Frederick Melo, Reporter/Axolotl
@FrederickMelo
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St. Paul Pioneer Press (@pioneerpress) Urban Life/City Hall/transit/fun eats. Swear at me=blocked! My comics: https://t.co/2ENPysvORs
St. Paul, Minneapolis
Joined September 2008
If the three office-to-residential conversions are successful, they would add 600 high-end residential units -- about 1,200 people -- within two blocks of each other near downtown Rice Park and St. Peter/Wabasha Street. Downtown St. Paul will never be the same.
Carl Kaeding is adding 174 high-end apartments to Stella, a former Ecolab tower on Wabasha, including 6 two-story penthouses. Chris Sherman is 2 months from moving first residents into Landmark Tower on St. Peter. Rich Pakonen wants same at Hamm Building.
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Is there a polite way to tell a coffee shop clerk/owner “I and probably others would work remotely from your fine establishment if the music was lower, but I can’t hear myself think, let alone do phone interviews and Zoom calls here”?.
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BRENDMOEN: St. Paul got rid of youth basketball fees. They now have 1,237 youth signed up, a 35% increase in registrations. McDonough Rec Center, which hasn't had a basketball team since 2017, now has multiple. Battle Creek has 11 teams.
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Linda Tirado, the photographer shot in the eye by police while covering the Minneapolis riots has entered hospice care and is not expected to survive:
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Protest continues outside of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman’s home.
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Organizer: “We are not satisfied until these four men are in prison!” Crowd at Hennepin County Government Center: “All four! All four!”
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Not sure if this is meant as compliment or criticism but "He's not a lawyer! He was a school teacher!" may be the best selling point I've heard so far.
@yashar Walz graduated "Chadron State College" & "Minn State U, Mankato", has no law degree, never passed the bar, and was a substitute teacher before politics. Shapiro attended U of Rochester, earned his law degree from Georgetown, passed the bar and went straight into government.
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Wait — did the DFL just take the state House, the Senate and the governor’s seat? Does this mean what I think it means… flying electric cars for everyone?!!!.
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Former Gov. Arne Carlson just called U of M President Joan Gabel every possible negative thing you can say on public radio without getting bleeped. He called out the Regents too. And CFO Myron Franz. (My dashboard is dusty. Get over it)
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Dear employers, both public and private, across the Midwest: If you don’t provide an essential daily service, and I mean truly essential, why are you open Wednesday? Groceries are closing. Even the mail won’t go through. Second question: Why not let your employees work from home?.
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St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter just skydived Into Harriet Island Regional Park to announce the return of a Red Bull extreme sport event (no, not Crashed Ice)
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When I started covering the St. Paul City Council, there was one council member of color (Melvin Carter) and one woman (Kathy Lantry). Times change:
Youngest, most diverse, all female St. Paul City Council is sworn in today. Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we take on the following committee assignments: Port Authority, Nelsie Yang and Cheniqua Johnson. HRA, Noecker as chair, Johnson vice chair. Water…
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@adamobviously … then spaces like this will close. Remote work is largely what will keep these downtown coffee shops alive. There’s a real shortage of alternative foot traffic. This ain’t San Francisco (which also has a downtown problem, or so I hear)…
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St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter asks City Council to forgive $2.5 million in “late fee” debt — unblocking 51,000 accounts. You’re locked out of the library due to unpaid fines? Welcome back. Late fees could end completely in 2019. “We are unlocking the doors to this library.”
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NEW THREAD: Unauthorized, no-holds-barred account of a passenger trip from St. Paul to beautiful downtown Red Wing, Minnesota on a new route — the #Borealis. Narrow car, no middle seat. Feels a bit classic. Old skool railfans will enjoy. Elite/biz class will have feelings…
Heading to the Wisconsin Dells? Milwaukee? Chicago? There’s an affordable, daily noon-time passenger train for that. All-aboard the brand new Amtrak Borealis, now boarding at the downtown St. Paul Union Depot: Leaves at 11:50 a.m. You want to come with?.
