Guaranteed income for artists
Arnée Martin wanted 100 rejections.  “The worst they can say is no,” Martin said.  As an artist applying for grants and scholarships, the TikTok trend of …
Acceptance, kindness and support
With a whirlwind of color, choreography and music, the South Asian Arts & Theater House (SAATH) brought the stage to life with a recent performance at the Cowles Center (528 Hennepin Ave.) to …
Which streets on docket, which ones waiting
St. Paul’s five-year streets plan for 2024-2028 has some mixed news for those who walk, bike and drive in the city. While some area projects are penciled in, others continue to face delays. …
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 …
Food Scraps: Not Just Garbage Any More!
On a recent afternoon, Megan Maiers marched into Our Village, a community garden near her Frogtown home. In her hands was a small container filled with ordinary, leftover food scraps. …
The global ethic: A lesson to practice
“Your children need your presence more than your presents.” Jesse Jackson   “Let us imagine care of the soul, then, as an application of poetics to everyday …
Tidbits
SPPS SUPERINTENDENT HONORED The Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) has named Dr. Joe Gothard, Superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS), the 2024 Minnesota …
Events - November 2023
CRANKSGIVING NOV. 18 Cranksgiving is a food drive where folks ride bicycles from store to store and purchase items to donate to a local food program. Participants on Saturday, Nov. 18 can choose …
Volleyball makes section final
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 …
POLLS
Opinion

One Million Black Women: making a difference in Minnesota

Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs. Their success is the foundation for their communities and a core element of the Black ecosystem. They are creating job opportunities, …

Chamber directory

Rebuild, Repair, Recycle
    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 …
Project at former school building A Merriam Park development project, which hit some delays, is moving ahead. The St. Paul Planning Commission Jan. 6 approved a conditional use permit and variances …
Aging Well
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 …
Lyngblomsten, a Minnesota nonprofit senior services organization, announces the opening of its new continuum-of-care campus in Lino Lakes, Minn. The community welcomed its first residents to the …
School & Sports
Two campuses, one community
News from Hamline Elementary We had a wonderful first month at Hamline Elementary as we welcomed our staff, students, and families back into the building. Teachers have been taking advantage of …
National Merit Scholars
Como Park seniors Sophie Warner and Kai Sackreiter have earned the prestigious honor of being named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. With elite academic credentials and exceptional scores on …
Gentry Academy hires Como High graduate Kyle Follmer to lead boys’ hockey team
Gentry Academy in Vadnais Heights has hired Kyle Follmer as the school’s new boys’ hockey coach. Follmer, who played high school hockey at St. Paul Como Park, before playing junior and …
Rain Taxi Book Fair returns Oct. 14 
Rain Taxi Book Fair returns Oct. 14  Rain Taxi presents its 23rd Annual Twin Cities book Festival Saturday, Oct. 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the state fairgrounds with special …
Commusication celebrates 10 years 
ComMUSICation (CMC), a nonprofit organization providing equitable access to music programs for youth in Saint Paul, marked its 10th anniversary by hosting a concert on May 21 at the Ordway Concert …
Voices Against Violence
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 …
Colorado becomes the first state to limit court use of family reunification camps
A bill signed into law this week in Colorado prohibits family courts from ordering children to participate in reunification programs that isolate them from a trusted caregiver. Many of these programs …
A court ordered siblings to a reunification camp with their estranged father. The children say it was abusive.
One Thursday afternoon in December, a father and two of his estranged children boarded a flight from Salt Lake City to Texas, beginning an effort to repair their fractured relationship. A family …
Development
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 …
Will ground break soon for United Villages?
Long-awaited redevelopment of the area around Allianz Field could get underway soon. Getting shovels in the ground requires several steps, which are under review by Hamline Midway Coalition and Union …
Development Update
Snelling building gets new lease on life The long-awaited rehabilitation of a Snelling Avenue building can move ahead, following the July 12, 2023, St. Paul City Council approval of the project. …
Streetwear at University and Dale
By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN Urban29 lost its space at 804 E. Lake in Minneapolis when the building burned after the murder of George Floyd. Owner Joyce Sanders of Longfellow opened a pop-up location …

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
It seems whenever I go out of town, especially to a smaller community but even to a surrounding suburb, I get asked about crime. From the perception some have of Saint Paul, Minneapolis, or the …
In nearly every issue of the Monitor appears a guest column by Chad Kulas, Executive Director of the Midway Chamber of Commerce. The columns are almost always upbeat, often highlight unique …
University Avenue has always been a hot spot for enjoying a diverse cuisine. And the restaurant industry is always changing; on one hand we don’t like seeing our favorite places close but there …
Como
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 …
Summer break came and went quickly! Hundreds of students stayed connected to Como through unique experiences ranging from educational trips out of state to athletic team trainings on campus. Some …
Como residents are dismantling racial covenants and preserving untold stories through Know Your Como, a transformative neighborhood history project. Thomas Frankson, a prominent figure in the …
Frogtown
Frogtown residents who have spent more than a decade working toward a goal of “1,000 Trees for Frogtown Homes” will reach – and surpass – that goal this year.  …
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. …
This month’s Frogtown Green column has a guest writer – Aaron Backs, a sustainability project coordinator with CERTs, a state-wide clean energy partnership. Aaron walks through a …
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 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 …
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 …
Free trees for Frogtown, Hamline-Midway residents
Frogtown GreenSince 2011, volunteers in the Frogtown neighborhood have been planting free trees in residents’ homes. Inspired by those efforts, and alarmed by recent declines in urban tree …
NO MOW MAY
Let’s face it – your lawn, with all the mowing, raking, fertilizing, weeding, chemical treatment and watering it requires – is pretty much useless. At least that’s what a lot …
The clown colored house on the hill
Perched on a hill overlooking the Como Park Golf Course is a two-story vivid spruce green and fuchsia pink cube made of steel and glass. Situated on a bend in Lexington Ave, it’s impossible to …
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

WEB EXTRAS - CONTACT US TO SPONSOR CONTENT
How your address could determine your heart health
Northwell Health partnered with Stacker to examine data from numerous studies to see how where people live can impact their heart health.   
How hospital employment has changed in 20 major metros
Medical Technology Schools used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to see how employment at hospitals has changed among 20 major U.S. metros.
These are the people most likely to be burdened by medical debt in the US
Care Better analyzed data from the Kaiser Family Foundation to visualize which groups of Americans are most likely to hold medical debt.
5 Simple Holiday Hosting Hacks
(Family Features) Make this season's holiday hosting effortless and enjoyable with these tips and this delicious holiday-themed recipe for Iced Gingerbread Caramel Coffee that is sure to become a favorite.
Food for all: How to fight food insecurity and improve access to better nutrition
(BPT) - Food shouldn't be an impossible choice. Everyone needs nutritious foods to thrive. Yet, new data show food and nutrition insecurity are on the rise. According to the recent U.S. Department of …