Briefs July 2021

Artist to exhibit at Hallberg Center
St. Paul artist Suyao Tian will have a solo exhibit on July 22 at the Hallberg Center for Arts (5521 East Viking Blvd., Wyoming). The opening reception from 4-8 pm. The title of the show is “Internal Nomad.” Tian has a double BFA degree in fine art and music education, and MFA in design from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Painting is her own language to connect to the world, and her way to find and connect the similarities in our soul that we all share.
She creates a unique style of watercolor painting, mainly using watercolor medium while also using mixed media with different pen marks to define the details of each painting to give the audience layers and depth of the painting. Her creative process is to extract the fragments of memory and separate, reorganize and integrate them. This process is her communication with them, and a process of self-release and expression. These peculiar images often appear in her memory, dreams and subconscious imaginations, so she uses abstraction to catch a moment, feeling, and unclear form when they appear in her mind.
“I create a peaceful and safe space that invites all people’s mind to wander and explore but is not an overtly symbolic object to suggest the direction,” said Suyao Tian.

Como Zoo welcomes baby Kudu
Como Zoo has welcomed a female lesser kudu calf, born overnight on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. The birth is the result of a recommendation from the Lesser Kudu Species Survival Plan (SSP), coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). SSPs provide breeding recommendations to maximize genetic diversity, with the goal of ensuring the long-term survival of the AZA population and the health of individual animals. Como Zoo is an accredited institution of the AZA.
The calf was born to five-year-old Fjorda and sired by seven-year-old Bond. She is the third offspring for Fjorda.

D10 Como Park seeking candidates for special election in July
The District 10 Board is holding a special election at the July 20 board meeting. They are seeking candidates to fill vacant seats of Vice-Chair and Sub-District 1 (West of Hamline and north of the BNSF Tracks). For information on becoming a candidate and voting in the special election, visit the D10 website: http://district10comopark.org/.

Sara Hollie named Director of Public Health
Sara Hollie has been appointed Director of Saint Paul - Ramsey County Public Health. She has served as Racial and Health Equity Administrator for the county’s Health and Wellness Service Team since April 2019. Hollie’s 17-year career in state and local government, and at the community health services level as a public health practitioner and community advocate, spans work in maternal and child health, health policy, chronic and infectious disease prevention, health promotion, health equity, community, and family health. She begins work as Public Health Director on July 26, 2021.

Road work this summer
Road projects have been starting up for the season across Ramsey County. In February, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved nearly $30 million in road construction and maintenance projects for the 2021 season. Public Works will resurface about six miles of county roads in 2021; most resurfacing projects will begin later this summer.
The city of Roseville is replacing the water main on Cleveland Avenue between County Road C2 and County Road D.
Xcel Energy is continuing its Northeast Metro Natural Gas Project this summer. Construction began in May, and this year’s work is focused on County Road B between Lexington Avenue and Rice Street in Maplewood, Little Canada and Roseville. There will be lane closures and shifts on County Road B throughout construction.
Dale Street reconstruction resumed June 14. This year’s work will focus on the third and final phase of the project – reconstructing Dale Street between Iglehart and Concordia avenues.Beginning Monday, Dale Street will be closed between Iglehart and Concordia avenues. A signed detour will be in place using Lexington Parkway and University and Selby avenues. The project is expected to be fully complete by August 2021.
On June 7, a sinkhole due to a failing culvert developed on Larpenteur Avenue in Saint Paul and Maplewood near the railroad crossing east of Rice Street. Repairs involve two water mains.