Featured Stories

A Line or Two: Carlyle Brown's Double Premiere

Jon Spayde Wednesday, February 29, 2012

In A Line or Two, I share some of my discoveries and enthusiasms as I make my way around the Twin Cities--call it an editor's-note-as-blog-entry. This week: Carlyle Brown's American Family opens at Saint Paul's Park Square Theatre in mid-March. It's the nationally acclaimed, locally based playwright's first attempt to explore the black experience through a white central character. And it will also mark Brown's first appearance onstage at Park Square.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, diversity

Downtown/Lowertown

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

Change we can believe in

Nathan Eklund Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Minneapolis educational consultant Nathan Eklund thinks we need to change how we think about change. In this post from his blog, he reminds us that desirable outcomes--a slimmer body, a more sustainable corporate culture, an economy that works for everyone--are usually the result of a lot of small changes, most of which are no fun at all.

Creative Leadership

A Line or Two: A Hypercreative Omaha Idea for Minneapolis/St. Paul

Jon Spayde Wednesday, February 22, 2012

In A Line or Two, I share some of my discoveries and enthusiasms as I make my way around the Twin Cities--call it an editor's-note-as-blog-entry. This week, a look at an innovative art-and-ideas center in Omaha that we just might want to emulate.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design

An "artist co-op" for urban farmers

Meleah Maynard Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The founders of Grow! Twin Cities are building a place where urban farmers can come, plant, share green wisdom, start businesses, and thrive together. And they're telling success stories.

Coordination/Collaboration, Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability

Videoline: The Muslim Experience in Minnesota

Islamic Resource Group of Minnesota Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Muslim Minnesotans range from immigrants to American-born men and women with Mideastern, African, or Asian ancestry to converts with a "Lake Wobegon" background. This film, produced by the Islamic Resource Group of Minnesota, puts very human and very recognizable faces on Minnesota's diverse and growing Muslim community.

Arts and Culture, diversity, Regionalism

A Line or Two: Five More from My Top-Ten List

Jon Spayde Wednesday, February 15, 2012

In A Line or Two, I share some of my discoveries and enthusiasms as I make my way around the Twin Cities--call it an editor's-note-as-blog-entry. This week: five more of my Top Ten Reasons to Visit (and Love) the Twin Cities. It's a list of offbeat but worthy places and happenings that you might miss if you only visit our big-ticket attractions.

Arts and Culture, Design

Union Park, Saint Anthony Park, Summit Hill and Crocus Hill, Warehouse/North Loop

"Our house is catching up with us"--a creative family's ever-evolving Saint Paul home

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, February 08, 2012

He's an architect in a hot firm who also builds model rockets and raises African desert tortoises. She's a psychologist. artist, and author. Their Merriam Park house is as vibrant and unconventional as they are. But getting it built required convincing the neighborhood that they weren't "the enemy."

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Design

Union Park

A Line or Two: Five from my top-ten list

Jon Spayde Wednesday, February 08, 2012

In A Line or Two, I share some of my discoveries and enthusiasms as I make my way around the Twin Cities--call it an editor's-note-as-blog-entry. This week: the first five of my Top Ten Reasons to Visit (and Love) the Twin Cities. It's a list of offbeat but worthy places and happenings that you might miss if you only visit our big-ticket attractions.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Design, Shopping

Phillips, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, Warehouse/North Loop

Verdict: The "Buy Local" Campaign Helped Central Corridor Businesses Stay Healthy

Dan Heilman Wednesday, February 01, 2012

An aggressive, and unconventional, marketing campaign to keep people coming to Central Corridor businesses during light rail construction in 2011 appears to have paid off in less business decline than expected--and a mood of cautious optimism about the future.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Design, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, Regionalism, Strong Local Economy, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

Midway, Downtown, Saint Anthony Park, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Summit - University

Revisiting the Central Corridor's Funky Treasures: A SLide Show

Bill Kelley, Jon Spayde Wednesday, February 01, 2012

In one magical zone in the Twin Cities, there's a loon made of junk, a chimney covered in shattered glass and ceramic shards, and a place to buy tarantulas. It's called the Central Corridor. Here's a second look at what photographer Bill Kelley and managing editor Jon Spayde picked out last year as they traveled down University Avenue and Washington Avenue, seeking out their favorite offbeat, oddball, one-of-a-kind things.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Creative Economy, Design, Transit Oriented Development, Transportation

University, Saint Anthony Park, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Summit - University

A Line or Two: Back to Filfillah

Jon Spayde Wednesday, February 01, 2012

In A Line or Two, I'll be sharing some of my discoveries as I make my way around the Twin Cities--an intriguing upcoming event, a great restaurant meal, a new art gallery, a conversation with a forward thinker, or a web site you should know about. Call it an editor's-note-as-blog-entry. (And I take the photos--Bill Kelley is guiltless.) This time: a return to the marvelous, and still undiscovered, restaurant Filfillah, where you get the lunch your mom made for you if you grew up in Ankara.

Arts and Culture, diversity, Entrepreneurship

The Bike Boom by the Numbers

Jay Walljasper Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Thanks to Bike Walk Twin Cities' intrepid bicycle and pedestrian observers, says urbanist Jay Walljasper, we now have a good idea just how big a deal two-wheeled transit is in our towns. And would you believe Minneapolis is in the top ten of walkable cities nationwide?

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Sustainability, Transportation

Winter? Schminter! Here's How to Keep on Biking

Jay Walljasper Wednesday, January 25, 2012

You can keep two-wheeling all winter long if you take a few simple precautions. Jay Walljasper, a veteran winter biker (and bike advocate) shows the way.

Sustainability, Transportation

Big Table's Big Ideas

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, January 18, 2012

It's a hip hybrid of retail poster shop, design studio, and coworking space where some of Saint Paul's most entrepreneurial artists gather around--yes!--a big table. And it's a bold move to help build up downtown, too.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Entrepreneurship

Downtown