‘Cover Stories’ Archives
Meet Your Neighbor: Edric Knight
By LAURA HULSCHER Edric at an APA league tournament in 2022. Photo: James Henry I was tabling for the alley at the Phillips West Fall Festival when I met Edric, a retired financial analyst and resident at Ebenezer Tower Senior Apartments. As we discussed our interests and involvements, what stood out to me most was his gift for connecting people. It was through Edric that I first discovered the Phillips treasure that is the Ebenezer Tower resident community. A short interview can’t begin to cover all his organizing activities there (Sample Night at the Apollo talent show, anyone?), but it gave me the opportunity to learn more about him. Where did you grow up? How did you land in these parts?Edric: I grew up in Springfield Missouri, Queen City of the Ozarks, a few miles from Branson. Jobless and divorced in St. Louis, a high school friend persuaded me to come to Minneapolis in 1990. My first apartment was in Corcoran for a couple of years, then I moved to Powderhorn Park and [...]
“Our Growing Season is Here!”
By MICHELLE SHAW Here, one of the South High students is learning the proper way to plant a fruit tree at the May 18 Garden Party. Jim Embry will be the special guest at our Youth Juneteenth Celebration at the South High Food Forest. Photo: Minneapolis Edible Boulevards Are you interested in being part of a community that listens to what you and your neighbors have to say? Minneapolis Edible Boulevards is a small initiative, we create partnerships in both Green Zones and adjacent neighborhoods so that we can listen to the concerns of the community. As a part of our volunteer team, we are looking for folks who are willing to share their input, problem-solve, help us share our events more effectively, and identify the best ways to get community input. Perhaps that’s attending a bi-monthly or quarterly meeting. Perhaps it’s something else. We can’t do it without you. If you’re interested, please reach out to minneapolisedibleboulevards@gmail.com.This was our best year for [...]
Little Earth Celebrates Fifty Years
By BEN HEATH A view of Little Earth in the early 1980s, looking northwest across Cedar Avenue. A sign for the American Indian OIC is visible in the lower right corner. Source: Hennepin County Library Special Collections The residents of Little Earth are marking fifty years since the opening in 1973 of what is now the only Native-preference, Native-owned public housing development in the country. Covering over two square miles, Little Earth is a cornerstone of the Phillips neighborhood and an anchor of the Native community, with residents hailing from dozens of tribal nations. Its history is one of struggle, survivance, and accomplishment in the face of many challenges over the last half-century. Once the site of the old South High School, the project began after the establishment of the Minneapolis Housing and Redevelopment Authority in 1958 and was funded in part by the Federal Model Cities program in 1966. Construction of 212 living units (apartments and townhouses) began [...]
