Northeast Seniors Move Their Site, Expand their Vision

Seniors who need a ride to do some holiday shopping.  Seniors who just want to gather for coffee and conversation.  Seniors who are moving, in need of health care (foot clinics, exercise classes, home visits, post-operation companions).  Seniors who need a ride, legal assistance, help with snow shoveling or housework, pet care, or digital technology.

For Kay Anderson, Executive Director of it’s all about the seniors, their needs and their strengths.

Today Kay is busily re-locating the NE Seniors offices to a vibrant new setting at Autumn Woods, 2580 Kenzie Terrace.  In spite of technology that isn’t quite hooked up yet, phones that are iffy, and a dozen projects that cry out for completion, Kay remains calm and very much at home at Autumn Woods, happy to be in the company of the many seniors she hopes to meet and help in the new site.  She also touts the perks, including security and ample parking as attributes of the new site

Many of Kay’s dreams focus on the potential of technology as a problem-solver for seniors – provided they have access to equipment and some training.  She envisions grandparents skyping with their grandchildren, patients getting their medical tests online, individuals interacting with government agencies, ordering groceries and, most of all, communicating with friends and family members via social media of every stripe.  NE Seniors has space now – all that’s needed are the equipment and the orientation and support that volunteers are willing to offer.

Kay’s energy and spirit breathe life into the new offices at Autumn Woods.  Expect great things – including an open house as soon as the dust has settled.  Reach Northeast Seniors at 612 781 5096 or mail@neseniors.org.  Sign up to receive the quarterly newsletter (print edition) and watch for the online edition of the Northeast Minneapolis Senior Services Directory, now in print and updated online.  It’s one of myriad projects, including revision of the website, that’s in the works!

Resource Center of the Americas Hosts Festive Fundraiser November 5

Today the memory seems totally out of line and out of place, but my clearest visual recollection of my visit to the Resource Center of the Americas, then located at the U of M Newman Center, is that it marked my first experience with a functioning library application of the Internet.  Though demos and dreams were flooding the market, here was this small group of volunteers, many of them librarians who took “social responsibility” serious, who had created an accessible catalog for the RCA library collection.  The collection itself was bold, strident, angry, a cacophony of voices far beyond the Center’s walls – now reaching an audience that could learn and act on the information and ideas gathered by RCA staff and friends who had their collective ear to the disparity between reality and the myth.

I know that this visit recollection has lived in my mind for 28 years because this Saturday, November 5, RCA is celebrating its 28^th Anniversary of service “to our community and our hemisphere.”  The gala fundraiser is 7-11:30 p.m. at the Ukrainian Event Center, 301 Main Street Northeast, Minneapolis.

Guests are encouraged to “dress festive!”  And festive is the theme of the celebration.  Featured performer for the evening is Malamanya, along with traditional South American tunes by Vladimir Garrido and dance performances by Ballet Folklorico Mexico Azteca and the Teen Folkloric Dancers of Centro, Inc.

Friends of RCA may buy  tickets online for $35 for adults. Predictably, the event is family friendly with youth 6-17 $10 and children under 6 admitted without charge.  No tickets will be mailed –  reservations will be added to a list with an e-mailed receipt for tax purposes.  Sixty percent of each ticket is viewed as tax-deductible.

Roots of Today’s Resource Center for the Americas

A reminder of RCA’s history is timely for those who have not followed recent developments of this essential community organization.  In 1983, when RCA was established, wars in Central America were raging and many Americans were wondering aloud about the cognitive dissonance between what was happening in real life and what the Government was telling Americans.  RCA, then known as the Central American Resource Center (CARC) began educating and organizing concerned citizens about what the people and situation of Central America.

