FINDING COMMON GROUND IN OUR COMMUNITY

Boneshaker to Host Zine Release

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:25:00 -0500

This Saturday, June 22, the self-defined “radical & progressive” Boneshaker Books in Minneapolis will be hosting the Twin Cities Zine Release Super-Party. New independently- published periodicals, books, pamphlets, comics, chapbooks known as zines (pronounced like the end of the word “magazine”), will be available for sale, trade and free at the event, most likely along with a host of other materials and art. Often defying definition, it is generally agreed upon that zines are self-published, come in batches of less than 1,000 and don’t usually seek profit. They can be about anything at all, containing as many words of images as one wants. MPR reported on a zinefest that took place in 2009, though the presence of a zinester community in the Twin Cities has been around since at least 2004, and probably long before that as well. The Minnesota Center for Book Arts, which holds workshops on more traditional arts of bookmaking, like papermaking, letterpress and binding, has also been a part of past zinefests and release parties, teaching people self-publishing strategies.

Saturday’s event starts at 7:00pm, and is free and open to the public.Boneshaker Books lives at 2002 23rd Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55404.

Hello All!

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:23:31 -0500

My name is Katie Robinson and I am working with Mickey Moore as an intern in Inclusion and Community Impact department. One of my projects this summer is to manage this Tumblr, which, as I have learned, is an internal resource to communicate some of the things we have been learning to the rest of APMG. As part of the mission of strengthening our communities, this blog tells the stories of the community as well as highlights events going on in our own backyards. This is one way we hope to connect APMG employees with each other, with the organization and with the community. Please don’t hesitate to comment on, or ask for any more information about any of the events, people, or news posted.

Thanks, and enjoy.

Katie

Brainwave-controlled helicopter developed at U of M | Minnesota Public Radio News

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:54:24 -0500

Brainwave-controlled helicopter developed at U of M | Minnesota Public Radio News:

Jetsons,anyone? This amazing advancement in technology has tremendous implications for health care in the future.

Robbie Rogers is joining the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League...

Thu, 30 May 2013 08:01:16 -0500

Robbie Rogers is joining the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer in another step by openly gay athletes in professional sports.

As bees perish in large numbers, a search for causes and...

Wed, 29 May 2013 08:01:33 -0500

As bees perish in large numbers, a search for causes and solutions

by Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio

May 28, 2013

ELBOW LAKE, Minn. — In a sprawling bee yard, beekeeper Steve Ellis wearily surveyed 1,300 hives destined for fields across the countryside.

Given that bees pollinate fruits, vegetables and nuts, and pollination is required for about one-third of all food production, he should be enthusiastic about their summer journey.

But as Ellis kneeled in front of a hive to inspect it, he had cause for concern. Many of the bees were in no condition to pollinate plants and make honey. Indeed, drifts of decomposing bees covered the ground.

“From a beekeeper’s standpoint it’s a nightmare,” Ellis said last week. “Dead bees everywhere.”

Abdi Warsame, contender for City Council, out to change...

Tue, 28 May 2013 08:01:37 -0500

Abdi Warsame, contender for City Council, out to change perspectives

by Curtis Gilbert, Minnesota Public Radio

Although Warsame has never run for office before, last month he won the DFL party endorsement over a three-term incumbent. If successful, he could be the first Somali-American elected to the Minneapolis City Council.

“This community that I’m from doesn’t believe in the system. They only think President Obama solves problems,” Warsame said. “So when there’s a presidential election, they get very excited. But they don’t understand that what actually impacts their lives is dealt with not by the federal government, but by the local government, the city.”

Said Salah Ahmed Educator, poet, playwright and filmmaker Said...

Mon, 27 May 2013 08:01:06 -0500

Said Salah Ahmed

Educator, poet, playwright and filmmaker Said Salah Ahmed fled Somalia during the Civil War and immigrated to the Twin Cities in the early 1990s. Since then he wrote “The Lion’s Share” a children’s book that later became the inspiration of a play he produced for Steppingstone Theater based on Somalian folklore.

Immigration reform bill moves on without amendments some...

