News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Monday December 22nd 2025
Ani-Meals Brings Meals on Wheels to Furry Family Members
By DWIGHT HOBBESÂ
In the best of times folk who have trouble making ends meet have enough of a challenge feeding themselves, much less Fido and Kitty. These are far from the best of times. Accordingly, Ani-Meals is more than ever a pet owner”™s godsend, spun-off from Meals on Wheels through a Meals On Wheels America grant to PetSmart Charities in 2015. Soon as word got out about the supply, demand grew. Melanie La Pointe, Ani-Meals director at the Community Emergency Service location, recalls, “It exploded pretty fast. At first, we had about ten animals, then, it went up to about 70.” That number is now 163 pets belonging to 90 clients of MOW.
For confirmed animal lover La Pointe, the program is a heartfelt undertaking. “It”™s really important for people to be able to keep their pets. Pets are family. A lot of our [MOW] clients don”™t have any family. They”™re basically isolated.” A condition the corona crisis hardly helps. “Their dog or cat is their family and it”™s important to keep [pets] healthy. A study said that being lonely was equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.” Accordingly, having that pet to care for as a reason to get up each day can be vital.… Read the rest “Ani-Meals Brings Meals on Wheels to Furry Family Members”
Random alley News
Cathy and Mark Welna were named WCCO Radio Good Neighbors for donating 160 meals to St. Theresa”™s Home Workers. Congratulations to Cathy and Mark, owners of Welna Hardware in Phillips on 24th and Bloomington Av. and in Robinsdale on 41st and West Broadway.
This is the link to the digitized alley archives at the Hennepin County Library: (you might need to log in with a library card to access) https://digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/ collection/p17208coll7/ search/searchterm/alley/ field/publis/mode/all/ conn/and Or you can access by going to hclib. org, clicking on “browse” then “digital collection,” then “browse by collection” and scroll down to “Minneapolis Community Newspapers” to see the other community newspapers that are in the digital archive.
The City Council approved nearly $2 million dollars of CARES Act funding to help build 100 tiny homes for unsheltered residents by December 31st, 2020 in a partnership with HN County, the State of MN, Avivo, Simpson Housing Services, and Special Treatment Services.
To connect unsheltered residents to available shelter: Sgl. Adults 612- 248-2350; Families, 612- 348-9410.
In the Heart of the Beast Theatre has announced all Staff being furloughed for three months (beginning October 12th) due to a significant and unexpected loss in funding in addition to the impacts of Covid-19 as it still pursues “building a new path forward.” … Read the rest “Random alley News”
A Good Time to Be Born
Tales from Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial CemeteryÂ
By SUE HUNTER WEIR
182th in a Series
Photo: Tim McCall
Despite being bombarded daily with alarming news stories about the novel coronavirus, there is good news about health. In a recent New York Times article, Dr. Perri Klass declared this to be a good time to be born. Children born in the United States today are likely to live longer than their parents and the diseases that killed so many children in the past are very much relics of the past. It is, she wrote, “A good time to be born.”
In the early 20th century, that was not the case. As many as 20% of American children did not live until their fifth birthdays. And those who did were still vulnerable. There are 227 children who died at the age of five buried in the cemetery. How did these children who were seemingly healthy and who had survived many of the diseases that took younger children die? … Read the rest “A Good Time to Be Born”
Keep citizen journalism alive!
