http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/minneapolis/ en-us Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:32:40 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-rlc/2049706/posts Tuesday, July 22, 2008 If they expected us to retire quietly from the scene, the political elite are in for a surprise. Today I am making some very big announcements. First, from August 31 to September 2 in Minneapolis, we will host a handful of events that will shake the political establishment. Everything will culminate on Tuesday with the official launch of the Campaign for Liberty at the Rally for the Republic. The Campaign for Liberty will be the largest organization for peace, freedom, the Constitution, and sound money in American history. It will launch in grand fashion with lots... Committee to Re-Elect Ron Paul http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-rlc/2049706/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:32:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046147/posts At 6:05 p.m. on Aug. 1, silence will fall along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. And those standing along the river's banks will remember that at that moment one year ago, the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people and injuring hundreds of others. A prayer service on Aug. 1 at the Basilica of St. Mary followed by an outdoor memorial service at Gold Medal Park on the Mississippi River will mark the first anniversary of the bridge collapse. "It was one of the worst days that I will ever be part of that ironically showed... StarTribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046147/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:36:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043577/posts When Republicans said they were a “big tent” party, city officials in Minneapolis apparently took them literally. With the Republican convention set just across the river in St. Paul for the first week in September, Minneapolis parks officials have hiked their rental prices for large hospitality-style tents from a bargain-basement $50 to a sticker-shocking $10,000 — a 20,000 percent increase, MyFoxTwinCities.com reports. In one city meeting, Minneapolis Parks Superintendent Jon Gurban jokingly referred to the price hikes as a “gold mine” timed to coincide with the presidential nominating event. The board faces a $1 million deficit. “We always like taking... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043577/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:40:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027921/posts The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak approved changes Friday, to the city’s vehicle idling ordinance that aims to reduce air pollution. The ordinance limits most vehicle idling to three minutes, except in traffic. "Most of the air pollution in Minneapolis comes from vehicles and cutting down in idling is one easy thing we can all do for our environment, our health, and the health of our neighbors," said Mayor R.T. Rybak. Vehicle motors release particulate matter, dirt, nitrous oxides, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide into the air. These chemicals are linked to increased rates of cancer, heart... kstp 5 news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027921/posts#comment Sun, 8 Jun 2008 16:43:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027600/posts MINNEAPOLIS -- A new ordinance in Minneapolis limits vehicle idling at three minutes. Mayor R.T. Rybak says the idea is to reduce air pollution. City Council member Sandy Colvin Roy says cars don't need more than one minute to warm up, even in the winter. The ordinance limits most vehicles idling to three minutes, except in traffic. Fox9 News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027600/posts#comment Sat, 7 Jun 2008 17:45:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016730/posts A flight attendant angry about his work route set a fire in an airplane bathroom, forcing an emergency landing, authorities said. The Compass Airlines flight carrying 72 passengers and four crew members landed safely in Fargo on May 7 after smoke filled the back. No injuries were reported. The plane was flying from Minneapolis to Regina, Saskatchewan, authorities said. Eder Rojas, 19, appeared in court Thursday, following his arrest a day earlier in Minneapolis, and ordered held without bail, prosecutors said. The charge of setting fire aboard a civil aircraft carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. ABC News/Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016730/posts#comment Fri, 16 May 2008 06:51:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015440/posts Bids on the Star Tribune's five-block plot of land in downtown Minneapolis are due today, according to an offering memo obtained by the Pioneer Press. The marketing of the 12.4 acres — billed as the largest private land holding in the central business district — marks a rare opportunity for developers. It also comes at a time when the Star Tribune and its owners, Avista Capital Holdings, are dealing with declining revenue and profit, and the extra cash could come in handy. Last year, the Minnesota Vikings offered to pay $45 million for four of the five blocks in the... TwinCities.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015440/posts#comment Tue, 13 May 2008 20:33:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012379/posts A special interest program assembled by the Human Rights Campaign to promote homosexuality has been launched in the 91-school Minneapolis district, even as opponents are urging school officials to keep sexuality out of the social culture. "The government should promote and encourage strong families," said Austin R. Nimocks, a senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. "When school officials have to choose between protecting children in those families or furthering the homosexual agenda, the choice is obvious: protecting our children comes first." The issue is the "Welcoming Schools" program assembled by the HRC, which advocates for and promotes homosexuality. District... WorldNetDaily.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012379/posts#comment Wed, 7 May 2008 10:17:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002196/posts CAIR comes to the rescue of Minneapolis tax-funded Muslim school By Michelle Malkin • April 15, 2008 As I have reported over the years, there are many good reasons to be wary when CAIR and other Muslim grievance groups start banging the drum about being victimized by Islamophobia. Now, the usual suspects seem engaged in the usual tactics to distract from the controversy over the Minneapolis tax-funded Muslim school exposed by Star-Tribune columnist extraordinaire Katherine Kersten. Just as the state has launched an investigation of the school, here comes CAIR: The Minnesota chapter of a national Islamic civil liberties group... michellemalkin.