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Group Plans "Legal Action" Against Mpls 2040

Every great battle to keep more people out of a neighborhood ends in a frivolous lawsuit. The heated debate over the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan is no exception. The city's long-range plan is intended to help Minneapolis equitably accommodate the next 20 years of population growth by legalizing more homes across all parts of the city.

As things stand, it's currently illegal to build anything that's not a single-family home in most parts of Minneapolis. The 2040 plan was initially lauded by supporters for proposing to make it legal to build "fourplexes everywhere," but the city has since scaled back on that first draft. Despite the changes, a group called Minneapolis for Everyone remains staunchly opposed to the plan, equating it to a secretive scheme to "BULLDOZE" entire neighborhoods.

Credit: Tony Webster

On October 3, Minneapolis for Everyone sent an email announcing that "our friends at Smart Growth Minneapolis" were ready to initiate a "legal action." The group is demanding the City Council stop moving forward on the comprehensive plan, "until environmental impacts have been properly reviewed and the comprehensive plan is properly adjusted and planned for." In urban planning circles, "environmental impacts" is a technical term used by angry neighbors when they really just want to say, "Minneapolis has too many people already."

Inclusionary Zoning Debate Kicks off at City Hall

Read the report.

The Minneapolis City Planning Commission held a preliminary discussion about inclusionary zoning on Thursday night. Inclusionary zoning is a requirement that new apartment construction include a certain percentage of affordable units.

Until a permanent policy can be adopted, City Council President Lisa Bender wants to implement an interim policy alongside the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan. As outlined in a staff report, "The interim inclusionary housing ordinance would apply only to projects that propose a substantial increase in the allowable residential development capacity."

Rebecca Gagnon: Wrong for Minneapolis School Board

It has nothing to do with schools, but here's an under the radar story from last year that explains what's wrong with Rebecca Gagnon, who is running for re-election to the Minneapolis school board. It's a story about billboard regulations. How does a school board member get mixed up with billboard regulations? Up until this year, Gagnon had been the school board's representative on the City Planning Commission.

Irene Fernando for Hennepin County Board, District 2

It will be no surprise that I am endorsing Irene Fernando over Blong Yang for the open seat on the Hennepin County Board in District 2. There are many reasons you should vote for Irene Fernando, which you can read in the second half of this post. You're fortunate if you have the chance to vote for her. But first, I have unpleasant memories of Blong Yang in his previous job that I must share with you.

Quick Takes on the Revised Minneapolis 2040 Plan

Some news and notes in the wake of the city's revised draft of Minneapolis 2040

Mark Haase for Hennepin County Attorney

Wedge-brand apparel is available in the Wedge LIVE! store;
criminal justice reform is available on your ballot.

Mark Haase is running against longtime incumbent Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. If you're overlooking an important local race in 2018, it's probably this one. This one has the highest stakes. Elected prosecutors have a lot of power, and a lot of discretion in how they choose to use that power.

Over-Processed Minneapolis 2040 to Begin Next Step In Process

Lisa McDonald, a spokesperson for a group opposing the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan said at a press conference earlier this week, "the City has failed to engage the community in any meaningful way." McDonald, who is also a former Minneapolis City Council Member, claimed Minneapolis officials "wrap their work in secrecy" and that there hasn't been an "honest accounting and summary of what citizens really said in online comments, emails, and meetings."

At a meeting of the East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood Association yesterday, McDonald called City Council President Lisa Bender a "weenie" after Bender answered McDonald's question about an $80,000 PR contract. McDonald wasn't happy with Bender's explanation that city departments have the authority to enter into contracts under $100,000 without council involvement.

Here's a true thing: the city has published every written comment received about Minneapolis 2040 on their website. Every single comment. It's also true that Minneapolis 2040 has been a well-publicized and exhaustive multi-year process. My summary:

Dave Hutch for Hennepin County Sheriff

Dave Hutch is available on your ballot. "WEDGE" hat is available in the Wedge LIVE store.

