Minneapolis

Local Obamagirl surprised by abundance of cute guys at caucus

Filed under: Minneapolis

We recently received this email from a local Obamagirl:

Alyssa and I got swept up in all the hubbub, and ventured to the Dem
caucuses in Uptown last nite.
These were some of my take-aways:

1. Record turnout = long lines.
2. Damn, there are a lot of hot guys here.
3. 'Lyssa, do you see all the hot guys here?
4. My district is the MOST Democratic in the state. (shocker)
5. All resolutions proposed must start with at least 3 instances of
"Whereas"
6. Holy crap, I have a ton of good-looking neighbors.
7. Apparently the word "biomass" is a landmine for the hippies, when
discussing an eco-resolution.
8. District chair also fancies himself a comedian.
9. Why don't I see all these cute guys when I go to SuperAmerica at 10pm
on a Wednesday nite?
10. Participating in the political process makes me feel all warm in my
tummy.

Barack took our district 4 to 1. Now I have someone viable to cheer
for... for a while anyway.

--Jenny in Uptown

And here is the Super Obamagirl YouTube clip:

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at February 6, 2008 10:44 AM | Comments (7)

 

Huge Turnout at Minnesota Caucuses

Filed under: Minneapolis

Apparently, my experiences seeing a high turnout at the caucus I attended were part of a statewide trend. According to this Star Tribune article, turnout may be at record levels this year:

Traffic jams outside caucus places, lines winding down the block and packed meeting rooms Tuesday night seemed to bear out predictions that caucus turnout this year might bust records.

Also see Demko, Kaminsky, and Shaw.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at February 5, 2008 9:30 PM | Comments (1)

 

Quick! Make More Babies!

Filed under: Minneapolis

Fair denizens of Minneapolis (and foul ones, too), the gauntlet has been thrown down. Raleigh, North Carolina has outpaced us in population.

Continue reading "Quick! Make More Babies!"

Posted by Jeff Shaw at January 31, 2008 9:11 PM | Comments (1)

 

Downright tornadic...

Filed under: Minneapolis

Look, you and I both know why you turn (and turn again) to City Pages: the weather. Sure, others are more qualified, but they don't scare you the way we do. If you didn't see it in this week's paper, we announced the following...

Continue reading "Downright tornadic..."

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at January 10, 2008 2:21 PM | Comments (0)

 

Minneapolis: an underrated, affordable place for literate artists and business parents

Filed under: Minneapolis

Everybody's got a year-end awards list. Minneapolis made a bunch of 'em. Fox has compiled some of these into a brief post summarizing the various honors the town received from such diverse sources as Forbes, Frommer's, Fit Pregnancy and other publications that don't start with "F".

Posted by Jeff Shaw at January 1, 2008 9:31 PM | Comments (0)

 

Word on the Street (Google Street View)

Filed under: Minneapolis

I walked over to our neighborhood cafe, Corner Coffee, the other day. They had just discovered Google Street View, the monolithic web company's new photographic interface.

Evidently our friendly neighborhood latte-slingers were outside doing an outdoor lunch promotion when the Google people drove by on July 10, so tons of folks were outside and got photographed. Pretty stunning and a little weird to see something so close by rendered in this way. Here's the shot in question.

Fortunately, I was out of the country when this was happening, since on the creepy scale (where 1 is Mr. Rogers and 10 is John Wayne Gacy) I think this slots in about 6. Thus, my lucky stars ensured that there are no shots of me to be found herein.

I admit that access to this technology, while creepy, is kind of cool in a creepy way, so maybe 10 should be Gene Simmons, who brought less shame to face paint. And thankfully, as a thong-bedecked lady used to her advantage, you can request that they take photos down. So I guess that's something. I know that if I had an intern, I would instruct them to Google Street View every strip club in Minneapolis. Blackmail potential extraordinaire. Cha-ching!

MNSpeak had a pretty interesting thread on this topic earlier in the week, with a few interesting images. How about you? Seen anything interesting in street view? Feel free to leave them in the comments, and if I can get enough good stuff, maybe I'll do a photo screengrab slideshow.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 12, 2007 2:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

Idle time

Filed under: Minneapolis

We just received a call from a concerned reader pointing out that a Minneapolis city vehicle has been idling in front of his house on the 4200 block of 27th Avenue South for more than an hour. The vehicle is a green, four-door sedan, license plate 08042, and emblazoned with the slogan "Minneapolis City of Lakes."

"Either they're visiting someone around here and have been here way too long or they just forgot to turn it off," says the caller, who only wished to identify himself as Bruce. "We're collectively putting gas in that car. I guess you could file it under your tax dollars at work."

