Home & Garden

Many trees in the community went down in storms over the summer on both private and public land. The very dry conditions of the previous drought damaged tree roots.

Trees are an important part of the landscape in South Minneapolis. They shade our streets and yards, provide habitat for wildlife, improve the air, and reduce the urban heat island effect. If …

How to garden in a small space

Many of us in south Minneapolis have small outdoor spaces, so we need to do more with less. It can be a challenge to make space for a garden alongside everything else we use our yards for – …

Ericsson resident Jessica Wyn Miller (right), an entomologist, leads a Bug Club adventure into the world of bugs near her Minnehaha Creek-side home. She has found that her work as an artist intersects with insects.“I got excited for aquatic insects when I found out they reflect the health of a water,

She hated bugs – so she decided to become an entomologist

Jessica Miller still shrieks sometimes when a spider jumps on her, but the south Minneapolis environmental entomologist has found that makes her more approachable when she’s teaching classes on …

Unusual fruits for your Minnesota garden

You probably know that many different fruits are commonly grown in Minnesota, like apples, raspberries, and grapes. But did you know we can also grow kiwis? Read on to learn about some unusual fruits …

Slow mow summer

You’ve probably heard of “No Mow May” – a slogan designed to encourage everyone to avoid mowing their lawns until June and letting spring flowers bloom to support pollinators. …

Opinion

Organizers Push For All-elected Civilian Police Accountability Commission

On Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024 in front of the charred remains of the former 3rd Police Precinct, Minneapolis for Community Control of Police (M4CCP) and Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) …

Donald L. Hammen is a longtime south Minneapolis resident, and serves on the All Elders United for Justice steering committee.

Anxious, curious, angry with no internet service

I'm experiencing anxiety. As I begin to write this Stories and Journeys column, I am aware that I am without Internet service. That has just been confirmed with the over the phone help from my senior …

Letters - Oct 2024

WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS WE WOULDN'T HAVE A LOT OF THINGS I dearly wish someone in power would tell the truth about immigrants. Yes, we need border policy. I'm not advocating open borders. I am asking …

Nokomis Days planning committee members include (back row, left to right) Kara Motta and Rachel Garrison of The Wellness Center MN, Tesha M. Christensen of the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger, Kyle of Nokomis Life, Peter Stein of Steinography, (front row) Heidi Van Heel of hvh Engage! and Jackie Sawyer of Nokomis Tattoo.

Nokomis Days 2024: That’s a wrap!

Some people spend the entire year looking forward to the State Fair. I prefer Nokomis Days. Our celebration falls on the first weekend of August, but the planning gets underway in the cold, dark days …

Minneapolis for a lifetime? Debatable

I recently attended my first Minneapolis Advisory Committee on Aging meeting. I am convinced that in the city of Minneapolis elders/seniors don't exist. There is such a thing as the "Minneapolis for …

Rebuild Repair Recycle

Activists rally to save historic Seward Church

For 70 years, Eric Johnson has lived in the shadow of Bethany Church, but that shadow may soon disappear if the building’s current owner, Augsburg University, moves ahead with plans to demolish …

Make the Twin Cities more bird-friendly

Cradling the Mississippi River on either side, the Twin Cities are a critical, yet hazardous, resting place for migrating birds. An estimated 40 million birds migrated through the Mississippi River …

A watershed moment

What is a watershed? What is our local watershed called? Where does it begin and end? What is the largest watershed in the U.S.? According to board chair of the League of …

Update on Hiawatha Golf Course

The MPRB began and supported several small but impactful projects at Hiawatha Golf Course while funding for a more comprehensive design effort was secured. Osprey Trash Boom System …

From Third Precinct into Minneapolis Black cultural center?

Gather on Jan. 29, 6:30 p.m., at the Hook and Ladder Theater and Lounge to focus on the transformation of the former 3rd Precinct site into the Minneapolis Black Cultural Center. This event aims to …

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Aging Well

He helps seniors with tech

Don Fredriksen has dedicated countless hours for www.techforseniors.info through Gifts for Seniors. Gifts for Seniors has helped older adults live fulfilling lives …

Nokomis Square Cooperative: Community within a neighborhood

Nokomis Square Cooperative, a senior community, has been happily situated in the Nokomis East Neighborhood since 1984. The residents there are celebrating their 40th anniversary on Sept. 28. There …

Celebrating business longevity in changing times

There’s always a buzz in the neighborhood when a new business opens, but what about celebrating a business that has shown real staying power? RoseLee Buechler (Rosie) has owned and …

