SELLING THE LUXURIOUS LIFESTYLE

Transcription

1 The orchestra is back The Minnesota Orchestra returns for concerts at Orchestra Hall January 30 February 12, 2014 Vol. 25, No. 3 southwestjournal.com SELLING THE LUXURIOUS LIFESTYLE Uptown s newest residential developments are loaded with high-end amenities By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@mnpubs.com Elan Uptown is one of five luxury rental projects opening in Southwest Minneapolis. Photo by Michelle Bruch The new luxury apartments in Southwest Minneapolis might be hotels in disguise. Most of them have a concierge. One could host a lobby bar. Others have complimentary breakfast, poker rooms, Peace coffee delivered by bicycle, saltwater natatoriums, art galleries and jazz music playing in the parking garage. One of the priciest projects is leasing the fastest 70 percent of units are leased at The Walkway, a smaller 92-unit project at Lagoon & Girard that opened this month. Most tenants leased it sight unseen, staff said, mainly learning about it through word of mouth. What we re seeing is a demand for high quality in the rental market that s just not available, said General Manager Rob Hays. They thought they were building it for doctors and lawyers. They were stunned at how many young urban professionals wanted to participate in this. Many of Elan Uptown s new residents have come from out-of-state or out of the country. Elan secured Preferred Employer Programs with Fortune 500 companies like Target and SEE apartments / PAGE a Election ///// Hennepin County Commissioner District 3 race Five candidates vying for Dorfman s job Q&As with the candidates campaigning for the 3rd District County Commissioner seat The Loppet is back and bigger than ever With several new events, organizers of the winter festival expect a record turnout By Sarah McKenzie / smckenzie@mnpubs.com Five candidates are seeking the DFL endorsement to replace Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman who is leaving her post early March to take a job as executive director of St. Stephen s Human Services. A special election will be held May 13, and a primary April 29 if needed, for the 3rd District County Commissioner seat since Dorfman is leaving her job several months before her term ends. The 3rd District includes St. Louis Park and southwest Minneapolis neighborhoods. We checked in with the five candidates running for her seat to see how they compare in terms of top priorities and views on the proposed Southwest LRT line an embattled project that will be a key focal point for the commissioner elected to replace Dorfman. Here are the candidates edited responses to questions asking what makes them the ideal candidate for the job and thoughts on what should happen with Southwest LRT. Precinct caucuses are on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. Caucuses are the first chance for parties to start the candidate-endorsing process. SEE 3RD DiSTRicT / PAGE a14 By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@mnpubs.com The annual City of Lakes Loppet Ski Festival is never quite the same thing twice. That isn t just because of the weather, the ultimate X factor for an event that depends on snow and freezing temperatures in early February, both of which have proven remarkably inconsistent over the past 11 years. Credit also the ambitions of the organizers, who year after year build on what, back in 2003, was just a Nordic skiing race around the Chain of Lakes. There s a little bit of a Why not? mentality, explained John Munger, executive director of the Loppet Foundation. SEE LOPPeT / PAGE B8 Nordic skiers climb a hill in Theodore Wirth Park, the starting point for Loppet races. File photo

2 A2 January 30 February 12, 2014 / southwestjournal.com News By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@mnpubs.com Gifts to Southwest prompt policy review A School Board committee reviewed but recommended no change to Minneapolis Public Schools policy on private donations after accepting an alumnus latest gift to Southwest High School. Harvey Feldman s donations to Southwest in the past year total more than half a million dollars. Most recently, Feldman pledged to cover the estimated $200,000 $225,000 cost to install air conditioning in the school s auditorium, prompting School Board Member Carla Bates to raise the issue of equity at the board s Jan. 14 meeting. Bates began her comments by thanking Feldman, but said she wanted the board to discuss the distribution of private funds among our schools. She said other districts have very firm policies around private donations in the name of equity. The board s Policy Committee happened to have a scheduled meeting the very next morning. School Board Chair Richard Mammen, who heads the committee, said they discussed the policy and decided they were comfortable with the discretion the existing language gives the superintendent. I felt there were enough safeguards in that to provide a superintendent good direction, Mammen said. The issue was referred to the board s Equity and Achievement Committee. On the question of equity and gifts, Mammen said: Has it been an issue? Not necessarily. It s going to be an issue if it s made an issue. Bates, on the other hand, said it is an issue in Minneapolis, and not a new one. Some schools have family and alumni communities that can provide more resources for them, she said. Southwest High School alumnus Harvey Feldman has donate or pledged more than $500,000 to Southwest in the past year. File photo The Feldman donation is the occasion for this to come up, but not the reason, she said. It s just been a longstanding issue in our schools given the real issues around equity across our city, in terms of poverty and that sort of thing. Bates noted other districts have reviewed and updated their donation policies to address the issue, specifically mentioning Edina. Susan Brott, an Edina district spokesperson, said that district s policy on gifts, donations and bequests was updated in Equity is mentioned once, in a clause that states gifts funding a specific employee position may be accepted only if it does not create inequities among schools and/or comparable programs and services. Southwest Foundation Chair Christa Anders said it s only natural that alumni like Feldman feel a particular connection to their high school. Anders pointed to the example of Winston Win Wallin. The former Medtronic CEO, philanthropist and 1943 South High School graduate started his Wallin Education Partners at South in 1992, but later expanded the scholarship program to other high schools in Minneapolis and across the metro. Wallin died in Said Anders: To me it s disheartening when somebody wants to help students and we want to put up barriers. Feldman, 70, is a retired bar owner who, he said, got some good investment advice from his longtime financial advisor. His first gift to Southwest was a $300,000 matching donation to the Southwest Foundation s successful campaign to purchase permanent lighting for the school s athletic field. The lights were installed last summer. A former high school athlete, Feldman was inspired to award four $2,500 college scholarships to the school s most-improved student athletes last spring. He later upped the award to $5,000 a year for four years. Feldman s gifts also helped the Southwest Foundation fund ACT test preparation for students this year. And after meeting with AchieveMpls, the district s nonprofit partner, Feldman is planning to visit more of the city s high schools and explore other opportunities for giving. I don t just have affection for my high school, I have an affection for the whole city, he said. Feldman said he understood the equity concerns raised by Bates, but suggested a different approach to donations. Don t discourage me; try to encourage more mes, he said. Mammen, Monserrate won t seek reelection The current and former chairs of the Minneapolis School Board both said in January that they wouldn t seek reelection this fall. The decisions by Richard Mammen and Alberto Monserrate, both in their first terms, were announced within a few days of each other. Mammen took over the chair position from Monserrate Jan. 14 and the next day issued a letter explaining that not running for re-election would allow him to focus on his board work. Three district seats all on the east side of the city, plus two at-large seats, come open on the School Board this fall. Harmony Homes SWJ H2.indd 1 11/5/13 9:26 AM

3 southwestjournal.com / January 30 February 12, 2014 A3 News In Brief One 21 coowners and brothers Tony (left) and Byron Gulyard are looking for a new storefront in the neighborhood. Photo by Michelle Bruch Minneapolis lakes specialist 5244 Humboldt Ave S Sold for $510, Lyndale Ave S Sold for $435,000 Master planning six-story development at Franklin & Lyndale Haney, Zeb SWJ indd 1 Call today for a FREE market analysis (612) Learn more at ZebHaney.com 1/22/14 11:33 AM lowry hill east (the Wedge) Retailers are preparing to leave the southwest corner of Franklin & Lyndale to make way for a new sixstory project on the site. The developer Master is proposing a mixeduse project with an hourly parking ramp, according to neighborhood groups briefed on the plans. Since parking is tight in that area, that s something the board members listened to with interest, said Burt Coffin, a member of the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association (LHENA). The displaced retailers include Minneapolis Theatre Garage, Steeple People Thrift Store and One 21 barbershop. The One 21 owners said they hope to find a new location in the neighborhood. I thought I was going to retire from this spot, but such is life, said co-owner Tony Gulyard. If I owned the building, I would sell it, too. Steeple People will continue operating at Lyndale & Franklin while staff search for a new location. The store must move out by May 31. It s possible the store could close permanently, if a suitable location can t be found. Customers can leave their addresses with the cashier I thought I was going to retire from this spot, but such is life.... If I owned the building, I would sell it, too. Tony Gulyard to receive inventory sale information and updates on their plans. The development does not appear to displace the nearby Chi Tailor & Cleaner or David Petersen Gallery. A Master representative said he wasn t ready to discuss project details at press time. Master is scheduled to present to the LHENA Zoning Committee at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at Jefferson Elementary, 1200 W. 26th St. It s going to change the neighborhood, that s for sure, Gulyard said. Michelle Bruch Proudly serving lunches made at the Wedge Co-op Deli. Pre-K through Grade Nicollet Avenue South Minneapolis, MN To schedule a visit, contact: enrollment@clws.org phone Tours & Questions Healthy living. Healthy learning. Happy children. City of Lakes Waldorf SWJ indd 1 7/15/13 1:23 PM Kingfield shooting marks city s first homicide of 2014 Minneapolis Police have arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with a fatal shooting in the Kingfield neighborhood on Jan. 23. The victim died early Jan. 26 from injuries sustained during the shooting, which took place at 45th Street East and 1st Avenue South, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. The victim has been identified as Darnell Harris, 61. He was a Minneapolis resident. Anyone with information about the case is asked to send a text to (tip 411) or call follow the SoUthWeSt JoUrnAl Sarah McKenzie Dylan Thomas Ben Johnson the MPD s tipline at TIPS (8477). On her Facebook page, City Council Member Elizabeth Glidden (8th Ward) wrote: My great sympathies to the victim s family.... We will be working with the block, [Kingfield Neighborhood Association] and MPD on next steps for best connecting with the community, including at the KFNA crime and safety meeting. Sarah McKenzie Michelle Bruch Southwest Journal 11 W. 48th Street, Minneapolis $249,900 This adorable 3 bedroom 2 bath home has been updated and remodeled from top to bottom. This home is a must see and is located in the Burroughs's Elementary School District. If you would like an expert opinion on your home please contact me today. Graham Smith Your Local Real Estate Expert coming soon 55Th & GranD avenue S. $450,000 Built in 2002, this home offers so much with 4 bed, 4 bath and 3,000 square feet. Stay tuned for more info or contact me to be notified when this home is ready to show. coming soon 27Th & FrEMonT ave. S. $375,000 This 2+ story home has been in the same family for decades and will be available in the coming months. Stay tuned for more info or contact me to be notified when this home is ready to show. grahamsmith@edinarealty.com Smith, Graham SWJ indd 1 1/27/14 4:02 PM

