Vol. 22, #06 – 11/25/15


Holiday Gathering Opportunity

We can all agree that our spirits need an extra bit of “joyful” to get lift-off into the holiday mood this year. The Moving Company, a theater group that has its roots in the storied Jeune Lune, is staging “Liberty Falls” at the Lab Theater through December 20. Featuring the talents of Nathan Keepers, Steven Epps, Christina Baldwin and Jennifer Baldwin, directed by legendary Dominique Serrand, “Liberty Falls” is irreverent, raucous and guaranteed to bring laughter when we could all use a large dose. Word of mouth is working its magic. This is the hottest production in town. That said, the Lab Theater’s big boss lady, Mary Leer, tells us that there is still room to book blocks of tickets for business or family group outings. If you are interested call the Lab Theater Box Office at 612-333-7977.

Keep it Sharp

We are long-time fans of the crew at Eversharp, the Twin Cities’ foremost cutlery emporium, located at 344 Taft Street Northeast in Minneapolis. If you haven’t brought your knives in for a tune-up you procrastinated to the right moment. Through Saturday, November 28, if you bring in a bag of nonperishable food items or donate […]

By |2016-10-21T00:42:40-05:00November 25th, 2015|Categories: Newsletter|2 Comments

Vol. 22, #05 – 7/22/15


Firecracker Follow-up

Last issue we took editorial liberties with our Firecracker of the Year Committee’s annual missive. They placed two very worthy individuals into the Firecracker Hall of Fame and—given the length of the issue—we saved these for the special attention they deserve. From the Committee:

In 2014 and now in 2015 your Committee found two very special candidates for our Firecracker Hall of Fame. Both, sadly, are posthumous, but richly deserving of the honor.

  • 2014 saw the passing of two great contributors to this community. State Chamber of Commerce leader David Olson, just a few weeks after the death of his father Glenn. David’s accomplishments were well chronicled by the media. Because your readership skews to such young demographics we wanted to recognize the elder Olson whose contributions, in part because of his humble personality, have flown under the radar screen. Glenn Olson embodied civic activism in its most altruistic meaning. He became active in politics with the legendary GOP mafia that controlled Minneapolis south of Lake Street for decades. Many remember Popham, Flakne, Schwartzkopf and their crew. Glenn was elected to the Minneapolis City Council representing the Eleventh Ward. He was a voice of moderation concentrating on […]

By |2016-10-21T00:42:40-05:00July 22nd, 2015|Categories: Newsletter|2 Comments

Vol. 22, #04 – 7/01/15


The Canadian fires had cast a veritable June gloom over our Union Plaza digs. Even the office mercury vapors had a gray haze about them. The door opened and everything brightened up. “Dobry den…Hello? Good day?” The bright brown eyes and big smiles were all too familiar: Oksana and Marianna, the ambassadors of good will who come each summer from Ukraine to spread cheer while selling flowers and vegetables for Untiedt’s at area farmers markets. “Oh, the Firecracker Committee. They were very mad at you. We delivered last year’s award to Young Quinlan; office was empty,” said Marianna with a bit of a scolding tone to her voice. Oksana, ever the peacemaker, quickly added: “But then they became VERY worried. Online, like its editors, seemed to vanish.” It was none other than Farmers Market cohort Danny Tollefson who picked up the scent and contacted the Committee when Online resumed publishing and your editors launched their spiffy new website.

So we set the well-worn Red Owl grocery bag on the conference table, carefully removed the Arco coffee can, popped the lid, and unwrapped the missive from the Firecracker of the Year Committee; taking care, of course, to preserve the section of […]

By |2016-10-21T00:42:40-05:00July 1st, 2015|Categories: Newsletter|3 Comments

Vol. 22, #03 – 06/05/15


WINDOWS ON…

Whither the Downtown YMCA

We were able to confirm what we have overhead in elevator talk over the last couple of months: that the Downtown YMCA building on Ninth Street is for sale. While the current Y building was constructed in 1990, the “Y” has been a fixture on Ninth and LaSalle since the original, the Central Building, was constructed in 1918. Into the 1970s that facility was a hub of civic and athletic activity. The new “Y” was constructed as part of the Frauenshuh redevelopment of the entire block that resulted in the LaSalle Plaza, a revitalized State Theater and a brand new YMCA. The Central building now hosts 121 apartments.

The Downtown YMCA still hosts athletic facilities and a robust daycare program as well as summer youth activities. We have heard, but cannot confirm, that one possible new home could be in the United Properties development on the pad atop the Target Station transit interchange. That facility, we understand, would not include athletic or child care amenities.

May the Wind be Always at your Back

We guess it is just the stage we are at in life but since our last newsletter we have attended two more retirement parties of […]

By |2016-10-21T00:42:40-05:00June 5th, 2015|Categories: Newsletter|3 Comments

Vol. 22, #02 – 05/19/15


WINDOWS ON…

Sustainable Democracy

In the rarified air of Wonkville, Minnesota, there is considerable buzz regarding a conference to discuss worldwide efforts to build partnerships among organizations, universities, businesses and others committed to finding sustainable solutions to the social, economic and environmental problems outlined in the World Business Council for Sustainable Developments Vision 2050. Partnership for Change (PFC), an NGO founded in Norway, is a key collaborator and has pledged support for the holistic approach of Vision 2050 by identifying major milestones in fulfilling this agenda. Minnesota 2015: Democracy in a Sustainable Future, is the first such milestone in the journey.

Okay, we know, we are so busted. Your editors would so rather be watching Blaine Boyer maintain his scoreless May streak than sustain a five minute conversation about the world in 2050. The “but” here is a big one: our fine friends and clients at HGA are hosting a prequel event this coming Wednesday, May 20 (as in tomorrow), in their beautiful reception/conference area in the Ford Center (450 Fifth Street North, 55401). Persons who are Vision 2050 curious or more to the point interested in learning how you or your company can support the conference are cordially invited to attend. […]

By |2016-10-21T00:42:40-05:00May 19th, 2015|Categories: Newsletter|10 Comments

Vol. 22, #01 – 04/06/15


WINDOWS ON…

The Big IDEA

With rumors of Hennepin County considering using some of the surplus from the Target Field sales tax to assist with the proposed new Soccer Park on Royalston near the Minneapolis Farmers Market, perhaps it is time to peel back the curtain and shed light on stadium funding and management generally. Like the rest of the interested public we presume no deal is announced because no deal has been arranged. We know there is land to be assembled and infrastructure to be, well, structured to connect the soccer facility to the street grid, LRT and hopefully the HERC (aka Old Smokey, the happy garbage burner). It is public policy to connect the many underused public assets to potential development, ideally bringing the energy from the North Loop across / along Glenwood Avenue and into near North Minneapolis.

Coincidentally, across the street from the Government Center, leaders in Minneapolis City Hall are moving towards putting another, much-needed $24 million into the Target Center renovation. Wouldn’t it be nice if the City and the County could press pause and figure out how to manage these two efforts together? The City turns over title to Target Center, along with […]

By |2016-10-21T00:42:40-05:00April 6th, 2015|Categories: Newsletter|9 Comments
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