Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/author/mary-treacy/page/13/)
Please check out my blog at:http://marytreacy.wordpress.com One time librarian and former executive director of the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information I am currently a very happy independent consultant exploring untold options. My passion is to contribute the bit I am able to an informed and engaged community in which everyone's story can be told - and heard. This means using a dynamic array of media - newspapers, websites, television, radio, social media and whatever comes on line tomorrow. It means being willing to plumb the depths of a story - and it means having the courtesy, if not the intellectual curiosity, to learn from others. My sons are both enmeshed in the information maze. Rick Birmingham is the Manager of IT Services at MAP for Nonprofits. Steve Birmingham works his magic on the public access terminals in Hennepin County Library. Grandson Will Birmingham, 19 months, loves food, slides, puddles and books - in that order. A graduate of what was then the College of St. Catherine I went on to get a MS in Library Science. Truth to tell, I didn't work in real libraries that much, but I did work 18 years as Director of Metronet, a collaboration of nearly 600 public, academic, corporate, medical, school and other libraries and information services in the TC's. In recent years I've worked in a number of consulting positions, most notably the Sisters of St. Joseph Ministries Foundation. As a hapless volunteer I've worked with a host of nonprofits including the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information, Learning in Style, the DFL Education Foundation, the Village Farmers Market among others. I've also written several pieces for TCDP. In recent weeks I've been joined the throngs of scribe wannabes by launching my own little blog called Poking Around With Mary - because poking around is what I do a good deal of the time.
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures – Ralph Waldo Emerson
In this 150th commemoration of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 Minnesotans struggle to unravel the facts and, even more, to internalize the reality of a War so near at hand, so close in time, and so unknown to 21st Century Minnesotans.
The frost is still deep in the ground when the preparations begin. Neighbors gather to pour over seed catalogs, sign up for tasks, exchange gardening tips and harvest preferences.
As the back hoes come out of storage the community gardeners face reality – the hours of stooped labor, sources of water, careful labeling or indistinguishable seeds.
Some Scott County old timers have an overflowing backlog of stories about their visits to the Fair over the decades. They stroll through the ever-changing exhibits, ponder the impact of technology, learn about new programs and ideas from Extension, admire the beautifully groomed animals, reflect on urban sprawl and past excursions to the County Fair.
The Twin Cities Polish Festival is about to bring music, dance, Polish food and a mighty burst of energy to the Mississippi riverfront. Polka contestants are primed, bakers are braving the heat, traditional musicians and artists are counting the days till the Twin Cities Polish Festival 2012, scheduled for Saturday, August 11 (10:00 a.m. Continue Reading
What’s hot in Northeast Minneapolis these days is the growing visibility of the several independent publishers that call the neighborhood home. Among these, Spout Press is the longest-running and one of the most prolific literary publishers in the Twin Cities. Sprout Press will hold their tenth annual cover song contest and fundraiser on Thursday, July 19.
A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a senseof wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.
CORRECTION: As a commenter has noted, this article contained some fairly significant inaccuracies in the list of candidates. It has now been revised. Voters in Hennepin County’s 2nd Commissioner District (North and Northeast Minneapolis) have some head-scratching to do – not just about which candidate to support for the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners but also about the terms and areas the elected person will serve.It all started when Commissioner Mark Stenglein resigned from the Board, effective May 31, to become president and CEO of the Downtown Minneapolis Council. That left vacant two years of his unfinished term representing the 2nd Commissioner District.And then came the redistricting process, required as a result of the 2010 Census. Any district that had more than a five percent change in population had to be redistricted. The 2nd District, now vacant, basically lost New Hope and Crystal to the 1st District (Commissioner Mike Opat) while the 1st District no longer includes residents in Minneapolis. Continue Reading
American Harvest is a powerful, riveting, politically charged documentary bound to inspire some, infuriate others, and inevitably engende
Have you ever regretted as you leave the Northeast Minneapolis arts district that you are leaving behind the magnificent sculpture works created by local artists?
Northeast Library, 2200 Central Avenue NE, offers a good read and a cool space for overheated young folks. Family storytime continues each Friday through August 17.