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“Almost everything Texas police initially said about the Uvalde shooting was false”
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Not too shabby, Minneapolis, you frightening urban wasteland you…
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@matthewjdowd I take no sides on these wide-ranging political plans for college debt forgiveness, but as one semi-old man addressing another, pretending we are in the same shoes as today’s (or tomorrow’s) students is just silly. What did housing cost you 40 years ago, sir? And healthcare?.
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Leigh Finke, the first out trans person elected to the Minnesota state legislature, just won state Rep seat for 66-A. Seen here with Robin and Kim at Black Hart. Won with 81% of the vote!
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Casket carried to the horse and carriage with shouts of "We love you Phil!" "Your life matters." #PhilandoCastile
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St. Paul Mayor Carter's wife just had a baby. MPLS Mayor Frey's wife is pregnant. And her doctor is. Mayor Carter's wife. Frey on conference call with U.S. Sen. Klobuchar: "Our doctor is Sakeena Futrell-Carter. It's Melvin's wife.".
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Today at the St. Paul Midway Target I can honestly say there was 110 percent mask compliance except for an older lady covered in face paint yelling “Axl Rose! Guns ‘N Roses! Ozzy Osborne! Def Leppard!” while running from security. I thanked ‘em for their service. True story.
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I'm a freedom of speech guy, always have been, but this protest in Hamline-Midway needs to end. It's been like a week and these turkeys have no respect for private property or drivers or cyclists or pedestrians. And they have no discernible demands! It's just gobble gobble gob.
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The first St. Paul City Council meeting of the year paused momentarily to recognize the bubble cannon.
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Modesty is an important Minnesota virtue but guess what I’M NOT FROM HERE
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St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter has been clearing large trash, from couches to washing machines, out of the basement of the troubled Lowry Apartments across from City Hall since this morning.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and the Department of Safety and Inspections have been clearing out truckloads of large trash from the Lowry Apartments basement since 8 a.m. All the coin drops in these washing machines were pried open.
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Gay/soccer bar hosts free brake light repair clinic organized by Democratic Socialists to reduce police traffic stops of people of color… Did I miss anything in that synopsis?
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She’s buying home after home in Duluth and tearing them down. And if anyone puts that in the paper, she may sue. Don’t even Tweet about it! Say nothing…!
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An injured Golden Retriever came into Coco’s Heart Dog Rescue of Somerset, Wis. a while back very, very pregnant. Her pups had some business in downtown St. Paul today. They could be in your arms next week…
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St. Paul City Council Member owes more than $1,200 in unpaid parking, speeding, expired plate tickets dating to 2021, and filed for office using an address at which she doesn’t actually live.
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KSTP: Minnesota’s state 911 manager moved to Virginia Beach. Trust me, I get remote work, but shouldn’t government employees who handle sensitive public-facing services also use those services? Libraries, trains, and now 911… A disconnect, so to speak.
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Midway St. Paul is so quiet right now one guy crossing the street at Lexington Parkway is the most exciting thing I’ve seen. I interviewed a store owner, drove up Snelling, Pierce Butler, Avon, Dale, University and now I’m back at same store because it’s that boring. Hallelujah!
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Y’all are celebrating this? I don’t even like cold weather and this is cause for alarm…
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If you give poor parents $500 per month, no strings attached, will they quit their jobs, party hard and freeload (XXX GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS)? Actually, unemployment went down, not up, in St. Paul's 18-month guaranteed income experiment: #StPaul.
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St. Paul mayor and three council members author a requirement that would require you to store your guns securely and separately from your ammunition. #stpaul.
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That's a pic. .
It’s law: @GovTimWalz signed the universal school meals bill this afternoon. It will provide free breakfast and lunch to Minnesota students at no charge. The state will become the fourth in the country to do so. 📸 by @benjovland.
