Buzz

Bicycle Times: 'The surprising rise of Minneapolis as a top bike town'

Bicycle Times Wednesday, April 11, 2012

In a Bicycle Times story titled “The surprising rise of Minneapolis as a top bike town,” local writer Jay Walljasper describes the city’s affinity for bicycling.

Minneapolis' goal is to make biking an even bigger part of the transportation system, he states.

Mayor R.T. Rybak is quoted in the story, saying to a group of out-of-towners, “Biking has become a huge part of what we are,” adding, “It’s an economical way to get around town, and many times it’s the fastest. I frequently take a bike from city hall across downtown to meetings.”

Jeff Stephens, the executive director of the Columbus advocacy organization Consider Biking, also visited the city. “It was exciting to see what they’ve accomplished in Minneapolis, which is a city that seems a lot like Columbus.”

Livability.com puts Minneapolis music scene in second place

Livability.com Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Livability.com recently put together a list of the top ten music cities in the country, excluding Nashville, New York City and Los Angeles. Minneapolis wound up in second place.

Athens, Georgia, topped the list.

First Avenue in Minneapolis’s Warehouse District is an important music venue, according to Livability.com.

“Most remember it from the Prince movie Purple Rain,” and the building’s decorative stars make up a who’s-who of artists who have played there, it states. The wall includes such big names as U2, B.B. King, Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco and many more, notes the article.

Also, the nearby Fine Line has drawn artists such as John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, The Black Keys, Lady Gaga, Ben Harper, and Buddy Guy over the past two decades.

Urban farming changes in Minneapolis highlighted by MPR

Minnesota Public Radio Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Growing fresh food in Minneapolis and selling those veggies will become easier, thanks to recent amendments to the city's zoning code.

Minneapolis already allows community gardens, and has rules that allow residents to keep chickens, but there has been a contentious debate over proposed changes to market gardens. Some members of the City Council weren't particularly supportive of measures to expand urban farming in the city, but the amendments ended up passing anyway.

A story from Minnesota Public Radio reports that Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak--a longtime supporter of urban farming proposals--signed the changes into law at the Dowling Community Garden at Dowling Urban Environmental School.

Twin Cities a top choice for newlyweds

Rent.com Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Property rental search site Rent.com has named the top metropolitan areas that are "wonderful places to create a fun and affordable lifestyle" for newly married couples.

Although the list was not ranked, Minneapolis made the top 10, joining cities like Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, and Austin.

Rent.com chose the areas based on availability of rental inventory, cost of living, annual average wages, and unemployment rates. Six of the top 10 cities are in the South, two are in the Midwest, and two are in the West. No metro areas in the Northeast made the list.

NYTimes highlights Minnesota's new museum month

New York Times Wednesday, April 04, 2012

The New York Times recently featured Minnesota's statewide “museum month,” which is coming up in May.

It’s the first celebration of the sort to spring up nationally, according to the newspaper.

Several local museum administrators came up with the idea, the story states.

“The rich history of Minnesota’s museums invites such a focus,” says the Times, citing the 1849 founding of the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul.

The Walker Art Center’s chief of operations, Phillip Bahar, is quoted saying, “There are stories that we each try to tell individually, whenever a special exhibition is happening,” but “What we want to do is tell the stories that we don’t have the opportunity to tell very often, about the broader community of museums across the state.”

'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' spotlights Pizzeria Lola

Diners. Drive-Ins, and Dives Wednesday, April 04, 2012

An episode of the Food Network TV show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” this week spotlights Pizzeria Lola, a popular pizza joint in Southwest Minneapolis.

Pizzeria Lola, which features wood-fired artisan pizzas, is known for a creative menu that includes everything from a Korean barbecue-style pizza to the “Sunnyside” pizza, which is topped with an egg.

The neighborhood eatery is a favorite of chef and TV/radio personality Andrew Zimmern, according to a summary on the show’s website.

Another part of the episode takes viewers to a destination diner in Georgetown, Texas, with actor Matthew McConaughey.

NPR highlights St. Paul family's homeownership story

National Public Radio Wednesday, March 28, 2012

National Public Radio (NPR) recently ran a story about how low-income Americans are finding paths to home ownership, despite financial disincentives. As an example of a family that's benefiting from owning their home, NPR highlighted the story of the Rhodeses, a couple living in St. Paul with their three children.

"Our main goal of owning a home is a place that we can really call our own--a place that we feel safe and secure," noted Tamika Rhodes in the story. "Just a place where we can be free."

The news program continued by detailing how the family bought a home with a subprime mortgage just a few years before and lost it to foreclosure. But through intensive credit repair, they were able to buy their home in St. Paul.

Minneapolis least stressful city nationwide, study notes

Sperling's BestPlaces Wednesday, March 28, 2012

If you're feeling relaxed, chances are that you're in Minneapolis.

The city was ranked as the least stressful in a study done by Sperling's BestPlaces, a research firm specializing in livability rankings.

The firm recently released its study of cities that are the most and the least stressful, compiled by looking at factors associated with stress, including divorce, crime, long commutes, suicide, and joblessness.

