City delays decision on new Uni-Snelling entertainment district

More time is needed for University-Snelling area business owners and residents to discuss an ambitious liquor licensing plan centered on the busy intersection. In the meantime, Dilla Sports Bar and …
Westrock, former Sears site and downtown skyway get about $150,000 from Ramsey County HRA

County awards planning grants for ‘critical corridors’

Proposed projects near the opposite ends of University Avenue are among those benefiting from Ramsey County’s Critical Corridors Program. The program, which opened to St. Paul projects this …
Como Park Senior High School

Democracy in action at Como Park

Fifty seniors studying a University of Minnesota political science course at Como this semester facilitated a mock election during the build-up toward the midterm elections. The school auditorium …

Billboard battle heads to city council

The proposal to convert a billboard to dynamic display use is headed to the St. Paul City Council before year’s end. The advocacy group Scenic St. Paul has appealed Planning Commission approval of …

Street work coming over next five years

The Saint Paul Department of Public Works’ draft Five-Year Capital Plan includes work on Como Avenue and streets in Frogtown and the West Midway commercial/industrial area. City Council …
School & Sports
First 1,000 days: Responsibility of First Educators
The first 1,000 days are the period from conception to a child’s second birthday. Studies show this period is a child’s most important developmental stage. During this period, children tend to be …
We won't fill ESL vacant positions and will offer early retirement packages to 12 EL teachers
On Oct. 30, 2026, the Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) Board of Education met to discuss alternative solutions for balancing the district’s budget due to a steep decline of English learners after …
Disney's Newsies coming to stage at Central High School
Saint Paul Central High School is proud to present Disney's Newsies. This fall, 135 students have been hard at work - preparing every aspect of this production. The pit orchestra is made up entirely …
SPPS delays vote on reducing English Learner positions to align with loss of 542 students
On Oct. 20, 2026, the Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) Board of Education voted unanimously to postpone the vote to reduce English Learner teaching positions to align with the district’s decline in …
Read full letter attached below left as a pdf.
Intentional Technology Saint Paul asks SPPS to disable YouTube and Gemini AI
Recently, more than a dozen organizations co-signed the attached open letter to school districts, district leaders, and school boards, and sent it to the leadership of the 150 largest public school …
Opinion
New interpretive signs share facts, stories of Como Lake
The trees aren’t the only inviting burst of color around the shores of Como Lake this fall. Visitors to this iconic city lake are also now welcomed by colorful interpretive signs in 13 different …
Tesha M. Christensen
Why are we letting Big Tech steal news?
The press isn’t being compensated for the use of our information by tech companies. They are taking it without permission and without paying a cent. Case in point: I did a search in Grok just to …
Dean Ridings
Being local – community, context and connections – is a superpower
For more than two decades, newspapers have faced enormous pressure from digital platforms, with early challenges from Craigslist, Facebook and others. At the same time, Google, Yahoo and other search …
Flanagan brings authenticity and truthfulness to her candidacy, attributes that Tafoya cannot claim
To the Editor: The October 16 debate between Michele Tofoya and Peggy Flannagan on MPR was one of the better ones I have heard. Thanks to them for balancing cool civility with pointed arguments. …
Here’s an update on what you wished for two years ago
My December 2024 article for the Monitor focused on the recent Union Park District Council Annual Meeting, where I asked attendees what they hoped for the Midway neighborhood in the future. As we …
Development
Midway Diner opens in United Village
On Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, leaders and staff gathered to cut the ribbon of the Midway Diner at United Village. Two days later, Picco Pizza and Gelateria also opened. Chad Kulas, Midway Chamber …
The hotel construction at United Village as viewed from a Green line train. The office building nearby is nearly complete. The Midway Diner at the site opened in late September, and Picco Pizza and Gelateria is set to open soon.
Dispute over green fees delays United Village hotel
Construction of a hotel at United Village is well underway again thanks to an agreement with city officials. Delays that brought the project to a halt in early fall were worrisome for the United …
Domino’s delayed at Blair and Snelling
Plans to convert the former Hamline Cleaners building into a Domino’s Pizza takeout restaurant continue to be questioned by the St. Paul Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). The BZA Sept. 28, 2026 laid …
Commercial development districts eyed for Snelling & University
When Allianz Field plans took shape more than a decade ago, one hoped-for effect was for an active hospitality community. Black Hart, Midway Saloon, Turf Club, Sports Bar and Ethiopian Restaurant and …
Midway Hospital, circa 1950. (Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society)
Monitor in a minute - Sep 2026
Board denies Domino’s variance A plan to convert a longtime Midway dry cleaners into a Domino’s Pizza takeout restaurant was tossed Aug. 3 by the St. Paul Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). The BZA …
Living 50+ and Good Neighbor
Mary Bloom, a Como resident, has been a dining hall volunteer since the 1980s.
They make the Hamline Church dining hall happen
The 2026 Minnesota State Fair is now in the history books, ending on Labor Day. The end means that a large corps of volunteers gets to put away special volunteer garb for another year. The name tags, …
Hamline Midway Elders 25th
Hamline Midway Elders celebrated its 25th Anniversary Celebration & Annual Ice Cream Social on Tuesday, June 23, from 6–7:30 p.m. at Hamline Church (1514 Englewood Ave.). This milestone …
Tom Country works on the St. Anthony Park Area Seniors’ annual report. (SAPAS) is a nonprofit that provides services focused on seniors who are 60 and older and caregivers who live in its service area. SAPAS began in 1981 as the nation’s first block nurse program.
Give volunteering a try
After a long career as an attorney, St. Anthony Park resident Tom Countryman has found enjoyment and purpose in volunteering. He urges others to consider doing the same as they approach or are in …
It is hard to wrap words around what it is like for two vets to connect, no matter which generation or branch of service they come from, observed Dave Dahl. Coffee Talk started out as a Legion program, but now is affiliated with Every Third Saturday. (Photo by Terry Faust)
Thanks to Dave, vets gather for coffee, conversation
Each Tuesday, 50 vets gather in south Minneapolis to connect, thanks to Midway resident Dave Dahl. Dahl, 77, has led a life of service from being a Cub Scout as a child through his military career …
Jan and Hugh Lampert were married on June 12, 1950. In 2004, they traveled together to Alaska. (Photo submitted)
Hugh Lampert: local guy who heeded Uncle Sam’s call
Over 80 years ago marked the end of the Second World War. As history becomes more distant, Hugh Lampert’s legacy remains intact. An ordinary boy’s life changed quickly when he became a …

