Featured Stories

Garages For Art's Sake

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, June 05, 2013

For artist/gallerist Pete Driessen and the theater artists of Off-Leash Area, turning their garages into art spaces provided opportunities for innovation, experimentation, and freedom, very close to home. And the neighbors don't mind a bit.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Design, Entrepreneurship, Reuse / Rebuild

Southwest, Longfellow

Mike Smieja and We Can Grow: Building Urban Gardens, Helping Urban Gardeners Thrive

Elizabeth Millard Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The onetime marketing professional made a career u-turn when he discovered how gardening--and cooking and eating healthy produce right from the soil--could change lives. Now his nonprofit startup helps inner-city newcomers to gardening make healthy foods part of their lives.

Creative Economy, diversity, Entrepreneurship, Green Jobs, Sustainability

Travis Peebles and James Rychak of Blazing Saddle Cycle--photo by Bob Perkoski

The Two-Wheel Entrepreneurs: Bike culture spawns businesses nationwide

Lee Chilcote Wednesday, May 22, 2013

While the Twin Cities duke it out with Portland over which metropolis sets the gold standard of bike culture, other cities--some of them unlikely--are becoming serious players in the boom. Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, DC, and Tampa are among the places where ingenious entrepreneurs are "riding" the new bike culture,

Creative Economy, Entrepreneurship, Strong Local Economy, Transportation

A Line or Two: Minneapolis' Creative Economy by the Numbers

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 22, 2013

It came into my mailbox the other day--Minneapolis' first-ever study of the impact of the creative sector on the city's bottom line, in terms of sales and employment. There were points of pride, surprises, and caveats, along with ample proof that the arts pull more than their weight in bringing prosperity to the city.

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

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

Katherine Loflin, Tane Danger, and Susan Brower

A Line or Two: Downstairs at Honey

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Monday night I joined urbanist Katherine Loflin, The Line publisher Dena Alspach, colleagues from the Citizens' League, an old magazine-biz pal, and a lively audience for some informal urbanism: an improv comedian emceeing a discussion about why people love/don't love the Twin Cities--and why they stay or go. Craft beer and Asian appetizers were in the mix.

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

Downtown

Coworking for Fashionistas: Two designers open "Showroom"

Anna Pratt Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Jen Chilstrom and Kimberly Jurek have just opened (May 1) a new kind of fashion boutique. The Showroom is a combination retail shop/workshop/coworking space where local designers can come, work, exhibit, share ideas, and grow creatively.

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

Lake Street, Uptown/Lyn Lake, Longfellow

The Big Picture: Laura Zabel on Art's New Roles in the Community

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 01, 2013

The nonprofit Springboard for the Arts used to concentrate solely on career development for artists. Now, under the leadership of Laura Zabel, it's become a powerful force in redefining the whole relationship between artists and the communities they live in--and in marshaling artistic creativity to improve those communities.

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

Downtown/Lowertown

A Line or Two: A Weeklong Placemaking Confab with Katherine Loflin

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Monday, May 6, The Line and its civic partners kick off a weeklong Placemaking Residency with urbanist and placemaker Katherine Loflin, who knows why we love (or don't love) our cities.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Reuse / Rebuild, Strong Local Economy

A Line or Two: Urbanist Katherine Loflin Coming to town to talk placemaking and "talent magnetism"

Jon Spayde Wednesday, April 24, 2013

She was the key consultant on the Knight Foundation/Gallup Soul of the Community project, which looked at why people love where they live and how that attachment can drive economic development. The in-demand placemaker is the star attraction at a weeklong series of discussions next week, cosponsored by The Line.

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

The Rise of the Rest: Tech Hubs Bloom Far from Silicon Valley

Eric Peterson Wednesday, April 17, 2013

From Greenville, North Carolina to Baltimore, from Tampa to Denver to Cleveland to the Twin Cities, tech savvy, entrepreneurship, and investment are coming together to create bright clusters of digital innovation.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship, High Technology, Strong Local Economy

Nick Rosener and Jackie Menne cowork in Joule's Atrium conference room

Joule: The Little Coworking Space that Could

Holly Dolezalek Wednesday, April 10, 2013

While the dynamic CoCo garners the headlines, a quiet coworking space at the edge of downtown Minneapolis welcomes solo entrepreneurs in search of a more serene scene. Owner Jackie Menne understands the needs of one-person, payroll-less microbusinesses--after all, Joule is a microbusiness itself.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship

Downtown

Honeybee Mobile Market: A Farmers Market on Wheels

Elizabeth Millard Wednesday, April 10, 2013

What if, instead of you going to a farmers market, the market came to you? That's the vision of an entrepreneurial couple who want to create a fleet of truck-drawn trailers full of food from local farms. They're calling on Kickstarter for help and betting that the market for fresh, local food can only, well, grow.

Creative Economy, Entrepreneurship, Strong Local Economy, Sustainability

Maryam Yusufzadeh, David Harris, Nirmala Rajasekar

A Line or Two: Embracing the Beloved

Jon Spayde Wednesday, April 10, 2013

This week: Three of the Twin Cities most accomplished master-musicians represent three great cultural and spiritual traditions in a concert that spans centuries and civilizations.

Arts and Culture, Creative Economy, Higher Education

At the U of M, a confab for designers who want to change the world

Camille LeFevre Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Consolidating its position as a laboratory for cutting-edge design thinking, the University of Minnesota's College of Design hosted the first Public Interest Design Week. Its climax was an awards show that displayed ingenious design-driven solutions to the dilemmas of poverty and ill health in America and around the world.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, diversity, Emerging Technology, Higher Education, Philanthropy, Sustainability

University