News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Monday December 29th 2025
Raving, and Saving or Razing: Vine/Burma-Shave?
BY STEVE SANDBERG
2019 East Lake Street, the former Burma Shave factory, is saved for the moment. Thank you all for your interest and support. We have just learned that a hearing before the Historic Preservation Commission is scheduled for Tuesday October 25th at 4:30 pm, Room 317 at City Hall, 350 South 5th Street. FFI—612-673-3153. Please plan to attend and express your support for saving this historic Lake Street Building, built in 1882 as Vine Congregational Church.
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Phillips Community”'s Clean Sweep Event has many successful results
BY HARVEY WINJE WITH CONTRIBUTION OF STATISTICS FROM MICHELE HOWARD, CITY OF MPLS.
ThePhillips Community”'s Clean Sweep Even each year results in many tangible and intangible results.
2015 Clean Sweep is October 8th. See page 4 for details.
The tangible results are relatively easy to measure and are listed here for 2014 and 2015.
The intangible, while no less worthy, vary from subtle to profound and are felt by hundreds of people yet impossible to put in lists. The most tangible hint of the vast participation and community-building that happens is seeing everyone wearing a T-Shirt designed just for this day. See who designed this year”'s T-Shirt and her story on page 2.
Leaders from all four of the Phillips Community Neighborhoods and Little Earth of United Tribes unite to plan, fundraise money, gather donations of food, gloves, tools, and bags.
They are also successful in coalescing scores of residents, businesses, and institution to walk and work bagging trash ready for the city”'s drivers with compactor trucks.
2014 / 2015 Pounds of Trash Totals:
Ventura Village ”“ 6,480 / 4,800
West Phillips ”“ 2,920 / 8,740
Midtown Phillips ”“ 5,020 / 10,940
East Phillips ”“ 9,860 / 12,360
Specialty Trucks picked up:
4,300 / 2,500 lbs of metal; 30 / 32 TV”'s;10 / 14 Appliances; 0 / 69
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Commentary On ”˜Reframing Minnesota,”' Paint the real stories
BY LAURA WATERMAN WITTSTOCK
My writer”'s instinct reacted to the metaphor, “reframing Minnesota,” as a failure to see the content within the frame. So I decided to follow that, by beginning with a hard look at the large painting that sat in the Minnesota governor”'s reception area. It is the source of controversy about whether the painting should remain in the state Capitol, once the extensive renovations underway now are completed. It is seven feet four inches by ten feet ten inches wide. In this painting, government officials are on a raised platform and Native people are sitting submissively on the ground. It is a grand view of the signing of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux (1851), and of the painting, the Minnesota Historical Society describes the Native people as being dressed in “barbarian finery.”
In another painting of the same size we see Father Hennepin depicted standing with a great gesture while seemingly submissive Native people sit piously below the priest with arms outstretched toward the falls. Were they giving up the falls so willingly? Was the island in the falls, center of Dakota spirituality, such an easy place to leave? Both of these paintings were installed in 1905.… Read the rest “Commentary On ”˜Reframing Minnesota,”' Paint the real stories”
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