‘Cover Stories’ Archives
In the Heart of the Beast is short of funds, losing staff but looking to the community for answers
Bruce SilcoxHOTB Executive Director Corrie Zoll is hopeful about the organization”'s future and believes it is full of exciting possibilities. “This is an extremely painful moment,” Zoll admitted. “At the same time, I”'m really looking forward to conversations with people about what is possible.” Last year, HOTB had expected to receive a $30,000 foundation grant that it did not get, which meant that MayDay operated at a loss of over $50,000. This was covered by reserve funds but HOTB can”'t continue to do that. The organization doesn”'t feel that it can be the sole organizer of the event anymore as it has grown so much. Drop by Feb. 5 to share your ideas at a community meeting, 7-9 p.m. at 1500 E. Lake St. AT A GLANCE >> MayDay Parade and Festival will indeed happen this year: Sunday, May 5, 2019. >> In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre has been the sole producer of MayDay for 45 years. >> [...]
City says ”˜no”' to Roof Depot urban farm
Council prioritizes office space to farm and jobs proposed by local residents DJR rendering of EPNI farm proposal. by CAROL PASS, EPIC & EPNI On Dec. 7, 2018 the Minneapolis City Council voted to deny any space at the Roof Depot site for the East Phillips Indoor Urban Farm project, replacing it with a voter services office, class space for ELL, citizenship classes and resume building and meeting space for community conferences. Adding these features here does not respond to the needs of this community. First, all can be accommodated at the nearby East Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center, which this community funded, designed and caused to be built. Second, the critical lack of parking and extreme traffic congestion at the Roof Depot site make it seriously problematic for any of these activities. It would be helpful if more council members were familiar with this location before voting to further challenge it. However, council member Cano inserted [...]
To feast and to flourish
162 sheltered at Navigation Center, 119 placed in housing and over 100 sheltered by Camille Gage Editor”'s note: This article originally appeared as a blog post at www.franklinhiawathacamp.org. On Friday, Jan. 11, a feast was held at the Minneapolis American Indian Center. It had been three weeks to the day since the last residents of the Franklin Hiawatha encampment were moved to the new Minneapolis Navigation Center. It was, and remains, a time of cautious hope and pragmatic optimism. No one thought the move to the new Navigation Center would be easy. As winter approached, relocating residents as quickly as possible became the pressing goal, with the specter of 100+ tents flapping in the bitter wind and freezing temps bringing an intense urgency to the work. More time for setting up processes and systems would have been useful, but it was a luxury no one could afford. In the end the encampment was closed without protest or incident. Over the past four months [...]