4 A4 January 30 February 12, 2014 / southwestjournal.com By Sarah McKenzie / smckenzie@mnpubs.com President Obama spotlights Punch Pizza for raising wages presents 2014 FREE! 10AM-3PM Burroughs community School 1601 W 50th St, Minneapolis Saturday, March 22 Goodie Bags Free Admission Door Prizes for information platinum sponsor: President Barack Obama singled out Punch Pizza Founder John Soranno in his State of the Union Address on Jan. 28 for raising starting wages for workers to $10 an hour. Soranno and Punch Pizza kitchen worker Nick Chute attended the address as guests of First Lady Michelle Obama. Punch Pizza recently increased workers wages at its eight Twin Cities locations a change that boosted pay for more than 80 percent of the company s employees. In the year since I asked this Congress to raise the minimum wage, five states have passed laws to raise theirs, Obama said. Many businesses have done it on their own. Nick Chute is here today with his boss, John Soranno. John s an owner of Punch Pizza in Minneapolis, and Nick helps make more of the dough. Only now he makes more of it. Obama urged other business leaders across the country to follow Soranno s lead. Soranno, who grew up in Milan, Italy, moved to the United States to finish his academic studies. He founded Punch Pizza in 1996 with the first location in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul. Punch plans to open its ninth restaurant this summer. Chute started working as a cashier at Punch Pizza a year and a half ago to help pay for school and rent. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in December. He s a pizzaioli in training, which means he s becoming in expert in cooking traditional Neapolitan style pizza. He hopes to eventually move into management, according to a statement from the White House Press Office. He praised the company s decision to increase wages. I appreciate it, and it makes me feel like a bigger part of the company, he said. Minnesota s minimum wage is $6.15 an hour one of the lowest in the country. Mayor Betsy Hodges also attended the State of the Union as a guest of U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison. She commended the president for highlighting Punch Pizza. It s another reminder that when we invest in each other s success, out communities thrive, she said. For mayors across America, President Obama is our greatest partner. He knows that given the gridlock in Congress, cities are where we can make progress on the goal of reducing inequality. I thank him for his partnership and look forward to continuing work with his Administration to advance our common goals. SW HI Fair SWJ H12.indd 1 1/29/14 10:23 AM The Green Line, which will link downtown Minneapolis with downtown St. Paul, will begin operating in mid-june. File photo Green Line service starts June 14 The METRO Green Line (Central Corridor LRT), which will travel between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul, opens June 14. Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh noted that service will start 60 years to the month after the last streetcar stopped operating in the Twin Cities. For me, seeing two vibrant downtowns, numerous job, education and medical centers, and tens of thousands of people connected by this project is the most exciting part, she said. The 11-mile LRT line will run from the Target Field Station in the North Loop to Union Depot in St. Paul s Lowertown neighborhood. It s the Twin Cities second LRT line. The Green Line will connect to the Blue Line (Hiawatha) at the Downtown East Station. The $957 million project created 5,445 construction jobs and spurred more than $1.7 billion in development along the line, according to the Metropolitan Council. Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, chair of the Counties Transit Improvement Board and the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority, said: The Green Line will re-twin the Twin Cities and move the regional transit system forward for everyone. This will become the impetus for investment in other lines critical to the east metro. More online We have three new interviews to check out for our new Inside City Hall podcast. We recently had conversations with Mayor Betsy Hodges and new City Council Members Jacob Frey (Ward 3) and Alondra Cano (Ward 9). To listen to the interviews, go to southwestjournal.com/inside-city-hall-podcast

5 southwestjournal.com / January 30 February 12, 2014 A5 Paying for parking with your phone might not be far off The city s Public Works Department plans to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to create a mobile phone payment system for on-street parking. Under most systems, people call a number listed on their parking meter space or pay station and then enter their space or license plate number. They could setup payment by credit card with a smartphone app. The Public Works department listed many benefits to the program in a report presented to the city s Transportation & Public Works Committee on Jan. 28. It would make it easy to pay for parking in poor weather conditions from your car, customers would get text message alerts when a meter is about to expire and payments could be made from any location. Many cities across the country have mobile phone payment programs for parking meters, including Houston, Seattle, Vancouver and Washington, D.C., according to the Public Works report. The department is expected to issue the RFP You might be able to pay your parking meter with your mobile phone by fall. File photo in February and select a vendor by the end of April. The city would test the payment program in certain areas within the city and then roll out the service citywide by next fall. The city took in about $12.1 million in on-street parking revenue in 2013, according to Casper Hill, a spokesman for the city. Hodges hires three policy aides For Sale in Your Neighborhood Mayor Betsy Hodges has hired three new senior policy aides to focus on her top priority reducing the city s significant racial disparities. The new staff members include Nicole Archbold, Dianne Haulcy and Abidrahman Muse. Archbold will focus on public safety and civil rights issues. She has worked for the city for almost 17 years, including 13 years for the Police Department. She s helped organize major events, such as the North Side Community BBQ and the 2013 Summit to Combat Gun Violence. Dianne Haulcy is an expert on youth and early childhood issues. She is the chief operating officer of the Family Partnership, a 130-year-old Minneapolis nonprofit. She ll leave that post to join Hodges office in mid-february. She also serves as the co-chair for the Early Childhood Action Team, which is part of the Northside Achievement Zone, and sits on Gov. Mark Dayton s Early Learning Council and the Parent Aware Advisory Council. Abidrahman Muse will serve as Hodges liaison to the Somali and labor communities and focus on neighborhood and housing issues. He has worked as an organizer for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). He helped pass the legislation granting collective-bargaining rights to home-care workers and lobbied against the proposed voter ID amendment. The three senior policy aides join other members of her administration, which includes John Stiles, chief of staff; Ben Hecker, deputy chief of staff; Peter Wagenius, policy director; Kate Brickman, communications director; Tou Tou Khamsot, office associate; and Grace Goodrich, office associate. I am honored to have such wonderful people joining my staff, Hodges said in a statement. I know that to achieve our goals of growing the city, continuing to run it well and eliminating the gaps, we need the very brightest and most dedicated people. I am pleased that Nicole, Dianne and Abdi have chosen to be a part of my team and know that their contributions will benefit all of Minneapolis rd Avenue South Diamond Lake Neighborhood Offered at $169, th Avenue South Hale Neighborhood Offered at $234, matt.engen@results.net MattEngen.com Engen, Matt SWJ indd 1 Voted Super Agent in 2011, 2012 & 2013 by Mpls St. Paul Magazine 1/27/14 8:45 AM City proposes creating Conservation Districts City officials held a public meeting Jan. 28 to discuss a proposed ordinance that would let neighborhoods apply for a new Conservation District status a designation that would encourage development in the districts to honor the neighborhood s character. The proposed ordinance would offer more protection than the city s zoning code, but would not be as stringent as historic district guidelines. Two-thirds of property owners in the area would have to approve the status. Encouraging new development and population growth while maintaining the charms of the city s more unique neighborhoods, such as Linden Hills and Dinkytown, has been a challenge for community leaders. City Council Member Cam Gordon (2nd Ward) said cities throughout the state and country use Conservation Districts as a tool. Used thoughtfully they could be an effective way to balance growth while also protecting some of our most treasured and distinctive residential or commercial areas which contribute so much to our neighborhoods and our city, Gordon said. If approved, the ordinance would be become part of the city s Heritage Preservation regulations. The deadline for comments on the proposed ordinance is 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 4. Feedback can be sent to John Smoley at john.smoley@minneapolismn.gov. For more information, go to minneapolismn. gov/hpc/conservation _District_Ordinance Sincere and Professional Remodeling with Purpose Trust Peace of Mind Integrity Expect It! License # S&P Construction SWJ indd 1 6/3/13 8:47 AM