Fri, 24 May 2013 09:30:46 -0500

Immigration reform bill moves on without amendments some advocates hoped for

Leslie Berestein Rojas

When the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a comprehensive immigration reform bill by a 13 to 5 vote Tuesday, it did so without a couple of controversial amendments: One would have extended immigration rights to same-sex couples, and another would have preserved two categories of immigrant visas that stand to be cut.

The most controversial amendment was brought up at the end of Tuesday’s negotiations, a proposal from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) that would have allowed gay and lesbian U.S. citizens to sponsor a same-sex spouse on an immigrant visa. As it stands now, federal law only allows straight married couples to do so.

While many on the Senate committee voiced support, they also said they feared the amendment might torpedo the bill. It was eventually withdrawn.

Gay and lesbian advocates say they’re upset that senators bought into what they describe as a “poison pill” argument from opponents.

STEP-UP Achieve—part of the City of Minneapolis...

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:30:32 -0500

STEP-UP Achieve—part of the City of Minneapolis STEP-UP program — connects businesses with the next generation of talented and diverse workers, provides critical job training and hands-on experience for young people in Minneapolis, and builds a stronger Twin Cities workforce for our knowledge-based global economy.

One of the country’s top youth employment programs, STEP-UP Achieve places 800 young people (ages 16-21) each year in paid internships with 150 top Twin Cities companies, nonprofits and public agencies, providing work readiness training, on-the-job experience, professional connections and ongoing support.

Now in our tenth year, we’ve connected over 5,000 young people with Twin Cities employers, ranging from Cargill, Boston Scientific and Target to Fairview Health Services, Hennepin County, Nina Hale, Inc., Twin Cities Public Television and many more. STEP-UP Achieve interns bring home over $1 million in wages each year, a significant contribution to low-income families in Minneapolis.

Our 2013 internship application deadline has now passed. Learn how you can become a STEP-UP Achieve employer and check out our brand new STEP-UP video!

UMD graduates first cohort of tribal management program by Dan...

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:31:27 -0500

UMD graduates first cohort of tribal management program

by Dan Kraker, Minnesota Public Radio

The new graduates, who are their 20s through their 60s, come from reservations around the Midwest to study at UMD, which developed the program at the behest of area tribes, to prepare leaders for the unique management challenges tribes confront. Most already work for tribal governments, including three executive directors of Indian tribes.

Read the full story

Cultural Jambalaya is a photography-based nonprofit organization...

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:01:00 -0500

Cultural Jambalaya is a photography-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote understanding and respect for all cultures. Cultural Jambalaya aims to celebrate cultural differences — and similarities — while benefiting nonprofit organizations and schools. Learn More.

Women lose political footing at LA City Hall Alice Walton On...

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:01:00 -0500

Women lose political footing at LA City Hall

Alice Walton

On July 1, L.A. city government could be run entirely by men.

“I mean, think of this, that we would have in 2013 no woman on the city council. That’s really amazing,” said Roz Wyman, who 60 years ago became the second woman ever elected to the L.A. City Council. The first was Estelle Lawton Lindsey in 1915.

PHOTOS: A look inside the taxidermy lab at The Natural History...

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:34:00 -0500

PHOTOS: A look inside the taxidermy lab at The Natural History Museum

Dr. Dre, American Idol’s Jimmy Iovine donate $70 million...

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:01:32 -0500

Dr. Dre, American Idol’s Jimmy Iovine donate $70 million for new USC center

Hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, and music industry entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine have donated a combined $70 million to create a new institute at the University of Southern California, the school announced Tuesday night.

Students at Humboldt State University in northern California...

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:01:12 -0500

Students at Humboldt State University in northern California worked to put together the interactive “Geography of Hate” map showing where tweets containing hate speech originate. You can see screenshots of racist and homophobic tweets above, from both Southern California and nationally, as defined by the project.

The students looked at tweets with location information from June 2012 through April 2013 containing one of 10 hate words, which included racist, homophobic and anti-disabled words. They looked at over 150,000 tweets, reading each one to decide whether it was being used in a negative way.

