Mary Turck (maryturck@gmail.com) is a freelance writer, editor, teacher, and lifelong activist. She is the former editor of the TC Daily Planet, the Connection to the Americas and AMERICAS.ORG. She is also a recovering attorney and the author of many books for young people (and a few for adults), mostly focusing on historical and social issues. She lives in St. Paul with her husband, two daughters, and two cats.
The Minnesota Street Rod Association (MSRA) rolls into St. Paul every summer with its “Back to the ’50s” weekend celebration of gorgeous cars. Use the hashtag #MSRA2013 or #tcdpweekend to tag your photos and videos, and we’ll find them for this story![If you don’t see the Storify photos and comments below, please refresh your browser window.][<a href=”//storify.com/maryturck/msra-back-to-the-fifties-2013″ target=”_blank”>View the story “MSRA Back to the Fifties 2013” on Storify</a>] Continue Reading
TC Daily Planet staff used Storify to gather some of the images and comments posted by community members at the June 14-16 Stone Arch Bridge Festival. [If you don’t see the Storify photos and comments below, please refresh your browser window.][<a href=”//storify.com/maryturck/stone-arch-bridge” target=”_blank”>View the story “Stone Arch Bridge ” on Storify</a>] Continue Reading
Back in April, Hopkins High students and allies protested the suspension and criminal charges leveled against two African American students after an earlier protest against the ski team’s “Ghetto Spirit Day,” which many called racist. This week, the school and students and prosecutors reached an agreement to dismiss the charges and erase the suspension. According to the Hopkins High School statement republished on MPR:In an effort to address the concerns being raised by students, parents, and some community members, Hopkins Public Schools began an independent investigation into the matter and also subsequently agreed to participate in a restorative justice process to ensure understanding on the part of all stakeholders. The process included Hopkins Superintendent John Schultz, the Hopkins High School principal, the associate principal, the two African American high school students involved in the February incident, as well as their attorney, Nekima Levy-Pounds. For all involved, the restorative justice process was a step in the right direction to promote healing and understanding. Continue Reading
With graduation season in full swing, the Education Research Center’s Diplomas Count reports that more young adults are graduating from high school than at any time since 1973. The national graduation rate has risen by eight points during the past ten years, to 74.7 percent. “At the current pace of improvement,” Education Week reports, “the portion of students earning a diploma could surpass the historical high of 77.1 percent within the next few years.”Minnesota’s graduation numbers are better than the national average. At 80.4 percent, our graduation rate is the tenth-highest in the country. (For a note on how graduation rates are calculated, sidebar.)Looking at all Minnesota young adults, ages 16-21, 79.2 percent are in school, either high school or post-secondary school of some variety. Continue Reading
The Hamline Midway Heartwood Festival was held on Saturday, June 1 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thanks to Erin McKiel for uploading photos to Twitter using the hashtag – #Heartwood If you have photos, just Tweet or Instagram them with the #Heartwood hashtag, and we’ll find them!From the website: The Hamline Midway Heartwood Festival is family-friendly event celebrating of community, sustainability, and art. Kicking off with a Bike Walk Parade, this year’s event will feature great entertainment, resource fair, children’s activities, and an art & craft fair that festival visitors have enjoyed in years past. Bring your appetites, because local food vendors will be providing delicious food at Newell Park!New this year: plant native trees and remove invasive species to help restore the historic oak woodland through the reNewell Project, a collaboration between Hamline Midway Coalition, St. Paul Parks and Recreation, and the University of Minnesota.[If Storify does not appear below, just click to refresh your browser.][<a href=”//storify.com/maryturck/heartwood-festival” target=”_blank”>View the story “Heartwood Festival” on Storify</a>] Continue Reading
Swede Hollow’s Art in the Hollow festival will be held on Saturday, June 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. We’re looking for your photos! Just upload your photos or tweets to Instagram and Twitter using this hashtag – #ArtHollow We’ll look for your photos and feature many in this article: Check back Saturday night or Sunday to see photos here.From the website: The location. Gorgeous Swede Hollow Park (called St. Paul’s “hidden gem” by journalists), is just a few blocks east of the city’s Lowertown artist area and 120 feet below the streets.The artists: We anticipate over 50 visual & performing artists, many creating works on site—glass mosaics, murals, sculpture, painted furniture. Plein air (open-air) painters will seek to capture the beauty of the deep, lush ravine, with its ponds and stream, its variety of flora and fauna.New this Year: Juried, prize-awarded Sculpture Installation Contest. Teen art poster contest. Teen Gallery, Plein Air Art class, Swede Hollow History Booth.Uniqueness: It’s the only art fair on the city’s entire East Side. Ethnic richness: A local physician, using replica of a Haitian tent-home, will exhibit photos of post-earthquake Haiti in a canvas tent like the Haitian dwellings he experienced. These are the MAIN STAGE performance time slots. Continue Reading
The 44th Annual St. Anthony Park Arts Festival was held on Saturday, June 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Scroll down for the Storify with photos and tweets from the festival – we invited everyone to upload photos or tweets to Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag – #SAPArts.From the website description: Our festival:Takes place in an attractive neighborhhod setting, and is freeFeatures 80 artistsBenefits the historic St. Anthony Park Branch of the St. Paul LibraryEngages kids with activities such as the art booth, a weaving project and throwing their own pot.Engages teens and adults with a collaborative book project by Driftwood Community Arts.Has a used book sale, a plant sale, tasty food and great musicSupports summer reading and activity programs, keeping children engaged in reading throughout the summer.[If you can’t see the Storify below, please refresh your browser.][<a href=”//storify.com/maryturck/st-anthony-park-arts-festival” target=”_blank”>View the story “St. Anthony Park Arts Festival” on Storify</a>] Continue Reading
Jeremy Iggers launched our first poll last week, asking readers to vote on the best Thai restaurant in the Twin Cities. (If you missed it, hurry — you still have time to vote!) The poll started slowly, and then picked up steam after dozens of Royal Orchid fans started clicking and voting. Now that we have the first week of the first poll, we will definitely keep going. What will the next poll be? We are open to suggestions: maybe bike lanes versus bike tracks versus something else? Or street cars and where to put them? Continue Reading
I don’t know how Facebook picks top commenters, but we’ve got some good ones weighing in on Sheila Regan’s column this week. What’s the problem: higher-income people paying higher rents and pushing out poorer people? Or a whole structure that includes too-low wages, decisions about housing density, and transportation? And what’s the place of the arts and artists and placemaking? Take a look at John Harrington and Robyn Hendrix and Janne Kimberly Flisrand’s comments below — or go to the original column and Reporter’s Notebook to read all of the comments and join in the discussions.Not the problemby John HarringtonNo, Ms. Regan, you’re not the problem. Continue Reading
