Minneapolis Observer Quarterly - Exploring the Bucolic City

On Broadway: Parallel Realities

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:03:38 -0600

If you happen to be in Roseville, at the intersection of Roselawn and Cleveland avenues, walk north along the east side of Cleveland, crossing a little cul de sac named Loren Road, and continue past the yellow fire hydrant until you come to a boulder set flush with the sloping ground. The plaque on the boulder will inform you that you are standing on the 45th parallel — the halfway point between the equator and the north pole.

Urban Phenology: Winter robins

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:39:14 -0600

A friend recently posted a cheery comment on her Facebook page, noting that she had spotted a robin in her backyard, so it must be spring, despite the abundance of snow and still mostly below freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, that old truism that robins are a sign of spring is only partly true.

Big Moon Over Minneapolis

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:14:37 -0600

Friday's full moon will be the biggest one of the year, with Mars hovering nearby -- and the local forecast calls for clear skies, which might even make it worth braving the sub-zero temperatures to step outside after dark to see.

According to Spaceweather.com, the moon at perigee (the closest point in its elliptical orbit around the earth), as it is now , will appear "as much as 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than other full Moons you'll see later in 2010."

Tree-Huggers: An Arboreal Love Story

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:55:05 -0600

A century’s worth of tree planting and conservation transformed our prairie landscape into one of the country’s great urban forests. This is the story of the people who have kept it alive.

When the city of Minneapolis was rising out of the prairie, it really was a prairie around here, not the forest of nearly a million trees that envelops us today. Charles Loring, first president of the Park Board and generally credited with being the first to plant trees in the city, described our terrain in the board’s 1885 annual report as “undulating prairie for the most part bare of trees. The only natural trees were clumps of black oak and scattered burr oak. These in the progress of improvement have largely disappeared.” As David C. Smith notes in his 2008 book, City of Parks, Loring expressed his hope for “the stimulus of a wider tree culture.”

Folktales from Finland Offer a Lappland View of the World

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:54:37 -0600

Fairy tales and cultural fables tend to share universal themes, yet each culture has its own unique way of expressing them. Tales from a Finnish Tupa offers the Lappland perspective on many familiar stories, and also relates some tales that are likely new to most of us. First published in 1936 and delightfully illustrated by Laura Bannon, this collection of Finnish folktales was recently republished by the University of Minnesota Press.

Miracle on Ice

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:48:05 -0600

By Jack Armstrong
Last winter, contrary to my generally prudent nature, I had sort of resolved to unpack my old hockey skates, still in their box from our move a couple of years earlier, and get out on the ice.

This created some anxiety for a number of reasons, the most salient being the fact that I didn’t really know whether I could remain vertical on those thin blades after so many years of successfully ignoring their allure. This was not always the case. For a brief period of time in the late ’60s, I was a genuine puckhead.

Winter Trees and a Dog Art Biography: Meet Artist Kat Corrigan

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:19:20 -0600

The cover of the new issue of MOQ features a wintry leafless tree in icy blue surroundings, painted by Minneapolis artist Kat Corrigan. Kat has a whole series of tree paintings, as well many lively and charming paintings of dogs, cats, and even power poles, which you can see on her Web site. She also makes colorful and inventive one-of-a-kind sweaters that are combinations of two or more repurposed sweaters, which she calls Frankensweaters and sells through her Etsy shop. We asked Kat to tell us more about herself, including how she came to do a set of paintings based on a flying lesson, the dogs she has known, and the Art Shanty Projects.

Give It Up for the Squirrel

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:14:58 -0600

The ubiquitous gray squirrels that populate our backyards, raid our bird feeders and confound our pets are such common urban denizens that it’s easy to overlook their brainy resourcefulness. In the weeks preceding the first snowfall, these busy rodents harvest and bury thousands of acorns and other nuts, build a shelter that protects them from the most inclement weather, and still find the time -- and surplus food -- to fatten themselves up for the long winter. Indeed, recent studies suggest that these guys may have a lot more on the ball than we think.