The data was aggregated down to the county level, then normalized by how many tweets were sent, so you can’t tell using the map whether the specific tweets classified as hate speech were necessarily coming from one part of the county or another.

The Huffington Post notes that the majority of hateful tweets seem to be coming from rural areas and small towns, while more populous areas like the Los Angeles region have far fewer hate tweets. Still, a pale blue coloring indicates words being used more than the national average, and there’s still some of that blue in the L.A. area. Southern California also generally shows more racist tweets than homophobic tweets, particularly against blacks

Jack Baker and Michael McConnell Apply for Marriage License in...

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:01:00 -0500

Jack Baker and Michael McConnell Apply for Marriage License in Minneapolis, 1970 (by R. Bertrand Heine)

On the afternoon of May 18, 1970, University of Minnesota law student Jack Baker and U of M employee Michael McConnell walked into a drab government office in Minneapolis, filled out a form, paid a $10 filing fee, and applied for a marriage license. It was apparently the first time in U.S. history that anyone had ever taken the initial steps to pursue a legally-recognized gay marriage. Baker and McConnell’s marriage application was eventually denied (Hennepin County Attorney George M. Scott advised that, in any marriage, “there should be a male and a female involved”), but the two men did not give up. They filed a lawsuit challenging the denial of their marriage license application. In the end, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against them, saying that marriage was “a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family.” Baker and McConnell appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the justices declined to take up the case, essentially setting aside the question of the constitutionality of gay marriage for another time. That was more than 40 years ago.

Mission The Citizens League builds civic imagination and...

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:01:00 -0500

Mission

The Citizens League builds civic imagination and capacity in Minnesota by:

Identifying, framing and proposing solutions to public policy problems;
Developing civic leaders in all generations who govern for the common good; and
Organizing the individual and institutional relationships necessary to achieve these goals.

Purpose

To organize the means — the “civic infrastructure” — within the Citizens League and in Minnesota, to achieve the mission. “Civic infrastructure” refers to our ability to govern and solve problems for the common good in and across all institutions.

Values

We believe in human capacity: the power and potential of all citizens.
We believe in democracy and good governance.
We believe in civic leadership and active citizenship.
We believe in good politics and political competence.
We believe in institutional accountability: that all institutions must sustain these ideals from one generation to the next.

Citizens League members do the work to build civic imagination and capacity in Minnesota. Read our 2011-2012 Citizens League guide to see what we’re up to, or click on a category below to find out more about this work and how you can contribute.

Minnesota became the 12th state to legalize gay...

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:39:00 -0500

Minnesota became the 12th state to legalize gay marriage yesterday.

To celebrate, the city of Minneapolis lit the I-35W bridge with rainbow colored lights last night, according to the city’s Facebook page. The bridge, which made news headlines when it collapsed in 2007, crosses the Mississippi River.

Same-sex marriage bill signed; thousands cheer at...

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:56:00 -0500

Same-sex marriage bill signed; thousands cheer at Capitol

by Conrad Wilson, Minnesota Public Radio

May 15, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Many gay and lesbian couples in Minnesota are looking forward to Aug. 1, when the law legalizing same-sex marriage goes into effect.

Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bill Tuesday afternoon as more than 6,000 people gathered on the steps of the state Capitol to witness the unusual outdoor ceremony.

Among the crowd were two middle-aged men, standing arm in arm in the shade. Paul Mendez and Ross Algaard met in Minneapolis in 2004. Algaard said even though they got married in Iowa in 2010, “We’re excited for Aug. 1 to arrive and finally have it recognized here in our resident state. So we’re really excited about everything.”

As the time passed, the crowd grew. Rainbow flags and signs supporting marriage equality dotted the tightly packed crowd. Lawmakers began emerging from the Capitol, to the cheers of the crowd. They lined up behind a desk where the bill was to be signed. And then Dayton joined them.

“What a day for Minnesota,” he said.

St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman is issuing a proclamation...

Tue, 14 May 2013 09:15:00 -0500

St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman is issuing a proclamation temporarily renaming the city’s landmark Wabasha Street Freedom Bridge the “Wabasha Street Freedom to Marry Bridge.”