During the 1990’s CARC changed its name and broadened its mission, specifically in light of the challenges of globalization. With a increasing focus on the impact of corporate globalization RCA saw its role as a bridge-builder between all people of the Americas “committed to understanding and living a way of life that protects and respects the human rights of all people.”  The organization moved to its inviting site on Lake Street and Minnehaha where they opened a fabulous bookstore and an equally unique library – topped off with a fine little restaurant at which some of us spent far too much time and hard-earned lunch money.  The site at 3019 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis remains the remains the primary home of Resource Center of the Americas today.

In the early 1980’s a new organization with a similar mission was coming together as City South Cluster Ministries, a collaboration of five South Minneapolis Lutheran churches.  Ultimately known as La Conexion , the organization responded to the dramatic demographic shift as the Latino population began rapidly growing in Minneapolis.  Early focus of La Conexion was on social outreach with a vision of creating a public space where newly arrived Latino immigrants could receive assistance seeking resources and supportive community connections.

For five years La Conexion operated out of El Milagro Church and the Hans Christian Andersen School in the Phillips neighborhood.

Evolution of La Conexion de las Americas.

Like magnets, La Conexion and RCA worked in partnership, struggling together with the influx of immigrants in need of resources, residents in need of information, and a drastic cut in available funds.  In early 2011 the two organizations agreed that a merger of the separate entities, built on their common mission and related strengths, would better meet the needs of the community.

Thus was born La Conexion de las Americas.  Today you will find the new organization alive and well at age 28, working in the former CARC building at 3019 Minnehaha in Minneapolis or at RCA’s satellite site at the Wilder Center, 451 North Lexington in St. Paul.  You will also find an abundance of energy, commitment, experience and knowledge of U.S. and Central American relations, politics, history and media manipulation.

The Fundraising Gala on November 5 offers an festive opportunity to meet the staff and volunteers, to hear the stories, to learn about the countless services and programs and to support the organization’s bold efforts to meet the challenges of today and the inevitable waves of change that will assuredly persist.  Learn much more about the history, sponsors, volunteer opportunities, and programs of today’s Resource Center of the Americas online or by participating in some of their unique and diverse  opportunities to learn.

Register for the Gala online – If you have questions contact Jason (612 276 0788×3) or jason.stone@americas.org

Today the memory seems totally out of line and out of place, but my clearest visual of my visit to the Resource Center of the Americas, then located at the U of M Newman Center, is that it marked my first experience with a functioning library application of the Internet.  Though demos and dreams were flooding the market, here was this small group of volunteers, many of them librarians who took “social responsibility” serious, who had created an accessible catalog for the RCA library collection.  The collection itself was bold, strident, angry, a cacophony of voices far beyond the Center’s walls – now reaching an audience that could learn and act on the information and ideas gathered by RCA staff and friends who had their collective ear to the disparity between reality and the myth.

I know that this visit recollection has lived in my mind for 28 years because this Saturday, November 5, RCA is celebrating its 28^th Anniversary of service “to our community and our hemisphere.”  The gala fundraiser is 7-11:30 p.m. at the Ukrainian Event Center, 301 Main Street Northeast, Minneapolis.

Guests are encouraged to “dress festive!”  And festive is the theme of the celebration.  Featured performer for the evening is Malamanya, along with traditional South American tunes by Vladimir Garrido and dance performances by Ballet Folklorico Mexico Azteca and the Teen Folkloric Dancers of Centro, Inc.

Friends of RCA may buy  tickets online for $35 for adults. Predictably, the event is family friendly with youth 6-17 $10 and children under 6 admitted without charge.  No tickets will be mailed –  reservations will be added to a list with an e-mailed receipt for tax purposes.  Sixty percent of each ticket is viewed as tax-deductible.

Roots of Today’s Resource Center for the Americas

A reminder of RCA’s history is timely for those who have not followed recent developments of this essential community organization.  In 1983, when RCA was established, wars in Central America were raging and many Americans were wondering aloud about the cognitive dissonance between what was happening in real life and what the Government was telling Americans.  RCA, then known as the Central American Resource Center (CARC) began educating and organizing concerned citizens about what the people and situation of Central America.

