Featured Stories

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

So Artists Can Celebrate Themselves: Artspace's Remarkable Work with Cultural Communities

Camille LeFevre Tuesday, August 09, 2016

Artspace enjoys a long history of working with culturally distinct groups in the development of affordable artist live/work housing and community spaces. From El Barrio in NY to Honolulu, HI, these projects allow artists to celebrate themselves.

Affordable Housing, Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Design, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, Regionalism, Reuse / Rebuild, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability, Talent Dividend

August Arts: A Few of Our Favorite Things

Camille LeFevre Tuesday, August 09, 2016

Not-to-miss Fringe shows, a neighborhood happy hour, beer and bikes…a few of our favorite things for August arts and culture.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Nightlife, Talent Dividend, Transit Oriented Development

University, Midway, Saint Anthony Park, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Calhoun - Isles, Downtown/Lowertown

Flower Plots and Food Forests: Community Gardens as Living Examples of Neighborhood Commitment

Loren Green Tuesday, July 26, 2016

The Bancroft Meridian Garden, founded in 1996 on a lot along 38th Street in South Minneapolis, began as a flower garden. But communities change. So do their gardens. Now it's a food forest for the neighborhood.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Design, Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs, Sustainability

Saint Anthony Park, Southwest

July Arts and Culture: Floating, Reading, Feasting and Exploration

Camille LeFevre Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Farm-fresh produce, handmade books on a floating library, historic walking tours along the Green Line and feasting locally are our top picks for July arts and culture in MSP.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, Shopping, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability, Transit Oriented Development

Midway, Saint Anthony Park, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Payne - Phalen, Powderhorn

Max Boeke (left) & Jordan Standish from Clutch

Microbrewing's Breakneck Growth Continues: 7 of the Coolest New Craft-Beer Concepts in MSP

Brian Martucci Tuesday, June 28, 2016

You don’t need a stats pack to accept the obvious: craft beer is big business in The North, particularly in MSP’s hottest neighborhoods. Here are seven new craft-beer concepts coming soon.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Entrepreneurship, Nightlife

Riverfront/Mill District, North Side, Downtown/Lowertown, Warehouse/North Loop, Northeast

June Arts and Culture: Food for the Mind, Body and Soul

Camille LeFevre Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Festivals galore during the month of June, just a few of them listed here. There's the big one--Northern Spark 2016--as well as smaller neighborhood gatherings and opportunities to make new friends over food and brews.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Nightlife, Philanthropy, Sustainability

Riverfront/Mill District, Downtown, North Side, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Downtown/Lowertown

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

Hmong American Farmers Association Cultivates Profits, Productivity, Community

Amy Goetzman Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Since they began farming in Vermillion Township in 2014, HAFA's members have introduced Minnesotan palates to new flavors, seen production and profits increase exponentially, and cultivated a greater sense of community.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs, Shopping, Sustainability

Spring Green: The Rose Sets A New National Sustainability Standard for Affordable Housing

Joel Hoekstra Tuesday, May 17, 2016

A recently completed affordable-housing complex in the South Quarter of Minneapolis is arguably the most healthy and sustainable in the U.S.

Affordable Housing, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Emerging Technologies, Energy, Sustainability

Lake Street

Mayor Chris Coleman (center) w Solomon Parham (left) and Spencer Christensen (right)

Sounds True: St. Paul Celebrates All Genres During Year of Music

Loren Green Tuesday, May 10, 2016

In declaring 2016 the Year of Music, the City of St. Paul showcases all of the music genres, schools, initiatives and venues thriving throughout the city as economic drivers and cultural amenities.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Nightlife

Greater East Side, Como Park, Macalester - Groveland, Midway, West Seventh, Downtown/Lowertown, Summit Hill and Crocus Hill, Summit - University

May Arts and Culture: MSP Makers

Camille LeFevre Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Makers—the artists, entrepreneurs, innovators (aren’t they all the same?) who brighten lives with their joy of creativity and aesthetic panache—highlight May’s selections. Art-A-Whirl, of course. But the MSP Maker Faire is big news, too.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Emerging Technologies, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship, Shopping

Como Park, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Nokomis, Northeast

MSP's Theater Community Then and Now: Building New Rooms in a House They Constructed

Peg Guilfoyle Tuesday, April 19, 2016

The second article in our two-part series about the diverse people and companies that helped build the Minneapolis-St. Paul theater community.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Nightlife, Philanthropy

Riverfront/Mill District, Macalester - Groveland, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, Lake Street, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Downtown/Lowertown, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown

Why St. Paul's Historic Heart is Home Base to These Four Businesses

Brian Martucci Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Lowertown boasts a growing roster of relocated and expanded businesses—some from the suburbs, others spun out of Lowertown’s COCO, and some born and bred in the district’s office lofts and storefronts.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Emerging Technologies, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship, Strong Local Economy, Transit Oriented Development

Downtown/Lowertown

Attendees at the American Craft Council Show

April Arts and Culture: Transformations

Camille LeFevre Tuesday, April 05, 2016

This month we include the nationally recognized American Crafts Council Show, a bonanza of handcrafted items; a tour of a transformed warehouse in the North Loop; an all-women record release and cultural revision; and a good way to celebrate Earth Month.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Reuse / Rebuild, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability

Midway, North Side, Downtown/Lowertown, Warehouse/North Loop