News | Midway Como Frogtown Monitor

Monitor in a Minute January 2022

New use eyed for longtime schoolThe St. Paul City School is preparing to move its operations out of historic Frogtown Catholic schools and into a new building at University Avenue and Marion Street. … more

By JANE McCLURE | 1/11/22

Dr. Buffy Smith, interim dean of Dougherty Family College, see herself in the experiences of the students there. She was the first person in her family to attend college. (Photo submitted)

Dougherty Family College offers students a great start

A two-year college through the University of St. Thomas is tailored to motivated, underrepresented students who have encountered barriers in pursuing a college degree.Founded in 2017, the Dougherty … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 1/11/22

Students encourage others to get involved with Youth Vote program

Every month the League of Women Voters St. Paul (LWVSP) hosts a program in the series “Our St. Paul: Learn with the League.” The Nov. 30, 2021 Zoom/Facebook Live program featured Como … more

1/11/22

A Frogtown homeowner and her new tree, planted by one of the “Tree Frogs” last year.

Five (easy) ways to go green (and save some green) in 2022

By Patricia Ohmans, Frogtown Green The news about climate change tends to focus on the economic impact of wildfires, floods and devastating droughts around the world. It’s hard to feel like … more

By Patricia Ohmans, Frogtown Green | 1/11/22

As we enter into a new year

“These days, a premium is being placed on whether White kids might feel bad about their own heritage after learning about things like American genocide, slavery or internment. But no one asks … more

By Melvin Giles peacebubbles@q.com | 1/11/22

Relief coming for businesses hurt in 2020 civil unrest

Many months after civil unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic upended St. Paul retail districts, more relief is on the way. Whether it will still benefit businesses damaged or destroyed in 2020 remains to … more

By Jane McClure | 1/11/22

Public comments prompt change to proposed religious use ordinance

New regulations for religious uses in St. Paul look very different than they did a few months ago when they provoked outcry throughout the city. Adoption of the new regulations will clarify and … more

By Jane McClure | 1/11/22

Como kindness shows in Thanksgiving meals drive

In November, District 10 Como Community Council invited community donations to once again support their Thanksgiving meals drive. Over $2,200 was donated by the Como community! Your generosity made … more

1/11/22

Como students from the Marine Corps JROTC and the Cougar girls basketball program served the community at a Toys for Tots drive last month. (Photo by Sgt. Major James Kirkland)

Students gear up for spring sports and musical

Spring musical The spring musical at Como will be an adaptation of the Disney film “High School Musical.” Performances are scheduled to run on March 18 and 19 in the Como Park Auditorium. … more

By Eric Erickson Social studies teacher | 1/11/22

2021 Celebration of nonprofits

Representatives from the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation were part of the Nonprofit Expo on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at Hamline University. The 2021 Celebration of Nonprofits organized by the Midway Area … more

1/11/22

PLAN IT January 2022

‘Slow show’ on Lake Como Dancer/choreographer Dimitri Chamblas’ Slow Show is a 20-minute collective dance whose visible repercussions are minute, precise, and concentrated. In this … more

1/11/22

BRIEFLY January 2022

MatasCastillo elected ChairThe Ramsey County Board of Commissioners elected Trista MatasCastillo as Chair of the Board for 2022. Since 2019, Commissioner MatasCastillo has represented Ramsey County … more

1/11/22

Lyngblomsten launches Memory Collective

Lyngblomsten, a senior care organization serving older adults in the Twin Cities since 1906, is launching a new educational enrichment class called the Memory Collective for adults living at home and … more

1/11/22

Mekonnen Dori (left) and Hari Pal (right) are longtime employees of Our Lady of Peace Hospice. Both have continued to work fulltime past the usual retirement age. Pondering his own eventual retirement, Mekonnen said, “I don’t know, maybe if Hari retires, then it will be time.” (Photo by Margie O’Loughlin)

NO DESIRE TO RETIRE

Mekonnen Dori was an elementary school teacher for 25 years in his home country of Ethiopia. An opponent of the military-led communist government there, he spent two years in an Ethiopian jail for … more

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN | 12/11/21

Jackson Elementary’s 268 students will be split up.

Galtier, Jackson schools to close

After 111 years in the Midway, Galtier Elementary will close its doors at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. So will Jackson Elementary, a Frogtown mainstay since 1880, and three other schools on … more

By JANE McCLURE | 12/11/21

Women march to honor their sisters whose lives have been lost while struggling with prostitution. (Photo submitted)

SHE BROKE FREE

She has been through it all. The isolation, the grooming and the manipulation, offers of fancy clothing, cars, and a place to live that led her down the path to prostitution. But Flora Whitfield … more

By Jan Willms | 12/11/21

Kids with special needs and COVID-19

The impact of COVID-19 on children with special needs and their parents is immense. Jerrod Brown, a Concordia professor who is the program director for the Master of Arts degree in human services … more

By Jan Willms | 12/11/21

Street work slows in St. Paul

In 1986, Ronald Reagan was president. Six astronauts and teacher Christa McAuliffe were killed when the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after launch. Halley’s Comet visited … more

By JANE McCLURE | 12/11/21

Did Minneapolis mislead, downplay public input on 38th & Chicago survey?

Since late 2020 Mayor Jacob Frey has made known his intent to reopen the intersection at 38th St. E and Chicago Ave. S. When interim design surveys were returned in spring 2021, he and city leaders … more

By Jill Boogren | 12/11/21

Jennie Leenay, GFS community member and caretaker of The People’s Closet, with their pup Joyoncé. It's important to Leenay that fashion reaches everyday people, and that people feel connected to themselves and their community. (Photo by Jill Boogren)

The People's Closet makes fashion, political statement

Sometimes a revolutionary act is quiet, unseen. Sometimes it’s loud and worn on a shirtsleeve. At The People’s Closet at George Floyd Square, it’s a little bit of both.Born out of … more

By Jill Boogren | 12/11/21