During the 1990’s CARC changed its name and broadened its mission, specifically in light of the challenges of globalization. With a increasing focus on the impact of corporate globalization RCA saw its role as a bridge-builder between all people of the Americas “committed to understanding and living a way of life that protects and respects the human rights of all people.”  The organization moved to its inviting site on Lake Street and Minnehaha where they opened a fabulous bookstore and an equally unique library – topped off with a fine little restaurant at which some of us spent far too much time and hard-earned lunch money.  The site at 3019 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis remains the remains the primary home of Resource Center of the Americas today.

In the early 1980’s a new organization with a similar mission was coming together as City South Cluster Ministries, a collaboration of five South Minneapolis Lutheran churches.  Ultimately known as La Conexion , the organization responded to the dramatic demographic shift as the Latino population began rapidly growing in Minneapolis.  Early focus of La Conexion was on social outreach with a vision of creating a public space where newly arrived Latino immigrants could receive assistance seeking resources and supportive community connections.

For five years La Conexion operated out of El Milagro Church and the Hans Christian Andersen School in the Phillips neighborhood.

Evolution of La Conexion de las Americas.

Like magnets, La Conexion and RCA worked in partnership, struggling together with the influx of immigrants in need of resources, residents in need of information, and a drastic cut in available funds.  In early 2011 the two organizations agreed that a merger of the separate entities, built on their common mission and related strengths, would better meet the needs of the community.

Thus was born La Conexion de las Americas.  Today you will find the new organization alive and well at age 28, working in the former CARC building at 3019 Minnehaha in Minneapolis or at RCA’s satellite site at the Wilder Center, 451 North Lexington in St. Paul.  You will also find an abundance of energy, commitment, experience and knowledge of U.S. and Central American relations, politics, history and media manipulation.

The Fundraising Gala on November 5 offers an festive opportunity to meet the staff and volunteers, to hear the stories, to learn about the countless services and programs and to support the organization’s bold efforts to meet the challenges of today and the inevitable waves of change that will assuredly persist.  Learn much more about the history, sponsors, volunteer opportunities, and programs of today’s Resource Center of the Americas online or by participating in some of their unique and diverse  opportunities to learn.

Register for the Gala online – If you have questions contact Jason (612 276 0788×3) or jason.stone@americas.org

Today the memory seems totally out of line and out of place, but my clearest visual of my visit to the Resource Center of the Americas, then located at the U of M Newman Center, is that it marked my first experience with a functioning library application of the Internet.  Though demos and dreams were flooding the market, here was this small group of volunteers, many of them librarians who took “social responsibility” serious, who had created an accessible catalog for the RCA library collection.  The collection itself was bold, strident, angry, a cacophony of voices far beyond the Center’s walls – now reaching an audience that could learn and act on the information and ideas gathered by RCA staff and friends who had their collective ear to the disparity between reality and the myth.

I know that this visit recollection has lived in my mind for 28 years because this Saturday, November 5, RCA is celebrating its 28^th Anniversary of service “to our community and our hemisphere.”  The gala fundraiser is 7-11:30 p.m. at the Ukrainian Event Center, 301 Main Street Northeast, Minneapolis.

Guests are encouraged to “dress festive!”  And festive is the theme of the celebration.  Featured performer for the evening is Malamanya, along with traditional South American tunes by Vladimir Garrido and dance performances by Ballet Folklorico Mexico Azteca and the Teen Folkloric Dancers of Centro, Inc.

Friends of RCA may buy  tickets online for $35 for adults. Predictably, the event is family friendly with youth 6-17 $10 and children under 6 admitted without charge.  No tickets will be mailed –  reservations will be added to a list with an e-mailed receipt for tax purposes.  Sixty percent of each ticket is viewed as tax-deductible.

