Hennepin county's budget and tax levy
Hennepin County proposed tax Increase On Sept. 12, David Hough, the Hennepin County Administrator, proposed a 2024 budget of $2.64 billion to the Hennepin County Board with a net property tax levy of …
Save Democracy - Empower Young Voters
Young Americans have been gathering strength and exerting more influence in recent elections, but need help realizing their full political force as voters. For the health of our democracy, we want …
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 says …
Tips for planting fall bulbs
Now that the days are becoming noticeably shorter and nights are getting colder, you may think the planting season is over. However, fall is the perfect time to put some hardy bulbs in the ground for …
Dowling community garden 80 years old
Shelley Anderl was part of the 80th celebration held at Dowling Community Garden (39th St. and 46th Ave.) on Saturday, Aug.19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There was tomato tasting, speakers, kids …
Events - October 2023
DREAMING IN COLOR OCT. 21 The 7th Annual Minnesota Black Authors Expo is set for Oct. 21, 2023, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at DeLaSalle High School. It is the largest gathering of Black writers and book …
Meet Nena's board chair
Meet Nokomis East Neighborhood Association’s Board Chair, Mia Beste. Mia moved into the neighborhood in 2019. She immediately fell in love with the area. “My humble opinion is the Nokomis …
New name proposed for Sibley Park
After first being solicited by the community in 2016 about changing the name for Sibley Field Park, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) initiated a community engagement process in 2021, …
Trail connections coming at Nokomis-Hiawatha park
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is finalizing concept designs for the next round of trail connection improvements in Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park. After open house events in June and …

AWARD WINNING NEWSPAPERS

20 AWARDS FOR TMC PUBLICATIONS IN 2023

TMC Publication's three newspapers earned a total of 20 awards at this year's Better Newspaper Contest. Congrats to the winners! NEWS1) First Place, Sports Story - Eric Erickson, “Unforgettable …
Rebuild Repair Recycle
D&J Glove Repair welcomes the opportunity to bring back the glory days of your baseball glove. “As far as I know, our repair business is the only stand-alone shop in the U.S.,” …
The reconstruction of the iconic Coliseum Building, now underway, marks an important milestone in the drive to rebuild East Lake Street.   During the civil unrest following the murder …
Lake Street will be torn up over the next two summers to create the new 12.6-mile Bus Rapid Transit B Line. The majority of construction along this line will be done east of Hiawatha this year, and …
Aging Well
With affordable housing a priority at all levels of government, state and local commissioners and elected officials joined leaders from Ecumen – a nonprofit leader and developer  of …
Thirty-five years ago, at Thanksgiving, I moved to Minnesota from my Philadelphia home. I relocated back to my hometown in time for Passover and Easter. In November 1988, the Twin Cities were cold …
Some time ago, after suffering the shocking and unexpected loss of my still young husband, Martijn, while we were living in Europe, I experienced what is called traumatic grief. In addition to a year …
Opinion
What does it mean to be White?
When I google the definition of “white,” the Oxford English Dictionary tells me that one meaning is “belonging to or denoting a human group having light-colored skin (chiefly used …
Summertime celebrations winding down as fall approaches
Celebrating the Resurfacing of 46th Ave. I still get ecstatic along with neighbors I know. I'm looking outside at a resurfaced 46th Ave. between 38th St. and 46th Street. Thanks to Minneapolis Public …
After Kansas newspaper raid: good people showing up
If you’re reading this right now, we have won. Every week, our newspapers struggles to cover local issues. We are limited by staffing, time and newsprint space, and we struggle to pay bills to …
Summertime celebrations continued
It's August 2023. A theme is emerging out of my life experiences to date. The theme can be captured in two words: self care. My life as it is unfolding in 2023 is revolving around self care. I …
Summertime celebrations
As I begin to write, I am aware that pain management continues to be an integral part of my daily life. Surgery, epidurals, pain meds, physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, etc. have not …
Voices Against Violence
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. …
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 …
Judge pauses order to return siblings to father they say abused them
After two months barricaded in a bedroom to defy a court order directing them to be returned to the custody of their father, who they say abused them, Utah siblings Ty and Brynlee Larson emerged …
Colorado suspends one family court custody expert, reviews all custody evaluators following ProPublica investigation
The Colorado courts have suspended a well-known custody evaluator and launched a review of the entire state-approved roster, following a ProPublica investigation that found some evaluators had …
Longfellow
Ben Howery joined LCC in August of 2023 after recently completing his undergraduate in urban studies. He joins the team from the Southeast Como Improvement Association where he gained experience in …
The Longfellow Community Council's annual No Pie Charts, Only (Pizza) Pies! event will be on Thursday, Oct. 12. Please note that it was incorrect in an advertisement in the Sepember Messenger where …
Beginning this year, Longfellow Community Council opened up our grant programming so we could fund more projects and initiatives led by people in our community. Getting our community involved is …
Nokomis
They say it takes a village. We say it takes a special neighborhood. Add a small but dedicated group of volunteers and passionate businesses, and you have Nokomis Days. Our Nokomis Days celebration …
Six new outdoor pickleball courts are open next to the Lake Nokomis Community Center. These courts are the first dedicated pickleball courts in the Minneapolis park system. A celebration was held on …
“Growing up 'white trash,' I never thought I would ever own my own home.” Metal Mike Welsh said in a thoughtful tone as if unaware he was also sitting in his own business. Looking around …
Arts
As a child, Saymoukda Vongsay wrote herself into stories of Little House on the Prairie, Sweet Valley High and The Babysitters Club, as a side character. In middle and high school, she was a known …
Kao Lee Thao and Ash Kubesh spent 66 hours over 10 days painting two new murals that represent Thao’s Hmong heritage at Boom Island Park. The artwork is part of the Minneapolis Parks and …
Dakota children's book authors and illustrators at Bde Psín (Lake Hiawatha) on Sept. 23 from 9:30-11:30a.m. outside the recreation center. Reading selections will be Katie Jo Bendickson, Tara …
MESSENGER CELEBRATES 40 YEARS
How a newspaper business developed
When I was chosen to be co-editor of our high school paper, it was exciting to learn the ropes of planning a publication, assigning stories, cleaning them up and eventually putting them on the page …
SO MANY STORIES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
Our neighborhoods are full of wonderful stories. And for more than a dozen years, I got to tell those stories right here in the Messenger. It was grand. Minnehaha Falls is full of stories. It has …
20 years with neighborhood newspapers
It has been nearly 20 years since I handed in my first story to the Longfellow Messenger, and it is hard to believe the time has passed so quickly. I had arrived in Saint Paul from Montana with two …
THE MOVERS AND THE SHAKERS
The Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger is not only one of Minneapolis’ oldest neighborhood newspapers, it is part of a long tradition of such Minneapolis and St. Paul publications.Coverage of city …
Home & Garden
Rain gardens help during times of drought
Each summer – and especially in recent years – Minnesota experiences some degree of drought. When it does rain, it’s best to keep rainwater on your property and allow it to soak …
Creeping Bellflower and other invasive plants
If you’ve taken a walk outside recently, you’ve probably noticed purple flower stalks popping up all around the neighborhood. Although they are beautiful, what you may not realize is that …
What’s wrong with my lawn?
Summer has arrived in South Minneapolis and you may have started to notice dead patches in your lawn. There are many potential culprits for lawn damage and, unfortunately, they can be difficult to …
Working from home is working
One of the biggest changes to employment coming out of the pandemic is the huge increase in the percentage of people working from home. While not every job is able to be done remotely, the ability to …
No mow may helps our pollinators
Stumbling over bicycles and skateboards in the back of the garage, your fall is broken by the lawn mower handle. Wrestling your new turf terrorizer out of its winter hold, a vague memory forms of the …
Racial Justice