Posted by Paul Demko at December 12, 2007 12:51 PM | Comments (0)

 

Ngo mas

Filed under: Minneapolis

The Minneapolis City Council approved a $4.5 million settlement with police officer Duy Ngo this afternoon. The council voted 11-1 to make the largest payout stemming from a police misconduct case in the city's history. (Lisa Goodman was the sole dissenting vote.)

In February, 2003 Ngo was shot by an unknown assailant while working undercover gang surveillance. MPD officer Charles Storlie, responding to the scene, then mistakenly shot Ngo multiple times with a sub-machine gun despite the fact that his fellow officer was on his knees and unarmed. Ngo's story was first told in a 2003 City Pages cover story, "Shot to Hell."

"I feel relieved because it's been a hard fought battle," says Ngo. "It's been five years of pain for my family."

Posted by Paul Demko at November 26, 2007 3:08 PM | Comments (4)

 

The Blue in the Red (Redux)

Filed under: Minneapolis

With a city-wide campaign urging the hiring of more cops, an overtime crunch at the Minneapolis Police Department, and a general atmosphere of tension between the MPD and City Council over budget issues, Chief Dolan does not bring good news to the Ways & Means Committee at City Hall today. In September, the department was projecting it would end the year $4.7 million over budget. When the numbers were crunched at the end of October, it was projecting a $5.2 million deficit.

Continue reading "The Blue in the Red (Redux)"

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at November 13, 2007 11:15 AM | Comments (0)

 

Court Hears Convicted City Councilmember's Appeal

Filed under: Politics , Politics , Politics

When last we heard from convicted City Councilmember Dean Zimmerman, he was making plans for prison ("I am hoping to be able to do some teaching while I am in"). Today, with Zimmerman already serving a 30-month sentence, his lawyers are appealing his bribery conviction in the 8th Circuit Appeals Court. Want to hear how that's going? You can listen to the oral arguments here.

Continue reading "Court Hears Convicted City Councilmember's Appeal"

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at October 4, 2007 11:48 AM | Comments (4)

 

Downtown coffee shop owner: I will not be moved!

Filed under: Minneapolis

For the past 16 years, Patteen Leverson has been the woman behind the counter—and the baked goodies—at the fittingly-named Café Patteen in the downtown Minneapolis International Centre office tower.

But because of a mean landlord, she says, her small store may soon be no more. Next month, Caribou Coffee will open a branch in the Oracle Centre—her building’s conjoined twin. Leverson accuses the property’s owner, Welsh Companies, of wooing the megachain in an effort to force her out.

Continue reading "Downtown coffee shop owner: I will not be moved!"

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at September 7, 2007 3:55 PM | Comments (17)

 

Party Crashers

Filed under: Minneapolis

We told you so. That's the message that Julian Loscalzo and a handful of compatriots wanted to impart at yesterday's official groundbreaking for the new Twins' ballpark. Loscalzo was the gadfly-in-chief behind the "Save the Met" campaign that vainly fought against the building of the Metrodome nearly three decades ago. Now that outdoor baseball is finally on track to return to the Twin Cities, Loscalzo was reveling in vindication.

Smoking one of his ubiquitous cigars on the back patio of Cuzzy's bar, a few blocks from the stadium site, Loscalzo notes that no less an authority than Sid Hartman once referred to his group of agitators as "geniuses." "Calling us geniuses was an insult," he says. "We proved him wrong."

Continue reading "Party Crashers"

Posted by Paul Demko at August 31, 2007 4:00 PM | Comments (1)

 

Minneapolis wins $133 million in congestion cash

Filed under: Minneapolis

Rep. Jim Oberstar, who chairs the House's transportation committee, announced yesterday that Minneapolis is one of five cities being awarded a $133.3 million grant to "implement aggressive strategies to reduce traffic congestion" over the next two years. The money comes from the federal government's Department of Transportation.

The city will also get $13.2 million from the DOT's discretionary funds to deal with the bridge collapse.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at August 15, 2007 10:46 AM | Comments (2)

 

Setting the record straight

Filed under: Minneapolis

John Weeks is what some people might call an obsessive. Over the past two years, he has spent weeks at a time traveling alongside the Mississippi River, photographing more than 300 of the bridges that span that mighty body of water, from Itasca to New Orleans.

His downtime between trips is largely devoted to cataloging information on each bridge, such as its age, construction material, daily traffic count, river elevation, and other factoids that, until last week, might have seemed somewhat superfluous to anyone but himself.

So Weeks is perhaps uniquely equipped to tackle some of the conspiracies that cropped up about the I-35 bridge collapse. And that is what he has done over at his website, www.johnweeks.com. Among the more entertaining new urban myths, along with Weeks' debunkings:

Continue reading "Setting the record straight"

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at August 7, 2007 3:17 PM | Comments (0)

 

Can't get there from here

Filed under: Minneapolis

On Monday, the city of Minneapolis and MnDOT released a number of alternatives for getting in to, out of and around downtown Minneapolis. The trouble is, most routes are already congested beyond belief. Main case in point? The first suggestion, taking Central Avenue into downtown as it turns into 3rd Avenue South.

