‘Community Journalism’ Archives
Lake Street The Great Street
By BOBBIE ERICHSEN Caption: Neighbors documenting their memories and experiences at a Lake Street Community Archive Pop-Up event at the Midtown Farmers’ Market on June 28. Invitation If you love East Lake Street — live near, work there, or feel connected —please, add your stories to a collection of memories. Incentive I’ve lived near the Lake Street Corridor most of my adult life; knowing it as a street, state highway, blocks of businesses, and a place of stories, contradictions, resilience, and creativity; significantly, centuries ago a walking trail of Indigenous Founders and animals between the Mississippi River and Bde Maka Ska, at the end of West Lake Street. Events five years, decades, and centuries ago inspired the creation of an additional way to hold its stories. That’s how the idea of East Lake Community Archive began. Community Ownership Community members dreamed and realized transformative projects before: Midtown Greenway from [...]
Be Glad For the B Line
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON The Metro Transit bus service changes on 14 June 2025 were a real boon to the Phillips neighborhood, as I can guess many alley readers already know. The centerpiece of transit improvements, the B Line, replaced the infamous Route 21. Going 20 percent faster and without the time-consuming jog through Midway Shopping Center on the way to Saint Paul, this modern version of Selby-Lake goodness will make life easier for a lot of us. Other bus routes that were improved at the same time: Route 2 (Franklin Ave) now runs every 10 minutes during the day and every half hour at night.Route 11 now runs every 15 minutes during the day, even on Sunday, and every half hour at night. All trips now go as far north as Columbia Heights.Route 27, which was suspended for COVID, came back to parts of the 26th/28th Street one-way pair, providing a less congested alternative to Lake Street for people in the residential areas nearby.People going to downtown Saint Paul can [...]
Part 4: Consequences of War on Russian-Speaking Community
By A RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY MEMBER War brings destruction, loss of loved ones, and cultural conflicts between people who were once like one family. In the context of the ongoing war, the internal experiences of Russian-speaking immigrants have become more acute. These people are stuck between cultures, facing feelings of guilt, fear, and isolation.I interviewed Russian and Ukrainian immigrants to explore how their lives have changed since the war began. The main focus of the interview is on the consequences of the conflict in an emotional, social and cultural sense. Including internal conflict of identity, attitudes toward the dynamics of the society in which we live at the moment, and how people cope with the complexities of war. To protect the identities of the individuals I interviewed, I have chosen not to use their full names, ensuring their privacy while sharing their experiences. K left Ukraine before the war began, L is a Russian immigrant who came to the U.S. after [...]
