News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Friday April 19th 2024
CHANGEMAKERS
Magdalena Kaluza: Direct Action
By GAEA DILL-D”™ASCOLI
Reprinted with permission from Minnesota Women’s Press
“By sharing vulnerability, we build deeper relationships. We need deep relationships to face what”™s coming ”” floods, heat waves, climate refugees.”
The story of Magdalena Kaluza starts with their parents. Their mother is a white American woman of Polish and French-Canadian descent with family ties in the Iron Range, who went to Guatemala to study Spanish. Their father is of Mayan K”™iche”™ mixed race (mestizo) who played the guitar and grew up in the midst of the revolution. Both parents were working towards social justice and solidarity before Kaluza was born.
Kaluza”™s day job is working at Take Action Minnesota, which allows them to deepen community ties through storytelling while engaging in social justice work.
In 2019, Kaluza applied to Power of Vision, an arts organization based out of Hope Community in Minneapolis. It enabled Kaluza to listen to and tell the stories of the Phillips neighborhood, as well as support tenants in the Corcoran neighborhood.
At the same time, Kaluza was supporting tenants in the Whittier neighborhood as they fought to claim their buildings from a landlord who charged high rents without maintaining the buildings.… Read the rest “CHANGEMAKERS”
Should You Make Student Loan Payments During Forbearance?
By NADINE GALL
Lutheran Social Service MN
Great news for folks with federal student loans! The relief from loan payments due to the pandemic ”” also known as a forbearance ”” has been extended through September 30, 2021. This means that no payments will be due and no interest will accrue for federal loans during this time. For those who are unable to afford their payments, this is wonderful news. It”™s also great news for anyone still able to make student loan payments.
Why Make Student Loan Payments if No Payments Are Due?
To pay it off faster. Without interest accruing, 100% of your payment goes toward the principal loan balance, instead of part of it going toward interest. If you want to pay down your loan even faster, consider making slightly higher payments right now.
To bring your loans current. If your loans were past due before the forbearance period, they”™re still reporting past due. Bringing your loans current will help you improve your credit score. If you”™re unable to make ongoing payments, just paying the past due amount will help.
To rehabilitate defaulted loans. If you”™re in default, now is the perfect time to rehabilitate your loans. The payment and interest relief includes defaulted loans.… Read the rest “Should You Make Student Loan Payments During Forbearance?”
Let’s Get This Garden Started!
By MARY ELLEN KALUZA
(illustrations by Jessie Merriam, photos by Mary Ellen Kaluza of her garden)
March in Minnesota. The days are noticeably longer. We are longing to have dirt under our nails. But isn’t it too early? There’s still snow on the ground. It’s the perfect time to get the garden started.
First: Plan your garden
Know your space””how much sun do you get in the different areas? Put your parka on and go outside. Imagine the trees are fully leafed-out and the sun moving high across the sky. Most vegetables need a lot of sun. Leafy greens can do well in more shaded areas and may actually produce larger leaves valiantly trying to absorb as much sunlight as possible. Save the sunniest areas for tomatoes, peppers, and other fruiting plants. Carrots and other root vegetables will tolerate some shade.
Make your wish list, then pare it down to fit your space. Map out your garden with sun and plant size in mind. Buy your seeds!
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