News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Monday February 2nd 2026
Meet The Alley Communications Board of Directors
Steve Dreyer
I’ve been a Board Member of Alley Communications since 2018. I was born and grew up in Wisconsin. I’ve lived here in Minneapolis for over 45 years. I’ve worked for a local landscape company for over 20 years and am now very part-time. I enjoy reading (nonfiction, current events, and newspapers, mainly), gardening, and paying attention to what’s around me.
I live in Ventura Village and am also active on their Board. I believe that people can make a difference in their communities and should try. Reading the alley and being involved in it is one way to do that. We welcome you to join us.
Luke Gannon
Hello! I am Luke Gannon and I organize with the Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association (MPNA) and the East Phillips Improvement Coalition (EPIC) because I deeply believe that community is our greatest strength. Some of my favorite moments are when a room is full of people with different opinions, but you can still feel how much everyone cares—how we’re all working for the health and wellbeing of the neighborhood we share.
Outside of community organizing, I’ve spent time working in independent media. I worked at my college radio station, produced a podcast with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and have written op-eds, mostly about environmental justice and local issues.… Read the rest “Meet The Alley Communications Board of Directors”
A Few Words Here and There Unlock the Story
from the series Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery…
Number 237 in a Series
By SUE HUNTER WEIR
Sometimes it only takes a few words to open the door to a much larger story. In the case of Maria Chinn, the words, which appeared in her daughter’s Obituary, were “Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.” Why are they so important? Because Hamilton was a major terminus on the Canadian Underground Railroad. An estimated 30,000-40,000 Blacks settled in Ontario before and during the Civil War. Not all of them had been enslaved but many, perhaps the majority, had been, and it is likely that Maria and her parents were among those who were.
Maria’s story is an important one. It is often difficult to find information and documentation for women who had been enslaved.
Maria was born in Kentucky on December 18, 1845. Her parents, Isaac Wilson and Sarah Dorsey, were also born in Kentucky but relocated to Canada some time before the end of the Civil War. By 1865, Maria, who was about 20 years old, was married and living in Hamilton and it was there, in 1865, where she gave birth to her only child, a daughter named Capitola.
For reasons that became clear later, Maria was hard to trace in Minneapolis.… Read the rest “A Few Words Here and There Unlock the Story”
Right In The Eye: Live Movie-Concert Of Georges Méliès Films
Featured film at the 2025 Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Film Festival
By OLIVER STRICHERZ
Another event that was quite popular at MSPIFF was Right In The Eye: Live Movie-Concert Of Georges Méliès Films, which included a collection of 12 short films made by early special effects pioneer, Georges Méliès, set to a live score composed and performed by French musician Jean-François Alcoléa. The films themselves, which include some of the earliest examples of stop-motion and double exposure, are still incredible more than 100 years post their creation, and could entertain a crowd alone. But, alongside Alcoléa’s score, they burst through the realm of creativity, leaving shock on my face and within me a deep feeling of childlike wonder.
Editor’s Note:
This film review by Oliver Stricherz first appeared in The Southerner, South High School’s newspaper, as part of a longer piece titled: In early April, film takes center stage—The Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Film Festival through the eyes of a teen. We are pleased to have permission to feature Oliver’s reviews. If you can’t wait to see more, visit The Southerner at https://www.shsoutherner.net/.
Oliver Stricherz, a senior this year, is a staff writer for South High School’s The Southerner. He is “driven, angered and interested” in human rights and dynamics, hoping to explore human stories.… Read the rest “Right In The Eye: Live Movie-Concert Of Georges Méliès Films”
Keep citizen journalism alive!
