News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Friday December 19th 2025
Random Alley News: November 22
By LINDSEY FENNER
Quatrefoil Library Now Has Free Ebooks and Audiobooks for Checkout:
The community library at 1220 East Lake Street has a growing digital collection of new and classic LGBTQ+ books available to checkout with a free Quatrefoil library card using the Libby app. You can apply for a library card in person at Quatrefoil library or apply online. Visit www.qlibrary.org
Mental Health Workers at Abbott Northwestern Hospital Go on Three-Day Strike:
About 160 workers represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa went on a three-day Unfair Labor Practices strike at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Phillips and Unity Hospital in Fridley October 3rd through 5th. Mental health workers at Allina and M Health Fairview unionized with SEIU last year and have been negotiating their first contract. M Health Fairview workers were also going to strike, but reached a last-minute tentative agreement. Workplace concerns include safety issues and short-staffing.
Queen of Norway Visits Phillips:
Queen Sonja came for the grand opening of the Norway House cultural center on October 15. Norway House, at 913 East Franklin Avenue, is wrapping up an $18 million renovation and expansion.… Read the rest “Random Alley News: November 22”
Peace House Community: To the Unsung Heroes
By MARTI MALTBY
Today I attended the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits’ annual conference, and I got to see four people receive Unsung Heroes awards for work they have done to improve their communities. As you would guess, these individuals go about their volunteering quietly, but their dedication and concern has inspired others.
I love the idea of unsung hero awards, because so much recognition goes to people who are already well known, or whose work is plain for all to see. With few exceptions, Nobel prizes, academy awards, and many other awards go to well-known individuals, while few “everyday people” are recognized or rewarded for what they do. I think that’s a shame, because so many people work so hard to maintain sanity and stability for themselves and those around them, without the advantages that the big names have. Yes, it would be fabulous if a scientist found the cure for cancer, but they would do that only if they had a well-funded laboratory and a quiet space to think for years at a time. Single parents who keep their kids in school, fed, clothed, and safe from drugs and gangs would usually love to have just one evening of peace and quiet to think.… Read the rest “Peace House Community: To the Unsung Heroes”
Keep citizen journalism alive!
Who Will Lead Us?
By JOSHUA LEWIS
The Dirty Side Deal to the Inflation Reduction Act is a potential parasite, infecting the blankets we need to stay warm, smog in the air we need to breathe, oil in the water we need to drink, poison in the food we need to live, and damage to the shelter we need for protection.
The IRA side deal works against our ability to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change, by creating a parasitic feedback loop; that both adds carbon to our atmosphere, and creates communities of power that will be opposed to moving towards zero emissions.
The IRA is a necessary step in the right direction. The side deal is a step back. While mostly positive reviews have come out of the IRA being signed into law, not enough attention is being put on the side deal put forth by Senator Manchin (D).
Significant facts to consider are:
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)(established in 1988 by United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization) declared that we need to reach a 45% reduction of gas emissions by 2030, and zero emissions by 2050 in order to avoid the most devastating impact of climate change.… Read the rest “Who Will Lead Us?”