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Taking a wife’s friend through a walking tour of blighted urban hell. I pray we don’t get carjacked, catalytic convertered or vivisected by demons. Pray for us…
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Tire kept losing pressure. Yup, they found a nail. It’s checked, plugged and patched. Cost: $0. Not sure how Discount Tire makes money but I’m very glad I live right by them. They’ll also check and fill your air for free on a drive-in basis, no other service purchase required.
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17 employees of Minneapolis City Coordinator’s office just sent a 21-page letter to Mayor Frey claiming toxic work environment. Some of it boils down to “let us work remote/hybrid” but testimonials from Black employees go deeper. High turnover among coordinators for severalyears.
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Melvin Carter III is the next mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota
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The 11-story Lowry Building at 345 Wabasha St. in downtown St. Paul is in foreclosure and headed to sheriff’s sale next week (Aug. 22). Nobody notified the tenants, despite state law requiring so. State Rep. Maria Isa Perez-Vega isn’t having it:
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Unpopular opinion: Mowing a perfectly-kept lawn and flooding it with fertilizer and pesticide is one of many boomer things that needs to stop. Try doing nothing for a month. Start with #NoMowMay. Story by @mollyguthrey
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Heading to the Wisconsin Dells? Milwaukee? Chicago? There’s an affordable, daily noon-time passenger train for that. All-aboard the brand new Amtrak Borealis, now boarding at the downtown St. Paul Union Depot: Leaves at 11:50 a.m. You want to come with?.
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In St. Paul’s Midway, the notorious BP gas station at University and Hamline Avenue in St. Paul has been closed for weeks, but Sherburne Avenue residents have found a new use for it: a pop-up hand sanitizer, diaper and grocery station. Take what you need, drop off what you can.
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LIFE ADVICE: Have kids late so when you turn 47 you’re just getting started. Find the best Ethiopian restaurant around and order a Bedele beer. If you, like I, lack a middle name, call yerself “Tibs” after the meal. Head to Bole +turn 47 in style! Happy bday to me, mama cluckers!
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I would do this. Would you. ?.
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It’s been a swell few months, sort of, not really, and my employer’s ownership has seen fit to mandate me four unpaid furlough weeks effective now, staggered through the end of July, so I won’t be seeing you in a reporting capacity until June 15, and then off and on. Bye 👋 Bye!.
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New to the metro: Inpatient mental health beds for kids as young as six years old. Let’s do this…
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The new draft of the St. Paul Bike Plan prioritizes off-street, separated bike lanes, level with the sidewalk, that protect cyclists with curbs and parking. The goal is for St. Paul to add 140 miles of bike lanes by 2040. Hearing on Friday. What say you?
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The former mayor of Watson, Minn. once drove a tractor into a church, shot a gun near a bar to scare away the “corpses,” broke into another mayor’s home and is now threatening folks at the U of M. Please vet your candidates. “How’d he ever get elected?” It was you, it was you…
U of M Twin Cities: **THREAT TO TWIN CITIES CAMPUS** Public Safety has received a specific threat to shoot persons on the TC campus from Joseph Mark Rongstad DOB 3/13/1982. (1/3).
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End car is clean/drama-free today, but center car’s nutty. This guy’s lighting up, that guy cut me in line for a haircut. Overhead announcement “You in white jacket, quit it!” would be low-hanging fruit, no arrest required. @MetroTransit says it has cameras. Why not use ‘em?
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St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter tells St. Paul Republicans in Caucus room "I'm your mayor too. When it snows, the snow plows know no party." Chair says "in 20 years of doing this that's a first."
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Madison police officer has tough words on Yanez/Philando Castile case
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With a boost from St. Paul’s federal pandemic relief dollars, Listening House drop-in day shelter has been hiring workers for 4- and 5-hour cleaning shifts beautifying downtown from Arcade St. to the State Capitol. Today, it’s shoveling curbs by bus stops.