6 A6 January 30 February 12, 2014 / southwestjournal.com lots of By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@mnpubs.com He sells homes in your neighborhood RodHelm.com REALTOR Your neighborhood realty expert Contact Rod Helm at: Sovereign Grounds patrons enjoy a coffee shop doubled in size, with new toys for kids. Photo by Michelle Bruch RHelm@cbburnet.com Helm, Rod SWJ indd 1 1/25/11 3:20 PM 48th & ChICAgo Sovereign Grounds remodel takes over the corner Hakan Sezer initially wanted to build a grocery in the former Dick s Metro Carpet space at 809 E. 48th St., but he said it wasn t meant to be. With slim margins, no grocery experience and a new co-op coming to 38th & Clinton, the idea became too big a hassle, he said. Instead, Sezer and his wife decided to expand Sovereign Grounds, roughly doubling the coffee shop s size. A donation box on the counter has yielded $4,000 in donations to buy toys for the new playroom, including a wooden play house, train table, caterpillar tunnel and mini-kitchen. Hopefully the moms love it, Sezer said. You can tell it from their eyes. Sezer and his wife kept the shop open and worked around the clock Christmas thru New Year s to complete the renovation, pulling allnighters to paint the walls. They re considering adding a fireplace, and they would like to renovate an additional community room designed for parents with infants. Sezer said his customers are fighting over the new armchairs, and all the kids want to know what happened to Scooter, the shop s turtle. (Scooter is temporarily staying at a customer s house, and he ll be back soon.) We re very happy, Sezer said. lagoon & girard coup d état Alice M. Ottavi, D.D.S. Elizabeth Ramsey Hasselman, D.D.S Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls ADT Dental SWJ indd 1 Adele Della Torre, D.D.S. Lesley C. Knox, D.D.S. 7/15/13 1:15 PM The guys behind the North Loop s Borough and Parlour have opened up shop in Uptown, serving their first rounds this month as the first residents move upstairs into The Walkway apartments. Their inspirations for the restaurant are local the jutting pine beams in the private dining area borrow from Borough s aesthetic, and international they decided to make a giant chalkboard menu after seeing a similar design in Scotland. The restaurant features a large central bar surrounded by marble tables, a kitchen-facing counter, and booths complete with an extra four inches of padding at the lower back, so you can t slouch. A mezzanine wraps around the 300-seat restaurant. The menu features novelties like bone marrow (with gremolata, smoked salt, toast) and frog legs (tempura batter with a spicy honey glaze). Entrées like Arctic char, quail and flat iron steak range from $22-$30; pizzas and pastas are $11-$14. There are no televisions in coup d état, and that s intentional. It s not sensory overload, said co-owner Jacob Toledo. We re a food-focused place. The restaurant s two executive chefs are Tyler Shipton and Nick O Leary of Borough, and the bartender is Parlour s Jesse Held, a 20-year bartending veteran. When asked for his favorite new creation, Held mentioned Easy Like A Sunday Morning, served in a glass coffee mug with coffee and cocoa liqueur, an easy-drinking cocktail. The Duck, Duck, Grey Duck has a tequila base with an Earl Grey tea infusion, and the Parlour Old-Fashioned made the trip to Uptown, designed to make the sturdiest of toes curl. The restaurant is open daily at 2923 Girard Ave. S. from 4:30 p.m.-2 a.m. lake & lyndale Lobby Bar at Lime Apartments Quality CoNStruCtioN, CuStoMer SAtiSfACtioN & Trust or Nicollet Avenue South, Minneapolis License # BC The owners of coup d état and Borough and Parlour have yet another project on the backburner: a bakery, coffee shop and wine bar slated for the lobby of the Lime Apartments at 2904 Lyndale Ave. S. Brent Frederick and Jacob Toledo are discussing the project with both city and state officials, as the concept of building a wine bar into an apartment lobby would be a unique proposition here. Frederick said the concept is more familiar in cities like Seattle and New York. It s like a hotel lobby within an apartment complex, he said. He said the smaller-scale space, about 2,000 or 3,000 square feet, would feature a patio fronting the Midtown Greenway. It would open in the early morning to offer croissants and mochas. Lunchtime would feature soup, salads and paninis; at dinnertime, the space would serve as a wine bar. House Lift Remodeler SWJ NR1 6.indd 1 6/10/13 3:28 PM

7 southwestjournal.com / January 30 February 12, 2014 A7 24th & Colfax Colfax Avenue apartment proposal returns A controversial four-story apartment project is back on the city s agenda, as the owner works to secure a permit for the demolition of a rooming house deemed historic at 2320 Colfax Ave. S. The Lander Group is proposing to build 45 units on two properties at the northwest corner of 24th & Colfax. The City Council blocked the proposal in May by ruling the house designed by prominent architect T.P. Healy is historic. Property owner Michael Crow said that despite the project s publicity, and despite promises from advocates to help restore or sell the building, he hasn t heard a word from them in months. I m still here holding the bag, Crow said in an . It s the same problem that I have had all along, no one wants the problems of running a rooming house and there is not enough of anything left to restore. Crow said he studied the possibility of converting the building into a fourplex, an idea he said was suggested by Rehab Addict television host Nicole Curtis. He said a fourplex would cost $1.4 million, twice the market value of the property. The only reason that I was selling is because of health and financial hardship and the delays have been devastating, Crow said. In May, City Council members voted unanimously for the home s preservation. Do we want to be a city with 10 Healy homes? Or do we want to be a city with 110 Healy homes? said Council Member Gary Schiff (9th Ward) at the time. This is a marketbuilding approach to historic preservation that recognizes that the most unique thing the city of Minneapolis has is the historic nature of our homes and the age of our housing stock. The newly-elected City Council, with seven new members, might feel differently. Lake & Irving Calhoun Beach Framing relocates to Lake Street Calhoun Beach Framing has completely renovated a house at 1517 W. Lake St. for its new location. Owner Pam Hoye said she left 50th & Penn to escape tripling rent prices. It s smaller, but cozier, Hoye said. The building is mine. I can do as I please, and make the best custom picture frame [shop] for my customers it can be. I have total freedom. The house was previously home to celebrity stylist Jason Deavalon, who relocated his blowout salon to 50th & France. The 1899 Lake Street house needed major work, Hoye said. The frame shop laid a new foundation, gutted the main floor, redid the windows and upgraded the heat and air conditioning. We had the place made for me, she said. We still have our gallery, and we re still promoting local artists and affordable, original art. Nicollet & Lake Project to reopen Nicollet Avenue thru the Kmart site City staff report that the project to reopen Nicollet at Lake Street is still underway. Staff continue working to secure control of key pieces of the intersection, including the Kmart lease and its land, as well as the SuperValu lease and its land all owned by separate entities. David Frank, the city s transit development director, said the newly elected City Council has not changed the project s trajectory. It is a top priority, he said. Lake & Lyndale Bondesque Bondesque is now open at 707 1/2 W. Lake St., selling latex clothing, sex toys and very high heels. Owner Adelina Sharku said all of her merchandise is unique, and she imports much of it from Europe. Usually you only see this online, she said. Sharku grew up in Kosovo, and she s lived in Uptown for the past eight years. She hopes her store ends the difficulty of ordering ill-fitting latex clothing online. In addition to clothing, her store features a cage, cuffs, whips and masks. I like bondage, she said. People who like what I like don t have a home.... You can come to the store, meet other people with the same interests and feel comfortable. 34th & Aldrich CrossFit Kingfield Two former Calhoun Beach Club personal trainers have opened CrossFit Kingfield at 716 W. 34th St., specializing in workouts like Olympic lifting. The CrossFit regimen involves varied movements designed to strengthen bodies for life outside the gym. They work on weightlifting, gymnastics drills and endurance conditioning in different combinations.

8 A8 January 30 February 12, 2014 / southwestjournal.com PROJecT address DeveLOPeR OPening UniTS how S LeaSing? the Walkway 1312 W. Lake St. Clark Gassen Opened in January 2014, construction continues thru March percent leased track 29 City Apartments 2841 Bryant Ave. S. RMF Group and Phoenix Development Opened in July 2013, construction ongoing 198 Two-thirds leased lime Apartments 2900 Lyndale Ave. S. Lyn-Lake Development Partners LLC Opened in November 2013, construction ongoing percent leased the Calhoun greenway 3140 Chowen Ave. S. Bigos- Calhoun Greenway LLC Opened December percent leased elan Uptown North of the Greenway between Dupont and Fremont Greystar Opened in August 2013, construction continues thru December percent occupied FROM apartments / PAGE a1 Cargill, offering discount fees to new recruits. Location, location, location, said Laura Longen, Elan s community manager. People want to be in the Uptown area and walking out the door to groceries and restaurants. CBRE Senior Vice President Abe Appert said that a year ago, Minneapolis had one of the top job markets in the nation and ranked second nationally for projected rent growth. The Flux Apartments at 28th & Fremont leased 216 units in five months, according to Greco. That s unheard of, said Greco Properties President Brent Rogers. Since then, rental experts say the market is softening a bit. The four larger apartment buildings recently built along the Greenway are percent leased. More than 1,200 units are coming online over the course of 18 months, with five projects located within twoand-a-half miles of each other. Some [of the slowdown] is seasonality, and some is all the supply coming on at the same time, Appert said. From a supply perspective, the Twin Cities was underserved in newer, nicer product in locations people wanted to be. In the grand scheme of things, this is a very sustainable level. It will just take a little time to absorb. There are more luxury apartments in the pipeline, with 177 units proposed for the Tryg s restaurant site at 3118 W. Lake St., and 130 units proposed next to the Buzza building at 29th & Dupont. Maxfield Research President Mary Bujold said new product tends to be high-end, because land costs are high. That s what it costs to build them, she said. Long lists of amenities Every project has a different personality, said Ross Fefercorn, principal of RMF Group. The personality is the result of the developers point of view about who the market is, and it takes on a little of the personality of the developer and architect and marketing team. At Track 29, the vibe is reminiscent of the Walker Art Museum, Fefercorn said. The building features African wood called Prodema, which was panelized in Spain. A flat sheet of water runs vertically through the lobby Fefercorn said the only one similar to this is located in the Krispy Kreme headquarters. Track 29 contractors discovered 19th century railroad tracks during construction, and artist Toothache? Don t pull your tooth out yourself!! We can fix it for you 24/7 Dental Emergency Access $99 Exam and X-rays At The Dental Emergency Room We Offer Comprehensive and Emergency Dental Treatment at Non-Emergency Prices We Offer All Dental Services Including: Same Day Implants and Extractions Crowns and Veneers Sedation Dentistry Dentures Orthodontics Snoring/Sleep Apnea Root Canals Whitening and Cleaning Call Now We speak Spanish (612) East Lake Street Minneapolis, MN Dental Emergency Room SWJ H2.indd 1 1/28/14 2:15 PM

