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Buy Nothing groups encourage people to buy less, share more
A sweet journey
24 strategies, 64 actions
20 AWARDS
TMC Publication's three newspapers earned a total of 20 awards at this year's Better Newspaper Contest. Congrats to the winners! NEWS1) First Place, Sports Story - Eric Erickson, “Unforgettable …
Gifts of season give reason to reflect
HyggeCertainly, the long, cold, dark Minnesota winters can spark a melancholia for some. Yet frigid temperatures and spare daytime hours can also create the mood to hibernate, as other creatures of …
Bridging community and culture
Refugee and immigrant children in the U.S. often face trauma and systemic barriers including a lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate services, affordability, and stigma. These compounding …
Tips to help kids struggling with social media
Social media is a big part of young people’s lives. It has its benefits, and being able to keep in touch with friends and family remotely was one of the saving graces in the early stages of the …
Tenants win with new set of agreements
After over two years of tenants organizing together, the Minneapolis City Council passed a comprehensive list of agreements entered into by Progress Residential, the manager for Front Yard …
Luminaries lit on king’s highway for dap
This year marked the 24th annual Dupont (King’s Highway) luminary lighting on Christmas Eve. The six blocks between 42nd and 47th Street participated, as well as 46th Street down to Lake …
Want to be a trolley driver in linden hills?
Have you ever wanted to do something totally unique? How about operating a trolley car? The Minnesota Streetcar Museum, one of the few “living history” museums in the Twin Cities, needs …
Exploring purpose for health and wellness
Did you know that living with a clear purpose can improve your resilience, health, and relationships? The beginning of 2023 may be a perfect time to reflect on what gives you direction, why you get …
Art shanty projects initiates plan beach due to poor ice conditions
Due to rapidly deteriorating ice on Bdé Umáŋ / Lake Harriet, Art Shanty Projects’ annual program will be presented as “Plan Beach” this year instead of …
Neighborhood news
PLASTIC FREE CHALLENGEBe part of the solution to reduce waste, protect water and wildlife, address climate change, and look after the health of ourselves and future generations by joining the …
East Harriet is hiring
East Harriet Neighborhood Association (EHNA) is seeking a Neighborhood Coordinator.• Part time (10-15 hours a week)• Flexible hours that include day meetings (with the city and/or the …
City briefs
Public school superintendent searchThis year, the Minneapolis Public School Board will be hiring a new superintendent who is expected to start working in July. The school board is seeking community …

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Jan. 19, 2023 Connector

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BEGINNING A NEWSPAPER

Welcome, readers of the new Southwest Connector. We’re glad you’ve picked up a copy of our inaugural edition. It’s an exciting time for neighborhood journalism. Thanks for coming …

Voices Against Violence
 A SAFER APPROACH FOR CUSTODY CASES
Who’s right? Who’s wrong? And how does it affect the kids?Figuring out family dynamics in custody cases can be tricky, but the Battered Women’s Justice Project (BWJP) in St. Paul …
FAILED BY FAMILY COURT
Helpless and hopeless.That’s how Kelsey Kruse felt for years as she tried to co-parent with her ex and his wife, Brett and Sarah Hallow.And then one day, she got the call she was scared …
‘I RAN’
At 25, Sarah* doesn’t speak to her dad. And she points the finger squarely at him and how he treated her before and after her parents’ divorce.She knows that people often blame mom when a …
Professor gives tips to helpers on how to help families affected
Like many issues, domestic abuse situations have only been heightened by COVID-19. Jerrod Brown, a professor at Concordia University and program director for the Master of Arts degree in human …
They took her children away
When Starr Jones* tells her story, people can’t believe this is happening in Minnesota. They can’t believe that the dad was investigated by child protection when their first daughter was …