‘Enough is enough’

Community members stood with the family of Ricky Cobb II at George Floyd Square on Aug. 5, 2023 to offer support and demand justice for Cobb, who was fatally shot on July 31 by a Minnesota State …

Through Their Eyes
Longfellow Business Directory articles
A BETTER BUSINESS AS USUAL
Since we last printed the Longfellow Business Directory in early 2020, our business community, landscape and daily rhythms have been substantially and irrevocably changed. COVID-19 has presented a …
LONGFELLOW RISING
The year 2020 was challenging for the Longfellow business community, particularly in the main commercial intersection of Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue referred to as Downtown Longfellow. The COVID …
RESTORING THE COLISEUM
The Colisum, a community commercial center since 1917, was almost destroyed following the civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd. In order to restore this historic 80,000 square-foot building, …
COMMUNITY VOICES
1) “We are asking questions about what our community needs, trying to use our space and resources to meet those needs, and trying to hold onto connections and awakenings that have been made …
A LONGFELLOW PARTNERSHIP
The Longfellow Business Directory has been an important part of the Longfellow community going back to the 1990s. It was started to help foster better communication within the business community, and …
Election

Elections: how they work

How do our elections work and why are they are fair and accurate? Skim this resource or dig into specific aspects/issues for a deeper dive. Go to Elections 411  

Family

Christmas church services

Bethlehem Covenant Church3141 43rd Ave. S. • 612-721-5768www.bethlehemcov.org Pastor Colleen Nelson(Handicapped Accessible)Traditional Service – 9 AMContemporary Service –10:30 …

School & Sports

Talking healthy school lunches with U of M

All students in the state of Minnesota will get free breakfast and lunch starting this next school year.  With more children now likely to eat two meals a day at school, many parents are …

Web Extras - Contact us to sponsor content
4 Workplace Benefits that Support Parents
(Family Features) Balancing work and life can be challenging for many parents, especially when it comes to affording child care. Consider these child care benefits parent employees would like to see offered to them.
Become a CFP® Professional and Be Part of a Growing and Diverse Profession
(NewsUSA) - Today, October 4, marks World Financial Planning Day, a time to recognize the value of financial planning. Did you know that financial planning is not just a valuable resource for …
3 ways business executives can benefit from yoga and meditation
(BPT) - The business world can be a stressful place. When working as a business executive, you can feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being a leader in a world that requires relentless …
One man's transformative journey losing 100-plus pounds
(BPT) - Life is full of unexpected twists and turns, and for Brad Roberts, Chief Operating Officer of LifeMD, one such twist was his unexpected weight gain after the loss of his father. However, his …
What the end of the student loan pause means for teachers
After a three-year pause, student loan repayments will resume. TeacherCertification.com explored how existing forgiveness programs affect teachers.