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UNIVERSITY AVENUE
Perspectives on University Ave.
Midway signs inspire children’s book
City’s new deeply affordable housing to open in Midway
A COMMON TABLE
In the summer of 2021, a woman came to get lunch at Shobi’s Table, a pay-as-you-can food truck started by Christ Lutheran Church (105 University Ave. W.), just because she saw the big blue …
Native American Community Clinic combines medical care, classes and Indigenous spiritual practices
A patient who had an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine was having second thoughts. They were anxious to receive the vaccine and did not know if they wanted to continue on the day that they were …
First skater trail opens in St. Paul
When a “skater trail” and other skater amenities opened in June at St. Paul’s Highland Bridge Gateway Park, supporters of other city skate parks watched with great interest. That …
Neighborhoods pinpoint priorities for city CIB funding
Six area projects are candidates for 2023 and 2024 Long-Range Capital Improvement Budget (CIB) funding, which is cause for cautious optimism in Frogtown, Union Park, St. Anthony Park and Como …
DIARY OF A PLASTIC-FREE WANNABE
Have you heard about Plastic Free July? It’s a decade-old movement to get people to reduce their use of single-use plastics. The hoped-for result: cleaner streets, lakes, rivers, and …
Frog Food by Z Akhmetova July 2022
Celebrating truth and peace
“The naked truth is always better than the best-dressed lie.” – Ann Landers “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will… The limits of …
Thank you, thank you, thank you
It’s been a whirlwind few months at the Como Community Council, we’ve had lake clean-ups, blood drives, community gardening events, Como Tree Trek, Como Homo Hangout, new community events …
Highlights at school year end
Graduation HighlightsSeniors from the Class of 2022 and their families were busy celebrating accomplishments in early June. Graduation took place at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in downtown St. Paul on …

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Monitor June 2022

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POLLS
Rebuild, Repair, Recycle
Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles is one of 108 bicycle shops across the US and Canada to receive the 2022 Bicycle Retailer Excellence Award from the National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA). The St. …
Asphalt or trees? A group of St Anthony Park residents gathered on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 to declare their firm allegiance to the trees.Armed with packing tape and scissors, the tree advocates affixed …
What thoughts or images come to mind when you hear “freshwater”? Do you see a sparkling lake, hear water lapping against the shoreline, feel it tickling your toes? Is it a gurgling creek …

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Aging Well
“Elders from diverse backgrounds are becoming more aware of the importance of working together to build power,” said St. Paul resident Vic Rosenthal. “For many elders, because of …
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 …
At age 69, I was a “silver sneaker” poster child – fit and healthy, living on my own, fiercely independent and proud of it. Ironically, my main fitness exercise, avid fast walking …

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Voices Against Violence
 FAILED BY FAMILY COURT
Helpless and hopeless.That’s how Kelsey Kruse felt for years as she tried to co-parent with her ex and his wife, Brett and Sarah Hallow.And then one day, she got the call she was scared …
‘I RAN’
At 25, Sarah* doesn’t speak to her dad. And she points the finger squarely at him and how he treated her before and after her parents’ divorce.She knows that people often blame mom when a …
They took her children away
When Starr Jones* tells her story, people can’t believe this is happening in Minnesota. They can’t believe that the dad was investigated by child protection when their first daughter was …
'She must have done something wrong'
 Broke. Homeless. And in danger of losing custody of her children. That’s where Bonnie Roy found herself while trying to get a divorce in Minnesota 10 years ago. Because of …
You don’t have to leave to seek help
Local and national staff, along with Carmen Yulín Cruz (mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico), and Teresa Rodriguez, from Univision, who served as the emcee of Casa de Esperanza’s 35th …

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Opinion

FOR THE PEOPLE

It was an astonishing idea. Spend $100,000 in 1873 to buy 260 acres of land, including Como Lake, a lake that was little more than a large swamp at the time? Crazy as it sounded, that’s exactly …

