‘Cover Stories’ Archives
Around Town: Photos
Dr. Antony Stately of the Native American Community Clinic and a young reader checking out the new Little Free Library. Learn more about the Reading Initiative in Ventura Village News on page 8. Photo: Little Free Library Fence Mural on 26th Street and 16th Avenue. Photo: Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts Scenes from Nenookaasi Camp from September 23. Printed with permission. Photo: Mary Ellen Kaluza Scenes from Nenookaasi Camp from September 23. Printed with permission. Photo: Mary Ellen Kaluza Nenookaasi Camp residents, neighbors and other stakeholders gathering for a community meeting on September 12th. With a line running down the hallway, the room filled to overflowing. The meeting was called by Ward 9 Council Member Jason Chavez to open conversations around the lack of appropriate housing and services for our unhoused neighbors on the 2300 block of 13th Avenue South, who had been evicted a few weeks earlier by the State of Minnesota from the Wall of Forgotten [...]
A Letter to the Community
Beloved community, We at the alley are devastated by the loss and violence being experienced in Phillips as of late. There are few words to say that haven’t already been shared a thousand times already, and we are hurting alongside of you.The heaviness of life in Phillips has reared its head often this past year. We grieve for the fentanyl and drug epidemic, our houseless neighbors, our Muslim neighbors in the wake of the mosque vandalizations a few months back, the shootings that have left multiple communities mourning, and those experiencing a constant state of fear because of violence in the neighborhood or at home. These most recent tragedies have reminded us that we haven’t offered enough space in this community newspaper to hold these griefs. It’s hard to remember, or even to see, the ways in which we care for each other in dark moments. It’s sometimes harder still to see why small acts of care would even be worth it.We are a community newspaper, and often don’t [...]
Air Quality and Cumulative Impacts
MN Permit Process is Extremely Flawed! Part II of a III Part Series By H. LYNN ADELSMAN and ROB HENDRICKSON In the Phillips Community, the Smith Foundry and Bituminous Roadways are known for being next to one of the more odorous sections of the Midtown Greenway; but, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, vehicular traffic, and other facilities also contribute to the risk of air pollutant exposure in the four Phillips neighborhoods- East Phillips, Midtown Phillips, Phillips West, and Ventura Village-Hiawatha Ave to 35-W, Lake Street to I-94. In this article we will break these sources down and begin to question how they cumulatively impact the lives and well being of nearby residents and residents of adjacent neighborhoods. The United States Congress enacted the Clean Air Act in 1970 to finally address the usually unseen menace known as air pollution. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) uses the Clean Air Act when issuing air permits, and they have historically tracked [...]