9 southwestjournal.com / January 30 February 12, 2014 A9 LeaSing RaTeS The amenities Contact The Walkway for rates. Staff believe their rates are at the top of the market. Residents have an app to contact a concierge who once worked with Mariah Carey. Complimentary breakfast and newspaper Monday thru Friday, private 2nd-floor restaurant, outdoor pool, credit for area fitness center membership, acoustically-wrapped building with soundproof doors and double windows. $1,350 $3,000+ per month Indoor saltwater lap pool, dog park with heat lamps, curated art gallery, bike rack at every parking stall, coffee and tea service, rooftop deck, zen garden, top-level bridge connecting the two buildings, concierge, children s play area with a train to climb, art in the parking garage. Green roof over parking garage serves as front yard for first-floor residents. The range is $1,200 $3,000, the average is $1,500 or $1,600 per month Potential lobby café and wine bar by the Borough and Parlour team, pool, fitness center, yoga studio, rooftop party room. $1,175 $2,115 Massage studio, indoor and outdoor pool, dedicated concierge, Midtown Greenway access. About $1,385 $3,260 Direct Greenway access, pool, fitness center, bamboo flooring, wine fridges, silver LEED certification, breakfast served Tuesday and Thursday, dog park and dog wash, bike repair station, car wash, poker room, outdoor amphitheater. Andrew MacGuffie is making them into bike racks for the project. The tracks will also serve as the vertical posts on three drinking fountains to be installed on the Greenway. The Calhoun Greenway, located off the Greenway west of Lake Calhoun, offers a massage studio, indoor and outdoor pool, and a dedicated concierge. The biggest project is Elan Uptown with 591 units, located north of the Greenway between Dupont and Fremont. Elan didn t spare a penny when they built this property, said Longen. Elan has bamboo flooring from China, wine fridges, breakfast served twice a week, a dog park and dog wash, a poker room and outdoor amphitheater. A flat screen near the elevator indicates which unit s dry cleaning is ready or has packages waiting. At the Lime Apartments at 2900 Lyndale with the ad line luxury shmuxury there is a pool, fitness center and yoga studio. The developer is hoping to build a lobby café with a patio fronting the Greenway. At night, the coffeehouse would convert into a bar. There is nothing like that in Minneapolis, Rogers said. It feels like a much more exciting boutique hotel than an apartment building. The Walkway is also designed to catch the attention of passersby. The second-floor hot tub juts out over the Lake Street sidewalk. The new restaurant coup d état plans a walkup window for food this summer. The developer is having conversations with eight different restaurant concepts vying for the corner of Lake & Girard. A 7-by-120-foot sign along Girard will look like a jumbotron with flat screens projecting images. We think it will be such an attraction, people will come and get their picture taken under The Walkway, Hays said. The Walkway is sending its entire staff to the Disney Institute for a week to reinforce the principles of five-star service. The building employs a concierge, bell captain, and health and wellness coordinator. A mobile app allows instant orders for services like dog-walking and room service. Instead of issuing keys for mailboxes, the mail is personally handed over by staff. The concierge is Jean Pierre Dechateau, who has worked around the world at venues like the Waldorf-Astoria, and tells stories about advising Mariah Carey on her pre-show routine. We really tried to sell a lifestyle change, Hays said. 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10 A10 January 30 February 12, 2014 / southwestjournal.com PUBLISHER Janis Hall jhall@mnpubs.com CO-PUBLISHER AND PRESIDENT Terry Gahan tgahan@mnpubs.com GENERAL MANAGER Chris Damlo cdamlo@mnpubs.com EDITOR Sarah McKenzie smckenzie@mnpubs.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Dylan Thomas dthomas@mnpubs.com STAFF WRITERS Ben Johnson bjohnson@mnpubs.com Michelle Bruch mbruch@mnpubs.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Carla Waldemar SALES ADMINISTRATOR Kate Manson kmanson@mnpubs.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Joe Johnson jjohnson@mnpubs.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Dana Croatt dcroatt@mnpubs.com SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Valerie Moe vmoe@mnpubs.com Uncensored Civics By David Brauer A half-million Minneapolitans: Heaven, or hubris? In August, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak set a goal: 450,000 residents by Six weeks later, he raised it to 500,000. When Betsy Hodges was inaugurated in January, she again upped the ante: To grow our city, and make it more than great, means above all that we must grow a population where 500,000 people no, 500,001 and more people live and thrive in Minneapolis, the new mayor declared. How radical is this notion? Since Jimmy Carter s presidency, the city s population has oscillated in a narrow band: between 368,383 and 382,578. Between 2000 and 2010, Minneapolis actually shrunk 169 people, despite a Downtown building boom so intense the Journals created a condo development map to keep up with it. Of course, the economy tanked and we killed the map. But now the map, the economy, and the city s population are all back the latter, by nearly 10,000 people between 2010 and 2012, says the Met Council. In two years, the city added 3,000 households equal to the number added between 1980 s low point and As a guy who moved here in 1981, it s hard not to be swept up in mayoral rhetoric. There s a whole lot of pride here, and not a small amount of vanity: people moving here ratifies our taste. More importantly, as Hodges and others argue, a denser city means better transit, more customers for local businesses, and more taxpayers to shoulder Minneapolis s fixed costs. So why does all this rah-rah make me nervous? One reason is sheer pace, which is break-neck. Minneapolis would add 108,000 residents in 11 years, double the rate of even the two most recent fast-growth years. And that assumes no recessions. Yes, Minneapolis had 500,000 people in 1950, but that was when family size was much bigger. Met Council forecaster Todd Graham sees our current household average (2.22 people) as stable. This means the city will need nearly 50,000 new housing units. That means a *third* of Minneapolis s housing would be new by I find it hard to believe that something like that would happen, says Ed Goetz, who heads up the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota. That s a tremendous growth rate, one that boom cities in the best of times would be glad to have. And not just boom cities in the best of times, but boom cities that are young. The figures [the mayors are using] are completely unreasonable. Now, 500,000 may be, as they say in the corporate world, a stretch goal, more marketing than policy. When I chatted with Mayor Hodges in late January, she first said she could leave the 2025 target a little more open-ended, but concluded (a bit impishly), shooting for 2025 at the end of my third term is fine. It is perhaps unwise to doubt a candidate who ran under the banner of Wonder Woman. In her actions, Hodges has not been an ideologue; she supported a smaller-but-still-denser Linden Corner project. Still, if 500,000 becomes more policy than cheerleading, it would shift power toward land-sellers and developers. Like the mayor, city planners have high hopes for options that minimize the height wars consuming places like Linden Hills and Dinkytown: reducing lot-size minimums and shared lawns like Nye s neighbor Lourdes Square; detached housing above garages and on alleys (Google Vancouver laneways ); and development in current dead zones like around the proposed Van White Southwest LRT station. But the city has fewer fiscal tools to spread development; historic growth goals and tax-base lust increases the temptation to approve towers where the market is boiling. Hitting 500K so fast would cement today s construction styles/placement as indelibly as Minneapolis s early 20th-century bungalow boom. Timeless diversification or brickand-mortar leisure suit? As the pom-poms wave, less is said about the tax ledger s other side: expenses. Urbanists predict transit will follow development, but there are no guarantees slower-moving public dollars will follow private ones. In Uptown, where pals complain transit is more crowded and less convenient, mobility s growth linkage remains more hope than holistic. Perhaps high demand and unstoppable growth will diversify Minneapolis schools or lead to an expensive buildout/mothball cycle we ve seen in past decades. Likewise, the Park Board is grappling with how to pay operating costs for a gift Downtown park evidence that after the splashy unveiling comes decades of upkeep, often competing with existing, underfunded facilities. These are undoubtedly exciting times; compared to post-war urban flight, growth looks like a very nice problem to have. But city history is replete with errors of development enthusiasm New Town In Town; Nicollet & Lake closure; The Conservatory and Block E. I m on Team Urbanism, but I don t think it s immune from hubris. David Brauer is a former Journal editor who lives in Kingfield, where he chaired the neighborhood association and farmers market boards. Find him on GRAPHIC DESIGNER Amanda Wadeson awadeson@mnpubs.com COPY EDITOR Zoe Gahan zgahan@mnpubs.com CIRCULATION Marlo Johnson distribution@mnpubs.com CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING classifieds@mnpubs.com PRINTING ECM, Inc. next ISSUe date feb. 13 news deadline feb. 5 Ad deadline feb. 5 36,000 copies of the Southwest Journal are distributed free of charge to homes and businesses in Southwest Minneapolis. Voices twin Cities & Western railroad s take on SW lrt Your recent article, Getting Up to Speed on Southwest Light Rail, created a distorted picture of the process and events associated with the development of the project. First, despite media reports to the contrary, there was no promise in the 1990s to move freight rail from the Kenilworth Corridor to St. Louis Park. That was the intent of city and county planners at the time, but there never was any analysis done to determine whether and how such a relocation might work, either from an engineering standpoint or from a community relations perspective. It is also incorrect to describe the shallow tunnel option recommended by the Metropolitan Council as a Cadillac plan that acquiesced to the railroad. In fact, the $160 million shallow tunnel proposal was conceived as a cost-saving alternative to the St. Louis Park option, which would have cost an estimated $200 million not because it requires upgrades to existing track, as your article stated, but because it involves construction of an entirely new freight rail route where none exists today. Our company neither proposed nor endorsed that option. As far as the cost of the Kenilworth shallow tunnel, it is not the freight railroad s requirements that are driving those costs, but rather the need to accommodate light rail in addition to the existing bike and hiking paths that Minneapolis residents wish to preserve. Freight rail has co-existed with those amenities for more than fifteen years. Throughout the light rail planning process, our company has affirmed that we would accept any routing plan that enabled us to operate at the same levels of safety and cost efficiency as we do now. Federal law requires us, as common carriers of freight, to put the needs of our Minnesota and South Dakota shippers first as we evaluate various light rail options. It does not allow us to move from our current location if the new route compromises our ability to move our customers goods safely and cost-effectively. Mark Wegner President, Twin Cities & Western Railroad SEE LeTTeRS / PAGE a11 The Southwest Journal, 1115 Hennepin Ave S Mpls, MN phone: Minnesota Premier Publications, Inc Subscriptions are $32 per year PRINTED WITH SOY INK ON RECYCLED PAPER Davis, Fran SWJ masthead banner.indd 1 1/29/14 8:38 AM