‘Inside Senior Living’ docu-series explores aging

In an exciting development for the local television landscape, “Inside Senior Living,” a groundbreaking docu-series, has announced its partnership with PBS North. The series, set to …

Affordable senior housing in Longfellow

With affordable housing a priority at all levels of government, state and local commissioners and elected officials joined leaders from Ecumen – a nonprofit leader and developer of …

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20 AWARDS FOR TMC PUBLICATIONS IN 2023

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 …

Voices Against Violence

‘Oppressive’ experience:’ 57 hearings, 80 court orders, 12 parenting time schedules

What do you do when 11 judges and referees, 20 therapists, 12 mediators, two parenting consultants (with 37 directives), one custody evaluator, and one guardian ad litem haven’t been able to …

Police officer Paul Elmstrand, officer Matthew Ruge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth

Violence Free Minnesota issues statement on Burnsville Police and EMT domestic violence homicides

Violence Free Minnesota issued the following statement on Tuesday, Feb. 20 to call attention to the full circumstances around Shannon Cortez Gooden's murder of two police officers and an EMT in …

Christmas Eve luminary supports Domestic Abuse Project

For 25 years, the warm glow of hundreds of luminaries have lit Dupont/King’s Highway on Christmas Eve. The annual event not only brings neighbors together, but it has raised over $50,000 for …

Dani's daughter sent her teddy bear with her mom on Oct. 2, 2023. “I couldn’t stop thinking about how my daughter would take the news that her mom wasn’t coming home for a month,” said Dani.

Domestic abuse victim jailed

During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a Minnesota judge ordered a victim to jail for not forcing her daughter to see her father. Dani* was ordered to serve 30 days in jail on Oct. 2, 2023 or …

Thi Synavone works as the executive director at Standpoint. (Photo submitted)

FROM THEIR STANDPOINT

Thi Synavone came to the U.S. in 1979 as a Laotian refugee. After living in many states, her family settled in Minnesota in 1988. Synavone said that growing up, domestic and sexual violence was never …

Longfellow

South Minneapolis residents partner with school and artists to transform bridge and celebrate Latinx cultures

36th ART (Avenue Revitalization & Transformation), a resident-led community improvement initiative in South Minneapolis, is deepening its partnership with the Hiawatha Collegiate High School to …

Celebrating river gorge for 28 years

The Longfellow River Gorge Festival (formerly Share the River Gorge) is a free, family-friendly event that has been a community favorite for almost three decades. Appreciation for our …

Meet Longfellow Community Council’s new executive director Joel McReynolds

Joel McReynolds joined the Longfellow Community Council after a decade of experience in nonprofit programming, including youth mentoring, community gardens, refugee outreach, fundraising, and …

Nokomis

Nokomis Days 2024

Library: community treasure trove

“[Libraries are] one of the public places where you can hang out [without being expected to spend money] and you can have air conditioning or heat," said Nokomis Head Librarian Jane Boss. With …

NOKOMIS DAYS 2024 SCHEDULE

More at www.nokomiseastba.com

Arts

New street murals

The City of Minneapolis Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs has unveiled two new artist-designed asphalt murals on 21st Avenue in south Minneapolis. The murals are located near Folwell …

Show combines neurodiversity, art and science

Anxiety, restlessness, being a superpower and feeling free and unchained are some of the emotions Saint Paul actor Michael Wolfe experiences while waiting for a bus. Wolfe, who identifies as a …

Get creative with Twin Cities Makers Circle

Longfellow resident, handcrafter, and entrepreneur Anna Sharratt is offering up all kinds of fun classes through her new business. In her Twin Cities Makers Circle (TCMC) classes, participants use …

MESSENGER CELEBRATES 40 YEARS

Cal deRuyter and Tim Nelson began and ended their careers in neighborhood journalism. In 1977, their office was at Thomas and Fairview in St. Paul. (Photo submitted)

How a newspaper business developed

When I was chosen to be co-editor of our high school paper, it was exciting to learn the ropes of planning a publication, assigning stories, cleaning them up and eventually putting them on the page …

At Uptown Bill's, the coffeeshop, bookstore and performance venue in Iowa City which Tom Gilsenan managed for almost 10 years.

SO MANY STORIES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

Our neighborhoods are full of wonderful stories. And for more than a dozen years, I got to tell those stories right here in the Messenger. It was grand. Minnehaha Falls is full of stories. It has …

20 years with neighborhood newspapers

It has been nearly 20 years since I handed in my first story to the Longfellow Messenger, and it is hard to believe the time has passed so quickly. I had arrived in Saint Paul from Montana with two …

THE MOVERS AND THE SHAKERS

The Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger is not only one of Minneapolis’ oldest neighborhood newspapers, it is part of a long tradition of such Minneapolis and St. Paul publications.Coverage of city …

Carola Bratt wrote and edited for the Messenger when it was owned by the Milbraths.