Last week, head of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Art Rolnick, whose office overlooks the river, said "I'm looking out my window at the 3rd Avenue Bridge right now, and it's bumper-to-bumper in the middle of the day, something I've never seen before." Even on Saturday afternoon, crossing Central on University proved a dificult endeavor, as traffic was backed up two stoplights in both directions.

Continue reading "Can't get there from here"

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at August 6, 2007 1:19 PM | Comments (0)

 

City of Minneapolis prepares new traffic plans following the bridge collapse

Filed under: Minneapolis

The city of Minneapolis has released information on the change in traffic patterns and alternate routes following the collapse of the I-35W bridge. The press release is as follows:

MnDOT has made Minnesota Highway 280 the primary replacement route for I-35W traffic. It will carry traffic from I-35W in Roseville to I-94. To prevent traffic snarls, Highway 280 has been converted to a temporary freeway with altered traffic signals. The change means Broadway Avenue and County Road B no longer have access to the highway, and the lights at these intersections will stay green for the highway.

Continue reading "City of Minneapolis prepares new traffic plans following the bridge collapse"

Posted by Corey Anderson at August 6, 2007 9:38 AM | Comments (0)

 

Images of the I-35W bridge collapse

Filed under: Minneapolis

City Pages writers, freelancers, and readers have contributed to a photo gallery depicting the terrible events surrounding last week's collapse of the I-35W bridge. Visit our gallery section to view the photographs.

Posted by Corey Anderson at August 5, 2007 8:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

A view from the water in the aftermath

Filed under: Minneapolis

YouTube contributor mikearney01 uploaded this striking video of the aftermath of the I-35W bridge collapse from the water.

Posted by Corey Anderson at August 3, 2007 6:28 PM | Comments (1)

 

Additional video could provide answers

Filed under: Minneapolis

At today's press conference at 6th and Main, a throng of reporters hungry for new information got precious few answers as to what may have caused the I-35W bridge collapse.

"We're not here to speculate, we're here to report," said the terse, no-nonsense chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Mark Rosenker. "There are a number of possible causes, but if I discuss one of them, I'm sure that will be tomorrow's headline."

Rosenker announced that investigators are focused now on the southern end of the bridge, explaining that analysis of video footage has revealed that this section behaved differently than the rest of the bridge.

Continue reading "Additional video could provide answers"

Posted by Matt Snyders at August 3, 2007 5:48 PM | Comments (0)

 

How to inspect a bridge

Filed under: Minneapolis

Photo by John Weeks

The inspection process has already been a controversial issue in the collapse of I-35W bridge. One obvious question arises: Exactly how do you inspect a bridge that hangs 60 feet above a river?

Transportation Department officials in Wisconsin and North Dakota offered some insight into the general process. Bridge inspections, it turns out, are a decidedly low-tech procedure. Essentially, they're a more complicated version of a pilot's walk-around of a plane before takeoff. Inspections are primarily visual: a crew visits the site and inspects the structure for obvious flaws—corrosion, cracks in the steel or concrete, or peeling paint that could lead to corrosion.

The crews are small. For a bridge the size of I-35W, a crew of two to four would be typical, and they could be on the job for several days.

Before beginning, inspectors familiarize themselves with the bridge and past inspection reports, which could include photos and even hand-drawn sketches of problem areas.

Continue reading "How to inspect a bridge"

Posted by Matt Smith at August 3, 2007 4:35 PM | Comments (1)

 

Scuba-duba do

Filed under: Minneapolis

For more than a half hour today, Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek and Captain Bill Chandler, a 28-year veteran of the sheriff's office, gave details about the diving mission that, while hardly rosy, certainly offered some good news. On the east side river flats down the hill from the Weisman Art Museum near the Washington Avenue Bridge, some 50 reporters strained to hear as several choppers swooped over head. But the prognosis was clear: It's a far cry from yesterday.

"Recovery operations are better than expected," Stanek said.

Continue reading "Scuba-duba do"

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at August 3, 2007 3:13 PM | Comments (0)

 

Hyperbole watch

Filed under: Minneapolis

The coverage of the bridge collapse by the daily papers, particularly the Star Tribune, has been terrific. It's a prime example of why we need first-rate, adequately staffed daily newspapers. But some of the attempts to raise the significance of the event have gotten a little out of hand. Ruben Rosario declared it "our 9/11" in this morning's paper. Yeah, except 3,000 people died on 9/11. Nick Coleman compared it to Hurricane Katrina. Yeah, except an entire city was destroyed while the government looked on indifferently. This is a horrible tragedy for the people who died and their friends and families. For the rest of us it's mildly sad and inconvenient. The desire to claim our place on the national disaster landscape is kind of pathetic.