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002196/posts#comment Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:29:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990455/posts Old photos of the Interstate 35W bridge show two steel connecting plates were visibly bent as early as 2003 — four years before the span collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people. Minnesota Department of Transportation officials declined to say when the state first knew about the bending in the pieces of steel, called gusset plates. Two photos, part of a report issued earlier this month by the National Transportation Safety Board, reveal slight bends in gusset plates that hold beams together at two separate connecting points. The plates are in areas believed to be among the first points... The Associated Press...Star Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990455/posts#comment Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:36:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1980281/posts St. Stephen's in the Minneapolis archdiocese is the 'other' strange parish, the more famous one being St. Joan's. Apart from their lefty politics, liturgical stylings had been rather, umm, improvisatory for a long time. Now, the archbishop (who now has a 'tough' co-adjutor) has stepped in, bringing several 'progressive' parishes in line liturgically. Thanks to the half dozen of you who emailed me about it :) Nick Coleman writes about it in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. For 40 years, St. Stephen's Catholic Church in Minneapolis has been a font of Christian compassion, service to the suffering and help to the... Closed Cafeteria http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1980281/posts#comment Tue, 4 Mar 2008 18:06:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976678/posts Mitt Romney is down, but he might not be out. Romney suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination after a disappointing showing on Super Tuesday, and has endorsed John McCain for the GOP nod. But Romney’s son Josh says it’s “possible” his father might rejoin the race as a candidate for vice president or for president if McCain’s campaign stalls. Romney hasn’t commented publicly about a recent New York Times article that implied McCain had an improper relationship with a female lobbyist. McCain and the lobbyist have firmly denied the allegation, but subsequent reports have contradicted some of McCain’s... NewsMax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976678/posts#comment Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:56:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1974981/posts A woman who identified herself as Alianiss Nunez Morales was driving a van that failed to stop at a stop sign, hitting a school bus, police say. A woman who identified herself as Alianiss Nunez Morales was driving a van that failed to stop at a stop sign, hitting a school bus, police say. MINNEAPOLIS — A woman who authorities say is in the country illegally and using an alias was charged Friday with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide and two lesser charges in a school bus crash that killed four children. A woman who identified herself as Alianiss... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1974981/posts#comment Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:00:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1970091/posts Six-year-old Zamzam Mohamed was waiting for her school bus with her sister early Wednesday in the vestibule of their Minneapolis apartment building when she saw a man she had never seen before fumbling with a handgun. Next came a boom and then screams, followed by searing pain in her lower leg. The handgun had slipped from the man's waistband and discharged, grazing Zamzam's leg as several children looked on. "He went through his pants; it was like he was trying to shoot it or something," said Zamzam's sister, Hafsa Mohamed, 11. "Then it went off and she started crying and... StarTribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1970091/posts#comment Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:25:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968587/posts The Star Tribune this morning announced the layoff of 58 employees, about 3 percent of the newspaper’s workforce, and an indefinite wage freeze for all its nonunion employees, about 600 in total. Publisher Chris Harte cited continuing revenue declines, the efficiencies of new technology and outsourcing in a morning memo to employees. Three-fourths of the eliminated jobs are in the circulation department, which got the news at 9 a.m. meetings. The exiting employees will receive the same severance given to about 140 employees who took voluntary buyouts last May, which is two weeks’ pay for every year’s employment and six... (Red) Star Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968587/posts#comment Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:55:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963467/posts For sale: a pair of office buildings. Served as home to skeptical cranks, loudmouth jokers and coffee-stained carpet. The Star Tribune's real estate is on the market once again, publisher Chris Harte told his staff in a memo sent Friday. The company hired a real estate broker but no deal is imminent, or even guaranteed, he wrote. A $45 million deal that would have sold off the newspaper's three parking lots and its lesser used Freeman office building to the Minnesota Vikings collapsed five months ago amid tightening credit markets. Harte said the deal this time may include everything, including... (Red) Star Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963467/posts#comment Fri, 1 Feb 2008 22:16:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1959191/posts Steven Stark lays out a scenario whereby all the other candidates, none of whom have wholehearted Republican support, cancel each other out, paving the way for Fred Thompson to receive the nomination at the convention. "When conventions deadlock, history teaches us that yesterday's disappointments become tomorrow's stars. If McCain can't stampede to the nomination and Super Tuesday doesn't produce another clear front-runner, we may not have heard the last of Fred..." I find the idea highly unlikely, though appealing...but stranger things have happened. Whoever would have thought the 2000 election wouldn't be decided for 36 days? Laura's Miscellaneous Musings http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1959191/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jan 