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The 300 Snelling Avenue Starbucks by Macalester College goes on strike today from 7-10 am, as does another Starbucks in St. Anthony.
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Maybe too laid back. A woman just got on, pulled down her pants and peed all over this seat…
The 8:50 a.m. train eastbound to downtown St. Paul from Hamline Station is the most laid back train around.
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Fun fact: In the 1980s, Mancini's Char House provided free rent to a community health clinic. A door from the clinic opened into the bar. Nick Mancini wrapped steaks and potatoes in tin foil and left it out for the homeless at night. At his funeral, they closed W7th for a parade.
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@toreyvanoot Can I vote no on some of these? Also, F2102 and F2103 definitely copied off each other.
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Why does Eden Prairie get nice things? Why doesn’t St. Paul get nice things? Fight me.
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Is this really how one would get from Mendota Heights to downtown St. Paul without a car? Asking for an intern… For real. As a displaced Bostonian who didn’t own a car before age 23 or so, this makes my soul hurt…
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Students at Hamline University occupied Old Main, the central administration building, last Friday and stayed into Saturday night, seeking reassurances Hamline would tally and make public its investments in companies associated with the Israeli war on Gaza.
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“Too often, we are looked at as the front line.” No, says Dr. Charles Braun. The public is the front line, “and the front line is failing us.”
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Worst parking job in the city bar none. Prove me wrong…
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It’s always interesting to meet Unit No. 001… The proto-type for a new generation of portable solar generators/batteries, powerful enough to light up a small neighborhood and fully renewable. Zero emissions. Zero noise. Working like a warrior. Made in downtown St. Paul.
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Floyd Aunts Mahalia Jones and Angela Harrelson are here to hear the sentencing of #DerekChauvin
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I’m 99 percent positive you’re not allowed to erect a home-made no parking sign in front of your house. St. Paulinos have a strange relationship with property they don’t actually own. Visit another major city. This is not how that works. #NiceTry
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Three pigeons flying around Midway Target in St. Paul like this is Jurassic Park and I’m Jeff Goldblum. Every now and then they swoop and down together and it’s very graceful. For a pigeon frat…
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There’s a “secret” 18th floor to St. Paul City Hall/Ramsey County Courthouse where the county law library 📚 sits ringed by large windows and I no longer owe $3 in print fees. I do owe it a “Wow!!! Merry 🎄!!”
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BEHOLD THE LOON: 35 feet high. Almost 90 feet across. Coming to the corner of Snelling and University avenues in 2024 and staying forever. A @PioneerPress exclusive look at the bird — and the real estate coming in around it: #stpaul #mnufc #AllianzField.
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The Feds released a rail plan this week that creates 4 “pillar” routes out of Chicago, with the Twin Cities being the largest — 24 trips per day! The pillars connect to regional transit routes across the country… Thoughts?:
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BOOM! The downtown St. Paul Union Depot tree is lit!!!
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Milan Dennie opened a barbershop on University Avenue that does an annual free back-to-school haircut day today. And free backpacks. And he started a youth chess club. And this summer he started a youth-run Polish sausage truck. And today a free bounce house.
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The Sun reports that the horrific attack took place in “Shakopee, Minneapolis” which is really Shakopee but let’s just call it Minneapolis. Cities, man. That’s where all the terrible stuff happens. (Even though it’s actually Shakopee.)
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Two Scoops Ice Cream on Selby Avenue has the right idea…
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In light of passenger demand, Metro Transit has had a change of heart about its limited NYE schedule. The last Green Line trains will in fact roll out from either downtown at 12:30 a.m.: You complained, they listened.
Good news for New Year's Eve🍾revelers! Metro Transit's free💸after 6 p.m. Sunday, including return trip on Northstar commuter rail from Vikings-Packers game. Here's the rub: the last Green+Blue line trains roll out from either downtown before 11:30 p.m.