25 awards for TMC Publications from MNA in 2026

Eric Erickson, Tesha M. Christensen, Amy Holmberg and Jill Boogren
During the January 2026 Minnesota Newspaper Association Convention, TMC Publication CO accepted 25 awards during the Better Newspaper Contest Awards banquet. Accepting them in person were (left to …
Voices Against Violence
Teen calls Minnesota family court, special master system: ‘Intrafamilial Childhood Torture’
Her experience in family court has put Marie* in the hospital twice for mental health treatment. But the special master, a judge that her parents were ordered to pay for, didn’t stop pushing for …
Two teens are homeless right now following special master, family court decisions
Two teenagers are currently homeless after special master Jennifer Joseph ordered them away from their mom’s house and told them to live with the dad they fear. Seventeen-year-old Ethan* and …
Adapted from the Domestic Abuse Invervention Programs Duluth Model Power & Control Wheel and the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL), a project of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV).
Teens say family court shouldn’t force them to have relationship with dad
Ethan* and Mason* have told professional after professional that they don’t want to see their dad. And now, because they won’t go, the 16-year-old and 13-year-old might be put in an …
The rulings of forced contact from those involved in family court go against standard psychological advice, according to clinical forensic psychologist Dr. Catherine Barrett of Los Angeles, Calif., who has spoken nationally about reunification therapy and camps. She points to a confirmation bias in family court that believes women coach children to make up allegations of abuse, and then acts on that belief that children are lying about abuse. “We need to listen to kids,” said Dr. Barrett. “Kids don’t make this stuff up.” According to a study by Dr. Joan Meiers and George Washington University Law School that was funded by the National Institute of Justice, in family court allegations of abuse are not believed 75 percent of the time. “The confirmation bias is that victims are lying,” said Dr. Barrett.
“This is the generation of voice and technology,” she observed. “These kids aren’t being coached.”
An ‘oppressive’ experience: 57 hearings, 80 court orders and 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 …
George Floyd Square
Rise and Remember festival honors George Floyd May 23-26
The 6th Annual RISE & REMEMBER festival will be held May 23-26, 2026. The annual event, Rise & Remember Festival, exists to hold in remembrance George Floyd and those we have lost unjustly to …
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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