Roots of Today’s Resource Center for the Americas

A reminder of RCA’s history is timely for those who have not followed recent developments of this essential community organization.  In 1983, when RCA was established, wars in Central America were raging and many Americans were wondering aloud about the cognitive dissonance between what was happening in real life and what the Government was telling Americans.  RCA, then known as the Central American Resource Center (CARC) began educating and organizing concerned citizens about what the people and situation of Central America.

During the 1990’s CARC changed its name and broadened its mission, specifically in light of the challenges of globalization. With a increasing focus on the impact of corporate globalization RCA saw its role as a bridge-builder between all people of the Americas “committed to understanding and living a way of life that protects and respects the human rights of all people.”  The organization moved to its inviting site on Lake Street and Minnehaha where they opened a fabulous bookstore and an equally unique library – topped off with a fine little restaurant at which some of us spent far too much time and hard-earned lunch money.  The site at 3019 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis remains the remains the primary home of Resource Center of the Americas today.

In the early 1980’s a new organization with a similar mission was coming together as City South Cluster Ministries, a collaboration of five South Minneapolis Lutheran churches.  Ultimately known as La Conexion , the organization responded to the dramatic demographic shift as the Latino population began rapidly growing in Minneapolis.  Early focus of La Conexion was on social outreach with a vision of creating a public space where newly arrived Latino immigrants could receive assistance seeking resources and supportive community connections.

For five years La Conexion operated out of El Milagro Church and the Hans Christian Andersen School in the Phillips neighborhood.

Evolution of La Conexion de las Americas.

Like magnets, La Conexion and RCA worked in partnership, struggling together with the influx of immigrants in need of resources, residents in need of information, and a drastic cut in available funds.  In early 2011 the two organizations agreed that a merger of the separate entities, built on their common mission and related strengths, would better meet the needs of the community.

Thus was born La Conexion de las Americas.  Today you will find the new organization alive and well at age 28, working in the former CARC building at 3019 Minnehaha in Minneapolis or at RCA’s satellite site at the Wilder Center, 451 North Lexington in St. Paul.  You will also find an abundance of energy, commitment, experience and knowledge of U.S. and Central American relations, politics, history and media manipulation.

The Fundraising Gala on November 5 offers an festive opportunity to meet the staff and volunteers, to hear the stories, to learn about the countless services and programs and to support the organization’s bold efforts to meet the challenges of today and the inevitable waves of change that will assuredly persist.  Learn much more about the history, sponsors, volunteer opportunities, and programs of today’s Resource Center of the Americas online or by participating in some of their unique and diverse  opportunities to learn.

Register for the Gala online – If you have questions contact Jason (612 276 0788×3) or jason.stone@americas.org

Today the memory seems totally out of line and out of place, but my clearest visual of my visit to the Resource Center of the Americas, then located at the U of M Newman Center, is that it marked my first experience with a functioning library application of the Internet.  Though demos and dreams were flooding the market, here was this small group of volunteers, many of them librarians who took “social responsibility” serious, who had created an accessible catalog for the RCA library collection.  The collection itself was bold, strident, angry, a cacophony of voices far beyond the Center’s walls – now reaching an audience that could learn and act on the information and ideas gathered by RCA staff and friends who had their collective ear to the disparity between reality and the myth.

I know that this visit recollection has lived in my mind for 28 years because this Saturday, November 5, RCA is celebrating its 28^th Anniversary of service “to our community and our hemisphere.”  The gala fundraiser is 7-11:30 p.m. at the Ukrainian Event Center, 301 Main Street Northeast, Minneapolis.

Guests are encouraged to “dress festive!”  And festive is the theme of the celebration.  Featured performer for the evening is Malamanya, along with traditional South American tunes by Vladimir Garrido and dance performances by Ballet Folklorico Mexico Azteca and the Teen Folkloric Dancers of Centro, Inc.

Friends of RCA may buy  tickets online for $35 for adults. Predictably, the event is family friendly with youth 6-17 $10 and children under 6 admitted without charge.  No tickets will be mailed –  reservations will be added to a list with an e-mailed receipt for tax purposes.  Sixty percent of each ticket is viewed as tax-deductible.