Hennepin County Sheriff is a non-partisan office. But that only applies to what's printed on the ballot; the candidates really do have political affiliations.

Rich Stanek is the Trump-supporting, ICE-cooperating, Republican incumbent, who once admitted to using racial slurs while on the job. The admission about racial slurs came in a deposition when he was sued for police brutality (the case ended in a settlement). In 2006, Stanek used $30,000 in sheriff's office training funds to produce a "not-so-thinly-veiled campaign video," depicting events in the aftermath of the I-35 bridge collapse. In 2016, Stanek sent officers to North Dakota to assist in putting down the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

Dave Hutch is the DFL-endorsed challenger, a Metro Transit Police sergeant who works on the north side and surrounding suburbs. His official bio includes humanizing details like the fact that he lives in Bloomington with his husband and his dog. Left out of Dave Hutch's bio is the fact that he is not Rich Stanek, who, I should reiterate, is a pretty bad guy who supports Trump and a bunch of other hateful policies.

Angela Conley for Hennepin County Board, District 4

There's a lot of talk this year about Hennepin County never having had a person of color serve on the board. It's a big deal, if not surprising. It needs to change. But if you haven't entirely tuned into the campaign in District 4, you might have the false impression that the arguments here are entirely about identity. They're not.

Where is everyone going to live?

The forces of the housing status quo are sharpening their knives in advance of the release of Minneapolis 2040 Draft 2 ("Ban Cars Boogaloo," as Lisa McDonald might call it). As we begin a new chapter in this never-ending conversation, let's go back to the beginning.

First, you should know that the current zoning code in Minneapolis basically allows one of two things:

1. Big buildings and big developers
2. Tearing down a single-family home to build a single-family mansion

We're missing all those homes in the middle ("the Missing Middle"). That's why the battle over fourplexes is relevant. Fourplexes are the homes we used to build, but don't anymore because we made it illegal nearly everywhere. People still live in them. (Some say it's an alternative lifestyle, as documented by the Star Tribune.)

Local Elections are Happening in 2018

We're less than two months from election day on November 6. As you're likely aware, this is a pretty important national election. A great way to get involved during this critical time is with a local campaign. Turning out voters for local DFL candidates (as the Democratic Party is known in Minnesota) means you've likely turned out votes for Democratic candidates all the way up the ballot: for governor, the state legislature, and US House and Senate races.

If you live in Minneapolis, the most consequential 2018 races are for offices in Hennepin County. If you care about policing, there's the sheriff's race. If you care about criminal justice issues, there's the county attorney. If you care about housing, transit, health care, and human services, there are two competitive races for the Hennepin County Board, which controls a massive budget of $2.4 billion (for context, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey recently proposed a 2019 budget of $1.6 billion). You should find a reason to feel strongly about one or more of the candidates below. They need your help over the next two months.

Minneapolis 2040 is back!

Minneapolis 2040 is back! In just a few weeks a second draft of the proposed comprehensive plan will be released by the city. This is a big important document guiding future decisions on street design, housing, land use, and job access.

Neighbors Sue to Stop Apartments at 36th and Bryant

The immediate neighbors to a recently approved 41-unit apartment project at 3612/16 Bryant Ave S have notified the City of Minneapolis of their intent to file a lawsuit in order to stop construction. [Read the complaint.]

The apartments, located near a transit and commercial corridor at 36th and Bryant, were approved by the City Planning Commission on April 23. Neighbors of the project, led by Steven Verdoorn, appealed that decision to the City Council. That appeal was denied in May. Verdoorn is also one of the plaintiff's behind the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that the apartment proposal approved by the city council "represents a substantial change in the character of the neighborhood and is a substantial detriment to neighboring properties." There are three four-story buildings directly across the street from the site. There's a seven-story building a half-block north.

The complaint also alleges, among other things, that the city "abused its discretion" because "the density approved was more than three times the maximum required by the comprehensive plan."

