culture has its fairy tales and storytellers, and in Somali folklore, Egal Shidad is a character known as a “wise fool.” Now Egal Shidad is the star of a new production that focuses on mental health issues in the Somali communities of Minnesota. The program airs Monday, October 6 on both radio and TV. While the program uses the Somali language, it will also be translated into English, and will be available online. Egal Shidad: Stories of Somali HealthMonday, October 6, 20087:00. – p.m SPNN Channel 19 on St. Continue Reading

Bringing together a diverse neighborhood on St. Paul’s East Side

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St. Paul’s District 1 Planning Council faces the challenges of a diverse community spread over a wide area on the east side of the Mississippi. Some of the land lies along the river, and other neighborhoods are situated on high bluffs. Parts of the area almost have a suburban or country flavor about them while other parts are definitely city neighborhoods. Except for the apartment complexes, the neighborhoods are low density. Continue Reading

“I really like my job…I really want to be union”

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They work 60-70 hours a week. They say they are paid a monthly salary that averages out to about $10 an hour because there is no overtime pay. They receive no benefits. That means no health insurance, and no vacation, and only one paid holiday per year – Thanksgiving. They are the drivers who work for Vincent Trucking, and its alter-ego, Metro Trucking. Continue Reading

Building community downtown

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After endless hours of planning and preparation, the eyes of the world will be upon the downtown neighborhood of Saint Paul when the Republican National Convention (RNC) comes to town, September 1-4. The RNC’s arrival focuses attention on the district council that serves downtown, the District 17 CapitolRiver Planning Council (CRC ). John Schachterle is the new executive director of the CapitolRiver Planning Council. On board since the middle of June, Schacherterle, took on the new role after working as a volunteer for the council for several months. While he realizes that the downtown community presents some challenges, “in the end it presents opportunities,” he says.Eyes of the world will be upon their neighborhood District 17 CapitolRiver Planning CouncilBy Mary ThoemkeDistrict 17 CapitolRiver Planning Council322 Minnesota Street Suite W-122Saint Paul 651-221-0488
District 17 CapitolRiver Planning Council (CRC )is located in the downtown neighborhood of Saint Paul. Continue Reading