Hotel plans feel cut off from neighborhood, say community groups
Plans for a hotel and attached parking ramp at the United Village development could be headed to the St. Paul Planning Commission as soon as March 15. The complicated project design requires a …
Events
FOOD DRIVE MARCH 17 A neighborhood food drive wil be held on March 17, noon to 2 p.m., in the Como Park Lutheran Church Parking lot (corner of Hoyt Ave. W and Hamline Ave. N). Cash/checks …
Tidbits
JOIN THE BAND The Roseville Community Band would like to increase the number of band members from the Midway, Como and Frogtown areas of St. Paul. Did you play an instrument in high school or …
Curious about Hamline Midway Elders?
Adults 60+ are invited to our Spring Social on Thursday, March 21, 1-3 p.m.Live music with Charlie McGuire. Desserts and coffee, Crafts with Coral: Seed Art, seedling planting with Stephanie …
‘A good time to pass the torch’
Marvin Plakut came to Episcopal Homes as CEO in 1999, at a time when the eldercare institution was facing serious challenges.   “Our industry on a national level was undergoing a …
Our 2024 Awards
On March 2, 2024, the Midway Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Celebration. This is our biggest event every year and one of the highlights of the evening is honoring members with awards. Our five …
Chamber directory

Opinion
Women’s History Month: Celebrating local educator and civil rights leader Dr. Josie Johnson
March blooms with the essence of Women’s History Month, a time to honor the fearless trailblazers who have planted seeds of social change. As we reap a bountiful harvest of justice and freedom, …
Letters
NEWSPAPERS ARE IMPORTANT I received my Midway Como Frogtown Monitor delivered to my door today. I just read your column, so I’m writing to tell you that I got my paper. Thanks for your …
Meet potter of Front Avenue Pottery & Tile
Drawing inspiration from Como Park wild life and her Wadena childhood lake country, Mary Jo Schmith creates unique, stoneware dinner, serving ware and commissioned tile installations at Front Avenue …
Try a morning ritual for well-being
“Nobody’s free until everyone’s free.”  Fannie Lou Hamer   Hello Monitor readers, How was your February Leap Month and day? How was your Black …
Getting the paper to your front door just got a little harder
Being a small business owner has its good and bad days. In late December 2023, we got some tough news. Independent Delivery Service (IDS), a staple in the Twin Cities for 50 years, was shutting down …
Rebuild, Repair, Recycle
Kendall Crosby remembers being at a conference in Atlanta, Ga. and sharing the mission statement for his St. Paul hardware store: “To go above and beyond customer expectations.” The …
    Ways to add housing density throughout St. Paul, without dramatically changing community character, are goals for zoning amendments going to the St. Paul City Council for a …
Home improvement work in neighborhoods along Green Line light rail and an array of city programs are among those recommended for funding in 2024-2025. New playground equipment at Hancock Recreation …
Aging Well
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 …
JOIN OTHER SENIORS Our programs for seniors are welcoming and informal, you may join any Ame. There is no fee for classes; donations are always welcome. To register, please call or email: Hamline …
World Without Genocide will host a webinar on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023: Niger’s Coup – China, Russia, Climate, and Nukes. On July 26, a military junta in Niger deposed Niger’s …
School & Sports
Swimmers set conference record, advance to state
A 26-year-old St. Paul City Conference record was broken by the Como 200 Medley Relay team at the city meet in early February 2024. Cougar seniors Oskar Helegn, Kai Sackreiter, Kyle Kosiak, and …
Kids baseball coming back
Play ball! A group of dedicated Como area volunteers want young baseball and softball players to get onto the diamonds this season. The nonprofit Como Ball Youth Baseball and Softball …
Nordic ski team success
Despite a lack of snow this season, the Cougar Nordic ski team has been able to compete in meets on courses where snow-making machines are utilized. The Twin Cities Nordic Conference Meet took place …
House finds new life as university crime scene lab
Hamline University is breathing new life (and plenty of simulated death) into a house on Holton Street in St. Paul. The Hamline-owned property was repurposed this fall semester to be a lab for Dr. …
Como seniors planning for future
High school seniors across the country confront challenging decisions while simultaneously navigating the present and their future. Finding the right balance between keeping up with current …
Voices Against Violence
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 …
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 …
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 …
CAUGHT BETWEEN
She lived in Minnesota for only five months and her daughter was born in Iowa, but Dani* has been dragged into family court in Minnesota nearly every one of the past 11 years by her ex-boyfriend. …
Barricaded siblings turn to TikTok while defying court order to return to father they say abused them
Two siblings in Utah have barricaded themselves in a bedroom at their mother’s home in defiance of a judge’s order to return to the custody of their father, despite state child welfare …
Development
Hotel and ramp coming to former Midway Center superblock
With much of the former Midway Center superblock now owned by one party, redevelopment is moving ahead. The sale of more shopping center property to Snelling Midway Redevelopment LLC in late January …
Dirt moving around Allianz
Dirt is flying at the southeast corner of University and Snelling avenues. Environmental remediation is underway as part of the long-awaited redevelopment of the Midway superblock around Allianz …
Playground, sculpture coming soon to Allianz Field site
Neighbors may see dirt flying near Allianz Field soon, if work isn’t underway already this fall. Construction of a new all-abilities playground and sculpture park at the southeast corner of …
Slice Brothers Pizza opens at Dale & University
Best friends Adam Kado and Hosie Thurmond of Slice Brothers Pizza join Tommie Daye of Tommie’s Pizza as Black owners of St. Paul pizzerias. Slice Brothers Pizza officially opened at Dale and …
United Village Phase 1:
    A mix of skepticism and cautious optimism are greeting the talk of a fresh start for redevelopment of the longtime Midway Center superblock.  More than 60 people …

