COMMUNITY VOICES | Update: The Uptake’s marriage equality film

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As of this posting, The Uptake is short by more than $7,700 of its Kickstarter fundraiser deadline goal of $21,211 for its documentary project on the struggle for marriage equality in Minnesota; that deadline arrives on SEPT 6 at 11:59 p.m.  The Uptake, a non-profit, citizen-propelled video news service, says its program on how Minnesotans successfully fought for marriage equality will be crafted for a national TV audience.  The gubernatorial signing of Minnesota’s marriage equality legislation came just six months after the unexpected defeat of the discriminatory constitutional marriage definition amendment question on the November 2012 ballot.  “That’s our story,” says The Uptake’s Mike McIntee. The Uptake can select interviews, demonstrations, legislative debates and protests from hundreds of hours of streamed and taped video from its own coverage and the video vault of the Minnesota United for All Families, the lead organization in the fight for equality.If the funding pledge deadline goal is made, the The Uptake will be good to go.  But if the $21,211 Kickstarter pledge goal is not reached by 11:59 p.m. on September 6, the film will not be produced.  The project will need to pay for such production costs as sifting through and selecting video clips from three years of coverage, scripting, digitizing the chosen footage for computer editing, music use fees, audio mixing, graphics and some promotion. Referring to the documentary’s small budget, McIntee says, “There’s some money in here for promotion and distribution, but not a lot.  We’re hoping that once we get this made other like-minded organizations are going to help us out on that.  It will get seen nationally.  Free Speech TV is one outlet for that.  I’m hoping that others will be available as well.” During the evening ramp up to the first, legal, same-sex marriage ceremonies at Midnight on August 1st, I assisted McIntee and Uptake videographer Bill Sorem at the Wilde Roast Restaurant at St. Anthony-on-Main.  They were live-streaming interviews of couples, activists and political supporters of the marriage equality campaign that I was recruiting from the jovial and reflective celebrants.  The three of us later added to that footage at Minneapolis City Hall before, during and after Mayor R.T. Ryback legally married the first group of 46 same-sex couples.  You’ll see clips of the evening in my accompanying video. McIntee explained that if the target amount is not raised by the September 6 deadline, pledged gifts will not be processed – prospective donors will keep their money. If the deadline goal of $21,211 is reached or surpassed, donations will be tax deductible.Here is the link to the film project’s information and pledge page at Kickstarter.http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/uptake/how-minnesota-went-from-no-to-yes-on-marriage-equa?ref=cardCORRECTON 9/3/2013: It’s Kickstarter, not Quickstarter. Continue Reading

Seward Gateway Sculpture Project: One piece at a time

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Fitting the Pieces Together“A mosaic is a great big puzzle, and all of the pieces fit together to make a whole,” explained Connie Cohen. She’s leading teen artists in the Seward gateway sculpture project, which is destined for Fire Station #7 on Franklin Avenue as a welcoming piece for the neighborhood.It’s the young artists who are leading the charge on the project, said Cohen, and just like creating a mosaic, it takes people with a variety of skills and interests to complete the work. The team has been working on the project together for several weeks, and Cohen said that each of the teens “come to it with their own unique sensibility.” One teen loves the detailed work of cutting and placing the tiles, another excels at piecing together the random shapes of broken tiles.The 8 foot tall sculpture will depict scenes of various types of homes in Seward – the Mississippi River is home to fish, a tree home to an owl, single-family homes and multi-family homes for people – with the backdrop of downtown Minneapolis. Images courtesy of ArtiCulture.What is Home?The theme of the project is home, and when the team began their work Cohen asked the students to think about all of the different types of homes in Seward – “What is home to a fish? To a bird? Continue Reading

AVID helps Twin Cities teens become first generation college students

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Augsburg College senior Edgardo Becerra always knew he wanted to go to college. He comes from what he calls a “financially unstable” family, with parents working overtime and second shift jobs. While they worked, Becerra stayed home and took care of his younger siblings. Becerra said he knew he would need “every possible resource to get into college and be prepared.”Becerra found those resources at Minneapolis’ Southwest High School, when he enrolled in the AVID program. AVID, the acronym for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a national college readiness system that operates in all seven high schools and twelve middle schools in Minneapolis and at 26 elementary schools as well as middle schools and high schools in St. Continue Reading

Why I’m supporting Mark Andrew for Minneapolis mayor

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CORRECTION – SEE BELOW • I was a big fan of Gary Schiff and hoped to support him all the way through to election day. Gary was a populist. He supported issues I care about, like the Occupy Homes movement, small, local businesses, and bridging the opportunity gaps in our schools and neighborhoods. As a city council member, Gary consistently stood up for regular people. Continue Reading

“Happy Double Wedding” at the Minnesota Fringe Festival: Orange is the new black tie

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How’s this for a disclaimer? Happy Double Wedding is presented by an organization—Dangerous Productions—that my girlfriend has served as a board member. After the August 3 performance, we went out for drinks with one cast member; another cast member audited my sociology class at Macalester last fall. So I won’t review—I’ll just describe. Continue Reading