Posted by Paul Demko at August 3, 2007 2:38 PM | Comments (14)

 

Expert: MnDOT dropped the ball

Filed under: Minneapolis

William Schutt, a concrete and metal corrosion engineer, says that someone at MnDOT screwed up big-time.

"Age is not the issue," he says, pointing out that the Brooklyn Bridge is more than 120 years old, and is not expected to fall into the East River anytime soon. "The issue is what was the failure mechanism and when did it occur."

Continue reading "Expert: MnDOT dropped the ball"

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at August 3, 2007 12:57 PM | Comments (4)

 

The bottom-line effect

Filed under: Minneapolis

Of course emotions and hearts are rightly with the victims of the 35W bridge collapse. And the rational mind--aren't we all armchair engineers now?--is focused on why the bridge came down. But one hard fact of the matter is that I-35 and the Mississippi are key to the hum of the state and the country's economic engine.

So, what's the economic impact of Wednesday's disaster? Art Rolnick, head of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, says it's too early to tell. "Things like this are difficult to put into the big picture," Rolnick says. But there are some things to consider.

Continue reading "The bottom-line effect"

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at August 3, 2007 12:20 PM | Comments (0)

 

Bridge hero Shanna Hanson

Filed under: Minneapolis

Minneapolis firefighter Shanna Hanson has been hailed for her efforts in rescuing victims after the collapse of the 35W Bridge. Millions of TV viewers watched her wade through treacherous waters to reach stranded, injured motorists. The sixteen-year-veteran firefighter was one of seven "heroes" celebrated in this morning's Pioneer Press. Not to take anything away from Hanson's valiant deeds, but it's worth noting that she was a bit player in the Bonnie Bleskachek imbroglio. Here's the relevant bit from my May 2006 cover story:

Continue reading "Bridge hero Shanna Hanson"

Posted by Paul Demko at August 3, 2007 10:07 AM | Comments (20)

 

What will investigators be looking for?

Filed under: Minneapolis

How could a major bridge, inspected every year, just fall down? As forensic engineers begin combing through the rubble and historical record to answer that question, there are several likely culprits, says Professor Robert Dodds, Jr., head of the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the top civil engineering schools in the country.

"Bridges are all very different from each other. And just like people, they age differently. They get different diseases when they get old," Dodds says.

To understand how such an extraordinarily rare event could occur, Dodd says, the forensic team will look at every factor that went into the building and maintenance of the collapsed span: the original design, the quality of materials used, the construction process, the history of problems with the bridge, and the history of inspection and repairs.

"What you'll see is a lot of data gathering and physical testing of the materials taken from the bridge itself."

More specifically, investigators will no doubt be looking at several key areas:

Continue reading "What will investigators be looking for?"

Posted by Matt Smith at August 3, 2007 9:18 AM | Comments (0)

 

What the hell is going on? 35W Bridge FAQ

Filed under: Minneapolis

The exact definition of the term "structurally deficient" suddenly seems quite important. Yesterday's bridge collapse is requiring a quick study in bridge engineering and inspections, a subject to which I previously gave zero thought. This afternoon a panel of experts from the state and federal government met with a horde of roughly 100 reporters on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, across from downtown Minneapolis. Here's some of what we learned:

What the hell does "structurally deficient" mean? It's a federal designation based on annual or bi-annual inspections. The feds use a nine-point scale to rank the structural soundness of bridges in three different areas--the deck (which is what you drive on), the super-structure and the sub-structure. If a bridge ranks four or lower in any of these areas it makes the list.

Are such bridges safe to drive on? So they say. "We view that term as a programmatic classification rather than an indication of level of safety," says Tom Everett, of the National Bridge Inspection Program. "It is not a classification that indicates a bridge is dangerous, nor that that bridge must be replaced."

Continue reading "What the hell is going on? 35W Bridge FAQ"

Posted by Paul Demko at August 2, 2007 6:56 PM | Comments (8)

 

Lots of media people, no shortage of politicians, and even a celebrity sighting. But no news.

Filed under: Minneapolis

This afternoon brought little in the way of new news regarding the bridge collapse: the recovery operation has been suspended because of strong currents in the water, the governor has called for a large-scale inspection of the state's bridges, and there are no updated figures on casualties. And that's pretty much that.

At Pawlenty and Rybak's joint afternoon press conference, held a stone's throw from the Stone Arch Bridge, the governor commended the mayor's crisis skills while the mayor, well, didn't say anything mean about the governor. (Pawlenty on Rybak: "He's been omnipresent. He's been effective." Rybak on Pawlenty: "You come together when you need to.")