Chamber directory

Development
 Hamline-Midway library to be demolished
By Jane McClure The Hamline Midway Library will be demolished and replaced with a new structure for $5.8 million. St. Paul Public Library administration announced the decision May 26, 2022. Social …
Next up: figuring out rental control ordinance
Rent control for St. Paul was approved, 53 to 47 percent, by the voters. Now the challenge of figuring out the ordinance and what it means begins.The measure places a three present cap on maximum …
There’s a brand new play space at Hamline Park
Located in the Hamline-Midway area at 1564 Lafond Ave., this play space has been completely replaced, including new safety surfacing and new drains underneath to keep the playground dry. The new play …
Development Roundup November 2021
Keystone project moves aheadKeystone Community Services’ planned new and expand food shelf facilities took a step ahead Oct. 20 as the St. Paul City Council approved an allocation of $902,255 …
B Line plan moves ahead
B Line bus rapid transit service is to start in 2024, providing a faster connection between St. Paul’s Union Depot and Uptown Minneapolis. The $65 million project’s final corridor and …
Hamline-Midway
With plans in hand to demolish and replace the Hamline-Midway Branch Library, a detailed focus on design continues. Updated design renderings, the latest floor plans and specific details derived from …
Recently, the Midway Chamber of Commerce held a retreat for our board of directors. We are like many nonprofit organizations, where we have staff and also a dedicated group who serve in a volunteer …
Anyone seeking a project for their community doesn’t have a lot of time to weigh in on St. Paul’s 2023 Long-Range Capital Improvement Budget (CIB) candidates. A public hearing on projects …

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Como
As the school year draws to a close, most high school students are focused on final exams, proms, and preparations for graduation. Como resident Charlotte Tracy, a trainee dancer with Ballet …
On a hot evening in July 2008, some Frogtown residents came up with a crazy idea. Thirteen acres of beautiful land stood empty on the west end of the neighborhood. What if those 13 acres could become …
ECO FAIR COMING AUG. 13The Eco Fair will be a free community event. Organizers of the Eco Fair & 5k have put out a call for exhibitors to participate in the event to be held Saturday, Aug. 13 in …
Frogtown
Last week, Councilmember Dai Thao announced that he will retire from his post effective Aug. 1, 2022. The Saint Paul City Council is required to appoint a replacement who will serve until the end of …
FilmNorth® will move from its current leased space to a new home in an historic building designed by renowned architect Clarence Johnston at 2441 University Ave. FilmNorth will purchase and …
Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill, 105 University Avenue West, St. Paul, MN 55103 its listed in the National Register of Historical Places. The application had been submitted in August of 2019 …

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School & Sports
 LEARNING HOW TO SWIM AT THE YMCA
Little eyes brighten and smiles break out when mommy or daddy say it’s time to go to the pool at the Midway YMCA Saturday mornings for swimming lessons for infants and toddlers.Mitch Lallier …
Making St. Paul even more awesome
What do a Makerspace teacher at Randolph Heights Elementary School, the owner of a St. Paul Frogtown-based non-profit that provides medical supplies to Bolivians, and a library media specialist at …
Flight Academy for JROTC Cadet
On June 10, 2022, Alex Le will complete his junior year at Como with the No. 1 academic ranking in his class. Two days later, Le began training at the U.S. Naval Summer Flight Academy.Le earned a …
IN BRIEF May 2022
GREG RATHERT NEW VICE PRESIDENTSaint Paul College President Deidra Peaslee announces that Greg Rathert has been named the college’s new vice president for academic and student affairs, …
Exams, honors, activities and celebrations
AP Exams Hundreds of Como students are taking Advanced Placement exams during the first two weeks of May. The national tests administered by the College Board allow students to show what they know …
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), …

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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 …

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HOME & GARDEN
 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 …
Tiny spaces live large
Stephen Filing of Realty Group was looking to start a real estate business in 2014. He and his wife recently had a child and wanted to start something in the area. When Filing found the tiny office …
Why you should care about bugs
When I say I love insects, I’m normally met with a blank stare. Or worst case – a shudder. It’s not a very popular take, but with insect populations drastically declining across the …
Outdoor Gardening in February? You Betcha.
It’s early February: time to start planting garden seeds! That’s right, no need to wait until Memorial Day to get started gardening. But forget the grow lights, heat mats and inevitable …
Gardening activist moves on
After many years as a Hamline-Midway resident, longtime neighborhood activist Diane Dodge moved to rural Wisconsin at the end of July. Dodge was active in racial equity and social justice work …

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George Floyd Square
 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 …
George Floyd Global Memorial celebrates Floyd’s 48th birthday
By JILL BOOGRENOn what would have been George Floyd’s 48th birthday, the George Floyd Global Memorial (GFGM), with community members and supporters, hosted “And Still We Rise,” a …
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