ST. PAUL NOTES | Highland, SunRay libraries closing for renovation, new art installation at Rondo

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Spotlight on St. Paul reports that Rondo Community Outreach Library has a new reader bench, created by artist Seitu Jones in honor of retired librarian Alice Neve. According to the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, Jones selected materials “to complement another major work commissioned by the library: the story tree and multicolored ‘kites’ rising into the ceiling in the children’s area.””Alice’s Storyteller Bench” was commissioned by Neve’s husband, Leon, and unveiled on October 20.Meanwhile, Highland Park and Sun Ray libraries are preparing to close for renovations at the beginning of December, not to reopen until the fall of 2014. According to the library website, the Highland renovations will help to better integrate the library and the Hillcrest Recreation Center, as well as providing additional parking and an exterior book drop, a new teen zone, new community meeting room, expanded children’s area, and more internet stations and powered furniture to accommodate personal technology.Sun Ray library is also set for renovations during 2014, including a new public plaza, sidewalks and landscaping, better car and bike parking, an outdoor reading garden, an expanded children’s section and a dedicated teen zone, “genius bar” technology counters, as well as a community room.According to the Highland District Council posting on E-Democracy, Highland Park Library will celebrate the remodeling with a Siesta Fiesta on Sunday, December 1 from 1-5 p.m. After the closing, preschool storytimes and book club meetings iwll be in the Hillcrest Recreation Center, Amharic storytimes will move to Homecroft Early Learning Center, and job search assistance, Paw Pals, and Dr. Who group meetings will be held at the Merriam Park Library. Continue Reading

EDITOR’S DESK | Give to the Max — or until you crash the GiveMN site!

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Yep — site crashed, and I’m giving the credit to all of the Minnesotans who are out there supporting our favorite charities, schools, non-profit organizations, and projects. So here’s a day-after plea: keep on giving! Think of it as a second chance to make a difference.We all do better when we all do better, and the organizations fervently and/or obnoxiously begging for your money on Give to the Max Day (including TC Daily Planet) really do need your donations and do good things with the money you contribute.I put TC Daily Planet at the top of my list. When we were in grade school, it was considered bad form to vote for yourself in elections. Not any more — if you don’t believe in yourself enough to vote for yourself, then you shouldn’t be running. Continue Reading

Dai Thao wins Ward 1 city council seat in St. Paul

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Dai Thao was declared the winner in St. Paul’s Ward 1 city council race on November 11 — six days after the election. That’s when the Ranked Choice Voting count was finally conducted, running from early morning to late afternoon. Fred Melo (Pioneer Press) provided an entertaining Twitter feed, which may well have been the best place to follow the count. He announced that Dai Thao was the winner just before 4 p.m., with Thao garnering 1970 votes to runner-up Noel Nix’s 1722.For all of you (other) political junkies out there, that means that every single first-place vote-getter also won the RCV count in this year’s Minneapolis and St. Continue Reading

Election results updated: Hodges in as mayor; Cano, Yang, Palmisano win city council seats; St. Paul counts on Monday

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UPDATED November 8, 5 p.m.: After three days of counting, Minneapolis has a winner in the mayoral race — Betsy Hodges — and in the three city council races that awaited Ranked Choice Voting counts. In Ward Five, Blong Yang will be the new city council member. In Ward Nine, the winner is Alondra Cano. In Ward Thirteen, Linnea Palmisano wins. St. Continue Reading

EDITOR’S DESK | Comments of the week focus on Hmong 18 Clan Council, Miss Saigon

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With more than 60,000 page views and more than 750 comments, Tiffany Vang’s Community Voices article on the Hmong 18 Clan Council and bride prices leads in all categories. Not surprising: Many commenters who missed the point or had little to say. More surprising: The sheer number of comments, and the many who took the time to respond thoughtfully and at length, either agreeing or disagreeing, and also Tiffany Vang’s dedication to taking the time to respond to several comments, also thoughtfully and at length. Take a look!A comment and response to Denise Hanh Huynh’s Miss Saigon article also deserve attention. It’s great to see people engaging in actual conversation about the issues, in a respectful way that shows they are thinking about what the other person said. Continue Reading

Hashim Yonis, Park Board candidate, violated ‘numerous civil service rules’

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Hashim Yonis, a candidate for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board commissioner and a former Park District employee, was accused in July of illegally taking money. In August, he was terminated for violation of a number of civil service rules, including “criminal or dishonest conduct unbecoming to a public employee” and “misappropriation of City property, funds or money.” [See PDF below for full investigative report and decisions.] In a settlement agreement announced today, Yonis agreed never to apply for a position with the Park Board. In the agreement, he was allowed to turn his termination into a resignation. Here’s the text of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board statement:

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First Somali museum in North America opens in Minneapolis

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“The smallest, troublemaker camel wears the smallest bell — as a herder, you can hear this camel when she runs off into the bush causing trouble, and you can find her to bring her back to the herd. The biggest bell goes on the lead camel — the old, tamer camel knows the way home …” [Exhibit label]Who gets the big camel bell is just one of many questions answered at the new Somali Artifact and Cultural Museum, which opened this weekend in Minneapolis at Plaza Verde (1516 East Lake Street). The museum is the only Somali museum in the United States, and perhaps in the world. As its website explains:The world’s only Somali Cultural History Museum used to be in Mogadishu.  In the last 20 years, that museum’s contents have been scattered across East Africa and the world. Continue Reading

EDITOR’S DESK | Commenter of the week: Ladan Yusuf

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Last week’s longest and most thoughtful comment came from Ladan Yusuf. Here’s part of it:We can argue all day about how many white people are racist and how many are not. As a woman of color, East African, Somali, I have seen racism that you would not wish on any one and have experienced this in this state from whites and non-whites.  Yet at the same time, I continue to do the work I mean to do and bringing these issues up in a way that empowers people not make them feel they are victims. So let me share with you a third view on this and what I do.  I see the big debate is between unions and anti-unions and [neither] I nor the community I come from care about this debate.  We care about quality of education.  [Click here to read the whole comment, and the Community Voices article it is responding. This week, lots of commenters are outraged over the bonuses paid to Minnesota  Orchestra President and CEO Michael Henson. They’re weighing on Barb Kucera’s Workday Minnesota article about the bonus and high compensation. Continue Reading

EDITOR’S DESK | Comments of the week: ‘This hurts us’ vs. ‘I don’t see anything wrong with it’

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Actually, two comments — with the commenters demonstrating how to disagree, but engage in a respectful dialogue:Bridgette ‘Leonard’ RamaleyI appreciate this post, as I didn’t realize there was such controversy with Miss Saigon. And I even went to the Don’t Buy Miss Saigon Tickets website and read a bit there. But I have to admit I’m a bit baffled. There are statements made by this author and the website painting a specific picture of interpretation of the show. And it’s an interpretation that I don’t have.First, you state above that the white male is painted as a hero at the end. Continue Reading