Featured Stories

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

Midway Stadium Umpire Jeremy Barbe with Justin Bieboar

Celebrating the Cities' other ballpark: A slide show

Bill Kelley Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Midway Stadium doesn't have enough showers for two teams, it's not fully handicap-accessible, and the outfield is actually sinking a little bit each year. Little wonder that the Saint Paul Saints want to build a brand-new stadium in Lowertown. But the old park is still a fine performance venue for a club that pioneered oddball baseball.

Creative Leadership

Midway, Downtown/Lowertown

My View: Solving Minnesota's problems means getting everybody at the table

Tristan Pollock Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The budget debate and state government shutdown have underlined Minnesota's needs and the difficulties of meeting them. Tristan Pollock, a young social entrepreneur and writer, visits the Engaged Philanthropy Conference and suggests what the philanthropic community needs to do in these tough days.

Creative Leadership, diversity, Philanthropy

Paula Westmoreland at the Cornerstone rooftop farm

Greening up: Rooftop farms and gardens flourish in the cities

Elizabeth Millard Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Prairie grasses swaying ten stories above the street? Zucchini harvested on a warehouse roof? It's happening in the Twin Cities, as more urban gardens sprout on top of buildings, giving city dwellers a garden experience and restaurants a down-the-block source of fresh produce.

Editor's Note: Welcome Elizabeth Millard

Jon Spayde Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The Line welcomes another versatile, widely experienced Twin Cities journalist to its news staff with this issue: Elizabeth Millard.

Revisiting Robb Burnham's Twin Cities: A WACSO Slide Show

Meleah Maynard Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Here's a second look at artist-adman Robb Burnham's images of our towns, which we first ran in June: a flute player silhouetted against a towering Gold Medal sign. The orange-lit back door of the Poodle Club. A turreted Saint Paul house with one room illuminated as night comes on. Burnham's drawings capture in a subtle way the soul of our towns.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy

Symphonies are playing a new tune to lure younger audiences

Don Lee Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The classical-music audience is graying, and the executives of the League of American Orchestras, who met here in early June, are nervously sharing ways to reverse the trend. Can Facebook, DJ dance nights, and Ben Folds save Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms?

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

Editor's Note: No Issue Next Week

Jon Spayde Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Line will take a break next week to relax and watch fireworks in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It, and we, will be back with fresh stories and even fresher photos on July 13.

Lighting up the night with Northern Spark

Tristan Pollock Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Hobbled by a broken ankle but determined to see as much glow-in-the-dark art as he could, our reporter plunged into the dusk-to-dawn art extravaganza called Northern Spark on the night of June 4. He saw luminescent plankton, 1,600 light-bulb pixels, and a wall of perfectly legal virtual graffiti.

Arts and Culture

Downtown, Downtown/Lowertown, Riverfront/Mill District, University

Smith Avenue looks to the future

Susan Klemond Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Smith Avenue between the High Bridge and Dodd Road is very Saint Paul: comfortable houses alternate with an eclectic mix of independent businesses with loads of local character. A plan's afoot to turn this under-the-radar neighborhood into a full-fledged retail destination--without letting it lose its soul.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Strong Local Economy

West Side

The Big Picture 5: Kim Bartmann on the Twin Cities' foodie future

Jon Spayde Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A hunger for authenticity as well as for good food--that's what's driving the renaissance of the small neighborhood restaurant here, according to star restaurateur Kim Bartmann. And for Bartmann, authenticity goes a lot deeper than you might think.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership

Southwest, Uptown/Lyn Lake

VideoLine: Making the green economy inclusive

greenforall.org Wednesday, June 15, 2011

"Environmental justice is the new civil rights movement," says a young woman in this video, created by the organization Green for All. The video, posted last month, highlights a number of green jobs efforts in the Twin Cities that marry sustainability and social justice.

Affordable Housing, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Green Jobs

Going ROWE: The Twin-Cities-based workplace revolution marches on

Jeremy Stratton Wednesday, June 08, 2011

When Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson got the idea of persuading businesses to give their employees a new kind of freedom--work where and when you like, as long as you get the job done--they hoped the idea would spread around the country and the world. That seems to be happening.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership

Downtown

Art at play at Art-a-Whirl: A Slide Show

Bill Kelley Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Every summer Northeast Minneapolis struts its artistic stuff at Art-a-Whirl, which bills itself as the largest open-studio and gallery tour in the country, and which highlights the rapid growth of this fine old residential neighborhood into a magnet for artists, gallerists, and edgy restaurateurs. Bill Kelley's images capture the visual--and musical--richness.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Design

Northeast

Big Picture 4: Dan Grigsby on why we don't need to be Silicon Prairie

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 25, 2011

For many observers, our high-tech sector is in crisis. There aren't enough angel investors and we've lost our edge. Dan Grigsby, one of the most successful software entrepreneurs in Minnesota, doesn't buy it. In a conversation with The Line, he explains why we don't need to be Silicon Prairie, create the next Facebook, or even worry about venture capital.

Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship, Healthcare, Strong Local Economy