Tampa earned the most stressful rating, followed closely by other Florida cities: Miami, Jacksonville, and Orlando. Las Vegas, Detroit, and Sacramento also landed in the top 10 for stress.

For least stressful, Minneapolis was joined in the top rankings by San Jose, Pittsburgh, Virginia Beach, Dallas, and Cleveland.

Huffington Post gives Minneapolis top marks for bike-friendliness

Huffington Post Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Huffington Post includes the Twin Cities in its recent list of top 10 places for bicycling.

It recognized cities of over 100,000 residents that “feature an abundance of great rental shops, municipal bike racks, exciting trails, and dedicated bike lanes,” the story states.

“The Twin Cities' emergence as a bike-friendly superstar coincided with a general plan to make the area more livable,” according to the story.

In Minneapolis, the Nice Ride bike-sharing program has seen plenty of use, while bike-friendly events are abundant.

Last year the city “added 37 miles of bikeways, installed hundreds of bike-specific street signs, and created a citywide bike map," says HuffPo.

Minneapolis among top 10 U.S. cities making a population comeback

Forbes Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Minneapolis is among the top 10 U.S. cities to make a comeback in population terms after the recession, according to Forbes.

The magazine used IRS data to draw its conclusions.

It looked for “counties that were losing population in 2005 but that were either gaining in 2010 or losing far fewer people,” the story states. “Every city on this list saw more people move in 2010 than in 2005, so we aren’t merely recognizing cities that have already lost all of their mobile population.”

Demographer William Frey says in the story that places such as Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Washington, D.C., have a strong group of people he calls “windfall stayers” or those “who otherwise would have moved out either to their own suburbs, or to more economically vibrant places,” plus others making a return move to the city.

In Minneapolis, “inbound migration has grown, attracted to a region whose diverse economy has kept unemployment low throughout the recession, and to a vibrant city center.”

St. Paul named best in the U.S. for health care

Commonwealth Fund Wednesday, March 21, 2012

St. Paul came in at number one on a national ranking of health care systems, particularly when it came to dental visits, low breast cancer fatalities, and heart care treatment.

Reported by the Commonwealth Fund in its first-ever scorecard on the quality of health care, St. Paul beat out other Minnesota communities on the list like Rochester (no. 3), Minneapolis (no. 4) and St. Cloud (no. 7).

The report looked at performance in 306 communities nationally, and found that health care access, cost, quality, and outcomes can vary greatly from one community to the next, even within the same state.

The executive summary noted: "The findings show that local health system performance is linked across all dimensions. Better access to care [is] associated with higher quality and better outcomes."

Minnesota companies set a record for exports

DEED Wednesday, March 21, 2012

According to figures released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the state's companies set a fourth-quarter export record. In that time period, $5.1 billion worth of manufactured, agricultural, and mining products were shipped out of state.

DEED Commissioner Mark Phillips noted that strong markets in Asia and North America are driving the growth, and the Minnesota Trade Office is seeing increased interest from state companies in exporting strategies.

The largest export market was Canada, which bought nearly $1.5 billion worth of products during the quarter. Other major customers included China, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and Singapore.

In terms of products, machinery was the top export, followed by optical and medical products, vehicles, plastic, meat, food waste, and aircraft.

St. Paul boasts safest drivers, according to study

Men's Health Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A recent Men’s Health study finds that St. Paul drivers are among the safest across the country.

The magazine analyzed accident rates in 100 of the country’s biggest cities, tallying up fatal and nonfatal crashes along with how many of those involved speeding, alcohol, or a hit and run. Numbers for seatbelt use and cell phone law observance also came up.

St. Paul is the sole city to get an A+ safety grade. Lincoln, Nebraska, follows with an A-. Next in line are Boston, Buffalo, and Reno. At the bottom of the list is St. Louis.

Minneapolis received a B-.

Pop Matters: Minneapolis is one of the stars in "Stuck Between Stations"

Pop Matters Wednesday, March 21, 2012

In a review of the film's release on DVD, Pop Matters points out that Minneapolis is one of the stars in “Stuck Between Stations,” which stars Josh Hartnett.

The couple upon whom the film centers “may or may not love each other, but they clearly love their city,” it says.

Minneapolis becomes a character in the movie, and its “signature characteristics are on display: its art, its architecture, even its bicycling culture,” while local bands are also featured.

The author also praises the film’s cinematography, which shows “visually stunning” views of the area.

Director of photography Bo Hakala, who lives in Minneapolis, demonstrates his “love for his home city and its visual appeal manifests itself gloriously on screen.”

Indiana newspaper highlights University of Minnesota "meat lab" program

The Republic Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Republic, a newspaper out of Columbus, Indiana, recently reported on the University of Minnesota's meat lab, which teaches students to harvest, cut, package, and sell locally raised meat.

"It's part animal science, part age-old craft," the article noted. Founded in 1901, the meat lab was the first program of its kind in the nation.

Faculty adviser Dr. Ryan Cox added that the all-around butcher doesn't seem to exist anymore, and the meat lab's intent is to give students that more traditional view of the meat industry.

One student stated that thanks to the program he knows all the steps in the process, from raising a newborn calf all the way to selling the meat in a store. He says, "It just gives you a better idea where that meat is going and how it's used."