11 southwestjournal.com / January 30 February 12, 2014 A11 FROM LeTTeRS / PAGE a10 We will survive Saturday night, as Minnesota school closings mounted and temperatures plummeted to record soul-killing subzero lows, I belted down some hot coffee, cursed both the darkness and the steady stream of friends Facebook photos coming in from San Francisco, Sun Set Beach, the Florida Keys, etc., said a prayer of gratitude for my warm home, friends and family, and took my own advice to seize the day and night and see what s out there. I m glad I did. As I write, we are in hour 36 of Polar Vortex II and its minus 22 degrees and minus 29 wind chill, and as you read, the temperatures have already returned to a more livable clime with the promise of warmer days ahead. But before moving on, it s worth noting that we ve very likely just survived the worst of the historically brutal winter of 2014 and lived to tell. Me, I wanted to stay close to home Saturday night, so with live music options like the Belfast Cowboys and the Current s birthday party holding forth downtown, I stayed Uptown and found a corner by the door at the packed Cause Minneapolis, where for two hours, through the plate glass windows, I watched a brilliant streetlight-illuminated snowstorm fall on the equally packed intersection of Lake and Lyndale. The storefronts It s Greek To Me, Falafel King, Metaphysical, Smitten Kitten looked like they d been ladled into a life-sized snow globe, and the glistening sheets of fluffy snow took on a magical quality, accompanied as they were by the super soulful soundtrack provided by a bunch of like-minded rock and alt-country musicians: Rich Mattson and Germaine Gemberling, who traveled from their arctic tundra home of Sparta, Minnesota for the gig; Lolo s Ghost, whose leader James Loney endured some high drama in the making of a sale at his car sales job earlier in the day; and Dave Rave, the hard-touring Canadian rocker whose exuberance and rock n roll heart can turn up the heat in even the coldest room. Which is what Rave and his guitar army did early in their set, jumping out onto the freezing cement floor and coaxing the entire front of the room to crouch down, limbostyle, in some strange and spontaneous ritual of togetherness and rock that came together so effortlessly it felt choreographed. Fittingly, the Cause bill this frigid night was a make-up gig for a night that was cancelled in late June, when torrential rains and power outages downed trees all over Minneapolis and closed several bars in and around Uptown. Not tonight. The human aquarium was a delight to behold throughout the night, from the hardy souls who came out of hibernation to feel the kick drum in their chests, to the undaunted and bundled-up crazies scurrying up and down the block, so timeless and innocent they could ve been photos culled from Minnesota Historical Society archives. What s more, the streets themselves bustled snow By Jim Walsh and cold be damned with cars, taxis, buses, and more than a few young couples out for a romantic snowy walk, many wearing the unmistakable expression of the drunk or recently well-loved. For good measure, the next day I took the dog to Lake Harriet, that normally placid place of peace which upon arrival was being swept by high winds and snow and doing an excellent impression of Planet Hoth from Star Wars. Even the hardcore runners and walkers were bailing and running for cover, and after momentarily walking out on the ice, I recognized the furious force of the elements, knew I was in the eye of something dangerous, and got out of there. Like I said, I m glad I did. As with my night at Cause, I was happy to follow the call to experience something that a warm-weather vacation or hunkering down with blankets and books doesn t afford. Sure, my favorite new-old mode of dealing with winter is the Danish concept hygge, which embraces winter via candles and coziness, but when you want to gauge the spirit of this city and its hardy, good-natured, and cabin-fever crazied people, there s no substitute for venturing out. In other words, see ya at the Loppet. Jim Walsh lives and grew up in East Harriet. He can be reached at and jimwalsh086@gmail.com grateful for our public servants Recently, I contacted Council Member Elizabeth Glidden about concerns regarding un-leashed dogs around Lake Harriet and the surrounding neighborhoods. She immediately responded to me, forwarding my to a number of our public servants, including Chief Jason Ohotto of the Park Police, Jayne Miller of the Mpls Park and Rec Board, Brad Bourn, and other leaders. All took my concerns seriously and responded with a plan of action within just days. I am so grateful to live in a city with leaders who care as deeply about our neighborhoods as we all do. And, to those of you who somehow believe that you are exempt from the 6-foot leash law, please take note that extra patrols are out. I would encourage you to use the dog parks if you would like your dog to be off-leash. J. Anderson, Kingfield let US hear from you State your opinion in 250 words or fewer. Letters must be signed and include a mailing address and neighborhood; please include a telephone number where we can reach you. Letters may be edited, and we can t guarantee they will be published. (preferred): journaleditor@mnpubs.com Fax: By mail: Letters to the Editor, 1115 Hennepin Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55403

