Featured Stories

Rain as a Resource: St. Paul Innovates Shared, Sustainable Stormwater Management

Camille LeFevre Tuesday, December 06, 2016

The City of St. Paul and its partners are utilizing an innovative method of managing stormwater to restore natural water systems, incorporate green infrastructure into sustainable communities and improve the urban ecosystem.

Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Emerging Technology, Regionalism, Sustainability, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

Union Park, University, Macalester - Groveland, Midway, Saint Anthony Park, West Seventh, Highland Park, Downtown/Lowertown, Summit Hill and Crocus Hill, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Summit - University

Four Craft Coffee Roasters Building Buzz in MSP

Brian Martucci Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Who are the local players behind MSP’s craft coffee scene? These four local roasters are undeniably at the movement’s fore, sparking a revolution in how we talk about roasting and experience tasting.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Shopping, Sustainability

Midway, Saint Anthony Park, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Highland Park, Northeast

Fast and Frequent: New A Line Gets You Where You're Going Between Minnehaha and St. Paul

Brian Martucci Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Metro Transit's first aBRT, the A Line, provides fast, frequent, all-day service in one of the region’s busiest transportation corridors for MSP'ers.

Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Strong Local Economy, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

Como Park, University, Midway, Nokomis, Highland Park, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Summit - University

Make the Switch from Car to Bike Commute This Winter: Here's How

Brian Martucci Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Imagine a day in a bike commuter’s boots. How does he or she prepare before walking out the door? How do they stay comfortable behind Arctic fronts and snow curtains — even the dreaded polar vortex. Here's how.

Entrepreneurship, Shopping, Sustainability, Transportation

Forget Midwest. We Are North: Repositioning MSP's National Identity for the 21st Century

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, December 03, 2014

According to a recent panel discussion, we need to own our cold climate and our ingenuity in order to attract new talent, continue fueling the innovation at the heart of our economy, and create a new and authentic national identity. Shall we call ourselves the North?

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Regionalism, Strong Local Economy, Talent Dividend

Cycling in the Cities: Seven New Local Inventions for Bike Enthusiasts Here and Around the Globe

Brian Martucci Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The Twin Cities is a leader in bicycle use and a major innovator in bicycle design and technology. The seven inventions profiled here have, or will have, an impact on the local and global cycling industry. And the pace of innovation shows no sign of slowing down.

Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Emerging Technologies, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability, Transportation

Shawn Combs Walding, photo by Brian Martucci

Q+A: Shawn Combs Walding, MnDOT's Transit Advantages Coordinator

Brian Martucci Wednesday, October 15, 2014

We recently sat down with Shawn Combs Walding, MnDOT’s Transit Advantages Coordinator for the Twin Cities Metro District to discuss alternative transportation in the Twin Cities, what local entities can do to promote transit use, and how easy it really is to be car-free.

Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Sustainability, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

Turning a Modernist Classic Green in Highland Park

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, March 06, 2013

When Heather and Brent Fredrickson bought a modernist house in a historic Saint Paul neighborhood that was something of a midcentury architectural showcase, they had one big problem: an awkward bathroom. The remodel they did added a 21st-century environmental ethic to the whole home.

Arts and Culture, Design, Sustainability

Highland Park

In Praise of Bricks and Mortar

Bill Lindeke Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Geographer Bill Lindeke has an eye for the urban details that make the Twin Cities pleasurable and intriguing--and when those details have something to do with the walkable portions of our streets, they're likely to appear as images or words in his blog, Twin City Sidewalks. In this post, from last week, he highlights a Saint Paul store that embodies--and symbolizes--why, in an age of burgeoning online commerce, we will always need real places to buy things.

Creative Leadership, Shopping, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability

Highland Park

Gordon Bellaver, co-owner of Bull Run Roasting Co

Serious Java: The Twin Cities' new generation of artisan coffee shops

Elizabeth Millard Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A handful of local coffee shops are redefining the coffee experience as an art form. From sourcing to roasting, grinding to "latte art," their watchword is quality. If you're looking for quick joe to grab and go, you may need to adjust your expectations upward.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Entrepreneurship, Strong Local Economy

Phillips, Union Park, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Longfellow, Highland Park, Calhoun - Isles, Powderhorn

The Big Picture 6: Peter Musty on our neighborhoods and ourselves

Jon Spayde Wednesday, July 20, 2011

For urban designer Peter Musty, who's collaborating on plans for the Loring neighborhood in Minneapolis and the Ford site in St, Paul, walkable, transit-focused neighborhoods are non-negotiable. We need them for our health and prosperity--and to help our culture calm down.

Affordable Housing, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Design, Regionalism, Reuse / Rebuild, Strong Local Economy, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

Riverfront/Mill District, Downtown, Longfellow, Highland Park, Downtown/Lowertown, Northeast

The natural-pet-foods movement is growing, and Woody's is its Twin Cites headquarters

Meleah Maynard Wednesday, March 09, 2011

We love our pets, and we're coming to realize that over-processed foods are no better for them than they are for us. Hence the natural-pet-food movement, and new businesses like Enrique and Michelle Palma's Woody's Pet Food Deli, where "human-grade" pet food is for sale. For the Palmas and their customers, feeding pets better isn't sentiment or anthropomorphism--it's good science and good sense.

Entrepreneurship, Life Sciences

Highland Park, Southwest

EcoDeep and ICON Solar: Two elegant experimental houses that are about as green as you can get

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, January 05, 2011

While many of us do our best to retrofit our houses to be more sustainable--adding insulation, putting in low-flow toilets, installing a solar panel on the roof--some Twin Cities architects and designers are going all-the-way green with rehabs and new house designs that are radically--and even experimentally--devoted to environmental responsibility. Two of the most prominent locally are the EcoDEEP Haus in Saint Paul, an environmentally concerned architect's refitting of his own house, and the University of Minnesota's ICON Solar House, the result of the input of some 150 design students. And these sensible, responsible houses also happen to be way cool to look at and live in.

Design, Green Jobs

University, Highland Park

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