The most famous house in Minneapolis is back on the market. Strib real estate guy Jim Buchta writes: “It's been a very, very long time since a big house with a sweeping front porch at 2104 Kenwood Parkway in south Minneapolis was prominently featured in the opening credits of the 1970s sitcom, the Mary Tyler Moore show, but some of you out there might remember. That house is now on the market for $2.895 million and is listed with the Barry Berg Group/Coldwell Banker Burnet. The lengthy listing makes no mention of the home's fame (there was a time when the house was simply known as the ‘Mary Tyler Moore house,’ and the interior today bears little resemblance to the stage set where MTM's friend, Rhoda, had an apartment on the turreted third floor. That turret is still there in all its Victorian glory, but the 1900's-era house has been significantly renovated and is now a single-family house with 9,500 square-feet, including seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.” Let me see here … will you take 0.5 percent down?
Gov. Dayton will spend the holiday week … recovering from back surgery.The AP says:“Dayton's office announced Friday that the operation is being done to relieve a constriction in the governor's lower back, known as stenosis, and to fuse a vertebrae in the same area that is shifting out of alignment. The procedure will take place on Thursday, Dec. 27. Dayton, who is 65, expects to be released from the hospital on Dec. 31.”
At the Duluth News Tribune, John Myers says: “The federal government should pump emergency relief funds into Great Lakes harbor dredging to keep commerce moving during the ongoing period of low water, according to Minnesota’s U.S. Senate delegation. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on Friday sent a letter to high ranking senators that handle spending legislation urging that more money be appropriated for harbor dredging as soon as possible. The Minnesota senators want the extra money included in a bill awaiting action on the Senate floor that would send more than $60 billion in emergency disaster relief to eastern states for recovery from Hurricane Sandy.” I assume this counts as more “wasteful government spending”?
Is your kid sufficiently well-armed for school? Need a family pack of firearms to protect yourself from a government attack on your freedoms? The Rochester Post-Bulletin notes: “The Minnesota Weapons Collectors Association will host its annual antique, collectibles and firearms show on Jan. 12-13 at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. Hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 12), and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 13). Those attending may buy, sell or trade weapons. Many dealers from around the Upper Midwest will have reloading supplies, knives and assorted accessories.”
This may be an Olympic first. According to “news services”: “Citing depression that "goes way back to childhood," three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton confirmed Thursday that until recently, she had been working as a high-priced escort based in Las Vegas. The news of Favor Hamilton's secret life was broken Thursday by the website the Smoking Gun, which reported that the 44-year-old Wisconsin native has been working for the last year for an escort service that booked her for dates in Las Vegas as well as in Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago. In an e-mail to the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison, the former standout runner at the University of Wisconsin confirmed that the story was true. According to the Smoking Gun, Favor Hamilton went by the name of ‘Kelly Lundy’ and charged $600 an hour for services that the website reported included a variety of sexual acts.”
Twenty-two years makes a seriously cold case … But Paul Walsh of the Strib says: “Minneapolis police are renewing efforts Friday to find a woman who has been missing since August 1990, when she was 17 years old. Victoria Jane Owczynsky was living in the 300 block of 15th Avenue NE. at the time she disappeared and police took a missing person report. ‘Results have been minimal’ from investigators' pursuit of various leads and interviews about her whereabouts. If alive, Owczynsky is now 39 years old. Police are releasing to the news media a photo of Owczynsky from 1990 and a composite of what she might look like now that was crafted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Police Sgt. Stephen McCarty said there is no particular reason police are making a push in this case at this time.”
Good Strib commentary by St. Thomas law prof Mark Osler: “In the wake of Newtown, we are again debating the causes of these horrifying shootings. The usual villains are identified: Too many guns, too few guns, mental illness, a lack of prayer, a culture of violence and the general decline of American society. Buried beneath this avalanche of blame is a deeper and more troubling truth. Our society celebrates revenge, and in the mind of an unstable, armed man, that ideal can become unthinkably tragic. … The problem with this broad celebration of revenge, typically lived out with a gun in hand, is that the message takes the shape of each person who hears it — including those who are unstable, and who harbor deep resentments against their parents, their schools, society as a whole. Their target for revenge is us. … This is a moment to rethink our gun laws, our treatment of the mentally ill and the security of schools. But it is also a time to critically examine the deeply immoral emphasis on revenge that is rife within our culture.” The professor will love “Django Unchained.”
Twelve thousand local nurses are getting a nice holiday present. Mary Lynn Smith of the Strib says: “Twin Cities nurses on Thursday approved a contract that will give them a 4.5 percent wage increase over the next three years. The contract covers 12,000 nurses working in 13 facilities overseen by Children's Hospitals and Clinics, Allina Health, Fairview Health Services, HealthEast Care System, North Memorial Health Care and Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital.” Not quite a UnitedHealth-like spike in profits, but ... nice.
Our music guru, Pamela Espeland, contributed her end of the year “Best” list to Stribber Chris Riemenschneider’s critics round-up. Since we’re away for a few days, here’s Pam’s picks for the year’s peaks on the local music scene … .
PAMELA ESPELAND, MinnPost.com and Bebopified.com
1. Chris Bates' Red 5, "New Hope"
2. Dave King, "I've Been Ringing You"
3. Fathom Lane, "Down by Half"
4. various, "The Minnesota Beatle Project Vol. 4"
5. Connie Evingson, "Sweet Happy Life"
6. various, "Twin Cities Funk & Soul: Lost R&B Grooves from Minneapolis/St. Paul 1964-1979"
7. Nathan Hanson and Brian Roessler, "Selenographia"
8. various, "Free Improvisation Twin Cities"
9. Zacc Harris Group, "The Garden"
10. Paul Cantrell and Pat O'Keef, "The Broken Mirror of Memory"
SONGS
1. Fathom Lane, “Hope You Never"
2. Chris Bates' Red 5, "New Hope"
3. The Pines, "Cry, Cry, Crow"
LIVE ACTS
1. Minnesota Orchestra at the Convention Center
2. St. Paul Chamber Orchestra at Wayzata Community Church
3. Dave King Trucking Company
4. Chris Bates' Red 5
5. Bryan Nichols Quintet
No. 1 Sign the Music Scene Was Alive and Well in 2012: ‘Icehouse, where there's a big stage, a real sound system, live music every night (curated by musicians), and owners who actually like music. JT Bates is running Monday nights much as he ran the Clown Lounge back in the day, meaning you often won't know what he's planning until you get there. Just show up." There’s gotta be a last-minute stocking stuffer in there somewhere.
Merry Christmas, Kwanzaa/Festivus and Happy New Year, and thanks for reading. See you in '13.