COMMUNITY VOICES | Gripping collection transcends domestic life: Event features volume that is “gift to women’s history”

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Miriam Barber Judd was a prolific letter writer. She could pour out her feelings and experiences much more easily on paper than propriety allowed her to in daily life. The result is an amazing collection of letters (she left almost 2,000) and private writings that give a real-time, first-person account of the life behind a public servant. The Pioneer Press calls it “a gift to women’s history.”Now her daughter, Mary Lou Judd Carpenter, has put these together in a volume called Miriam’s Words: The Personal Price of a Public Life. This selection gives a chronological, well-written, insightful account of the life of the spouse of a public servant, Dr. Walter Judd, who was a medical missionary to China in the 1920s and 1930s, a 20-year Congressman and a delegate to the United Nations. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | St. Paul Hmong Market a local success, international model

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A few years ago, there was not a bank in the Twin Cities that would negotiate a loan to help finance a cultural shopping hub. Now, in the eyes of one man, it’s satisfying when those same banks clamor to be at your service.It’s the case with Hmong Village, the 105,000 square foot urban market on St. Paul’s East Side. Shongleng Yang is one of the original investors and now the president of the giant restaurant/retail/produce/professional gathering spot for the St. Paul Hmong community. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | You really don’t want to meet the Dicks at Dick’s Resort in the Mall of America

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I’m not one to cry. Truth is, I rarely cry, but during a visit to Dick’s Resort in the Mall of America I was literally reduced to tears! The bartender was abusive, abrasive, and mean as HELL. I wasn’t sure why he was in a bad mood, but later found out that it is their “niche” to be mean as spitfire. Were they really trained to treat people like this, to the point of harassment? Continue Reading

OPINION | My life in east St. Paul: What you learn here shapes who you are, how to get out

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“Trust none.”It might not be an original motto only said in east St. Paul, but it’s one that several teenagers swear by on this side of town.The way we, as eastsiders, carry ourselves lets others know where we’re from and who we are as a community.Trust none: Don’t open yourself to anybody because they might betray you with that information.For me, I don’t tell anyone my business. I keep to myself. I don’t want anyone to know anything about me besides my name. The only person I trust is my boyfriend.The people you trust are your “day ones.”These are the friends who you know will be there in the long run, through the good and bad. Continue Reading

Holiday light displays brighten Twin Cities and beyond

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For 2014 holiday light displays see: Dazzling holiday lights and sights in Twin Cities (and beyond) Minnesotans don’t need to dream or wish for a white Christmas this year, as winter blasted in with early sub-zero temps and snow. If seeing all that white has you seeing red, check out the bright holiday light displays, which transform cold, bare streets into a joyful array of eye candy. Check out our list of light displays below, and help us add to it. For a fun and relatively inexpensive activity for the holidays, why not make a night of holiday light viewing? Load up the car with family and friends, pop in your favorite Christmas CD, and take a trip around the Twin Cities to see the various light displays and decorations. Several local companies offer limousine or bus tours. Continue Reading

TC Weekend | Open Streets, Selby Jazz Fest, Autumn Daze, Mississippi Riverfest & Heritage Day and much more!

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 This weekend is jam-packed with events to help you get a jump on the fall season–from harvest fests to cheese fests, there’s a lot on tap! Get the details below: The Nativity County Fair takes place from Friday, September 13, to Sunday, September 15, in St. Paul. A bit more info about the fest as advertised on the Nativity County Fair website:”The Nativity County Fair began in 1975. The Nativity community pulled together in order to facilitate a fun way of giving to the school that has given so much to their children and their community…The Nativity County Fair is entering its 38th year of bringing joy to the Nativity community and beyond. The three day event takes place mid September on our school grounds and has become a favorite tradition in the parish and the Macalester Groveland neighborhood.”The 30th annual Autumn Daze Festival will take place from Friday, September 13, to Sunday, September 15, in Minneapolis. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited to come and enjoy the festivities, which include a quilt bingo and live and silent auctions.  Go here for more details.The 11th Annual Selby Avenue Jazz Festival will get things swinging, Saturday, September 14, in St Paul. Continue Reading