20 AWARDS EARNED IN 2023

TMC Publication's three newspapers earned a total of 20 awards at this year's Better Newspaper Contest through the Minnesota Newspaper Association. Congrats to the winners! NEWS1) First Place, Sports …
Hamline-Midway
By the time you read this, there’s a good chance if you had a New Year’s resolution you have already abandoned it. Or if you’re like me, you sometimes wait a few weeks to start the …
Hamline Elementary is proud to invite prospective families and the community to join us at our annual Open House and Winter Warm-up! Current families and staff will be there to share with you why …
Dr. Kathleen Murray took office as the 21st president of Hamline University on Jan. 1, becoming the third consecutive woman to lead Minnesota’s oldest institution of higher education, which …
Como
Como Community Blood Drives D10 Como Park partners with the American Red Cross and the Como Zoo & Conservatory to host community blood drives at the zoo. Drives are held from 9 a.m. to 3 …
A talented and dedicated senior class led the Cougars to the Section 4AAA Final for a second consecutive season. While the Cougars lost the championship match, the back-to-back section runner-up …
Como Curb Cleanup this Fall Como Community Council is partnering with Capitol Region Watershed District again for the 2023 Como Curb Cleanup. When it rains, leaves on streets release nutrients …
Frogtown
Back in November, our Frogtown household got a letter from the city’s water agency – Saint Paul Regional Water Services – that suggested we should be concerned about lead in the …
The world is awash in plastic. Every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers, and lakes. Beyond the aesthetic mess of plastic …
“Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing.” - Sarah Ban Breathnach    “We need to feel the cheer and inspiration of meeting each othe. …
Uprising & Unrest
Breathing new life into 27th and Lake
The 27th Avenue block between Lake and 31st Street bustled with community life. The block included a Latino night club, a popular Indian-Bangladeshi restaurant, and a community organization serving …
Learn to listen
Dr. Remi Douah is a listening presence at the “Say Their Names” Cemetery near George Floyd Square, just off East 37th Street between Chicago and Columbus avenues. He spends hours there …
Billboards at George floyd square show connection, unity
Two new artist-created billboards are up on the rooftops at George Floyd Square. Part of the Social Justice Billboard Project, “La Conneccion,” by Maria Cristina “Tina” …
Ribbon cut at Lloyd’s Pharmacy
Lloyd’s Pharmacy owner Jim Stage (back center) and his family officially cut the ribbon of their rebuilt pharmacy on Aug. 5, 2021. Celebrating with them were Mayor Melvin Carter (far left), …
Through Their Eyes
Origin of Racism
By JAN WILLMSFloyd Williams describes himself as a student of life, a revolutionary on many different levels: mentally, spiritually and socially. “I am definitely a person who is about my …
Help kids through trauma
Telling his own children about George Floyd’s death was one of hardest things Rev. Ronald Bell ever did Reverend Dr. Ronald Bell Jr. with his wife, Dr. Eboni Bell, and his two sons. Bell encouraged …
How to shrink the racial divide?
A conversation with the Truce Center’s Miki Lewis Miki Lewis is the founder and director of the Truce Center in St. Paul. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)[/caption] By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN The first …
Through East African eyes
Unrest painful reminder of violence immigrants left behind Youth & Family Circle Eexecutive Director Mahmud Kanyare helps during a food give-away for hundreds of East African families at the …
HOME & GARDEN
How empty nesters can repurpose bedrooms
Converting a child’s bedroom into an area for adults may take some planning. It can be exciting to regain space, but at the same time, it can be disheartening to convert a child’s bedroom …
City orders Iris to remove her boulevard garden
One of Hamline-Midway neighborhood’s most colorful and distinctive sites is changing, and many neighbors don’t think the change is for the better. Sherburne Avenue resident Iris Logan …
How to add art to your home
Longfellow mosaic artist Chris Miller believes that art is like jewelry for your home. “I made this piece in glass a few years ago and I display it each September during LoLa Art Crawl. It …
A harvest of happiness
Wendell O Ward (a longtime Frogtowner known to his fans as “WOW”) is generally a happy guy. But this year a little patch of dirt, just about 40 feet square, has made him even happier. …
Chat with local gardener, plant sale organizer
The 4th Annual Plant Sale to Benefit the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center Food Shelf wil be held on Saturday, June 3, 2023, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1138 Churchill St. Veggies, annuals and perennial …
George Floyd Square
GFS: Sowing seeds of solidarity
The little white house at 4600 Columbus Ave. S. is a typical south Minneapolis home. It has a garden out back and another out front, where every year in mid-July the Black-eyed Susans bloom. Its …
REMEMBERING GEORGE FLOYD
People gathered May 25-28, 2022 to commemorate the 2nd angelversary of George Floyd’s death. Others lost to police violence were remembered, and their families, who continue to push for change, …
A voice for justice
Becoming an activist in a worldwide movement for racial justice was beyond anything Angela Harrelson would have imagined for her life. But the murder of her nephew, George Perry Floyd, Jr. – or …
Did Minneapolis mislead, downplay public input on 38th & Chicago survey?
Since late 2020 Mayor Jacob Frey has made known his intent to reopen the intersection at 38th St. E and Chicago Ave. S. When interim design surveys were returned in spring 2021, he and city leaders …
The People's Closet makes fashion, political statement
Sometimes a revolutionary act is quiet, unseen. Sometimes it’s loud and worn on a shirtsleeve. At The People’s Closet at George Floyd Square, it’s a little bit of both.Born out of …
ELECTION RESULTS
WHAT THEY LIKE ABOUT THE MONITOR