Mark Andrew highlights green dreams in Minneapolis mayoral campaign

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CORRECTED 7/29/2013: Mayoral candidate Mark Andrew spoke to around 60 friends, supporters, and curious citizens on July 24 at the Phillips Family Office in southeast Minneapolis, with Dean Phillips hosting the event. Andrew focused on the three issues he considers most important: making Minneapolis the “greenest city in America,” tackling what he referred to as the “gaps” in wages, housing, education, and overall opportunities among Minneapolis’ citizens, and finally, economic development.The July 24 event, the second in a series of Kate Mortenson’s casual “meet the candidate” series,  began with a presentation on Ranked Choice Voting, then moved to a brief candidate speech by Andrew, and then to questions and answers. The first candidate to speak in the series was Don Samuels on July 17, followed by Mark Andrew on July 24. Next up are Jackie Cherryhomes and Betsy Hodges, followed by a last minute add-on of candidate Cam Winton, who is a Republican running as an Independent.Andrew’s passions clearly seemed to be focused around transit and the environment. He referred frequently to his past experience as Hennepin County Commissioner, and highlighted his work on building the Midtown Greenway, the Kenilworth bike trail near Cedar Lake in Minneapolis, and the city’s recycling program.Andrew was asked about the Southwest Light Rail controversy, which involves the expansion of light rail transit in southwest Minneapolis and western suburbs. A key aspect of the controversy is how to accommodate various neighborhood interests, and how to accommodate light rail and freight train traffic. Continue Reading

Barnraisings.com wants you — to “make community work”

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Jim Rettew has a dream of adapting the Amish concept of barn raisings to bring people around the Twin Cities together to rebuild homes, businesses, and lives. With funding from Minnesota Idea Open, he’s working on making that dream a reality that will help homeless veterans, aspiring hairdressers, and many more people in the Twin Cities.Rettew grew up in Philadelphia near what he calls “Amish Country.” From an early age he was impressed with the strong sense of community among the Amish. In particular, he looked to the tradition of barn raising as an example of community coming together to help each other.“I always loved the idea that in a weekend, neighbors could come together and build a barn in 72 hours or less,” said Rettew. “It was an awesome spirit of coming together.”So in 2012 when Rettew applied to the Minnesota Idea Open challenge held by the Minnesota Community Foundation, he decided take the idea of Amish barn raisings to social media.  He won, and this July, Rettew’s vision became reality with the launch of barnraisings.com. Continue Reading

Eritrean community radio divides Minnesota Eritreans

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An ongoing controversy involving the Eritrean Community Radio program on KFAI, which airs on Sunday afternoons, continues to divide the Twin Cities Eritrean community, with no resolution in sight. The program, which started in the 1990s, is hosted by Essey Asbu, a board member of the Eritrean Community Center, based in St. Paul. Another group, the Eritrean Forum of Minnesota, claims the KFAI program takes a pro-Eritrean government stance, and wants an alternative point of view to be heard.Over the last couple of years, a number of contentious meetings have been held at KFAI, with Eritrean Forum members demanding time on the program, while many of the program’s listeners (and KFAI contributors) object to the Forum’s point of view.Eritrean Forum positionSteve Paulos, a member of the Eritrean Forum of Minnesota, moved to the United States in 1974, when Eritrea was a part of Ethiopia. “We’re only asking to have constitutional country,” he said.Paulos said the KFAI program follows only government-run news. Continue Reading

Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association protests proposed I-35W sound wall in Minneapolis

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A 20-foot sound barrier wall has been proposed along Interstate 35W through the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood, but the neighborhood association strongly opposes it.In negotiations with the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association (MHNA), the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) agreed to send a mailing to neighborhood residents and property owners and to host a public hearing set for 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, at the University Lutheran Church of Hope, 601 13th Avenue Southeast.The wall would run along the interstate from Fourth Street Southeast to Ninth Street Southeast.The MNDOT mailing, received by some neighborhood residents on July 13, also announced meetings at 5:00-7:00 p.m. July 18 at Van Cleve Park Recreation Center and 5:00-7:00 p.m. July 24 in Logan Park Recreational Center.The announcement said the meetings will also discuss a proposed new entrance ramp from Fourth Street South (downtown) to northbound I-35W with new lanes on the interstate from there through the neighborhood.In a statement to members, MHNA said MNDOT has restricted who can vote on the plan and seems determined to build it regardless of public reaction.“MHNA opposes the wall because it will make very little difference in the sound we are used to; it will be a huge canvas for graffiti; it will further divide our neighborhood; it will remove the trees and vegetation 400 neighborhood volunteers planted; it will provide a dark place for criminal activity; it cuts off [sight]-lines for bicyclists and motorists; it cuts off light for neighborhood gardens and dwellings; it does not fit with the historic districts it will interrupt; it cannot be guaranteed to work—nearby Prospect Park is trying to get rid of their noise wall because it just re-directed the noise uphill,” the statement said.The statement also criticized the MNDOT process, which allows absentee landlords with multiple properties to have multiple votes while some residents are not allowed to vote.“So please attend the meeting, look for the MNDOT mailing and if you are eligible, please vote. A non vote is a yes vote; MHNA encourages you to send back a NO vote,” the statement said.City Council Member Diane Hofstede will convene a meeting to discuss potential bike lanes on University Avenue and Fourth Street from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, at the University Lutheran Church of Hope during the hour before the scheduled discussion of the sound wall with MNDOT.Correction 7/17: When originally published, this article misidentified the site of the proposed new entrance ramp as Fourth Street Southeast. The actual location of the proposed ramp is Fourth Street South. Continue Reading