Roots of Today’s Resource Center for the Americas

A reminder of RCA’s history is timely for those who have not followed recent developments of this essential community organization.  In 1983, when RCA was established, wars in Central America were raging and many Americans were wondering aloud about the cognitive dissonance between what was happening in real life and what the Government was telling Americans.  RCA, then known as the Central American Resource Center (CARC) began educating and organizing concerned citizens about what the people and situation of Central America.

During the 1990’s CARC changed its name and broadened its mission, specifically in light of the challenges of globalization. With a increasing focus on the impact of corporate globalization RCA saw its role as a bridge-builder between all people of the Americas “committed to understanding and living a way of life that protects and respects the human rights of all people.”  The organization moved to its inviting site on Lake Street and Minnehaha where they opened a fabulous bookstore and an equally unique library – topped off with a fine little restaurant at which some of us spent far too much time and hard-earned lunch money.  The site at 3019 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis remains the remains the primary home of Resource Center of the Americas today.

In the early 1980’s a new organization with a similar mission was coming together as City South Cluster Ministries, a collaboration of five South Minneapolis Lutheran churches.  Ultimately known as La Conexion , the organization responded to the dramatic demographic shift as the Latino population began rapidly growing in Minneapolis.  Early focus of La Conexion was on social outreach with a vision of creating a public space where newly arrived Latino immigrants could receive assistance seeking resources and supportive community connections.

For five years La Conexion operated out of El Milagro Church and the Hans Christian Andersen School in the Phillips neighborhood.

Evolution of La Conexion de las Americas.

Like magnets, La Conexion and RCA worked in partnership, struggling together with the influx of immigrants in need of resources, residents in need of information, and a drastic cut in available funds.  In early 2011 the two organizations agreed that a merger of the separate entities, built on their common mission and related strengths, would better meet the needs of the community.

Thus was born La Conexion de las Americas.  Today you will find the new organization alive and well at age 28, working in the former CARC building at 3019 Minnehaha in Minneapolis or at RCA’s satellite site at the Wilder Center, 451 North Lexington in St. Paul.  You will also find an abundance of energy, commitment, experience and knowledge of U.S. and Central American relations, politics, history and media manipulation.

The Fundraising Gala on November 5 offers an festive opportunity to meet the staff and volunteers, to hear the stories, to learn about the countless services and programs and to support the organization’s bold efforts to meet the challenges of today and the inevitable waves of change that will assuredly persist.  Learn much more about the history, sponsors, volunteer opportunities, and programs of today’s Resource Center of the Americas online or by participating in some of their unique and diverse  opportunities to learn.

Register for the Gala online – If you have questions contact Jason (612 276 0788×3) or jason.stone@americas.org

Today the memory seems totally out of line and out of place, but my clearest visual of my visit to the Resource Center of the Americas, then located at the U of M Newman Center, is that it marked my first experience with a functioning library application of the Internet.  Though demos and dreams were flooding the market, here was this small group of volunteers, many of them librarians who took “social responsibility” serious, who had created an accessible catalog for the RCA library collection.  The collection itself was bold, strident, angry, a cacophony of voices far beyond the Center’s walls – now reaching an audience that could learn and act on the information and ideas gathered by RCA staff and friends who had their collective ear to the disparity between reality and the myth.

I know that this visit recollection has lived in my mind for 28 years because this Saturday, November 5, RCA is celebrating its 28^th Anniversary of service “to our community and our hemisphere.”  The gala fundraiser is 7-11:30 p.m. at the Ukrainian Event Center, 301 Main Street Northeast, Minneapolis.

Guests are encouraged to “dress festive!”  And festive is the theme of the celebration.  Featured performer for the evening is Malamanya, along with traditional South American tunes by Vladimir Garrido and dance performances by Ballet Folklorico Mexico Azteca and the Teen Folkloric Dancers of Centro, Inc.