Staff members through the years

Residents speak: No city project at Roof Depot Site

RISE AND REMEMBER 2024

On May 25, Singer Kashimana and Brass Solidarity led a joyful procession from the solidarity fist at 38th St. and Chicago Ave. to the Say Their Names cemetery, where 400 candles were placed around …

Birth Justice Collaborative applauds passage of birth justice legislation

Two bills aimed at advancing maternal health and improving birth outcomes for Minnesotans were passed …
Reimagining 3rd Precinct Space

Conversations about closed and proposed safety facilities continue to bring disagreement and hope to the …
‘Enough is enough’

Community members stood with the family of Ricky Cobb II at George Floyd Square on Aug. 5, 2023 to offer …
Street art at Becketwood commemorates George Floyd

For the last three years, Kenda Zellner-Smith and her volunteers have been scouring Minneapolis’s …
RISE & REMEMBER

Embracing the community-centered theme “Ubuntu,” a term from South Africa that loosely means “I am …
6 key facts you need to know about Juneteenth

Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom. This momentous occasion is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and …

Through Their Eyes

Rise and Remember 2024 (Photo by Jill Boogren)

Election

Who and what is on the ballot in 2024?

What is at stake in the 2024 election personally for you? A recent NBC online news site presented 7 policy issues important to the American people in the 2024 election. These include the …

The AI Revolution: Navigating its impact on elections

The AI Revolution: Navigating Its Impact on Elections In the evolving landscape of democracy, elections have long stood as the cornerstone of citizen participation and political representation. …

We are secure in our votes. That makes MN #1!

As Minnesotans we understand that exercising our right to vote is fundamental to a healthy democracy. In the 2020 National election, MN was #1 in turnout with just under 80% of eligible voters …

Family

Disrupting education with skateboards, art, and experiential learning

By Eric Ortiz Mark Rivard is not your typical educator. He never went to college. He was not that good a student in high school. And he calls himself “uneducated.” But he has found a …

Hear from Mark Rivard, creator of Do Rad Things, at 'Let's Connect' event in February

Every artist has an interesting origin story. But nothing compares with how Mark Rivard got started. Rivard began illustrating skateboards with Sharpie markers in the early 2000s. That led to an …

Begin planning kids' summer recreation now

Due in part to high demand, parents who want to place their kids in summer rec programs or summer camps should being vetting such programs and camps well in advance of summer. The following are a …

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School & Sports

Student abroad experience sparks lifetime of travel, book for Nokomis resident

In a touching exploration of a life enriched by wanderlust, Nokomis author Autumn Carolynn invites readers to journey with her in her first book "Traveling in Wonder: A Travel Photographer's Tales of …

New principal at South High School: Ahmed Aden Amin

Ahmed Aden Amin is the new principal at South High School. In 2021, he was hired as the principal at Sanford Middle School, where he attended school himself. He graduated from Roosevelt High …

Student studies Chinese in Taiwan

Longfellow resident Amelia Martin, 17, studied Chinese (Mandarin) this summer in Taiwan on a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI‐Y) scholarship. NSLI‐Y, a program of the U.S. …

Longfellow Business Directory articles

Ekta Prakash moved to Minneapolis 20 years ago as an immigrant from India and has served as CAPI’s CEO for the last 14 years.

A BETTER BUSINESS AS USUAL

Since we last printed the Longfellow Business Directory in early 2020, our business community, landscape and daily rhythms have been substantially and irrevocably changed. COVID-19 has presented a …

Ruhel Islam at the Gandhi Mahal site. Photo by Jan Willms

LONGFELLOW RISING

The year 2020 was challenging for the Longfellow business community, particularly in the main commercial intersection of Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue referred to as Downtown Longfellow. The COVID …

As we heal the Coliseum,
it is a sign that the
broader community
along Lake St. is healing.
Taylor Smrikarova, Redesign

RESTORING THE COLISEUM

The Colisum, a community commercial center since 1917, was almost destroyed following the civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd. In order to restore this historic 80,000 square-foot building, …

COMMUNITY VOICES

1) “We are asking questions about what our community needs, trying to use our space and resources to meet those needs, and trying to hold onto connections and awakenings that have been made …

A LONGFELLOW PARTNERSHIP

The Longfellow Business Directory has been an important part of the Longfellow community going back to the 1990s. It was started to help foster better communication within the business community, and …

TWO YEARS AFTER AN UPRISING