My statement on the legal process to defend Wedge LIVE!

Wedge LIVE! anchor and managing editor John Edwards (and his newsbike).

Hi! I'm John Edwards. For the past four years I have been producer, writer, and all-around content creator for Wedge LIVE, a hyperlocal news source based in the Wedge neighborhood of  Minneapolis (Twitter , Facebook , YouTube , wedgelive.com). In addition to general political coverage and analysis focusing on Minneapolis and St. Paul, I report on local housing and zoning issues in detail: attending neighborhood meetings, livetweeting planning meetings, and producing video content that I hope is both entertaining and educational.

On August 10, a longtime Minneapolis elected official named Carol Becker, who I have at times been critical of, filed multiple applications with both the state and federal government in an attempt to secure rights to the name "Wedge Live."  I believe this was an effort to shut down my platform and steal the identity by which the community has come to know me. Lacking a clear understanding of trademark law, I was initially afraid I'd had my identity stolen out from under me.

If you're wondering -- just as I initially wondered -- whether any of this is legal, here's what a law professor said about Becker's actions in the Star Tribune: "That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works. You don’t get to steal someone’s brand out from under them by filing an application for registration — especially one that doesn’t have any use for it yet." While she has temporarily withdrawn her applications, Becker has vowed to do this all over again in six months  (and has started comparing me to Nazis on a local internet forum).

Becker has put forward competing explanations for why she's doing this, sometimes saying that acquiring the name would be a good business opportunity: “I think they’re worth money and I think I could make some money off of them."  At other times she's said she wants to use it as leverage to force me to change how I operate Wedge LIVE!: “I don’t know any other way to get through to [Edwards]."  Becker has also used language indicating that she is just one person among a larger group seeking to take my name:  "Becker repeatedly used the word 'we' while describing her efforts to file the business and trademark registrations."

I believe this, or something similar, is likely to happen again. If it's not Carol Becker, it will be someone with similar aims. So I have begun a legal process. While I will continue to make jokes about this ridiculous situation, I'm also taking my position very seriously. I will do everything in my power to defend myself. I will not leave myself vulnerable to a person, or group of people, with the money and motivation to engage in an unlawful effort to shut down the platform I've spent more than four years building.

SUPPORT WEDGE LIVE!

I'm starting this fund because people have asked me for a way to support Wedge LIVE! during this time (aside from a monthly Patreon contribution). I don't entirely know what to expect from the legal process ahead, but I want to be prepared for it. To everyone who has asked how they can help: Thank you.

Read my complaint against Carol Becker.

Local news coverage of this situation:
Tony Webster
Star Tribune
City Pages
Pioneer Press
Pioneer Press
Star Tribune, Letters to the Editor

The Shape of the Minneapolis Inclusionary Zoning Debate

City Council President Lisa Bender

Inclusionary zoning is an umbrella term for a wide range of policies designed to encourage or require the inclusion of affordable units in new housing construction. Here are three example scenarios from yesterday's presentation to the Minneapolis City Council's Housing Policy and Development Committee:

Carol Becker vows to come back to take "Wedge LIVE!" in 6 months

Maybe you've heard: a local elected official named Carol Becker is "behind an effort to file business and trademark registrations for Wedge LIVE!" (which is me, the guy you're reading right now). Becker currently serves as President of the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation. This appears to be an unlawful effort to shut down speech she doesn't like.

After a weekend of backlash, Becker indicated in a forum posting that she will temporarily back off. She said she "will be back in about six months" to try and take possession of the name "Wedge Live."

It is my intention to take steps in the meantime that would prevent her from doing that. Here's a countdown clock so we can all prepare.

Countdown to CarolCountdown

MN House 62A Endorsement: Jen Kader

My first impression of District 62A candidate Jen Kader has stuck with me since watching her at a candidate forum back in January. Jen is among a handful of first-time candidates competing in 62A, and she stood out as far and away the most prepared person on that stage. It's the mark of someone who has been working on -- and passionate about -- the issues since long before she considered becoming a candidate.