2008 01:38:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954963/posts WASHINGTON -- The Republican presidential race is so unsettled that some party officials are openly talking of a scenario that seemed almost unthinkable until now: the first contested GOP convention in 60 years. Even if Republicans choose a nominee before they convene in Minneapolis-St. Paul on Sept. 1, there's a good possibility he will emerge weeks or even months after the Democratic nominee is chosen, giving Democrats an advantage in fundraising, organizing and campaigning. Congressional Republicans particularly wanted an early nominee to draw voters' attention from President Bush, whose low approval ratings could hurt the entire party in the fall.... The Albany Times-Union http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1954963/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:38:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945194/posts Like a top-heavy tower of books, Seattle tumbled from its ranking as "America's Most Literate City" this year. The new winner: Minneapolis, ending Seattle's two-year reign on top. The Emerald City only slipped to second place, but some of the local literati took it hard. "I don't believe it," said Tracy Taylor, general manager for Elliott Bay Book Co. in Pioneer Square, which was bursting with post-Christmas customers Thursday. "And we're not even having a sale," Taylor noted. But the statistics don't lie — even though they also don't capture all the nuances of what makes one city more literate... Seattle Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945194/posts#comment Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:00:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941779/posts It was Harte — the point man for Avista Capital Partners' 2006 Strib purchase — who hired away St. Paul Pioneer Press publisher Par Ridder in March. By September, the coup had turned into a full-fledged disgrace; a judge bounced Ridder from the job for taking confidential information from St. Paul. Harte — who is not an Avista partner but has told Stribites he has a substantial investment in the paper — was thrust into the publisher's chair. ...However, Harte has made some high-profile changes. Just weeks after Ridder's exit, he ousted longtime editorial page editor Susan Albright, who for... Minnpost http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941779/posts#comment Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:14:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1937486/posts A metrowide trend to return to the good old days of civic Christmas celebrations downtown is delighting kids but tiptoeing near the boundaries for church and state. "Santa saw me!" 7-year-old Joseph Grant told his mom after the jolly old elf made his way down the chilly main street of Savage to take his seat in a store and hoist children onto his lap. Kids circled a giant Christmas tree as their parents shivered around a pair of fires, producing s'mores. Motorists pulling off the nearby highway paused, confused by the blocked-off street where teams of horses raced up and... Star Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1937486/posts#comment Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:53:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1928950/posts His column harshly criticized for "spiritual violence" and "persecution" toward homosexuals November 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a recent column in the local diocesan newspaper, Minneapolis/St. Paul Coadjuter Archbishop John C. Nienstedt concisely explained the Church's teaching regarding both a homosexual's obligation to chastity and the Church's obligation to support and encourage such a chaste lifestyle. The column has caused a backlash of harsh criticism from the 'homosexual community' in what has until recently been known as a notoriously liberal Catholic diocese. Archbishop Nienstedt's column in the diocesan paper 'The Catholic Spirit' was authored as a sequel to a previous column,... LifeSite http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1928950/posts#comment Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:10:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1920237/posts In a challenge to the Bush administration, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., introduced legislation Wednesday that would ban photo identification as a requirement for voting in federal elections. By Kevin Diaz, Star Tribune Last update: November 01, 2007 – 9:37 AM WASHINGTON - In a challenge to the Bush administration, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., introduced legislation Wednesday that would ban photo identification as a requirement for voting in federal elections. Ellison's bill reflects the Minnesota practice, which does not require photo ID for the purpose of voter verification. Ellison has a companion bill that mirrors the state's law allowing eligible voters... StarTribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1920237/posts#comment Fri, 2 Nov 2007 21:39:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1906315/posts Now we know who's in charge of Minneapolis streets. It's a loosely organized group of serial lawbreakers called Critical Mass. Last Friday, 600 or so took over city thoroughfares, breaking traffic laws with impunity while police stayed in the background. Every month, Critical Mass cyclists ride through rush hour traffic in cities across the country. Some insist the ride is just a "celebration." Others acknowledge a political agenda: they want to enlighten the rest of us -- greedy capitalists that we are -- about the joys of bike riding so we can join them in saving the planet. The Mass... Star Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1906315/posts#comment Thu, 4 Oct 2007 05:20:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1902668/posts Berlin - Transparency International, an anti-corruption organisation in Berlin, says Somalia and Myanmar are the most corrupt countries in the world. Denmark, Finland and New Zealand top the annual Transparency International list as the least corrupt countries. The Netherlands has moved from ninth to seventh place in the list of 180 countries. Transparency International stresses that even the least corrupt countries have still got more work to do. The organisation is positive about developments in South Africa, Namibia and Swaziland, which have shown that corruption can be combatted and that they are striving for political reform. The Transparency International list... Radio Netherlands http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1902668/posts#comment Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:52:36 GMT