Featured Stories

Don Mitchell, Seitu Jones and Chancee Martorell

A confab on Hennepin's future wraps up with a question: Who owns public space?

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, June 13, 2012

In the final Talk-It Hennepin forum on the redevelopment of Hennepin Avenue, experts touched on some touchy subjects, like the purpose of public space, who gets to use it and how, the role of memory in placemaking, and how to celebrate diversity without creating ethnic Disneylands.

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

Downtown

Grassroots and Groundwork: Escaping poverty by blending tech and tradition

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, June 13, 2012

At the Grassroots and Groundwork anti-poverty conference--held at Mystic Lake Casino, of all places--attendees heard about ingenious ways to build wealth in struggling communities by adapting old-school immigrant self-help tactics to the digital age.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, diversity, Philanthropy, Regionalism, Strong Local Economy

A Line or Two: Oh!-maha

Jon Spayde Wednesday, June 13, 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 city once synonymous with dullness has got its urban act together.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Design, Strong Local Economy

The Line is looking for a publisher

Jon Spayde Tuesday, June 12, 2012

We're in search of a well-connected, motivated, sales/development-skilled professional to be the new Publisher of The Line. Interested? Know someone who might be? Click here to find out more about the position.

The gorilla yogis: instant philanthropy on a mat

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, June 06, 2012

They show up in unlikely places around town--scores of yoga practitioners practicing their poses and tossing charitable contributions into a kitty. It's rogue yoga and grassroots philanthropy, and as it grows in popularity, the three women who started it want to keep it unpredictable.

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

A Line or Two: Remembering John Brinckerhoff Jackson, Landscape Scholar

Jon Spayde Wednesday, June 06, 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 rediscovery reconnects me with an unorthodox, original man whose elegant essays helped lay the groundwork for "placemaking."

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Design, Higher Education

In Praise of Bricks and Mortar

Bill Lindeke Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Geographer Bill Lindeke has an eye for the urban details that make the Twin Cities pleasurable and intriguing--and when those details have something to do with the walkable portions of our streets, they're likely to appear as images or words in his blog, Twin City Sidewalks. In this post, from last week, he highlights a Saint Paul store that embodies--and symbolizes--why, in an age of burgeoning online commerce, we will always need real places to buy things.

Creative Leadership, Shopping, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability

Highland Park

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

The Big Picture 12: Dessa of Doomtree

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 23, 2012

We check in with the literate, stylistically adventurous singer, rapper, writer, and Doomtree hip-hop collective member to get her take on the Twin Cities as a creative community and a nurturer of bold DIY music.

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

A Line or Two: The Walker Performs

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 23, 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 preview of what the Walker has in store for its stage.

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

Downtown

No Issue Next week

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Line will take a week off next week to celebrate Memorial Day and grill a few organic, grass-fed hot dogs. See you again on June 6.

Can "design thinking" create a community of innovators?

Karen Olson Wednesday, May 16, 2012

"Design Thinking" isn't just about planning an object and making an image of it. It's a process of innovation that emphasizes engagement with real human issues--and it's arrived at CoCo, the local coworking space, in an educational initiative aimed at helping tech entrepreneurs and other freelancers open their minds even wider.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Higher Education

Downtown, Downtown/Lowertown

Charles Landry in Minneapolis: From art in the city to the city as art form

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, May 16, 2012

In town to talk about the Central Corridor, Hennepin Avenue, and other local nodes of city planning, lauded urbanist Charles Landry called for an approach that integrates the cities' diverse cultures into a rich, essentially artistic, mix--and makes everyone feel appreciated and included.

Arts and Culture, Central Corridor, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Transit Oriented Development

Downtown

A Line or Two: A Soulful Almost-Saint-Paul Park

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 16, 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: Laurie and I explore a Ramsey County regional park that's very rural--and very urban.

diversity

Battle Creek

"Cheap laughs for tough times"

Julie Kendrick Wednesday, May 09, 2012

The masterminds behind an ambitious--and nonprofit--little Lyndale Avenue venue called HUGE are taking the Twin Cities improv comedy scene to a new level.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Nightlife

Uptown/Lyn Lake