St. Paul City Council, Ward 4 Endorsement: Mitra Jalali Nelson

I got up early last Sunday and traveled from the Wedge to St. Paul's Ward 4 to spend the morning with City Council candidate Mitra Jalali Nelson. The next day I watched her answer questions at a 90-minute forum. I worried this was too much time to spend, and in such a short period, with a stranger I met on the internet who only wears pink pants.

But I learned a few important things. Mitra is unreservedly pro-city, pro-housing and pro-transit. She's a renter who chose her apartment because she wanted to live on the light rail in a vibrant neighborhood. She wants a city budget that invests in people -- in things like rec centers -- rather than hiring more cops. She's called for funding the remainder of the St. Paul bike plan. She feels a sense of urgency about passing a minimum wage ordinance right away, without exceptions or carve-outs, because "it's time to pour cement under our feet of sinking wages." She's thoughtful, she's compelling, she's experienced. I understand why such a broad and diverse coalition of people have been drawn to help get her elected.

Meet the Wedge: Mitra Jalali Nelson

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to speak with Mitra Jalali Nelson, who is running for City Council in St. Paul's Ward 4. I came to St. Paul loaded with the ultimate gotcha question, which turned suddenly into two gotcha questions. By the end of the interview Mitra had got gotten. Below is that portion of our conversation (read my endorsement of Mitra here).

MN Congressional District 5 Endorsement: Ilhan Omar

Ilhan Omar is a state representative who's amassed a lot of political capital, and a large national following in a relatively short career. She hasn't been shy about using that power to lift up new leaders, as when she took the unusually bold step of endorsing Phillipe Cunningham's successful 2017 campaign against powerful longtime Minneapolis City Council President Barb Johnson.

Minneapolis 2040: The Final Countdown

Moments ago I submitted some last-minute, under the wire comments on the Minneapolis 2040 draft comprehensive plan. And I will continue to do so, throughout the day, as the situation merits, right up until the deadline.

YOU CAN KEEP COMMENTING ALL DAY --TODAY-- SUNDAY, JULY 22!

👉minneapolis2040.com👈

Minneapolis 2040 Charts and Maps

Some charts and maps to consider as we close in on the comment deadline for the draft of the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan. You have until July 22 to comment at minneapolis2040.com!

Minneapolis 2040 Deadline Roundup

There's just one week left in the comment period for the draft Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan! Concerned residents assured me it would be shoved down our throats, but I'm not sure my throat could handle a lengthier process.

Leave your comments at minneapolis2040.com until July 22. The city will spend a few months synthesizing that feedback into a new draft to be released in late September.

Below I have compiled the latest news on the comprehensive plan, including two presentations to City Council committees earlier this week.

Beyond Apocalyptic Yard Signs

It’s a maddening time lately, with political actors denying obvious truths and using scare tactics to sidestep honest dialogue. In any debate about change, political winds favor the side with the simple message: NO. It's easy to fearmonger, deceive, and put words on lawn signs that conjure impending annihilation.

I like to think Minneapolis is better than that. In Minneapolis we recognize real problems and act to solve them. We recognize that housing is in short supply and unacceptably expensive for too many of our neighbors. We recognize that climate change is real, and is driven by lifestyles made necessary by our region's sprawling, auto-oriented development patterns. We recognize that nobody should have opportunity limited by the fact they can’t afford to live in the right neighborhood.

To foster an honest conversation about the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan, let’s focus on this widely recognized fact: Minneapolis doesn’t have enough homes. MPR reports that the fabled “starter home” is disappearing from the Twin Cities due to a combination of factors: “land, laws, labor, and lumber.” For the sake of conversation, here's a few examples of things affecting the cost housing:

• Energy efficiency standards substantially add to the cost of a new home
• Land on which to build new homes is made more expensive because of growth boundaries
• Restrictions in zoning codes all across the Twin Cities prevent building “twin homes” (or fourplexes, or apartments, or anything that’s not a single-family home) that share a wall and sell for much less than an equivalent single-family home 
• Car parking requirements add to the cost of every unit of housing, especially when it’s a massive parking structure

If we can agree to the facts (that these things affect the cost of housing), then -- and only then -- we can move to what should come next: an actual conversation about what we value.