12 A12 January 30 February 12, 2014 / southwestjournal.com Supplier s bankruptcy doesn t endanger NiceRide By Dylan Thomas / dthomas@mnpubs.com The Montreal-based company that supplies Minneapolis bike-sharing system announced Jan. 20 it plans to file for bankruptcy, but that s unlikely to keep Nice Ride bikes off the streets this spring. A day after the announcement, Nice Ride Minnesota Executive Director Bill Dosset said the bankruptcy won t effect the operation of our basic system at all. What s not yet known is whether it will delay delivery of 150 new bikes and 17 docking stations Nice Ride has on order for the spring. We ve been told by folks up in Montreal by the folks who are working on this that both the reason for the bankruptcy and the timing of bankruptcy is to get that manufacturing supply going again, Dosset said. Public Bike System Co. (PBSC) operates Montreal s bike-sharing system under the brand name Bixi and also supplies bikes and docking stations to Nice Ride and its counterparts in New York City, Chicago and more than a dozen other cities. PBSC is reportedly more than 40 million Canadian dollars in debt and embroiled in a legal dispute with 8D technologies, a former subcontractor that was the initial software developer for the company. Multiple reports indicate PBSC owes more than 31 million Canadian dollars on a loan of 37 million Canadian dollars from the city of Montreal. Bixi spokesperson Fabrice Giguere said both sides were planning to meet soon to discuss their options, although Giguere The executive director of Nice Ride Minnesota said a supplier s bankruptcy filing should have little impact on bike-sharing operations next spring. File photo declined to describe those options in detail. As of today, our doors are still open, and as of today it s still business as usual, Giguere said Jan. 22. In the days to come representatives from PBSC and the city of Montreal are going to sit down together and talk about the different scenarios that are on the table for the future of PBSC. In April of 2012, 8D Technologies, also based in Montreal, filed a 26-million Canadian dollar lawsuit against PBSC in the Superior Court of Quebec. In a statement on its website, 8D claimed PBSC made the gratuitous and unilateral decision to replace 8D s software with its own software developed in-house. But that software had problems. When Citi Bike launched last spring in New York City, there were widespread reports of bugs. Complaints also surfaced in Chicago and San Francisco, Dosset said. That s really what this whole bankruptcy is about, he said. Nice Ride still operates using an 8D-supplied software platform. That system is working great, and most importantly we have a separate contract with 8D, so this bankruptcy won t effect the operation of our basic system at all, Dosset said. In fact, 8D has recently come out with some real terrific improvements to their system that will be part of some upgrades. Despite the software differences, all of the bike-sharing systems operate using the same hardware, and the notice to file bankruptcy has raised concerns PBSC may not be able to fill orders this spring. Dosset said it s his understanding one goal of the bankruptcy is to reassure the hardware suppliers in PBSC s manufacturing chain that they will indeed get paid. The bankruptcy may ultimately result in PBSC s bike-sharing operations through Bixi being separated from its manufacturing operations, he said. Dosset said he last spoke with PBSC the day before the company announced its intention to file for bankruptcy. In its 2013 annual report, Nice Ride noted it had filed a notice of material breach of its agreement with PBSC. Hornstein authors bill to boost recycling and composting linden hills State Rep. Frank Hornstein lives in Linden Hills, one of just a few Minneapolis neighborhoods where city recycling services include organic waste pickup. The DFLer from District 61-A would like to see organic waste recycling more widely available not just in Minneapolis, but across the state. Hornstein plans to introduce legislation to raise statewide recycling goals while at the same time expanding them to include compost for the first time. The bill got a preliminary hearing Jan. 14 in front of a House committee, and he aims to introduce the bill on the first day of the next legislative session, which kicks off Feb. 25. Hornstein said recycling goals were set in the 90s by the Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment, or SCORE, at 50 percent of all solid waste for metro-area counties and 35 percent for out-state counties. His bill raises the bar to 60 percent for all counties, plus another 15 percent by weight of compost-able materials, for a total of 75 percent by This number is attainable and realistic, and actually even modest given the time we re allotting, he said. The bill also tweaks the funding mechanism set up through SCORE, which collects taxes on solid waste disposal, including tipping fees. Currently, about one-third of the SCORE money roughly $20 million goes to the state s general fund, and the bill would redirect it to recycling and environmental programs. 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13 southwestjournal.com / January 30 February 12, 2014 A13 By Ben Johnson / bjohnson@mnpubs.com Park Board finding tax exemption more trouble than it s worth A seemingly simple new law that exempts local governments across Minnesota (including the Park Board) from paying sales tax on most purchases has been deemed largely ineffective due to the unforeseen administrative challenges it has created. The law was designed to help keep local taxes down by eliminating a strange circular funding mechanism in which governmental entities are required to pay taxes on projects that are funded by taxes. Prior to 1992 local governments didn t have to pay sales tax on most purchases, but that year the Legislature chose to extend taxes to help shore up a state budget crisis. Thought to be a temporary fix, the policy was finally repealed last year and it went into effect Jan. 1. To prevent government programs and facilities from having an unfair advantage over private sector competitors, a provision was included that requires local governments to still have to pay taxes on goods or services generally provided by a private business. This provision has become an administrative nightmare for the Park Board, because every space it owns provides a mix of services, some of which are provided by local businesses and some that are not. Take Powderhorn Park, for example. Goods or services purchased for the picnic area, walking path, drinking fountain or bathrooms would be exempt from sales taxes, but anything bought for its playing fields, bandstand, wading pool or basketball court is still taxable. If we purchase grass seed and we use it all Featured Listing 110 Bank Street SE #2101 Skyline & river views, Brazilian cherry floors, fabulous kit w/myrtle burl & cherry cabinets, granite, stainless appliances, wine fridge & bar. 2 fully renovated baths. Now $505,000 Ellen Beecher & Jim Fisher (612) around Powderhorn Park, a part of that invoice is going to be taxable and a part is going to be non-taxable, and the provision says we have to develop some sort of prorated process to qualify for the sales tax exemption, said Juli Wiseman, finance director for the Park Board. Another burdensome requirement of the sales tax exemption is that when a city hires a contractor to perform construction work, the labor and the construction materials must be split into two separate bids. Then, instead of buying materials itself, the contractor acts as a purchasing agent on behalf of the city, leaving the city liable for any defective or damaged material. As we all know with construction contracts, there is a lot of responsibility that remains with the contractor when you bid that project together. The benefit of the sales tax exemption is not great enough to justify taking on that much extra liability, said Wiseman, who said until that provision is repealed the Park Board will continue to pay sales tax on materials purchased for construction projects. The Park Board anticipated $300,000 in savings this year from the sales tax exemption, but due to those provisions that figure has been lowered to $125,000. According to the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC), the state projected it would lose $429 million in sales tax revenue due to the exemption, but early estimates place that number between $50 million and $55 million. The Park Board is supporting an initiative sponsored by the LMC to get the burdensome provisions repealed this legislative session. Repealing them would ultimately let the law achieve what it was intended to achieve lower expenses for local governments resulting in lower municipal and county tax rates. But what about the private businesses the provisions were created to protect? It does create a slight advantage for a governmental entity, said Park Board Commissioner Jon Olson, who owns and operates a small business and chairs the Park Board s Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. Personally does it bother me? No, not really. Gary Carlson, LMC s Intergovernmental Relations Director, says a repeal could be justified because local governments often provides services and facilities for free or at a much lower rate than a private business. He used a municipal swimming pool as an example. There s a gray area. 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This summer the Park Board plans to open a brand-new pool at Webber Park in north Minneapolis. The pool, featuring a 4,500-square-foot wading area, five lap swim lanes, and a 13-foot deep diving area, will be free to the public. Carlson says he s been contacted by a number of state legislators interested in tweaking provisions in the sales tax exemption, but has not found someone to author those changes at this point. The LMC is lobbying for an outright repeal, but Carlson said he would be willing to entertain a more nuanced compromise. We re certainly willing to discuss alternatives to an outright appeal, but members of the LMC have established a policy to ultimately simplify this, so that when cities make purchases they are exempt because they re doing it for a public purpose, he said. 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14 A14 January 30 February 12, 2014 / southwestjournal.com FROM 3RD DiSTRicT / PAGE a1 MaRiOn greene addressing the issue. Independence and working relationships: I enjoyed collaborating with Commissioner Gail Dorfman and the other commissioners while I was at the Legislature, but I am also one of the few candidates not to have the county on my own resume. This gives me both fresh perspective and existing working relationships. the third district Resume highlights: former state representative (60A); health policy analyst for St. Jude Medical Top priorities: make county government more visible and connected to the community; invest in early childhood education; and strengthen county s medical system to ensure its long-term sustainability Website: mariongreene.org What do you think is the ideal plan for the SW LRT line? I look forward to the release on Jan. 31 of the three SW LRT studies which examine freightrail alternatives, and hydrology and vegetation impacts of shallow LRT tunnels. The ideal plan for the SW LRT line is one that can safeguard important local and regional assets (e.g., St. Louis Park High School, and the Chain of Lakes). This would lay the groundwork for securing municipal consent from both St. Louis Park and Minneapolis, which would show increased regional commitment to multimodal transit. KaTie hatt SWJ: What makes you the strongest candidate in the field? Legislative experience: The breadth and complexity of topics, interactions and partnerships that I experienced as a legislator is immediately relevant to the breadth and complexity of topics, interactions and partnerships that are part of the work of a successful county commissioner. I authored, introduced, and advocated for progressive legislation at the Capitol. Some has become law. In addition, I was known for maintaining exemplary constituent service. Health care finance expertise: Mike Opat, President of the County Board, told the Star- Tribune recently that the financial situation at Hennepin County Medical Center will be a major focus for the board in the immediate future. My work for the last 10 years in health care finance (as well as my MBA) are directly relevant, and I will be an asset to the County in Resume highlights: research consultant for the DFL Caucus of the Minnesota House of Representatives; policy aide for Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin Top priorities: Creating supportive, sustainable communities through better transportation options; investments in affordable housing; and an expansion of the countywide recycling program to focus on greater participation by renters and multi-family buildings. Website: katiehatt.org What makes you the strongest candidate in the field? My mix of grassroots and County experience and policy expertise make me the best choice for District 3 Commissioner. I love counties and I know Hennepin County. I served for four and a half years as a Hennepin County Commissioner s Principal Aide, where I gained ideal training in developing budgets, enacting forward-thinking transportation, environmental, housing and human services policies, navigating county government to help constituents connect to supports and negotiating complex project agreements. With a likely special election this spring, I will be a knowledgeable and effective leader from Day One, ready to take on many important and time-sensitive issues, including the 2015 budget process and Southwest LRT. I am an expert in transportation and housing. I helped develop the joint powers agreement that created the Counties Transit Improvement Board to fund transit on a stable, regional basis. I served as the Housing Policy Analyst for the Metropolitan Council, where I launched the process to create the Council s first Regional Housing Policy Plan in 30 years and led the Fair Housing Equity Assessment. I have administered grants to clean up polluted land for the Minnesota Department of Employment and I can hear my heart beat now. 12 months free financing! We accept most insurances. See our testimonials at A TOUCH OF GREECE IN THE HEART OF MINNEAPOLIS Chears Audiology SWJ H18.indd 1 We offer choices so you ll hear what you want to hear! Call for an appointment for coffee and conversation and some high quality hearing health care. AND A FREE DEMO Kim Fishman, Licensed Audiologist chearsaudiology.com 5808 W. 36th St., St. Louis Park 1/21/14 Tailors 3:17 PM on Blake SWJ H18.indd 5 Now is the time to spruce up your home shorten curtains duvet covers recover cushions pillows and so much more! 5706 W. 36th St. St. Louis Park tailorsonblake.com 1/23/14 10:20 AM Marcia. Marcia. 