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Bull sculptures by Peter Woytuk on the U of M ag campus - Bill Kelley
Bull sculptures by Peter Woytuk on the U of M ag campus - Bill Kelley | Show Photo

Coordination/Collaboration

Perhaps it's a legacy of pioneer days on a windy (and wintry) prairie, but Twin Citians seem to have a genius for working together. We're connectors and cooperators, a little bit suspicious of the extreme forms of individualism. Whether it's a business and cultural community that pulled together to being the lauded Guthrie Theater here nearly fifty years ago, or the many groups that are coordinating efforts to create an efficient but also socially equitable light-rail construction project, we tend to turn pride in our towns into cooperative efforts to make them better. This isn't to say we don't stand up for our neighborhoods (we're famous for it) and sometimes struggle to achieve a Minneapolis-AND-Saint-Paul perspective, but teamwork, not individual stardom, is our public-issue default setting.

Coordination/Collaboration Features

A Line or Two: Love is the Law in Minnesota

Governor Mark Dayton signed Minnesota's law legalizing gay marriage on a bright, clear day that broke temperature records. The theme of the outdoor signing ceremony was love, just as love had been a major theme of the campaign to get the law passed. Where else might we use this big word?

The May Day Parade: A Slide Show

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.

A Line or Two: Downstairs at Honey

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.

Coworking for Fashionistas: Two designers open "Showroom"

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.

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

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.
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