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Home & Garden
 Best time to prune most plants is late winter
As fall turns to winter, you may be looking at the bare, brown branches in your yard and wondering when to cut them back. Overall, the answer is not yet! But there’s lots to think about before …
Tile artist creates unique pieces for homes
Standish tile artist Haruko Ruggiero always had a sense that she would develop her own “something” related to interior design and patterns. She began by fashioning together …
FOR HEALTHIER YARD AND WORLD, SKIP FALL CLEAN-UP
Climate change, habitat loss and pesticides are causing dramatic declines in populations of insects and the birds who need them – with likely dire consequences for humans’ quality of life …
Standish tile artist creates unique pieces for homes
Standish tile artist Haruko Ruggiero always had a sense that she would develop her own “something” related to interior design and patterns. She began by fashioning together mosaics. …
Bringing houseplants inside for the winter
This summer, you may have brought your houseplants outside to enjoy the warmth and humidity – I certainly did! As the nights get colder and days get shorter, it’s time to bring …

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Mindful Creativity
 Erasing racial covenants, writing new future
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the Uprising, artists Diver Van Avery, Lacey Prpic Hedtke and Miré Regulus created an art project called Free the Deeds. It invites the …
All that was yummy in 2022
Another year is coming to an end, giving birth to a new one. What 2023 has in store is yet to be seen. A mystery like turning a page in a suspense novel yet to be written. This last year has not been …
Standish author’s latest thriller chills
In a blog post for Barnes & Noble, local author Marcie Rendon writes of the stories that lurk at the edge of our consciousness, waiting to be told. Stories that are “too disturbing, too …
Riverview Theater one of few one-screen theaters still operating locally
It was Dec. 30, 1948, that the Riverview Theater at 3800 42nd Avenue opened its doors, showing the film “June Bride,” starring Bette Davis. The neighborhood icon caters to its community …
Creativity and community in a time of Isolation
In 2021, retired University of Minnesota filmmaker Paul Eide and a few members of his family pictured a way to fight pandemic isolation – a way that creatively drew them together.Just before …

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Rebuild Repair Recycle
Green Minneapolis is dedicated to advancing the vibrancy of Minneapolis through parks and greening. The non-profit (81 South 9th Street Suite 260) conducted a study focused on establishing an urban …
According to the Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, limiting the earth’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would require reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 45% by 2030 and …
The Hiawatha Golf Course Master Plan is heading to a public hearing, another meeting in a long line of contentious meetings since the course flooded in 2014 and the public learned how much pumping is …

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Facebook
Aging Well
Ever been accused of having a thin skin? When it comes to maintaining proper body temperature, this old adage is no joke. As we age, our metabolic rate decreases and our skin literally thins. Often, …
The world of queer synchronized swimming is very small. But the Subversive Sirens, a non-binary synchronized swimming team out of Minnesota, is making a big splash. (Forgive the pun.) Advocating …
Is it Halloween? Are there ghosts in my house? I can only focus on what is in front of me. What is this me being scared? It's a mystery. Do you ever get scared? Is it a mystery to you? Tell yourself, …

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HENNEPIN AVENUE
 Hennepin Ave design: Helpful or hurtful?
If the proposed reconstruction plan for Hennepin Ave. passes, Kristin Traynor says The Corner Balloon Shoppe will be moving from 2455 Hennepin Ave. “I have an extremely diverse group of …
Hennepin for People supports city’s proposed plan for Hennepin Ave. South
As woman of color, Wedge resident Chandra Lalla says she knows how “our streets don’t serve everyone well.“For generations, city streets were built solely with car travel in mind, …
True progress on Hennepin requires a business plan
Small businesses are the lifeblood of any community. They provide distinctive character to a neighborhood and are the engine that drives a local economy. Without local businesses, there is no local …
COMPETITION FOR SPACE ALONG S. HENNEPIN
By Tesha M. Christensen In a one-way presentation on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, city staff acknowledged that there are competing desires for E. Hennepin Ave., and they can’t all be addressed …
BUSINESSES SUBMIT LETTER TO CITY
Opinion
 I rely on the Connector, Messenger for my business
I've been a garden designer and landscape business owner since 1995, but I took a 10-year hiatus in New Zealand from 2004-2015, when I returned to Minneapolis I had to start over from scratch. I …
Dogs don’t need cosmetic surgery
I’ve had three family dogs that I can remember in my lifetime. Hunter was a yellow Labrador, Hercules an Olde English Bulldogge, and now, Smokey, our German Shepherd mix. When I was growing up, …
Return to sender
One day as I am writing a draft of this column, I become aware that the U.S. mail has arrived at my house. I bring in the mail. An envelope jumps out at me with the words RETURN TO SENDER. Sad! Those …
Informative and interesting
Thank you for providing a great local paper serving Frogtown and adjacent neighborhoods. Your reporting and other content is always informative and/or interesting. Kudos on your excellent …