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15 southwestjournal.com / January 30 February 12, 2014 A15 Economic Development. I currently work for the DFL Caucus of the Minnesota House of Representatives as the lead caucus research staff on transportation and housing. I have demonstrated success at building partnerships and forging coalitions to get things done. I began as a neighborhood leader, helping the Whittier, Elliot Park and Longfellow neighborhoods improve the quality of life in their communities and leading the state s first Community Benefits Agreement between a neighborhood and a private developer. I was founding co-chair of the Bike-Walk Advisory Committee that directed the hugely successful federal grant to build bikeways in our region, and helped lead the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition during a time of amazing growth. I serve as an Advisory Board Member of the Cedar- Riverside Youth Council. What do you think is the ideal plan for the SW LRT line? We need a modern transit system to remain competitive as a region. And we need a transit system that enhances, rather than detracts from, our communities. I will preserve and protect the Kenilworth Trail and our Chain of Lakes, while ensuring that we make the necessary investments in transit. I believe that the best plan for the Southwest line would reroute freight rail off of the Kenilworth corridor. I do not believe that the private rail company s wish list is reasonable, and it would create unnecessary impacts on neighborhoods in St. Louis Park. We also need to create the right transit connections to and from the line to expand access for Minneapolis residents in neighborhoods to the north and east of the corridor. We need to think about Southwest and all LRT projects as part of a network, not as standalone projects. For example, the Midtown Corridor Analysis shows great promise for connecting the Southwest LRT to the Hiawatha Blue Line via modern streetcar along the Midtown Greenway and enhanced bus service on Lake Street. I am the only candidate in this race who has worked in the trenches to make a contentious light rail project a success. I participated in extended, complex, and difficult negotiations between the University of Minnesota, the Metropolitan Council, Ramsey County, Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis regarding the placement and mitigation of the Central Corridor LRT line through the University campus. Working together we reached a resolution that will allow the new Green Line to open this year. To build a fully functional transit network, we need a sufficient dedicated funding source for transit. Building on my deep connections to DFL leadership at the Legislature, I will be a fierce and effective advocate at the legislature for the Move MN bill, and for transit funding in general. Ken Kelash Resume highlights: two terms as state senator; union carpenter Top priorities: prepare for population growth in the county; maintain infrastructure and cultural amenities while investing in better transportation; promote transit-oriented development and increase green space Website: kenkelash.com What makes you the strongest candidate in the field? My background and experience make me the strongest candidate for County Commissioner. With 4 years in the State Senate, 10 years on the Minneapolis Workforce Investment Board (WIB), two years on the Hennepin County Workforce investment Board, 15 years on the Neighborhood Revitalization Policy Board (NRP) and many years serving on a variety of civic committees, I have a store of knowledge and experience to bring to the Board. In the Senate I served on the Transportation, Economic Development, and Environment and Natural Resources Committees, working on transit-oriented development. Some of the bills I authored included a plan to attack aquatic invasive species, lead abatement training, ensuring that folks deemed by the courts to be ineligible to carry a gun be added to the National Criminal Background check data base. As Chair of the Senate Sub-Committee on Housing I held hearings on homeless youth and affordable housing issues. I know the issues facing Hennepin County. My work history includes 37 years as a member of the Carpenters Union of which 14 years were spent as a Business Representative. I ve spent my entire life in South Minneapolis. Went to De La Salle High School, and got a BA from Metro State. The Bush Foundation recognized my leadership role in both labor and public service and awarded me a Leadership Fellowship which I used to earn a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard s Kennedy School of Government. What do you think is the ideal plan for SW LRT line? Unfortunately, there is no ideal plan for light rail. If there were, there wouldn t be any controversy about it; the Met Council would take that ideal plan. The decision about the where and how of the SW LRT line is in the hands of the Met Council. The best plan will provide necessary services for the largest number of people while inconveniencing the smallest number of residents. Upon completion, the LRT will be a County asset that improves property values along most of the line in most places. We have already seen that happen along the Hiawatha route. Anne Mavity Resume highlights: St. Louis Park City Council Member; former congressional aide Top priorities: Creating affordable housing and ending homelessness; creating a regional transit system and expanding connectivity; and fostering environmental stewardship and sustainable, healthy communities. Website: annemavity.org What makes you the strongest candidate in the field? Having lived and worked in Minneapolis for more than 20 years and in St. Louis Park for 16 years, I am passionate about being an advocate for the entire district. Further, I have a track record of delivering results. I understand how to effectively navigate our complex systems in order to get government to work better on behalf of all people. My expertise is drawn from a career in helping people engage in the issues that impact their lives: from neighborhood organizing in Minneapolis to international development work in Russia; to City Council leadership in St. Louis Park. I have taken these skills and put them to work for our community, including: Provided leadership in public policy and financing strategies to create thousands of supportive housing opportunities to end homelessness and leverage cost savings. Lead the creation of city-wide, curbside organics recycling in St. Louis Park. Served as a Housing Transition Team Advisor for President-elect Bill Clinton, and for Mayorelect R.T. Rybak. Managed more than $50 million in U.S. government grants for local government reform and democratic initiatives in Russia, as Chief of the Unit on Civil Society for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Throughout my life, I have dedicated my personal time and my professional career to helping empower people to have a voice in their own community. I ask for your support to continue and expand on this record of success and foster an engaged and prosperous future in Hennepin county. What do you think is the ideal plan for the SW LRT line? One of the challenges of the SW LRT project is the lack of confidence in the process itself. With a background in neighborhood organizing, and a lifetime spent creating opportunities for people to have a voice in issues that impact their lives, I know that ensuring transparency, accountability and authentic community engagement will be critical to the ongoing success of this project, and to restoring confidence in future projects. I ve been on the front lines advocating for SW LRT because I understand its importance as a platform for jobs, growth and the ability for the region to expand economic equity for all residents. I will utilize my expertise in development and as a local government leader to ensure that we maximize the investment potential along the corridor. I respect the vote made more than four years ago by all five affected municipalities to run the SW LRT in the current Kenilworth alignment. However, protecting our chain of lakes is also a critical factor in this project. I will be looking forward to the Met Council s and Minneapolis Park Board s studies on this issue, to ensure that the design of SW LRT does not negatively impact our waterways. While I initially voted to re-route freight trains through St. Louis Park, I have been open-minded in reviewing all the options for dealing with freight. Data and research by the Met Council has demonstrated to me that these proposed re-routes are not viable options, either because of the grades and curves or the considerable costs and community impacts. I am committed to creating SW LRT as a critical component of building a regional transit system. With a commitment to getting this project done, I am confident that we can find solutions that work for our community and the region. Ben Schweigert Resume highlights: Hennepin County prosecutor; former clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit; associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell law firm in New York City Top priorities: encourage livable neighborhoods; invest in transportation improvements; fight for living wages and opportunities for all; invest in affordable housing; forge strong partnerships to keep communities safe Website: benforhennepin.org What makes you the strongest candidate in the field? I am a lifelong DFLer and a lifelong progressive. I work in the Hennepin County Attorney s Office, where I prosecute white-collar crime, including More information The League of Women Voters of Minneapolis is moderating a forum with the candidates Jan. 30, 7:30 9 p.m., at SpringHouse Ministry, 610 W. 28th St. Precinct caucuses are Tuesday, Feb. 4. For more information about caucuses and to find locations, go to the Minnesota Secretary of State website sos.state.mn.us mortgage fraud, identity theft and public corruption. I also serve as the Office s legislative liaison, working to enact sensible gun laws and expand voting rights. I am on the executive board of my union local. Throughout my career, I have fought for people, especially those who need an advocate. I am also a person who gets excited about serious public policy. I love analyzing data and studying the details of a problem. It s this passion that prompted me to become a policy fellow at Minnesota This kind of detailed study is what I do every day in my work as a lawyer, as well. I analyze challenging problems, often involving mountains of information about complex financial transactions, and I work with other people to create solutions. And I love this community. Every day I bike or bus from my neighborhood to my job at the County Attorney s Office. I m involved in the Redevelopment Committee of my neighborhood association. My wife and I are members of our community garden. We know that we are lucky to live in a vibrant community where people are engaged and care about the future. I will bring a relentless energy and progressive vision to the challenges ahead that will shape our future. I ve never run for office before. I have no grudges, no debts and no rivalries. I m ready to be forward-looking, to forge new partnerships with the City of Minneapolis, the City of Saint Louis Park, and other units of government to take on our shared challenges. I want a Hennepin County that is optimistic enough to take on these challenges and strong enough to succeed. What do you think is the ideal plan for the SW LRT line? I strongly support the light rail system. I want to see it expand and I want to see it succeed. The ideal plan for the Southwest LRT line is one with strong ridership that helps people use their cars less. This will mean smart planning around all of the new stations on the line. Communities should be able to connect easily with the stations, on foot and by bicycle. The county should work to facilitate development around the stations, working closely with the cities along the line to achieve this goal. The most controversial short-term question, of course, is the question of how to accommodate light rail in the Kenilworth corridor. The opportunity to study the complications of the current plan is important. I m glad that we re taking a serious look on the impact that any plan will have on the lakes, which are a priceless treasure. I m also glad that alternative freight routes are being studied. When the Met Council meets to look at these studies, I have every expectation that they will take seriously the results of these studies and make an informed decision about how to proceed. My intention, at the moment that I become commissioner, is to be forward-looking, focusing on the questions ahead rather than revisiting decisions already made. I might not have made all of the same decisions at every point in the planning process of the Southwest line, and some of the decisions disappointed me. But I remain committed to the line s success. As we begin planning the Bottineau line and other infrastructure projects, I am committed to learning lessons from the Southwest planning process, applying them, and solving the challenges of the future to make sure that light rail continues to succeed in our region.