We support the neighborhood by advertising in the Monitor

Supporting the Monitor is one of many ways for us to support our neighborhood. Our local newspaper allows families in the neighborhood to learn of Career Pathways Secondary School and our individualized learning paths for students in grades 6-12. We want our neighbors to know who we are as a school and why we are special. Our families are happy and kids stay with us. We want each student to feel wanted and known. The Hamline Midway neighborhood is part of our school's identity. Career Pathways recently invested $2,000,000 in remodeling our facilities as a commitment to the Hamline Midway neighborhood. We’re proud to be a part of it and represented in the Monitor. ~ Liz Lonetti of Career Pathways

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 design/layout, as well. 

Paul Wehrwein, Frogtown

REVIEW

"Saint Paul Urban Tennis had a great experience working with Denis Woulfe, and we will definitely be doing business with your company again!"

We read it cover to cover

We just want to say thank you for providing such a wonderful community resource. We look forward to recieving the Monitor, and read it cover to cover every month. It is always chock full of interesting and informative articles. Thanks for turning this into our favorite paper!

Peace, Catrina & Serrily, Como

Newspaper connects us

Many thanks for all your work to get local stories and events out to our communities! I moved to the Como neighborhood in 2021 as a new homeowner during the pandemic, and I’ve felt so much more connected by having this awesome resource.

I always start reading with the intent to skim, but end up making it through the entire paper each time! The stories of connection and joy, coverage of Como HS, latest update on the historic library debate, and Mr. Giles’ column always leaves me feeling hopeful. As a public health worker during this time, it gives me relief to see the ads for vaccination, fact-based information about COVID-19, and the highlights of cultural wellness initiatives.

Thank you for all that you do!

Warmly,
Emily Regan

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