Splitting hairs on unmarked crosswalks
from streets.mn by Reuben Collins
I’m really splitting hairs here. Does any of this matter (especially since the law is clear that vehicles have to yield regardless of the presence of a crosswalk)? I think it does. For example – why aren’t there pedestrian ramps on the east side of the intersection? If there is, in fact, an unmarked crosswalk across the county roadway in this location, shouldn’t there be an ADA compliant pedestrian ramp on the east side? Perhaps not if there is no unmarked crosswalk.
Vikings stadium financing finally gets fans involved
from The Deets by Ed Kohler
If Vikings fans are looking for someone to blame for this, they could look at themselves. Do you remember Vikings fans testifying in front of the legislature to have a no-PSA policy written into the stadium bill? No? Exactly. The legislature gave them what they wanted: A stadium in a non-ideal location with a non-ideal public/private split, no guarantee of a Super Bowl (Indy wrote it into their contract), no guarantee of a retractable roof, and no protection from PSA licenses. Vikings fans cheered when they got this deal. Oh well.
What 2014 swing voters want from the new DFL-controlled legislature
from Wry Wing Politics by Joe Loveland
...as the incoming DFL-controlled Legislature prepares its agenda for the 2013 legislative session, I have some mind-numbingly stale advice to offer them: Think about the one sentence reply that you want to be able to give when 2014 swing voters ask “Why should we re-hire you?” Then build your 2012-2014 legislative workplan around that reply, and stick to the plan.
Sherman Alexie
from LitSeen by Robert Martin
For ten years, the Literary Witnesses reading series and Birchbark Books have been bringing exceptional talent to the Twin Cities. Nobel Prize winners, National Book Award winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, PEN/Faulkner award winners… Though he’s a decorated writer of wide repute, I don’t think the Plymouth Congregational Church has ever lent its pulpit to someone quite like Sherman Alexie.
Touring Hopperstad Stave in Moorhead
from Minnesota Prairie Roots by Audrey Kletscher Helbling
I am not Norwegian. I know nothing of Norwegian architecture, have eaten lutefisk only twice, will consume lefse if offered and certainly do not say, “Uff da.”
But I want to assure you that I now am aware of how to pronounce stave. The word does not rhyme with “gave.” The “e” is silent, the “a” short.
I can also tell you that, from the exterior, the Hopperstad Stave resembles a Viking ship.