News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Saturday December 20th 2025
The Minneapolis American Indian Center Programs and Services Have Moved
— Information provided by the Minneapolis American Indian Center
The Minneapolis American Indian Center (MAIC) building closed on October 28, 2022, to prepare for the renovation and expansion project. Programs and services will continue to operate in temporary
community locations:
Little Earth Neighborhood Early Learning Center (NELC), located at 2495 18th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404, will house The Gatherings Café and the Family Services (ICWA, Bright
Beginnings and the Indigenous Women’s Life Net Program).
The Gatherings Cafe will continue elder lunches, and will be available for catering orders. Contact Waska McMaster at wmcmaster@maicnet.org
Family Services, contact Laura Newton at lnewton@maicnet.org
Many Rivers East, located at 1508 E Franklin Avenue Suite 100, Minneapolis, MN 55404, will house the Fitness & Nutrition (FAN), Culture, Languages & Arts Network (CLAN), Youth Services and
Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act Programs.
Fitness & Nutrition (FAN) contact Colette Lawrence at clawrence@maicnet.org
Culture, Languages & Ans Network (CLAN) contact Cheryl Secola at csecola@maicnet.org
Youth Services (BGCA and Ginew Golden Eagle) contact Millie Hernandez at mhernandez@maicnet.org
Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act (WIOA) contact Brian Joyce at bjoyce@maicnet.org
Two Rivers Art Gallery: Contact Lydia Four Horns at tworivers@maicnet.org to learn about upcoming community shows.
Woodland Indian Crafts will be located at Many Rivers East, 1508 E Franklin Avenue.… Read the rest “The Minneapolis American Indian Center Programs and Services Have Moved”
Unknown, Perhaps Unwanted
Tales From Pioneers & Soldiers Cemetery
206th in a Series
By SUE HUNTER WEIR
There are 78 people buried in the cemetery whose last names were recorded simply as “unknown.” They might more accurately have been called “unidentified,” since it’s likely that someone, somewhere must have known them. But no one stepped forward to claim them and most, though not all, were buried at the expense of the county in the cemetery’s paupers’ section, known as Section H.
Newspaper coverage of their deaths was spotty: some deaths appeared to be newsworthy, others not. In a few cases the papers printed a description of the person who had died. An unknown man who died in April 1876 was described as being “about five feet six inches in height, with a strong frame and dark complexion.” It was general enough that it could have fit any number of men, but the coroner at the time guessed that the man was from Davenport, Iowa, and “…presumed to be an Irishman and a Catholic.” The newspaper story does not make clear why he thought so.… Read the rest “Unknown, Perhaps Unwanted”
Keep citizen journalism alive!
City Songs for Loving the Earth: Growing Darkness
By LINDSEY FENNER
We are traveling now through the darkest time of the year. This time can be a struggle for me. Winter makes those small dear moments of being outdoors more difficult to find. Everything is colder, slipperier, darker. I’m learning I need to be more intentional in how I interact with nature during these dark months. My plan this winter:
Morning measuring routines: This past spring, I started doing daily precipitation measurements for CoCoRaHS- the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. Every morning at 7AM, I wander outside in my pajamas to see how much precipitation fell in the previous 24 hours. During this summer of drought, there was usually no rain to measure. But I found those few minutes gave me the gift of a scheduled moment every morning to notice– the rain yes, but also the early morning birdsong and the way the sun shifts ever so subtly every morning.
I’m learning that measuring snow is MUCH more complicated than measuring rain– but within the time I spend taking averages of depth measurements and snow cores and melting snowfall to find the “snow water equivalent,” I’m learning how to understand snow– it’s beauty and complexity.… Read the rest “City Songs for Loving the Earth: Growing Darkness”