U.S. Senate Candidate Richard Painter Delivers 11 Classic Movie Monologues

Richard Painter is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota whose new "dumpster fire" political ad is setting social media ablaze. To capitalize on the firestorm (and inspired by this tweet), here's 11 classic movie monologues dubbed over Richard Painter's new commercial.

People of the Lakes React to Minneapolis 2040

Last night, a coalition of Lakes-area neighborhood organizations hosted a public meeting in beautiful lakeside Lowry Hill. City Council Member Lisa Goodman and Heather Worthington (Minneapolis director of Long Range Planning) in the same room for a Minneapolis 2040 showdown! Turns out there was no showdown aside from Worthington referring to Goodman as Lisa McDonald. But other things did happen. Last night's tweets have been lightly edited into the article below. 

(comment on the Minneapolis 2040 plan)

A "Pro-Family" Comprehensive Plan

One of the common criticisms you hear about the Minneapolis 2040 draft comprehensive plan, if you go to enough public meetings, is that it's anti-family. People say if you want to support families, you've got to restrict the vast majority of city land for single-family homes. This criticism doesn't hold water unless the only kind of family you're concerned about is a white family of significant means. It turns out a lot of current Minneapolis families live in something other than a single-family home.

Comparing pro-family credentials of two very different Minneapolis neighborhoods.

Plan Meets Skepticism with Older Crowd in SW Minneapolis

I made my way to Southwest High in Linden Hills yesterday for a "Palmisano Presents" community forum on the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan (👈 leave your feedback!). This is a lightly edited tweet transcript from last night's live coverage. Don't miss the Hitchcockian "Palmisano Presents" opening credits video.

Ward 13 Council Member Linea Palmisano begins by saying she has received "numerous calls, emails, and handwritten letters."

Palmisano more than once referring to Heather Worthington, who is the City's director of Long Range Planning, as the "owner" of this comprehensive plan. Palmisano says, "I don't endorse this draft in its current form. This is not my work. I have a lot of concerns." Palmisano says the plan has the "right goals."

Minneapolis 2040: Tree Edition

Minneapolis residents may be wondering who is digging holes in their neighborhoods and dropping little trees in them. It's the Forestry Division of the Minneapolis Park Board.

This Week: Minneapolis 2040 Open Houses

I've been to quite a few neighborhood association meetings recently. I can tell you a lot of them will be functioning as city-funded advocacy organizations defending exclusionary zoning. They're mobilizing against the draft comprehensive plan right now.

That's why it's important for you to make your voice heard at one of these upcoming comprehensive plan open houses. Slap a few post-it notes up on a board. Jabber at a city planner. Write a long-winded note. Together we can defeat single-family zoning. And keep commenting on the minneapolis2040.com website.

Lisa Goodman, Leader of the Opposition

Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman is rallying opposition to the Minneapolis 2040 draft comprehensive plan (you can comment here!). Goodman wants to defend single-family neighborhoods from fourplexes. She wants to protect drivers from bike lanes. As the most prominent and outspoken critic of the plan, here's a collection of her recent comments on the topic.

Lisa Goodman: Arbitrary and Capricious

Here's an interesting thing I noticed. Last week, Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman rejected the idea of a variance for the reduction of a front yard setback for a proposed four-story building. It's not a remarkable argument. She's just a stickler on variances, and won't grant them just because someone wants to "build a bigger building."

Live Coverage: All Along the Witch's Tower

This is my third neighborhood meeting in as many days (read the Tuesday and Wednesday editions). Nothing this impressive has been attempted since Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev, and Vladislav Volkov became the first men to successfully die in space back in 1971.

