Featured Stories

Judy Gerdts and Becky Masterman of the Bee Squad atop the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Hive Minds: Urban Beekeeping in High Places

Meleah Maynard Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The rooftops of some prestigious locations are buzzing as local institutions hop aboard the global urban beekeeping bandwagon. The idea is to play a role in restoring declining bee populations, with the help of the U of M and some intrepid honey-oriented entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs, Life Sciences, Sustainability

University, Downtown, Powderhorn

The May Day Parade: A Slide Show

Bill Kelley Wednesday, May 08, 2013

The May Day Parade and Festival is our Mardi Gras--a heartfelt explosion of color, music, art, fun, and earth-friendliness after the weariness of long winters. Bill Kelley caught the parade action last Sunday in the Powderhorn neighborhood as Minneapolitans dressed up and rocked out to say goodbye to the cold.

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

Powderhorn

The Building Sustainable Communities Program: Art for Everybody's Neighborhood

Jay Walljasper Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Art lives in the Twin Cities--and not just in the tonier parts of town. Thanks to initiatives like Twin Cities LISC's Building Sustainable Communities program, art and artists are taking major roles in helping some of our most challenged inner-city communities thrive.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Philanthropy, Reuse / Rebuild, Talent Dividend, Transit Oriented Development

Phillips, North Side, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Powderhorn, Summit - University

Great Street Art: A Slide Show

Bill Kelley Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Managing Photographer Bill Kelley talked to some friends, checked in with some experts, and wandered the city a bit on his own to find the local street art that appealed to him the most. Herewith, his images of art meant to make you stop, look, have a startle reaction, and then continue on your way, energized.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Design, diversity

North Side, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Longfellow, Powderhorn, Northeast

Thinking big--and delicious--at 38th and Chicago

Anna Pratt Wednesday, February 29, 2012

A far-seeing developer and an innovative culinary artist are turning a hard-luck Minneapolis intersection around with present and future projects that are "artisan, local, sustainable."

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

Powderhorn

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

Bruce Corrie Talks with Jon Spayde - Bill Kelley

The Big Picture 9: Bruce Corrie on the power of "ethnic capital"

Jon Spayde Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Often, says Concordia University economist and biz-school dean Bruce Corrie, our minority and immigrant communities are seen solely through the "problem" lens. Their struggles are real, but their contributions to our prosperity and potential for growth are greater than most majority Minnesotans realize. And Corrie's got the figures to prove it.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Higher Education, Strong Local Economy, Talent Dividend

North End, Greater East Side, Dayton's Bluff, Central Avenue, Phillips, Midway, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, West Side, Lake Street, North Side, Seward, Thomas - Dale/Frogtown, Payne - Phalen, Powderhorn, Summit - University

Behind the Bicycle Boom

Jay Walljasper Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Most of us in the Twin Cities are aware that we've become a great town for bicycling in recent years, but urbanist and author Jay Walljasper--an avid biker for decades--has been digging into the trend to find out the what and the why behind it. In this adaptation of an article he wrote for Bikes Belong, he fills in the story and gives us some impressive facts about the sheer scale and promise of our new two-wheel era.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability, Transportation

Riverfront/Mill District, Phillips, University, Macalester - Groveland, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, Downtown, Lake Street, Southwest, North Side, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Seward, Nokomis, Longfellow, Calhoun - Isles, Powderhorn, Warehouse/North Loop, Northeast

Videoline: Celebrating the Midtown Greenway

Streetfilms Wednesday, October 19, 2011

To accompany Jay Walljasper's take on bike policy and bike culture in the Twin Cities, here's a video by Streetfilms that shows just how valuable one of the crown jewels in our bikeway system is--the Midtown Greenway, running more or less parallel to Lake Street from Chowen Avenue to the Mississippi River.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability, Transportation

Riverfront/Mill District, Phillips, University, Macalester - Groveland, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, Downtown, Lake Street, Southwest, North Side, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Seward, Nokomis, Longfellow, Calhoun - Isles, Powderhorn, Warehouse/North Loop, Northeast

As the snow melts, the metro area gets ready for its most bike-friendly spring yet

Elizabeth Millard Wednesday, March 30, 2011

In the past year or so, the Twin Cities have solidified their reputation as one of the bike-friendliest metropolitan areas in America. And we're not resting on our laurels. An expanded bike-share program, a brand-new online bike-rental business, new trails and connections, a new bike/coffee shop combo in the works, and more--they all point to a great spring for the human-powered-transport set.

Creative Leadership, Regionalism

North Side, Downtown, Phillips, Lake Street, Midway, Warehouse/North Loop, Powderhorn

Slide Show: There are odd things in the snow as art sleds take over Powderhorn Park

Bill Kelley Wednesday, February 02, 2011

On Sunday, January 30, the slopes of Powderhorn Park in South Minneapolis came alive with some very strange sleds indeed as the fourth annual Art Sled Rally slid, wobbled, and tumbled into history. Our own Bill Kelley was there to capture high points of this very out-of-the-ordinary winter afternoon.

Arts and Culture

Powderhorn

In bike-culture cafes, java meets pedal power--and art

Molly Priesmeyer Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Twin Cities' newest bike cafe, Angry Catfish Bicycles and Coffee, joins two predecessors, One on One Bicycle Studio and Cars R Coffins Coffee Bar/Cykel Garage in catering to the caffeination needs, and gear lust, of serious bike riders. These coffee house/bike shop/art gallery hybrids are celebrations of two-wheel culture in a town that's getting prouder and prouder of it.

Design, Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs, Strong Local Economy

Powderhorn, Warehouse/North Loop

Replacing the Replacements: Our music scene is still hot, and here's where to catch rising stars

Dan Heilman Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The palmy days of Prince, H�sker D�, the Replacements, and other iconic Twin Cities bands may have passed, but our music scene is just as vital, and a lot more diverse, today. Just as in the golden age, seeing and hearing the bands live is crucial to really getting to know the scene, so here is our list of definitive venues--from the legendary and cavernous former home base of the Purple One, First Avenue, to the beer-fragrant holes-in-the-wall where tomorrow's stars are plugging in their amps.

Arts and Culture

Downtown, Cedar - Riverside/West Bank, North Side, Midway, University, Powderhorn, Lake Street, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Southwest, Calhoun - Isles

The Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center wants to be a torch-bearer for neighborhood renewal

Jon Spayde Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Six friends who live near the struggling intersection of 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis wanted to see what they could do to revitalize their neighborhood. So, in the middle of an economic downturn and against most of the odds, they formed a nonprofit to create, of all things, an art center centered on fire. They worked hard and got lucky, and the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center is set to open in October with classes in welding, forge building, jewelry making, and blacksmithing. If their luck holds, the CAFAC will be also be a crucible for change in the 'hood.

Arts and Culture, Strong Local Economy

Powderhorn

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