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COLUMNISTS
 ‘Boys in Blue’ shows how to turn pain Into power
The world is not black and white. But sometimes, it gets reduced to that.All cops are bad.All criminals are bad.All [insert any group] are bad.Those kinds of blanket statements are not helpful. …
Add more holidays to your life and honor what is significant to you
My children and I tested positive for COVID-19 about a week before Thanksgiving, which meant we had to miss a larger family gathering that my in-laws were hosting. We made the best of it on …
The value of three documentaries I watched on a plane
In flight and bookending our Sonoma County vacation, where we enjoyed winding wine-country roads, redwood forests, and sunbathing seals at the mouth of the Russian River, I watched three …
A more sustainable season
Extra waste from the holiday season is a big problem in America. The average American throws away 25 percent more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday season, according to …
Look closer at Credit Card Competition Act of 2022
The Black community has struggled to keep up financially with White peers. Much of this can be attributed to a lack of access to financial services offered to the community. Nontraditional services …

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George Floyd Memorial Square

City’s plan to buy Peoples’ Way met with apprehension

At a neighborhood meeting at Sabathani Community Center on October 24, Minneapolis’ Community Planning & Economic Development (CPED) agency announced plans to purchase the former Speedway …

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VOTERS GUIDE
 Election brings many firsts
The 2022 midterm election provided many firsts for Hennepin County and Minnesota as a whole. Black women will serve in the Minnesota Senate for the first time with the election of Zaynab Mohamed, …
COLLIN BEACHY
Beachy is currently in his 21st year of teaching. This is his eighth as a special education teacher with Minneapolis Public Schools.  “I come from a family of teachers, and I am a strong …
KERRYJO FELDER
How will you reduce the achievement gap between Black and White students in the district?Even before the school board started discussing it, I knew we had to get on a structured literacy with heavy …
Who votes, who doesn’t and why
This is part of a series about the 2022 municipal elections by the League of Women Voters Minneapolis.Recent Supreme Court rulings have exposed the reality that government representatives often …
DAWANNA WITT
wittforsheriff.comWitt is a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. She has 22 years of experience in law enforcement and currently serves as a major at the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, where she …

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Neighborhood organizations
Neighborhood Briefs
2312 Lyndale Avenue fireLast Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022 a condemned apartment building at 2312 Lyndale Avenue was destroyed by a fire. The incident is currently under investigation and building slated to …
A Little Free Library in every community
Little Free Library (LFL) is working on programs to address access to books. This includes the Read in Color Initiative, partnering with Banned Books Week Coalition, and the Indigenous Library …
Citizens ask city to support community needs
Despite an increase in the budget proposed by the mayor and with property taxes likely to increase for many property owners, only two of the nearly 100 comments received by the city so far have …
Letting staff go
Lyndale Neighborhood Association Board President Doug Herkenhoff made this announcement in the association’s e-newsletter on Nov. 28:  “As the LNA Board of Directors, we have …
Neighborhood Briefs
Simpson Housing Open House DEC. 3 Simpson Housing is temporarily relocating its shelter to Zion Lutheran Church in the Lyndale neighborhood in December. Join them at Zion, 128 West 33rd Street, …

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Web Extras - Contact us to sponsor this content
How the pandemic e-commerce surge spiked demand for truckers
Truckinfo.net analyzed how retailers and truckers have adjusted to the evolving needs of consumers as e-commerce dominates the market.  
5 ways to make all your Valentines feel loved
(BPT) - Valentine's Day is all about celebrating love. While the focus may naturally shift to romantic partners, it's also the perfect time to honor your closest friends and family.Whether you're …
50 most physical jobs in America
Stacker ranked the 50 most physically demanding jobs in America using data from the Occupational Information Network.  
Industries losing and gaining the most jobs
Stacker identified the industries where job openings have grown and shrank over the past year, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Infrastructure sectors hit hardest by ransomware
Ransomware poses a growing threat to U.S. national security. Twingate collected data from the FBI's 2021 Internet Crime Report to analyze which infrastructure sectors are often targeted.  
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