Who are heroes and to whom? An Indigenous perspective on Columbus

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Last month, October 13, 2014, it was my pleasure to participate in a celebration at the Minneapolis American Indian Center. The occasion was the resolution passed by the Minneapolis City Council to have as a co-name, “Indigenous Peoples Day,” for what white U.S. society has celebrated as Columbus Day.This is a Community Voices submission and is moderated but not edited. The opinions expressed by Community Voices contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the TC Daily Planet.Why do I rejoice at this name change? Columbus may have been a hero to U.S. Euro-Americans, particularly to Italian-Americans, however, Columbus is not a hero to not only the Indigenous Peoples of the U.S., but also to the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. Columbus used dogs trained to disembowel Native peoples when they fled. Continue Reading

Ars Nova performs at Mill City Nights, Covenant shares his passion for music

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Ars Nova performed at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Saturday, Nov. 8, and a member of the group, Covenant, shared his passion for making music.On Saturday, the doors opened at 9 p.m. at Mill City Nights for the “Long Live the Empire: Feed the People Show,” where 11 music groups performed and people brought canned goods to support families for the holidays. The event was hosted by Prince Carlton and featured music artists’ Ced Linus, Sti-lo Reel, and Louie P as the headliners, followed by a group of local artist including: Karma, Airman Heart, Friendly Beers, Skeptic, Ars Nova, Sieed Brown, Nonfic and Korentine.“Mill City was dope. It’s always a lot of energy, it’s always a good crowd,” Covenant said.Ars Nova is a hip-hop group comprised of three people: Covenant (from Chicago), Jaysocreative (from Minnesota) and Monk (from Philadelphia).Covenant said Ars Nova means “new art,” which is what they aspire to create by mixing elements of 90s hip-hop with a modern day feel as they each bring the culture of where they grew up into their music.“It’s really about using the old format and good heartedness of 90s hip-hop with the twist of new art growing up in this generation,” Covenant said.Covenant said they see the 90s as the “golden age of hip-hop.” He said he felt then there was a message with the music as there was a story being told through the lyrics. He said today’s modern music is mainly music that’s meant to be fun which doesn’t necessarily tell a story.“There was a time where music really spoke to people,” Covenant said. Continue Reading

The elusive deer

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I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon deer hunting (or sitting as I call it and “nature viewing” as a friend of mine calls it). It was about the twelfth time I’ve gone bow hunting this year and it was the 11th time I didn’t draw my bowstrings back. The time I actually might have had a shot where I did take aim it was too far past sunset for me to get an accurate shot, although I do believe the deer were actually within range (for me that would mean 25 yards or less). I probably would have had a shot the very first time I went out which was opening bow hunting week in Minnesota in the middle of September but, of course, I had to reach for my bow screwed into the tree that I was sitting in and my hanging stand was only about eight feet off the ground so the deer, of course, noticed. It’s too bad. Before I moved the deer was running straight towards me. Continue Reading

OPINION | Community Action in Ramsey-Washington demonstrates transparency, accountability

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I wish to utilize this column to share some important information related to the operations and oversight at Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties (CAPRW). The recent shutdown of Community Action of Minneapolis has given rise to an unprecedented level of scrutiny toward Minnesota’s other 25 Community Action agencies, including CAPRW.

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What’s next for the MPS IT department?

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The sudden departure of the former CIO of Minneapolis Public Schools, Rich Valerga, early last week leaves a lot of questions for some Daily Planet readers such as myself. Mr. Valerga served as MPS CIO for almost exactly 15 months. It seems a little odd that Valerga would decide to step down so abruptly since he had been pursuing the position for two years prior to him being hired in the summer of 2013. Was there some reason for Mr. Valerga’s departure that hasn’t been publicly revealed yet?This is a Community Voices submission and is moderated but not edited. The opinions expressed by Community Voices contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the TC Daily Planet.The other big looming question concerning the MPS Department of Information Technology is where is the department now headed? Continue Reading

Democratic Visions: The Theater of Public Policy exposed

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The Theater of Public Policy (T2P2) will command just two more Monday evenings at the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater as it wraps its October/November run. The improv comedy company has fashioned shows that blend elements of the Charlie Rose, Match Game and Whose Line Is It? television shows into an informative, literally live, laugh fest.

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Eat local, save the planet

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While climate change is typically associated with power plants, rising sea levels, or melting glaciers, an often overlooked yet important piece of the issue is our food system – agriculture is at the same time a cause, victim, and potential solution to climate change, depending on the way we grow and transport food from the fields to our plates.

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