‘Cover Stories’ Archives
MayDay is Evolving!
This year’s festivities set for Sunday, May 4th A South Minneapolis Mayday celebration began in 1974, initiated and shepherded by the group that became In the Heart of the Beast Theatre (HOBT); it evolved into an annual event with broad community participation. For nearly 50 years, HOBT invited and led planning and workshops; raised monies (always subsidized highly from Theatre coffers) produced and choreographed the Mayday Parade, the Tree of Life Ceremony, and the Festival in Powderhorn Park. In April 2023, HOBT announced that it would no longer produce Mayday, and “released it” to the Community. Now, in 2025, there is no single organization producing Mayday; the Parade is built by decentralized community groups hosting puppet-making workshops and the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts is sponsoring an artistic cohort and workshops to create the Tree of Life Ceremony. Festivities in Powderhorn Park following the Parade will be quite different than in [...]
Dakota Canoe Carved from One Tree at MAIC on Franklin Ave.
Laura Hulscher Laura Hulscher Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi On March 10 at the Minneapolis American Indian Center a 19th century style Dakota dugout canoe was stretched into its final form using water boiled with with fire-baked rocks. The single piece vessel was carved from a 7000 pound cottonwood tree removed by City Workers in St. Paul. So far, more than 250 Native community members have participated in the collective canoe building project, which began in February and is being organized by Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi and the Great Lakes Lifeways Institute.
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF COMMUNITY NEWS IN PHILLIPS!
Vol. 1, No. 1 The year 1975 marks the conception of the alley newspaper. Volume 1, No. 1 went into production in the fall of 1975 with photography, writing, typing, and cutting and pasting, finally landing on Phillips’ doorsteps in January 1976. For a half century this humble neighborhood paper has been serving the community: focusing on serious issues, highlighting community members, announcing events, promoting local businesses, and so much more. Fifty years is mighty impressive for a paper largely run by volunteers and a miniscule paid staff, written by our neighbors and serving a community burdened with an array of inequities and challenges. The current miniscule paid staff and volunteers are rightfully very proud, as should be our readers (some of whom have read every single issue!), for what good is a newspaper without its readers??!! We also cannot forget our advertisers, who have played an important role in the longevity of the alley. It is a bittersweet trip down [...]