Below is a lightly edited tweet transcript from an almost three hour meeting of the Prospect Park Association (the local neighborhood organization). The object of concern is a proposed 17-story building, which many fear will obscure the beloved Witch's Hat Tower.

Live Coverage: Concern at 36th and Bryant

Here's a lightly edited tweet transcript from last night's meeting of the East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood Association. Residents were presented with plans for a 41-unit apartment building adjacent to the famous pit at 36th and Bryant.

Live Coverage: Lowry Hill, the Comprehensive Plan, and Affordable Housing

Here's a lightly edited tweet transcript from last night's meeting of the Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association. Towards the end of the meeting the organization voted to send a letter of support for a 41-unit building at 1930 Hennepin Ave with a combination of supportive housing for young people leaving foster care, and affordable rental apartments.

Live Coverage: Ward 2 Comp Plan Meeting

No surprise: the people with the most housing security in Minneapolis are very vocal about wanting nothing to change. They're not shy, and you shouldn't be either. Send your council member an email or ten with your thoughts about the Minneapolis draft Comprehensive Plan. View the plan and comment here: minneapolis2040.com

Below is last night's Twitter thread as a more readable blog post.

State of the Wedge LIVE 2018

Dear Reader,

With the support of readers and viewers like you over the last year -- from countless neighborhoods across the region -- Wedge LIVE has grown to become the Best Website in the Twin Cities. If you don't believe me, check out City Pages' very glossy "Best of the Twin Cities" edition -- on newsstands now!

The Future: Minneapolis 2040

At a community meeting for a street reconstruction last year, a young mom made a passionate argument: it would be a generation, she said, before the street was reconstructed again. This was our only chance to create a neighborhood street where she could safely push a stroller, or walk and bike with her kids. It was an argument that stayed with me, not just for its passion, but because it so obviously placed the question in the right context: we were about to lock in a reality that would endure for decades.

Sign up for Wedge LIVE Email Alerts

It's a question technophiles are asking each other more and more these days: "Are you on email?"

If the answer is yes, consider signing up for Wedge LIVE news alerts delivered straight to your inbox. We anticipate messages will be sent very infrequently, and possibly never. Sign up today!

Zoning Reform and the Pace of Neighborhood Change

There's a post on streets.mn debunking the idea that fourplexes mean four stories. The truth is that Minneapolis' new draft comprehensive plan that proposes allowing up to four-family homes in currently single-family neighborhoods, would limit those homes to 2.5 stories (the "Interior 1" designation). Honestly, I am someone who thinks four stories is just fine in lots of places and the comprehensive plan isn't radical enough -- but if you're bothered, the facts should be reassuring.

"Interior 1" in the draft Minneapolis Comp Plan

There's another point to be made about the pace of change that modest zoning reform would bring to any given neighborhood. As with most things, I like to use the Wedge neighborhood as an example. For the last 40 years, the Wedge has had the most permissive residential zoning in Minneapolis (R6) across many interior blocks (along with a generous portion of two-family zoning). It's the kind of zoning that, if you can assemble multiple lots, might conceivably lead to a five- or six-story building with a 100 or more apartments.

Fourplexes Everywhere? Bold Reform Proposed in Minneapolis

Word has leaked of a very preliminary plan to legalize fourplexes in virtually every neighborhood in Minneapolis. It's one part of a larger draft comprehensive plan that hasn't yet been made public. If implemented, it would be the boldest land-use reform in the country, reversing a decades-long trend of restrictions that have contributed to higher housing costs and racial/economic segregation. Here are some reasons I think we should embrace this plan to legalize fourplexes in Minneapolis.

Does Minneapolis need more cops?

Mayor Frey and Chief Arradondo want to hire 100 more cops to push Minneapolis to 1,000 officers. A recent Star Tribune article notes that Minneapolis "still lags behind other Midwest cities, including Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Kansas City, Mo." The article quotes notoriously racist Minneapolis police union leader Bob Kroll saying Minneapolis should strive to match Milwaukee, a place with nearly 60% more cops per capita.

