Meals on Wheels losing out to frozen food “efficiency”

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UPDATED AND CORRECTED – December 16, 2010 – After January 1, Meals on Wheels friendly volunteers will no longer deliver a daily hot meal to elderly and homebound residents in Washington County, and will be searching for continuing funding for Ramsey County operations. The Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging (MAAA) has decided to contract with Presbyterian Homes to deliver frozen meals once a week, using paid drivers. The $400,000 in funding comes from the senior nutrition program known as Title III from the Older Americans Act. In Hennepin County, MOW has a contract with Volunteers of America through MAAA and that contract was just renewed. MAAA’s website maintains they are dedicated to “advancing models of service that stress efficiency, consumer choice and innovation.”UPDATE: In a phone interview on December 16, Meals On Wheels executive director Patrick Rowan said that Ramsey County operations will continue, even without the MAAA funding. Continue Reading

Community turns out for Celebrate Northeast Parade in Minneapolis

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Crowds gathered early on the hot and steamy night of June 22, snatching up the small spaces of shade along Central Avenue in Minneapolis. Everybody loves a parade, and they were determined to see the 81st annual Celebrate Northeast Parade. 
Well before the start of the parade, street vendors marched up and down each side of the street, wiping their wet faces and blowing up Dora the Explorer, Spiderman and SpongeBob SquarePants balloons to sell. The parade began promptly at 6:30 and for the next 2 ½ hours more than 100 entries, including clubs, organizations, politicians, schools and parks, marched their way down Central between 27th and 14th Streets. Many people who attended enjoyed watching everything from the Edison High School Alumni Band to the Zuhrah Shrine Cobra Corps, who performed antics in their assorted vehicles. Anything that can be described as a novelty or unique was a hit. Continue Reading