Midway Como Frogtown Monitor

Monitor in a Minute November 2021

Parks funding wins OKGrants and donations for improvements to area parks and trails won St. Paul City Council in October.The council received $22,693 from the Ramsey County Soil and Water … more

By JANE McCLURE | 11/12/21

Development Roundup November 2021

Keystone project moves aheadKeystone Community Services’ planned new and expand food shelf facilities took a step ahead Oct. 20 as the St. Paul City Council approved an allocation of $902,255 … more

By JANE McCLURE | 11/12/21

B Line plan moves ahead

B Line bus rapid transit service is to start in 2024, providing a faster connection between St. Paul’s Union Depot and Uptown Minneapolis. The $65 million project’s final corridor and … more

By JANE McCLURE | 11/12/21

Bikeway extension?

Extending the Midtown Greenway into St. Paul could generate $3 billion in economic development, according to a recent study, and the supporters say the route will help fight climate change.Midtown … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 10/17/21

“It’s okay for professionals to say they are not doing okay and get therapy or join a support group,” says Jerrod Brown, a professor at Concordia University. The university has started a program for an online graduate certificate in trauma, resilience and self-care strategies. (Photo submitted)

Helping professionals need help, too

Coping with the ups and downs of everyday life can be challenging in the best of times. But add COVID-19 to the mix, and those challenges can increase greatly.Jerrod Brown, a professor at Concordia … more

By Jan Willms | 10/17/21

Briefs October 2021

Lyngblomsten expandsLyngblomsten, a Minnesota senior services organization, will begin preparing a 20-acre site in mid-October 2021 for a senior living campus in Lino Lakes. This is a significant … more

10/17/21

St. Paul Mayor Race

Melvin Carter, incumbent1) Priorities:Saint Paul today is larger, more diverse and more prominent than ever. As our community reinvents itself, so too must we be prepared to reinvent the services, … more

9/16/21

“I’m a mother of five grown children. At the heart of my job is taking care of our children. When I step into my role as a principal, I am very aware that each of these students is someone’s child,” said Central High School principal Christine Vang. (Photo submitted)

Central High School’s principal focuses on closing opportunity gap

In the summer of 2020, Christine Vang was selected as the new principal of Central High School – the first Hmong-American ever to fill that position. What ensued was a year like no other, with … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 9/16/21

Assistant principal focuses on building authentic relationships

When the 2,000+ students of St. Paul Central High School returned on Sept. 8, 2021, dozens of staff members lined the front steps to welcome them back. The freshmen class was brand new to the … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 9/16/21

Butterfly release honors loved ones

The staff of Our Lady of Peace Hospice (OLP) released 200 Monarch butterflies in the courtyard of Our Lady of Peace on Thursday, Aug. 26 in memory of the lives of those who have passed in our care. … more

9/16/21

Industrial buildings converting to schools, housing, mixed-use

Preserving St. Paul’s remaining industrially zoned properties is the focus of a study launched in August by the St. Paul Planning Commission. The study could have major impacts on the West … more

By JANE McCLURE | 9/16/21

Funded: Food shelf, Victoria Theater and childcare center conversion

The planned new Keystone Community Services food shelf, Victoria Theater renovations and conversion of the Work It co-working space into a child care center are among the local projects approved in … more

By JANE McCLURE | 9/16/21

Comment on proposed Ramsey County budget

Ramsey County Manager Ryan O’Connor proposed to the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners a biennial budget of $772.8 million for 2022 and $781.9 million for 2023 on Tuesday, Aug. 24, … more

9/10/21

Alan Berks (left) and Leah Cooper (right) are co-artistic directors of Wonderlust Productions, located in Frogtown. Their 2016 play about the experience of adoption has been adapted into graphic novel form. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)

In my Heart: the Adoption Story Project

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLINSeven years ago, Wonderlust Productions co-artistic directors Alan Berks of Merriam Park and Leah Cooper began inviting people from the adoption community to share their … more

8/12/21

SPPS may require masks

Superintendent Joe Gothard was expected to introduce a resolution requiring masks for all children ages two and older, staff and visitors at the Committee of the Board meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 10, to … more

8/12/21

Louie Moore has been president of the Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Minnesota for 22 years. He is a tireless advocate for cycling: promoting the sport in communities of color, and improving biking conditions across the city for all. Club rides meet at his home near 48th Street and Columbus Avenue in South Minneapolis. Moore was the first Black person to buy a home on his block, and has lived there for 57 years. (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)

Major Taylor Bicycling Club promotes cycling geared towards African American riders

The Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Minnesota has been bringing diversity to Twin Cities cycling since it started in 1999. Co-founded by Louie Moore and Walter Griffin, the nonprofit … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 8/12/21

Mississippi Market staff with food donations. (Photo submitted)

BRIEFS August 2021

Mississippi Market increases food donations, food justice effortsMississippi Market has launched a new food donation program to help meet the increase in hunger the community is facing, which is … more

8/12/21

PLAN IT August 2021

Como Relays Aug. 18 & 25Every Wednesday in August Run Minnesota is hosting Como Park Relays at the intersection of Horton Ave. and Lexington Pkwy. Kids race (race 1/4 mile or 1/2 mile) start at … more

8/12/21

St. Paul wrestles with rental ordinance, rent control

Rent control on ballot?The fate of a proposed November ballot question on rent stabilization or rent control is now in the hands of Ramsey County elections officials. Members of the Housing Equity … more

By JANE McCLURE St. Paul’s S.A.F.E. ordinance and its tenant protections were repealed on a 4-3 city council vote June 23. Council members have said they’ll start work immediately on a new tenants’ protection ordinance. That doesn’t mollify some h | 7/23/21

{ Monitor in a Minute }

Reparations committee formedThe St. Paul City Council June 16 appointed its Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee.In January, the city Council issued an apology for its role in institutional … more

By JANE McCLURE | 7/23/21