There are a few things about all these city-to-city comparisons that make me question the relevance of "cops per resident" as a statistic. Milwaukee and Kansas City have 40-45% more violent crime per capita than Minneapolis; either all that extra policing isn't working or there are more significant factors contributing to/mitigating violent crime than how many cops you have. And as long as we're comparing ourselves to large Midwestern cities, Minneapolis has slightly more cops per person than St. Paul, which is the Midwest city located just across the river (police staffing data as of 2016).

Lisa Goodman Calls YIMBYs "Republicanesque" Proponents of "Trickle-Down"

After spending far too much time with the cast of characters from last week's Zoning and Planning meeting in the editing room (ICYMI: I'm a prominent local anthropologist and documentarian), one thing struck me as particularly notable: Council Member Lisa Goodman calling YIMBYs a bunch of Republicans.

Local Development Politics Officially Enter the Trump Era

It was bound to happen. After a year spent enduring the daily trauma inflicted on our country by its own president, concerned residents have adopted the language of resistance to Donald Trump and applied it to the perceived atrocity of new apartments in their backyard.

Residents Gather to Remember Iconic Arby's Sign

People from across the Twin Cities flocked to Arby's Island in Uptown Friday night to celebrate the memory of a fallen icon: a fast food sign that lit the corner of Lake St and Emerson Ave for more than 47 years.

The Uptown Arby's is Now Closed

With rumors swirling about the fate of the Wedge neighborhood's most beloved fast food restaurant, I was present for the final hours of the Uptown Arby's. Joined by four of my best Twitter friends, we ate curly fries and reminisced about the good times.

What's the difference between a 62A and a 62B?

You may currently be hearing a lot about a couple of open and competitive Minnesota State House seats this year: 62A and 62B. If you're like me, those numbers are geographically incomprehensible. You may be asking, what is the difference between a 62A and a 62B? Who is running in which of these districts? How can I get involved?

App Matches Minneapolis Politicians to Their Fine Art Dopplegängers

Google now has an app that will match your face to fine art. I have determined you can point your phone's camera at a computer screen to match Minneapolis politicians to faces in old paintings. Disclaimer: much like DNA testing services provided by sites like ancestry.com, these results are not 100% genetically accurate.

Billboard Proposal is "Rash That Won't Go Away"

Update: New Ward 3 Council Member Steve Fletcher has confirmed that the billboard proposal is dead.

The mysteriously persistent proposal to allow more billboards in downtown Minneapolis has Planning Commissioner John Slack feeling as if he'd like to pour a bottle of antibiotics all over it:

For me this is like the rash that won't go away. I don't see how this supports any of the comprehensive plan goals, I don't see how this improves livability in the downtown. All I see is negative and adverse effects.

Lisa Bender Expected to be Elected President of Minneapolis City Council

Commemorative shirt. Get yours today!

In the Minneapolis City Council's virtual one party system it can be tough to know how election results translate to actual governing. This morning we get answers to some of the big questions lingering since last November's election, setting the stage for the next four years.

Acme Comedy: The Parking Crisis That Wasn't

Acme Comedy's remaining parking lot was half-filled during a Friday show last June

In 2016, Acme Comedy Co was the subject of the most high-profile movement to save a parking lot in recent Minneapolis history. If the owner of an adjacent parking lot was allowed to turn it into apartments, Acme's owner predicted he would be forced to move his business out of Minneapolis to a parking-rich suburb. Nationally-known comedians rallied to Acme's defense. Nearly 6,000 people signed an online petition to save a parking lot -- in order to save a beloved comedy institution.

Today, with a new apartment building occupying that former parking lot, Acme owner Louis Lee tells the Star Tribune (in a story unrelated to parking) "Acme is enjoying its strongest business in a decade."