And then there was Greta Van Susteren, Fox News' go-to catastrophe/sensational-murder-involving-attractive-white-people correspondent. She was on the scene interviewing a young man who lived near the bridge, who "biked under it every day," and who—well, I won't give anything away. He'll surely be featured on her show tonight.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at August 2, 2007 5:56 PM | Comments (2)

 

Searching for Answers

Filed under: Minneapolis

At a press conference earlier today, National Transportation Safety Board chairman Mark Rosenker outlined the plan to investigate the I-35W bridge collapse.

"We are in the documentation phase of our investigation," he said. "Right now, we are concerned with gathering the facts."

Rosenker detailed five components of what is sure to be a lengthy and arduous investigation:

• Human Factor group: will examine the emotional and psychological impacts wrought by the tragedy.
• Design group: will search out possible flaws in the bridge's engineering.
• Construction group: will assess the quality of materials that comprised the bridge.
• Survival Factor group: will seek to explain, as Rosenker put it, "why some cars survived while others didn't."
• Human Performance group: will evaluate the performances of various employees and agencies.

Continue reading "Searching for Answers"

Posted by Matt Snyders at August 2, 2007 5:44 PM | Comments (0)

 

35W Bridge links

Filed under: Minneapolis

For those keeping up with news about the 35W Bridge tragedy, here are some useful links, far from complete (photo by Peter S. Scholtes):

City Pages updates
Google map of bridge
Current MNDot footage of highway
CNN footage of bridge collapsing
Star Tribune gallery
AP and Star Tribune photos at Livejournal
"Functionally deficient" bridges in Minnesota, PDF
"Functionally deficient" and "structurally obsolete" bridges in the U.S
Bush's speech today
Youtube footage
Alternate routes around 35W bridge, PDF
Public Routes website for redirect
WCCO coverage
35W Bridge Wikipedia entry
MNSpeak and ILX threads
Popular Mechanics editorial

Posted by Peter S. Scholtes at August 2, 2007 3:14 PM | Comments (2)

 

We were warned

Filed under: Minneapolis

In July 2001, the Herald of Grand Forks, North Dakota, published an investigative story highlighting the increasing problems with aging bridge infrastructure in Minnesota.

The two-month examination, which relied heavily on computer databases from the U.S. Department of Transportation, found that 1 in 25 Minnesota bridges needed replacing (nationally, about 1 in every 9 bridges needs to be replaced).

Continue reading "We were warned"

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at August 2, 2007 3:09 PM | Comments (0)

 

Former MN State Transportation Commissioner: "A sobering reminder that our system is aging"

Filed under: Minneapolis

Elwyn Tinklenberg, who served as the state's transportation commissioner under Jesse Ventura, says the 35W bridge collapse is emblematic of an eroding, underfunded transportation system.

He points to a recent MNDOT assessment, which concludes that the state is underfunding transportation maintenance by a billion dollars a year. "That is not sustainable," Tinklenberg says. "We can't afford to do that and expect our system to continue to perform safely."

Continue reading "Former MN State Transportation Commissioner: "A sobering reminder that our system is aging""

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at August 2, 2007 2:58 PM | Comments (1)

 

Live Leak posts security camera footage of bridge collapse

Filed under: Minneapolis

Live Leak, a media sharing site, has posted footage from CNN of the security camera video showing a portion of the I-35W bridge in mid-collapse.

Posted by Corey Anderson at August 2, 2007 1:46 PM | Comments (0)

 

MNDot report: 71 other bridges in metro area deemed structurally deficient

Filed under: Minneapolis

The Minnesota Department of Transportation ranks bridges on a 100-point scale in terms of structural adequacy. According to an April, 2005 report by the agency's Bridge Management Unit, 72 bridges in the seven-county metro area scored 50 or less, marking them structurally deficient. The 35W bridge that collapsed yesterday scored an even 50. In other words, at the time of this study, there are 71 other bridges in the metro area that were more likely to falter. Here's the complete list.

Posted by Paul Demko at August 2, 2007 11:37 AM | Comments (2)

 

West Wing and a prayer

Filed under: Minneapolis

President Bush didn't bother waiting until all the bodies had been recovered from the Mississippi river to politicize the disastrous collapse of the I-35 bridge.

After briefly mentioning that Minneapolis was in his prayers and mispronouncing Governor Tim Pawlenty's name, Bush quickly segued into what appeared to be a previously planned speech haranguing Congressional Democrats for not sending him spending bills to sign.

Although Bush said the federal government "must respond robustly" to the bridge collapse, he used the majority of his airtime to argue against increasing federal spending, which could provide the money to shore up our crumbling transportation infrastructure.

"Massive tax hikes are the last thing the American people need," Bush said.

