News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Thursday December 18th 2025
Franklin Library News Oct. ’25
Compiled by the alley
All information listed here is accurate as of September 26th, 2025. For the most recent information, check out the library website at https://www.hclib.org.
FRANKLIN LIBRARY HOURS
Monday 9 AM to 5 PM Tuesday 12 PM to 8 PM Wednesday 12 PM to 8 PM Thursday 12 PM to 8 PM Friday 9 AM to 5 PM Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM Sunday 12 PM to 5 PM
Drop-in weaving social
Tuesday, Oct. 14th, 2-3:30 PM
All ages. Bring a friend, your family, or meet someone new to learn the basics of tapestry weaving while engaging in an “exquisite corpse” style weaving collaboration. Throughout the activity, you will be encouraged to trade your work with another person. Once the weaving has filled, take home your “community tapestry” as a token of the new friendships you’ve made! Materials provided. Collaborator: Textile Center. This program is funded with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
PROGRAMS FOR YOUTH + FAMILIES
STEAM activity
Wednesdays, 4:30-6 PM
Drop in for fun and creative STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) experiments and projects! Materials provided. Led by Franklin Library’s STEAM Squad.
PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS
CRAFT CLUB
Friday, Oct. 3rd, 3-5 PM
Friday, Oct.… Read the rest “Franklin Library News Oct. ’25”
Investing for Beginners: Easy Ways to Get Started
By AMANDA THEISEN, Communications Manager for Sunrise Banks
Think investing is only for the super-rich? Think again. You don’t need millions—or even thousands—to start growing your money. Whether you’re saving for something in the near future or planning for retirement decades from now, there are beginner-friendly ways to dip your toes into investing.
High-Interest Savings Accounts
A non-interest savings account won’t get you far. Many only pay around a 0.05% annual percentage rate year. That’s just 50 cents on $1,000. But some savings accounts offer much better rates.
A high-yield savings account (sometimes called a money market account) pays more interest and still lets you get to your cash when you need it. They’re perfect for emergency funds: safe, accessible, and earning you more than the change you’d find under your couch cushions.
If you don’t need instant access, look at a Certificate of Deposit (CD). With a CD, you agree to leave your money in the account for a set period—anywhere from six months to five years—and in return, you get a higher interest rate. CDs are great for short-to-medium-term goals, like saving for a down payment. Just remember, taking your money out early usually means paying a penalty fee.… Read the rest “Investing for Beginners: Easy Ways to Get Started”
Keep citizen journalism alive!
Review: Let Me Tell You About Al Flowers
Dwight Hobbes’ Let Me Tell You About Al Flowers (ETO/Even The Odds Press) is an interesting and insightful read. Brother Al has been through some experiences that eventually led up to his transformation to a path of truth and justice. As most transformations do, the pain, the suffering and the witnessing of human tragedy and the injustice brought upon himself, his family and community finally allowed the ancestors’ spirits to burst out of him. Since this awakening Al has been on a mission to rebuild the Black community. Often being a thorn in the sides of Black and White people in the struggle for justice, Brother Flowers can have an intrusive and blusterous way of engaging the status quo. This book is a story of the transformation of a kid from the projects of Chicago to his migration to Minnesota in the 70s to a leading activist for social, economic and political justice in the Black community in Minneapolis.
Hobbes’ (dwighthobbes.weebly.com), author of Something I Said and longtime Twin Cities journalist and essayist, finger prints are throughout this autobiography helping bring out the context, history and cultural nuances surrounding Al’s footsteps throughout his engagements and relationships with the various people, organizations and government entities in his quest for justice.… Read the rest “Review: Let Me Tell You About Al Flowers”