News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Monday December 15th 2025
Bra·vo! Bra·vo! Bra·vis·si·mo!
By Sue Hunter Weir
It was an event like no other in Minneapolis. As far as we know the concert on October 8th was the first rock concert ever held in a Minneapolis cemetery. And, what a concert it was!
It was one of those days when everything came together: beautiful weather, fantastic music and a wonderful, wonderful crowd. How big was the crowd? Our best estimate is that 1,500 people attended. We sold about 900 advance tickets and between three and four hundred tickets at the gates. Kids under twelve and volunteers got in free.
Many who attended said that, although they had driven past the cemetery hundreds of times, this was the first time they”'d stopped into the grounds. Many also told us that they had no idea how much history could be learned there. One of the big hits of the day was the smartphone history hunt which enabled people to use their phones to learn more about 25 of the people buried in the cemetery.… Read the rest “Bra·vo! Bra·vo! Bra·vis·si·mo!”
A-POD and Guri Nabad Partnership Launches Unique Somali Diabetes Management Workshop and Meetups
By Robert Albee
An October Saturday became one of those magic times that took more than two years to imagine and plan”” yet just a few hours to implement! Ubah Keynan a diabetes nurse not long out of formal schooling herself, marveled to see a group of Somali women who had just met sharing their travails with diabetes so openly and passionately with a group of strangers.
For Dr. Faduma Addow, the only Somali psychiatrist in the United States and Emtea N. Osman, her Minneapolis sponsor and lifelong friend, a doorway has begun to open that someday in the future will lead to a Somali-American culturally-specific healthcare system. For them, this newly-launched comprehensive diabetes management program is just the beginning.
“A Partnership Of Diabetics (A-POD) is designed to open up those of us with this lifelong condition in a way that no clinic or hospital does. It”'s simply sharing between one diabetic with another diabetic. It”'s how we put people first in addressing the whole spectrum of our condition that makes us unique.”… Read the rest “A-POD and Guri Nabad Partnership Launches Unique Somali Diabetes Management Workshop and Meetups”
A Peace of My Mind Exploring the meaning of peace one story at a time
Minneapolis photographer John Noltner will release his book, “A Peace of My Mind” on November 3rd, with a book release party at The Southern Theater in Minneapolis from 7-9pm.
“A Peace of My Mind” is a 120-page book that features the b&w portraits and personal stories of 55 individuals who answer the simple question, “What does peace mean to you?”
Since 2009, Noltner has photographed and interviewed Holocaust survivors, refugees, political leaders, artists, homeless individuals, and others, asking them to reveal what peace means to them, how they work towards it in their lives and what obstacles they encounter along the way.
The result is a stunning and heart-felt collection that acknowledges the challenges we face as a society, yet builds hope through the inspiring stories of people committed to peaceful tomorrows.
In 2010 the series was produced as a traveling exhibit with funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board and has captivated audiences at venues throughout the Midwest.
The book will be available through the artist”'s website, www.apeaceofmymind.net beginning November 4.
“Too often we are asked to look at what separates us in life,” Noltner said. “This book asks us to consider the common humanity that unites us.”
For more information:
A Peace of My Mind.… Read the rest “A Peace of My Mind Exploring the meaning of peace one story at a time”
Keep citizen journalism alive!