It was perhaps the president's most embarrassingly ill-timed performance since he strummed a guitar while New Orleans drowned.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at August 2, 2007 11:06 AM | Comments (4)

 

Twin Cities Red Cross Responding to Hwy. 35W Bridge Collapse

Filed under: Minneapolis

From RedCrossTC.org: The Twin Cities Red Cross is responding to this disaster by providing mass care, mental health counseling, and more to those affected. To register yourself as SAFE and WELL or to search for information on a loved one - please visit www.safeandwell.org. Concerned family and friends can search the list of those who have registered. You can also call (612) 871-7676. To donate money to the Red Cross, click here, call 612-460-3700, or send a check to American Red Cross - Twin Cities Area Chapter, National Disaster Relief Fund, NW 5597, P.O. Box 1450, Minneapolis, MN 55485-5597. The American Red Cross is asking donors to make an appointment to give blood by calling 1-800-GIVE LIFE (448-3543) or visiting www.givebloodgivelife.org.

A family assistance center is located at:
Holiday-Inn Metrodome
1500 Washington Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55454

Posted by Corey Anderson at August 2, 2007 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

 

Bridge collapse: Voices from survivors, witnesses

Filed under: Minneapolis

An hour after the bridge went down, Chuck Hoffman knew he had come as close to death as any person should come and still make it.

"I'm nervous," he said at a quarter after seven, standing on the top level of a parking ramp on the downtown Minneapolis side of the I-35W bridge. A new plume of smoke filled the air--thick, black, mysterious. The cops suddenly started vacating what had been deigned a "staging area," where media members, drivers who made it over the bridge, and some gawkers were allowed to assemble.

"I feel very lucky," the 60-year-old from New Brighton said. "But I feel badly for all the people who didn't make it."

Continue reading "Bridge collapse: Voices from survivors, witnesses"

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at August 2, 2007 7:00 AM | Comments (4)

 

Minneapolis enforces citywide curfew, Mayor Rybak to read bedtime stories on MTN

Filed under: Minneapolis

With summer in full swing, city officials are looking to cut down on curfew violations through the awkwardly titled "10 Home, Bed, Fed" awareness campaign. For instance, were you aware that it's illegal for a child under 12 to be out past 9 p.m. on a weekday? Or that anyone under 18 must be home before 11 p.m. by government decree?

"Our goal is to prevent curfew violations by partnering with parents to keep kids safe," Mayor Rybak said in a press release.

Good, we say. There are simply too many heinous things for 11-year-olds to do after 9 p.m. They might play hide-and-go-seek after dusk. Or run about catching fireflies at nightfall. Or embark on late-night exploratory bike rides.

Continue reading "Minneapolis enforces citywide curfew, Mayor Rybak to read bedtime stories on MTN"

Posted by Matt Snyders at June 22, 2007 3:02 PM | Comments (6)

 

No so Minn-esota nice

Filed under: Minneapolis

When he was a Minneapolis City Council member, Steve Minn was never afraid to take on the bureaucracy of the city or the perceived hypocrisy of his own colleagues. In the years since, as Minn has become a prominent developer around town, he's still fighting City Hall.

For more than six months, Minn's latest battle has been over a project called Pacific Flats, which at various times has called for condos, a hotel, or retail as high as 28 stories on what's referred to as the "Monte Carlo block"—after the downtown restaurant on Washington Avenue North. In December, the city's Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) raised several questions about the project's design and scope within the historic Warehouse District. Since then, Minn's been quietly fuming.

Or perhaps not so quietly. "After getting my chain yanked by the HPC yet again, I blew up and threw a fit," Minn says in an e-mail to Blotter, forwarding correspondence between him and Lee Sheehy, the city's director of Community Planning and Economic development. "Well, read it and laugh."

Continue reading "No so Minn-esota nice"

Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at June 11, 2007 2:45 PM | Comments (0)

 

Latino cop files discrimination suit against MPD

Filed under: Minneapolis

On October 14, 2005, Sgt. Giovanni Veliz filed two charges of discrimination with the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights. The complaints alleged that the Minneapolis Police Department systematically discriminated against Hispanics, both in its personnel decisions and in its day-to-day dealings with the broader Latino community.

Roughly two months later, Veliz applied for a transfer to the Minnesota Gang Strike Force. Despite more than a decade on the force, including seven years as a sergeant, Veliz's application did not even merit an interview. Instead the position went to a white male officer who had been promoted to sergeant less than a year earlier.

Continue reading "Latino cop files discrimination suit against MPD"

Posted by Paul Demko at May 24, 2007 1:08 PM | Comments (0)

 

Ruff neighborhoods: Minneapolis to add three off-leash dog parks

Filed under: Minneapolis

As a recent college graduate, Dan Schned has neither the time nor the money to care for a dog. That hasn't kept him from spending the last year crusading to make Minneapolis a safe space for hounds.

Schned has spearheaded the effort to build three small off-leash dog parks ringing downtown, one of which, in Loring Park, will break ground this Monday, May 21.

