News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Tuesday December 23rd 2025
The Forgotten Residents of Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery
Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial CemeteryÂ
By SUE HUNTER WEIR 1st in a Series(reprint)Â
Editor”™s Note: Tales from the Cemetery is on hiatus this month, so this month is a reprint of the very first Tale. Reprinted from the alley July/August 2003; from alley Archives 186 Tales of Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery
Every day tens of thousands of commuters pass through the intersection of Cedar Avenue and Lake Street. Most of them are unaware of the fact that they are within several feet of a major historic site. In June 2002, Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery is the oldest existing cemetery in Minneapolis, that was not sufficient reason for its inclusion on the Register. In fact, federal historic designation is an honor that is rarely awarded to cemeteries since any cemetery is, by definition, “historic.” So why does this Cemetery merit such an honor?Â
For this photo, taken in 2003, a Park Board employee raised photographer Paul Weir to “bird”™s view” height in a “cherry picker” tractor.Â
The Cemetery was awarded its historic designation because of the role that those buried in the Cemetery played in the early days of Minneapolis”™ history. … Read the rest “The Forgotten Residents of Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery”
Register to Vote! – Again?
By THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
The first in a series of articles about the 2021 Municipal Elections brought to you by the League of Women Voters Minneapolis.
Believe it or not, 2021 is an election year in Minneapolis ”” a very important election year. The mayor and every city council seat will be on the ballot in addition to members of the Park Board and the Board of Estimate and Taxation. There may also be proposed amendments to the City Charter that could affect policing and the structure of city government.
Do you need to register to vote? Maybe.
You are eligible to vote in Minneapolis if you are a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age on election day, a resident of Minneapolis for at least 20 days and have finished all parts of any felony sentence.
You need to register if you have 1) moved or changed your name since the last election, or 2) not voted in the past four years. You can register to vote when you renew your Minnesota Driver”™s License or State ID and you do NOT have to declare party affiliation.
You can CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION STATUS here: https://mnvotes.sos.state.mn.us/VoterStatus.aspx
If you are not currently registered to vote, but you qualify, you can register online or download a paper form which is available in 12 languages.… Read the rest “Register to Vote! – Again?”
Keep Taking the Virus Seriously, Seriously!
METRO TRANSIT
By John Charles Wilson
I caught COVID-19 last month and was out of commission for about two weeks. Even though vaccines are being rolled out and an end is in sight, please keep being careful! If you think masks and social distancing are government plots to take away your freedom, you are right! They are taking away your freedom to get so sick you wish you were dead. Trust me, you don”™t want this.
That said, Metro Transit has liberalized the capacity limits on buses and trains. Regular buses now allow 20 people to ride; articulated “double” buses allow 30, light rail cars allow 33, and Northstar cars allow 70 (though I doubt overcrowding is a problem on Northstar; 90 percent of its ridership has abandoned ship, at least for now). Masks are still required on buses and trains, and while you are waiting for them.
In other, more positive, news, construction on the D Line has begun. As I”™ve mentioned in this column before, the D Line is a Bus Rapid Transit line which will follow the same route as Route 5, except that it will only stop at specially-built stations. The stops in the Phillips Community will be along Chicago Avenue at Franklin Avenue, 24th Street, 26th Street, and Lake Street.… Read the rest “Keep Taking the Virus Seriously, Seriously!”
Keep citizen journalism alive!
