In my work as a librarian, I have the extreme pleasure to curate my branch’s local history collection. Since I took up that charge, Mary Losure’s Our Way or the Highway: Inside the Minnehaha Free State (U of M Press, 2002) has been staring me down, begging me to pluck it off the shelf and check […]
Late this fall Hennepin County put out a draft of its new 2040 Bicycle Plan for public review and comment. This long-range vision and planning document piqued my interest but, oof, the thing is 116 pages long! Not the easiest to tackle in terms of length, especially for bike-loving-yet-busy folks who might not have time to comb […]
This year the Franklin Library celebrates its 100th year serving the East Phillips neighborhood in South Minneapolis. In preparation for the anniversary celebration last month I researched the library’s long history by making my way through the branch’s annual reports and other documents from 1914 to 2014; this research has revealed a fascinating and intimate bond between […]
To me, mass transit is all about creating opportunities for connections between people and their communities. Beyond the very literal connection of traveling from one place to another, our transit lines have the potential to help people explore their surroundings in new ways and make unexpected discoveries. I think a lot about this. How do […]
Transpo Convo is an ongoing series in which I interview people about their transportation use. This second installment features highlights from my conversation with Bill D., in which we chat about icy winter riding, revamping roads for greater cycling infrastructure, and how to build effective cycling advocacy. Bill lives in the Kenny neighborhood in Southwest […]
Welcome to the very first Transpo Convo! This is a brand new ongoing series in which I interview people about their transportation use. In this first installment I share a few highlights from my conversation with Mohamed F., where we gab about bike lanes, transit pricing, and what Metro Transit could learn about rider experience from Nairobi’s matatu culture. […]
On the afternoon of Memorial Day a small group of streets.mn writers met in a sunny Minneapolis backyard to explore our ideas and concerns surrounding diversity and representation on streets.mn. This holiday barbecue featured a great turnout of 10 writers, some loosely structured activities, and, of course, a veggie hot dog or two. Hot dog […]