Self-Made Monument: How a man and his art collection were posthumously parted

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:08:09 -0600

Even as the Walker Art Center opens a new exhibiton, Benches and Binoculars, that may, in displaying art salon-style, echo the way in which the museum's founder showed his impressive art collection in his home, we can be reasonably certain that the art itself probably does not reflect T. B. Walker’s aesthetic preferences.

AMONG Minnesota's many “monuments” to Thomas Barlow Walker are an art museum and library in Minneapolis, a town in northern Minnesota, and a grandiose structure sporting Corinthian capitals and neoclassical female figures near the main entrance of Lakewood Cemetery, where he was buried in 1928.

Elements of Gardening: They Used to Call It Burying Your Garbage

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:07:42 -0600

Fall is a great time to begin the permaculture practice of hugelkultur, which reminds us that, with gardening anyway, everything worth doing has been done before, even if it’s new to us.

By Sharon Parker
When we moved into a modest bungalow on Fifth Avenue some 20 years ago, we picked what appeared to be the best location for a garden, and were pleased to discover that the spot boasted a rich humus that nurtured a vigorous crop of vegetables, even before we turned our first batch of compost and added it to the beds. Occasionally, to our amusement, we would push a shovel into the ground and turn up a steak bone or other such remnant of somebody’s dinner.

Bookmark: German for Travelers, by Norah Labiner

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:22:33 -0600

At first glance, Labiner’s lesson-oriented novel may seem like a quirky way to structure a story, but once we were able to absorb the first dozen or so teachings it becomes clear that there’s a lot to learn before we can fully grasp -- or embrace -- this tale. Eventually, everything comes into focus as two cousins -- one a carefree Hollywood celebrity, the other a neurotic romance writer -- meet in Berlin and gradually unravel a tragic family mystery.

The MOQ DIY Sample Ballot

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:10:51 -0600

You may have heard that there's a city election today. In addition to the usual opportunities to keep or change mayors and council members, voters in St. Paul get to decide whether to join the grand experiment taking place across the river and usher in Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), officially known as ranked choice voting. Meanwhile, voters in Minneapolis may vote their first, second, and third choices for the two independent seats on the Board of Estimate & Taxation while simultaneously voting to eliminate those very same positions.

Ballot Box Redux: Why We Might Want to Keep the Board of Estimate and Taxation

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:57:01 -0500

Despite MOQ's generally laconic approach to politics, we couldn't help but notice that there's been a lot of brouhaha of late about a proposed amendment to the city's charter to abolish the Board of Estimate and Taxation. When we received a postcard in the mail charging that the board operates virtually in secret and therefore does not represent the taxpayers' best interests, we had to shake the cobwebs out of our heads: Wait a minute. Isn't this an independent elected board that holds open meetings that any member of the public can attend? Should we equate a general tendency on the part of the public to ignore this board with any intentional secrecy on their part?

Bookmark: The Bullhead Queen, by Sue Leaf

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:48:36 -0500

This new memoir from Minnesota essayist Sue Leaf is not really about bullheads. Or even the Bullhead Queen, a raft her son used to use as a teenager in the lazy Minnesota summers. Instead, this book offers bite-sized musings on life; the natural world surrounding her home on Pioneer Lake; and problems with the environment as they relate to her Christian faith. The Bullhead Queen leads the reader through the freezes and thaws of the seasons, sprinkled with annual celebrations, both of the church and her family.

Urban Phenology: Sustainable Storm Windows

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:47:46 -0500

Autumn is when we notice squirrels squirreling away acorns in the backyard and Tundra Swans migrating along the Mississippi River flyway on their way to warmer climes, but we should also be noticing — and thanking — plucky homeowners caulking their wooden windows, if folks at the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota had their way. The alliance has begun equating preservation with energy efficiency and sustainability, and will be hosting a symposium during the AIA convention on November 11 called Old is the New Green: Preservation as Sustainable Design. In their 2009 list of 10 Most Endangered Places, they spotlighted old windows just to drive home this point.