Erik Ruthruff • September 14, 2020 Do you want to make a positive volunteer contribution while still maintaining safe social distancing? Or do you know someone who does? Please help us pass the word. We need volunteer editors to join our Editorial Board and help proof articles before they get posted on streets.mn. It’s the perfect volunteer job because you only […]
Alicia Valenti • September 4, 2020 Meet Pat Thompson, one of the many stellar volunteers who keeps streets.mn moving.
Planted medians are one of those “nice things” people always seem to be referring to in snarky social media posts. They bring visual relief to people near them and inspire traffic calming. We all know this. But where there’s soil, there’s also a place for weed seeds to fall, and those seeds grow into plants […]
I first saw the trees in the depth of winter, when snow covered everything. They looked like normal, small, trees on a normal, small, city lot. I was excited by the nature surrounding the house I was going to live in, and by the potential of what I could harvest from these trees, vines, and […]
During this era of isolation due to COVID-19, I’ve found myself walking, biking, and generally spending more time outside. I’ve had a lot of time to notice the natural world more than I used to and I’ve been able to experience the landscape and soundscape of my yard and neighborhood with a more profound appreciation. […]
Julia Curran • June 1, 2020 Editor’s note: Julia wrote this piece prior to the killing of George Floyd and subsequent unrest. The last few days have again revealed the structural inequality that persists in our cities. These gaps come in many forms, including in access to food. As grocery stories have been destroyed or shuttered throughout many parts of the […]
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and the theme for this year’s celebration is “Climate Action.” Here at streets.mn, we have a lot of ways we’re taking action on climate breakdown, including the formation of our Climate Committee, a carbon audit, hosting trash clean-up events, and, as always, climate-focused articles from our wonderful […]
In a noteworthy scoop, streets.mn editors have obtained a dossier of bicycle infrastructure concepts from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). In the interest of public disclosure, we are sharing them at this juncture. The files convey a number of potential designs that appear to have been rejected through usual agency protocols, part of an ongoing […]
I am aware many Saint Paul people have a sense of and celebrate the fact their city is special in various ways. On the other hand, it seems to me most Minneapolis people acknowledge what their various places have to offer although they do not have an identity with their city, while at the same […]
Is it me? Or is everyone who is brave enough to go outdoors these days a little friendlier, a bit relieved to see another human being? With a record number of people unemployed, and only “essential” workers (a term that makes me feel dispensable) now allowed to report to their offices or shop floors, fewer […]