It all started early last year, when complaints began pouring in from North Loop residents about bad dog owners in their midst. "There is too much doggy doo on our sidewalks," and "an epidemic of peeing in the streets," the complainers told their elected leaders, more or less.

Continue reading "Ruff neighborhoods: Minneapolis to add three off-leash dog parks"

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at May 18, 2007 4:12 PM | Comments (0)

 

MN Daily writes mean and stupid article

Filed under: Minneapolis

Last week, the Minnesota Daily ran a story that began thusly: "Every city needs its own maniacal, googily eyed token crazy lady. Minneapolis has 'Scary' Mari Newman, the electric haired, pierced-up artist whose house on 51st and Penn is a full-blown installation of garish folk art." The article goes on to refer to Newman as a "woman of questionable mental faculties."

(You may recall our article a few weeks back on Newman, the eccentric artist whose colorful house in southwest Minneapolis has long been the center of controversy.)

Jon Skaalen of VSA arts of Minnesota, which advocates for disabled artists, wrote to Tim Franzen, The Daily's reader's rep, in order to find out why the paper was thoughtless enough to print the piece in question, which, after making fun of Newman, went on to review a play. Here's the full exchange, in case you're interested:

Continue reading "MN Daily writes mean and stupid article"

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at May 8, 2007 3:05 PM | Comments (13)

 

City to artist: no compensation for you!

Filed under: Minneapolis

Mari Newman, you may recall, is the southwest Minneapolis artist who ran afoul of the city by turning her lawn into a sculpture garden. In August, the city hauled off a couple shopping carts, two bicycles, a chandelier and other items after Newman ignored city demands to remove them.

Newman's hearing to appeal the $130 fine, as well as to demand $2,000 in compensation for the lost stuff, was last week. This week, Newman got a letter from the city informing her that she had lost.

The artist tells City Pages that she plans to appeal the fine in court, but has given up on getting any money out of the city.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at April 27, 2007 5:31 PM | Comments (1)

 

A Civil Action

Filed under: Minneapolis

Mayor R.T. Rybak has chosen Michael Jordan to lead the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights. No word yet on whether Mars Blackmon will take over public works.

Actually, though this Michael Jordan is not the most recognizable athlete on Planet Earth, he should be somewhat familiar to local news junkies of a certain vintage. Jordan previously served as the spokesflack for the St. Paul Police Department and was once commissioner for the state's Department of Public Safety. Jordan is replacing interim civil rights director Michael K. Browne, who was filling in after Jayne Khalifa, a Rybak appointee, was named deputy city coordinator last year.

"Raised in Minneapolis, Mr. Jordan has a law degree from the University of St. Thomas Law School, a Masters degree in Management from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota," according to the press release from hizzoner's office.

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Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at April 18, 2007 3:59 PM | Comments (4)

 

3Q: Retired FBI agent Jane Turner on winning her lawsuit against the FBI

Filed under: Minneapolis

As today's Strib reports, retired FBI special agent Jane Turner--whose long fight with her superiors at the FBI was chronicled by City Pages in October 2004--won her federal lawsuit against the Bureau yesterday. Jurors in the case awarded Turner $565,000, a sum that her attorney called the largest jury finding for a single agent in a civil rights case against the FBI.

I caught up with Turner on Tuesday morning to ask about her victory.

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Posted by Steve Perry at February 6, 2007 11:57 AM | Comments (8)

 

What would HHH do?

Filed under: Minneapolis

One item on Wednesday's Public Safety and Regulatory Services Committee agenda indicated what city leaders consider to be two problems plaguing the streets of Minneapolis--ticket-scalping and indoor smoking.

The committee approved "recommendations" from a "license settlement conference" regarding the liquor license for Hubert's, the venerable sports bar by the Metrodome.

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Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at February 2, 2007 10:51 AM | Comments (0)

 

The eternal optimist braces himself, merrily, for prison

Filed under: Minneapolis

Since he was convicted of accepting bribes from a developer last summer, former Minneapolis city councilman Dean Zimmermann has retained a freakishly upbeat public posture. That didn't change after Zimmermann announced he would be serving his 30-month sentence in Littleton, Colorado--a city best known as home to the Columbine High School killers and burial site of the notorious cannibal Alfred Packer.

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Posted by Mike Mosedale at January 25, 2007 3:31 PM | Comments (4)

 

The Neighbors You Don't Know comment thread

Filed under: Minneapolis

Our cover story this week, The Neighbors You Don't Know, is written and photographed by Mike Mosedale. Mike spent time in a homeless enclave in Dinkytown dubbed the "Clump of Woods," where Willie, Terrible Tee, C-Note, Cool Harley (pictured), and others shared their life stories: "All the drinking and partying we're doing is just a slow way of committing suicide," Tall Joe says, tossing an empty into the trash heap. "And there goes another one." Check out the story here, then come back to discuss it.

