Featured Stories

Chris Coleman's Saint Paul: A City with a Scene

Jon Spayde Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Saint Paul's music-loving mayor wants a city with a scene--a dynamic downtown with the special energy that only art and music provide. Last Thursday he shared some successes, some hopes, and some rock-concert memories with The Line.

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

Downtown/Lowertown

The Audacity of the Talent Dividend

Amy Kuras Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Talent Dividend Prize is a $1 million award being offered by the Kresge Foundation, CEOs for Cities, and the Lumina Foundation for Education--to be awarded to the city that shows the greatest number of post-secondary degrees awarded per one thousand residents over a four-year period. The Twin Cities (plus Bloomington) are in the running, along with 56 other cities. What's the prize all about, and why now? Read on.

Higher Education, Talent Dividend

A Line or Two: The Secret Art Library

Jon Spayde Wednesday, August 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: Midway Contemporary Art's library, a genuine hidden treasure.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Design

University

A Two-Week Break

Jon Spayde Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Line will take two weeks off to relax and renew, hit the State Fair (we'll be in the Merchandise Mart building listening to the guy sell those miracle chamois), and do something Lineish for Labor Day. We'll be back on September 12. Enjoy the last lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.

The Big Picture: Dane Smith and Maureen Ramirez on justice, jobs, and education

Jon Spayde Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The president and the research/policy director of the local think tank Growth and Justice are "business-oriented progressives." In the face of dogma to the contrary, they dare to assert that there's an unbreakable link between economic fairness and economic growth. And they're bringing that spirit to the most compelling economic issue of all: jobs.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Higher Education, Philanthropy, Strong Local Economy, Talent Dividend

Saint Anthony Park

Minnesota Fringe 2012: A Slide Show

Bill Kelley Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Our yearly onstage carnival of the odd, the eloquent, the poignant, and the perverse is over for 2012. Bill Kelley was in the audience at the Rarig Center and Intermedia Arts to record six of the 163 shows that took the Fringe stages between August 2 and 12. From a raucous burlesque version of a classic TV sketch to Chinese dance to a surreal Dust Bowl fable, here are images of performance at its edgiest.

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

University, Calhoun - Isles

A Line or Two: Serbia? Santa Rosa? Saint Paul!

Jon Spayde Wednesday, August 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: Irvine Avenue, Saint Paul's street of mystery.

Arts and Culture

Summit Hill and Crocus Hill

After-School Specials: Innovative Programs Engage Kids Before They Go Home

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, August 08, 2012

With a new school year approaching, we take a look at three unique programs that show how Minnesota has become a "thought leader" in developing--and funding--positive alternatives for youth.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Green Jobs, Philanthropy, Talent Dividend

University, North Side, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown

A Line or Two: Of Cold Ramen and Rice Balls

Jon Spayde Wednesday, August 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: a lunchtime celebration of local Japanese food.

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

Riverfront/Mill District, University, Lake Street, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Downtown/Lowertown, Summit Hill and Crocus Hill, Warehouse/North Loop

The Green Lane Project: Making Cities Safer for Bikes

Jay Walljasper Wednesday, August 08, 2012

It's a different "greening" of the urban landscape: highly visible bike lanes, often protected from other traffic. Is it the next step in making America a leader in 21st-century transportation?

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Sustainability

The Green and Global Signmakers

Michelle Bruch Wednesday, August 01, 2012

As new export niches open up, Minnesota companies are selling some unconventional products overseas. Case in point: an inventive, environmentally aware North Minneapolis outfit that creates ADA-compliant interior signage for public buildings--and markets it in China, Brazil, and the Middle East.

Creative Leadership, Design, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship

North Side

Nate Eklund asks: Where are the great-workplace rankings for our schools?

Nate Eklund Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Minneapolis-based educational consultant Nate Eklund sheds some fresh light on our public-education challenges by suggesting that if we make schools great places to work, they stand a better chance of becoming great places to learn.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership

A Line or Two: Dena Alspach Comes Aboard

Jon Spayde Wednesday, August 01, 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 hearty welcome to our new publisher, Dena Alspach--a digital futurist with a vision of where publishing is headed.

Wanted: More Minnesota-Made Movies

Michelle Bruch Wednesday, July 25, 2012

How are Minnesota and the Twin Cities doing as film production centers and locations? There have been some major disappointments recently, but new moves give us reason to hope we can lure Hollywood back.

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

Rondo Days Grand Parade and Festival: A Slide Show

Bill Kelley Wednesday, July 25, 2012

It's Saint Paul's--and Minnesota's--biggest celebration of African American life, commemorating the Rondo neighborhood, which was largely bulldozed away to make room for Interstate 94 in the 1960s. This year, lensman Bill Kelley followed all the festivities.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, diversity, Entrepreneurship

Summit - University