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17 Southwest Journal January 30 February 12, 2014 THE ORCHESTRA IS BACK The Orchestra is holding homecoming concerts early February. Photos by Courtney Perry By Michelle Bruch / mbruch@mnpubs.com hree weeks after its long-awaited contract agreement, the Minnesota Orchestra is back for concerts at Orchestra Hall. The first concerts run Feb. 7 8 and over Valentine s weekend. Guest conductors will direct Gustav Holst s The Planets and Bach s D-minor Toccata and Fugue, the piece that opened the first Orchestra Hall show in Doors open four hours early so nonticket holders can check out the rehabbed Orchestra Hall. Two days after tickets went on sale to the general public, Orchestra staff said the inaugural show was nearly sold out and the other opening shows were more than half sold. The phones have been quite busy, said Karen Koepp, the Orchestra s publications editor. They have sold like hotcakes, no question. The question of conductor Osmo Vänskä s return wasn t settled at press time, however, and no meeting dates had been set to address the issue. Vänskä will direct a handful of concerts this spring; guest conductors lead SEE orchestra / PAGE B10

18 B2 January 30 February 12, 2014 / southwestjournal.com HANDCRAFTED MoulDiNgs, WiNDoWs, DooRs & CABiNETs Weekend Tourist By Linda Koutsky Restoring your home s original character More than 500 chemicals are used in the products an average woman puts on her body every day. More natural products are available at select stores such as the Linden Hills Co-Op. Photo by Linda Koutsky aamillwork.com Family owned Since 1982 Skin deep is deep enough A&A Millwork SWJ _#1.indd 3 4/24/13 11:22 AM Part of my job as the Weekend Tourist is to look at our environment and take note as things change. New stores open up, the character of a neighborhood evolves, products start taking up more floorspace in stores I patronize; these are indicators that we are learning and growing or have different needs. Look at the organic foods movement. It wasn t too long ago that buying organic meant trips to special stores. Now it s everywhere. The latest in eco awareness seems to be natural cosmetics. Why? How would you like to spread a elixir of tar, formaldehyde, plastic, mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead on your face? The label says it s all natural! Well, it turns out it isn t. Nobody oversees the beauty industry. No product testing, ingredient labeling, or monitoring of health effects are required. The word organic is regulated by the FDA but you re on your own when it comes to what you put on your body. Calling a product natural in hair care, skincare, and cosmetics industries is just a marketing term. Toxic chemicals are absorbed right through the skin then go straight into the bloodstream. Can t be good for a person. Plants and minerals are better. Salons, spas and dermatologists sell more healthy cosmetics and some brands are available at major retailers and department stores. The following stores have large selections of safe natural cosmetics. Costs ranged between drugstore and department store prices. Keep an eye out as you wander the aisles and let me know if you see something new. To check product safety levels, visit safecosmetics.org or ewg.org/skindeep. tea BReak AVeDA INStItUte 411 E. Hennepin Ave. a full line of cosmetics including mascara (mosscara) made from Icelandic moss. linden HIllS Co-op 3815 Sunnyside Ave. The counter s expanded here over the years and lipsticks have been a big seller especially since the FDa found traces of lead in 400 lipsticks. Several kinds of mascara are available from the helpful sales staff. WHole FooDS 3060 Excelsior Blvd. and 222 Hennepin Ave. general line including many colors of lip balm, shine, gloss and shimmer by Burt s Bees. INtellIGeNt NUtRIeNtS 983 E. Hennepin Ave.; also available at Horst Galleries, 326 Central Ave. SE Horst rechelbacher, founder of aveda, and currently the visionary behind Intelligent Nutrients gets to call many of his skin and hair care products organic because the ingredients are approved by the FDa as organic foods! They re so safe they re edible. He currently has a line of lip tints with more products in the works. MoSS envy 3056 Excelsior Blvd. This eco friendly store has a skincare and cosmetics section. Want to learn more about natural cosmetics? attend their mindful makeup masterclass Wed., February 12, 5 7 p.m. Three local, award-winning, professional makeup artists will share industry tips and secrets. Wine and chocolate at 5. Call (612) to register. Stop in for desserts and tea at La Société du Thé (2708 Lyndale ave. S.) Send your comments or tips to WeekendTourist@mnpubs.com. Rojo Mexican Grill SWJ indd 1 11/19/13 11:50 AM

19 southwestjournal.com / January 30 February 12, 2014 B3 Wild City By Mary Jean Port Body, House, Book COMMONS Food, Fitness, and Fun for the Whole Family We d had a stressful fall and were looking forward to that week at year s end when my husband takes vacation and we just stay put and enjoy ourselves. Looking ahead, I d set aside January to prepare my book manuscript so I could begin submitting it to agents and publishers. But a couple of days after Christmas the sewer backed up into our finished basement. Our home life and my work life were upended. Our door became a revolving one, what with all the workers coming and going. And now, weeks later, the door continues to revolve. A friend believes in synchronicity, where human concerns are mirrored in the physical world. Maybe the sewer backup was related to me writing my book. In it I bring up dark material, that which is underneath and not usually seen. The day of the backup I had gotten a massage, and, unusual for me, as I love bodywork, I was resistant to it. I peeked at the clock, waiting for it to be done. At home a couple of hours later, I heard my husband say, Honey, I think you better come down here. It seems that on the massage table I had been bracing myself against what was about to happen in my second body, my house. My husband had gone downstairs to do laundry and found murky, smelly water on the floor. Another bit of synchronicity: It didn t escape me that my book is, in part, about oil pipeline spills, and then we, ourselves, experience a malfunctioning pipe that has discharged something unhealthy. We traced the mess to the drain in the basement shower, which had been blown off by the force of this eruption. We called an emergency plumbing service that sent out Rod, and he told us our main line (that is, the sewer pipe out to the street) was partially blocked. He had a three-ring binder with laminated sheets that illustrated the problem. Ridges of solids had build up in the line. He must have meant to say that these were like sand dunes, but he kept calling the ridges sand dooms. It felt like we were dealing with dooms. The waste stream had hit them and bounced back. What had gone wrong in our house seemed to remind everyone not of house calamities but of body calamities. Rod had been chased by a Doberman on his first gig as a plumber, had gotten a huge gash in his head, and had had to get stitches. The plumber who jetted out our main line had a bad back. The mitigation people arrived. They tore up carpeting, and sawed off the bottom foot of sheetrock on the walls. The crew leader, George, told about how he had just learned that a close friend had had a recurrence of an aggressive cancer. I, too, know someone with such a cancer. He and I compared notes. The guys on his crew carted off what had been ruined, and they left sitting out in piles what hadn t, which made us feel discombobulated. My husband s books number in the thousands. He says he needs to have his books in order to feel like his brain is in order. I d been working with a new massage therapist this fall, one who is trained in Chinese medicine, and she said that my liver and gall bladder are sluggish. She is working to invigorate them. The liver is in charge of your life s work, she says, while your gall bladder gives you the courage to accomplish that work. She told me this not knowing that I am polishing a book that is central to my being. The expression, That took a lot of gall, came to mind, and I wondered how I could get more gall. While there are negative connotations to that word, gall is also associated with shameless or impudent boldness, with barefaced audacity. Ah, I definitely could use more of those. I ve now got the following expressions on a card next to my computer: Kick down the ladder, Nail my colors to the mast, Set my back against the wall, Ride in the whirlwind and direct the storm. And my favorite, Neck or nothing, which I take to mean that if a person is going to do something, she may as well go for broke. Oh, one other example of synchronicity between my writing and my house emergency: My friend says the problem in our basement is something like birth. There is a time for it, and when that time comes, the water breaks and the baby must emerge right then. Similarly, the book is ready; it has to come out now. I ve always resisted birth metaphors for writing, but not this time. Mary Jean Port writes at home, near Minnehaha Creek and Lake Harriet, and teaches at the Loft Literary Center. 10% OFF In your neighborhood, Always open. your purchase with this ad 14 Flavors 50 Toppings Self Serve BLOOMA The Metro s premier place for Prenatal Yoga, Yoga, Barre, Childbirth Education/ Support, and Wellness meeting the needs of your entire family! *Childcare available blooma.com Lunch Monday-Saturday Dinner Monday-Sunday The expression, That took a lot of gall, came to mind, and I wondered how I could get more gall. While there are negative connotations to that word, gall is also associated with shameless or impudent boldness, with barefaced audacity. Ah, I definitely could use more of those. Pasta Salads Panini Catering Desserts Your Family Owned, Neighborhood Italian Restaurant for dine-in and carry-out since rd & Lyndale (Just North of Kowalski s) Boulevard Commons SWJ V2.indd 1 7/15/13 1:21 PM

20 B4 January 30 February 12, 2014 / southwestjournal.com wanted Health & Wellness Coaches Work from home Part-time or full-time objects for Consideration View items that have found their way into the studios of local artists not works of art but objects that have been studied, saved in a moment of curiosity or placed on an artist s shelf for later use all hinting subtly at the process of their collectors or owners. When: Feb. 8 mar. 22, opening reception Feb. 8, 6 9 p.m. Where: Soo Visual arts Center, 2638 Lyndale ave. S. Info: , soovac.org cleaning sales repair MUsiC Live-MUsiC-fest 3 Bands. 3 Hours. 3 Bucks. a lineup of young artists. When: Jan. 31, 6-9 p.m. Where: Intermedia arts, 2822 Lyndale ave. S. Info: intermediaarts.org/music-festa-thon, $3 Hot Notes on a Cold Night a versatile and varied selection of young talent from Southwest High School will perform everything from opera, pop, show tunes and dance to comedy, rock, jazz and hip-hop. The purchase of a ticket helps to support the music programs at the school. enjoy the music and auctions for local restaurant and business gift cards along with appetizers and drinks. When: Feb. 1, 7 11 p.m. Where: St. mary s greek orthodox Church, 3450 Irving ave. S. Info: hotnotes.eventbrite.com, $35/ advance, $50/door on stage pillsbury House + theatre s Breaking ice a play about Bryant and Central neighborhoods and the conversations surrounding the Seward Friendship Co-op, food access and jobs. When: Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 1, 7 p.m. Where: pillsbury House Theatre, 3501 Chicago ave. S. Info: pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org shakespeare s Will Written by award-winning playwright Vern Thiessen, Shakespeare s Will enjoys its regional debut on the Jungle Theatre stage with Southwest minneapolis resident Cathy Fuller as the Bard s widow in this onewoman show accompanied by elizabethan era music and a dynamic set design. When: Feb. 7 mar. 23, see website for times Where: Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale ave. S. Info: , jungletheater.com, $25 $43 it s Not Me, it s you a show concerning love, or a lack thereof. Features music, stories, letter, excuses, self-delusions, monologues and romantic fantasies. Written and performed by pat Donohue, featuring alex Cleberg. When: Feb. 8, 10 p.m. (doors 9 p.m.) Where: Bryant-Lake Bowl, 810 W. Lake St. Info: , bryantlakebowl.com, $10 the Wünder kidz The group of teenage improv artists has performed their honest and unique take on long-form improv comedy all over the Twin Cities, exploring the strange and bizarre on stage. When: Feb. 9, 16 and 23, 7 p.m. Where: Bryant-Lake Bowl, 810 W. Lake St. Info: , bryantlakebowl.com, $6 $15 exhibitions i Will Die the Way i Lived exhibition of 15 paintings by antonio guerrero, one of the Cuban Five unjustly imprisoned in the United States. When: Feb Make an extra $500-$5,000 per month Get Certified with our training system ContaCt nathan Fears Certified Personal Trainer + Nutrition Coach healthcoach32@gmail.com Kazempour Oriental Rugs 154 Blake Road North, Edina-Hopkins kazempourusa.com Basic Wash special $1.50 per square foot cleaning * *minimum 200 sq. ft. (total). must be prepaid. Fears, Nathan SWJ H18_#2.indd 1 12/16/13 Kazempour 8:53 AM Oriental Rugs SWJ /9/13 VBC.indd 9:241 AM Minneapolis Public Schools pre-k-12 student school request cards are due: Feb. 28, 2014 To learn more, visit or call Student Placement Services at Exit Realty SWJ indd 1 10/4/13 2:10 PM