Posted by Corey Anderson at January 16, 2007 4:22 PM | Comments (15)

 

RIP: The Quest nightclub

Filed under: Minneapolis

(Click to enlarge)

The passage into 2007 marked the second year in a row the Quest nightclub wasn't open for business on New Year's Eve. A year ago, the Warehouse District mainstay was closed because of a license dispute with the city of Minneapolis. This time around, the club had been closed since August because of water damage from a fire on top of the Wyman-Partridge building at 110 North 5th Street, which houses the venue.

Now, after months of speculation, the joint is apparently closed for good.

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Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at January 12, 2007 12:11 PM | Comments (4)

 

Zimmermann plans "Last Supper;" hopes to serve time in Yankton near his brother

Filed under: Minneapolis

Approximately four months after being convicted of bribery and four weeks before reporting to prison to begin serving what is ostensibly a 30-month sentence, former Minneapolis City Councilman Dean Zimmermann sent the following email to his supporters today. It is reprinted here with Zimmermann's permission.

 

Greetings Friends, Family & Supporters,

Again I want to offer my deepest thanks to all of you who have been so kind and generous in your support of Jenny and me during the past year and a half. Please continue with your efforts to build a sustainable and just society. I look for a lot of good to come out of this situation.

In answer to the many questions that I am getting about my current status:

On Saturday, January 6th, 2007 there will be a "Last Supper" at the Twin Cities Friends Meeting (TCFM) House in St. Paul, 1725 Grand Avenue. This dinner will be hosted by members of our TCFM Committee of Support: Dorothy Thomsen, Richard Fuller, Betsy Raasch-Gilman, Anne Holzinger, Susan De Vries, and Charley Underwood. There are two parts to this evening:

Continue reading "Zimmermann plans "Last Supper;" hopes to serve time in Yankton near his brother"

Posted by Britt Robson at January 3, 2007 5:30 PM | Comments (6)

 

Minneapolis fire chief: "The only thing I can come up with is that this is a whole lot of homophobia and sexism."

Filed under: Minneapolis

Embattled Minneapolis fire chief Bonnie Beskachek is making national headlines. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post have articles today detailing her travails. The first out lesbian fire chief of a major city, Bleskachek has been sued four times in the last year over allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination. Last month a city council committee rejected a deal that would have required Bleskachek to step down as chief, but retain her job within the fire department. She has been on paid leave since March. The stories in the Times and the Post are notable mainly for the vigor with which Bleskachek defends her conduct.

Continue reading "Minneapolis fire chief: "The only thing I can come up with is that this is a whole lot of homophobia and sexism.""

Posted by Paul Demko at December 5, 2006 12:10 PM | Comments (4)

 

3 questions: Tim Dolan

Filed under: Minneapolis

One of the toughest campaigns of this political season had nothing to do with elected office. Rather, it was the one waged by Tim Dolan, who had been acting chief of the Minneapolis Police Department for most of the year, in his quest to officially be the city's top cop.

When he was selected by Mayor R.T. Rybak to move from temporary to permanent chief in September, Dolan immediately had to withstand the scrutiny of folks who felt the selection process was secretive and flawed. Many members of the Minneapolis City Council, who vote to confirm the mayor's choice, repeatedly grilled Dolan in various committee meetings over how he might lead the department.

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Posted by G.R. Anderson Jr. at November 3, 2006 9:33 AM | Comments (0)

 

The many loves of Bonnie Bleskachek: So how much is that on a per-date basis?

Filed under: Minneapolis

How much money has embattled Minneapolis Fire Chief Bonnie Bleskachek cost the city?

In March the first-ever female fire chief in the state of Minnesota was placed on paid leave and is yet to return to work. The reason: three separate lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court accusing Bleskachek of discrimination. In sum the documents paint a picture of Bleskachek, an out lesbian, using her position of authority to initiate sexual liaisons and punish underlings who didn't play along. The city launched an investigation that continues to this day. (See "A Hunk of Burning Love" for the full back story.)

Continue reading "The many loves of Bonnie Bleskachek: So how much is that on a per-date basis?"

Posted by Paul Demko at October 26, 2006 12:23 PM | Comments (0)

 

Majority rule

Filed under: Minneapolis

Will Minneapolis adopt instant-runoff voting?

Third party candidates, whether from the Green or Constitution parties, are inevitably decried as spoilers. This year's primary pinata in this regard is Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Hutchinson. If Gov. Tim Pawlenty squeaks out a victory over attorney general Mike Hatch, Democrats will almost certainly blame Hutchinson for costing them the state's top office.

Minneapolis residents will have a chance to vote on a measure this election day that would help eliminate such scapegoating of third-party candidates. Voters will choose whether to adopt instant-runoff voting in municipal elections. Under such a system