The Times Morgue File back on the shelves at Minneapolis Central Library

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Historians, scholars, intellectually curious Minneapolitans take note. In the spirit of openness the James K. Hosmer Hosmer Collection at the Minneapolis Central Library, has announced that The Times Morgue, the lynchpin historical record of the city, has not been dead, but only sleeping. The Times Morgue file which the Library acquired from the Star Tribune Company many years ago, is now accessible to the public again. Continue Reading

Jerry Freeman of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder talks about his new novel, “In a Kick-Ass Sentimental Mood”

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It’s said that those who can, do, and that those who can’t, teach. In the publishing racket, more than one grousing writer would attest that those who can’t do, edit. Not the case with Jerry Freeman of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR).Freeman has been editing at MSR—which, closing on 80 years, is Minnesota’s longest-lived African-American publication (and, for that matter, the state’s oldest minority-owned business)—for the past decade. At the weekly community newspaper, he has developed a nettlesome reputation by assigning staff ace writer Charles Hallman stories delving into no small amount controversy, among them a story on black clergy members’ views on gay marriage and the series “Chasing The Tornado Money” (parts one, two, three) on just how much relief funding actually found its way to North Minneapolis victims of the deadly, vastly damaging tornado in 2011. He has also handled a range of less troubling news features from human interest to op-ed to metro news.All the while, sending writers out to cover events and fielding material for the editorial pages, Jerry Freeman has been quietly hatching a writing project of his own. In a Kick-Ass Sentimental Mood (KaZoom Digital Publishing) is a futuristic novel featuring the cynical hero with a heart of gold: grizzled, hard-bit freelance detective-cum-bounty hunter, Gib, in his hellbent determination to fly in the face of corporate convention and its stranglehold on what no longer even pretends to be a land of the free or home of the brave, but a blatant, massive bastion of haves lording over and trampling on the lives and humanity of have-nots. Continue Reading

How to market yourself on social media: 11 tips for artists

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Social networking is a tool: it will give you nothing more than you put into it, and how you use it will determine your results. If social networks weren’t so great for promoting my artwork I wouldn’t partake in them, but since so many great opportunities have come to me via social media I’d be crazy not to use them to the best of my abilities. Here are some tips to getting the most out of social networking while working in an artistic profession.Friend and follow people who you think would make great professional contacts; everyone does it, and it’s understood that it can be mutually beneficial. It’s fine to connect with someone just because you’re interested in what they do. If they didn’t want you to see what they were working on, then they wouldn’t put it on the Internet. Continue Reading

Crime and controversy in St. Paul

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Reactions to a recent TC Daily Planet article (St. Paul Challenge: “Love the house. Hate the neighborhood.”) have been passionate. The article began with the story of a resident concerned about shootings on his block. In Facebook and E-Democracy posts, some readers expressed anger at the article:This is the WORST article I have ever read!!!.I am offended by the cheap shot title and opening paragraph of the article “Love the home, hate the neighborhood.” Continue Reading

Reflections of New Minnesotans: When humor goes wrong – the hijab costume controversy

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Last week, photos of two St. Paul police officers in a hijab costume emerged and left many in the community concerned about the culture of racism that allows officers of the law to appear on social media in such racist cultural costumes. One of the officers appeared in blackface makeup — a practice that has racist historical roots in the entertainment industry in the 1900s and has been an expression of racism since its advent.

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Privacy and the Internet: A challenging balance, especially when you’re getting white supremacist hate mail

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I got some hate mail this week. Most of it landed in my spam folder, thankfully, but a few ended in my inbox. I didn’t read every e-mails in full—just the first sentence, or long enough to realize what kind of correspondence it was. These tirades, calling for me to kill myself, or saying that I was a whore or whatever, came from a certain group of white supremacists who were angered by my column last week saying they were irrelevant.I wasn’t going to write about this mail, not wanting to encourage the senders, but I feel that the experience is the negative extreme version of a rather vulnerable position I find myself in a lot as I put thoughts and words out into the world.It has to do with being a writer, but also with just being a person who actively uses social media. I really only use Facebook extensively (Twitter less so), probably because I tend to have more interactions there, and let’s be honest, I’m a bit addicted to the constant stream of comments, posts, pictures and exchange of emotion between almost strangers.In my “real life,” I only have a few friends. Continue Reading

A guide to St. Paul for the news media

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It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. The local news media even those who write for our newspaper. . .the one that has been serving the city since the late 1800s have a hard time understanding the geography of St. Paul and the names of our neighborhoods so they re-name parts of the city to make things easier for themselves and at the same time they show us St. Paul natives that they are not from our beloved city. Continue Reading

FREE SPEECH ZONE | Twin Cities Community Radio WORLD RADIO DAY! Wednesday, February 13th 2013

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I first had the opportunity to learn about Twin Cities Community Radio when I began working at Waite House this last October. This initiative has been going on for over a year, and it is in response to the FCC announcing that communities across the country would be able to apply for a low frequency radio signal with which to hold a radio station. Interested community partners have been meeting ever since.I attended my first meeting, where SPNN staff member Emily Krumberger taught meeting attendees how to create a podcast, conduct interviews, and edit these stories. As the months went on, the FCC released the date that they would be accepting applications, which will be this upcoming October. Now that this deadline has been set, the coalition has been gaining momentum with creating their mission statement, publishing podcasts, holding community meetings, and recruiting interested parties who want to have their own show or those who want to be a part of creating something that could last for years to come.I am excited about TCCR because if licenses are given to Minneapolis and St. Continue Reading