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If you see someone who needs a warm spot to sleep tonight, call 651-266-1035 and a shuttle will pick them up. No joke. Ramsey County, Salvation Army, Central Baptist Church and others are stepping up…
It is cold.
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Me: I need a kid-friendly burger joint with outdoor seating, social distancing, hand sanitizer, servers wear masks, and wrap down every other urinal and bathroom stall. The @StPaulSaints: Open for lunch, seven days a week.
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Pro-tip: Before you run for office, move to the district. It helps avoid these situations….
Judge sides with residency challenge against DFLer Curtis Johnson in MN House 40B race. If it stands, House Republicans will have a 67-66 majority over DFL, though likely temporary. 40B is a safe DFL seat. Also, you can't pass bills w/o 68 seats so it would be majority "lite."
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Youngest, most diverse, all female St. Paul City Council is sworn in today. Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we take on the following committee assignments: Port Authority, Nelsie Yang and Cheniqua Johnson. HRA, Noecker as chair, Johnson vice chair. Water…
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The St. Paul Sunnies are born! Until now, most StP kids haven’t been exposed to competitive swim meets until high school. That changed 5 minutes ago as Sunnies finished inaugural season with internal meet at Jimmy Lee Rec on Lexington Parkway. Signed,Highly Biased St. Paul Poppa
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I got a call at 8 a.m. this morning I’d been dreading. Pioneer Press columnist Ruben Rosario, a titan of journalism, dies at 70. A worthy obituary written by @MaryEDivine.
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George Latimer, the city’s longest serving mayor, died early Sunday morning at his Episcopal Homes residence on University Ave in #StPaul. Latimer, known for his outgoing demeanor, oversaw a period of downtown reinvestment after the “white flight” era of
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Someone I’m married to just raised $1,000+ for the J.J. Hill Montessori School on Selby Avenue cooking and selling nearly 800 egg rolls in one sitting. Just watching it all unfold aged me. Controlled chaos. I never want to see another spreadsheet with the words “pork or veggie.”
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Governor’s orders aren’t fair, says St. Paul barbershop owner and consummate community volunteer Milan Dennie, who presented state licensing boards with a social distancing and has yet to hear back. Liquor stores but not barbers? So he’s open and here’s how, why: “We starving.”
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It’s taken me 42 years to find a hobby that brings true inner joy. Thank you 🙏 Mother Nature for teaching me how to defeat you and #FreeTheFireHydrants!
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Nekima Levy-Pounds: "how many times have we seen a white person w/knIves, w/guns, and they point it at police and they walk away (alive)?".
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“I’m a business owner, but before everything I’m a father too,” said Afro Deli chef/owner, speaking in support of “green” take-out containers.
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We need to talk about the Lowry Apartments…
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My name is St. Paul Pioneer Press St. Paul City Hall Bureau Chief/Reporter Frederick Melo and you will refer to me as such, even in text messages. Or “the dude abides.” Maybe “Capitan El Gran Axolotl.” English teacher used to call me Derf, or Fred backwards. That’s Ok not great….
Got a scolding from Council *Vice President* Aisha Chughtai for calling her Council Member and I — just want to know what’s going on with the labor standards board proposal
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July 5, 2014. Married my first and only wife. Technically our second wedding (Hmong wedding was June 14, 2014 when the light rail rolled…) First kiss at a gay bar. Anniversary kiss at a gay bar. Fuck yeah!
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There’s a nonprofit popcorn shop in Highland Park that specializes in hiring the disabled. That’s all I’ve got.
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Government Center Minneapolis has an even more locked-down feel than the last time I was here. Some pics:
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@mitchpberg @independentMN1 Saintly City. Former Creator’s Cup. Perfect spot. 7th+Wacouta. They could use your business. No background noise. The only way these places will survive is if remote workers leave their tired boring houses and spend their money, and if the coffee houses embrace that. Said with ❤️
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