Friends of RCA may buy  tickets online for $35 for adults. Predictably, the event is family friendly with youth 6-17 $10 and children under 6 admitted without charge.  No tickets will be mailed –  reservations will be added to a list with an e-mailed receipt for tax purposes.  Sixty percent of each ticket is viewed as tax-deductible.

Roots of Today’s Resource Center for the Americas

A reminder of RCA’s history is timely for those who have not followed recent developments of this essential community organization.  In 1983, when RCA was established, wars in Central America were raging and many Americans were wondering aloud about the cognitive dissonance between what was happening in real life and what the Government was telling Americans.  RCA, then known as the Central American Resource Center (CARC) began educating and organizing concerned citizens about what the people and situation of Central America.

During the 1990’s CARC changed its name and broadened its mission, specifically in light of the challenges of globalization. With a increasing focus on the impact of corporate globalization RCA saw its role as a bridge-builder between all people of the Americas “committed to understanding and living a way of life that protects and respects the human rights of all people.”  The organization moved to its inviting site on Lake Street and Minnehaha where they opened a fabulous bookstore and an equally unique library – topped off with a fine little restaurant at which some of us spent far too much time and hard-earned lunch money.  The site at 3019 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis remains the remains the primary home of Resource Center of the Americas today.

In the early 1980’s a new organization with a similar mission was coming together as City South Cluster Ministries, a collaboration of five South Minneapolis Lutheran churches.  Ultimately known as La Conexion , the organization responded to the dramatic demographic shift as the Latino population began rapidly growing in Minneapolis.  Early focus of La Conexion was on social outreach with a vision of creating a public space where newly arrived Latino immigrants could receive assistance seeking resources and supportive community connections.

For five years La Conexion operated out of El Milagro Church and the Hans Christian Andersen School in the Phillips neighborhood.

Evolution of La Conexion de las Americas.

Like magnets, La Conexion and RCA worked in partnership, struggling together with the influx of immigrants in need of resources, residents in need of information, and a drastic cut in available funds.  In early 2011 the two organizations agreed that a merger of the separate entities, built on their common mission and related strengths, would better meet the needs of the community.

Thus was born La Conexion de las Americas.  Today you will find the new organization alive and well at age 28, working in the former CARC building at 3019 Minnehaha in Minneapolis or at RCA’s satellite site at the Wilder Center, 451 North Lexington in St. Paul.  You will also find an abundance of energy, commitment, experience and knowledge of U.S. and Central American relations, politics, history and media manipulation.

The Fundraising Gala on November 5 offers an festive opportunity to meet the staff and volunteers, to hear the stories, to learn about the countless services and programs and to support the organization’s bold efforts to meet the challenges of today and the inevitable waves of change that will assuredly persist.  Learn much more about the history, sponsors, volunteer opportunities, and programs of today’s Resource Center of the Americas online or by participating in some of their unique and diverse  opportunities to learn.

Register for the Gala online – If you have questions contact Jason (612 276 0788×3) or jason.stone@americas.org

.

Bonneville Models Grassroots Management Style

For the past eleven years Gayle Bonneville has been the sparkplug, the glue and the institutional memory of my Windom Park neighborhood.  Two afternoons a week she’s posted on Lowry and Stinson where I have spent hundreds of hours waiting for the bus, reading the many messages neatly posted in the window, and wondering about who keeps the neighborhood on an even keel.  Now I know that it is Gayle Bonneville who manages to split her busy days between Windom Park and West St. Anthony neighborhoods, keeping a wide swath of Northeast Minneapolis informed, in touch, and, above all, engaged.  No easy task for this diminutive woman who somehow manages to balance two active nonprofits at the same time she energizes the neighborhoods and reaches out as an active denizen of several social media networks.

Windom Park Citizens in Action (WPCIA) is an independent nonprofit that is the city-designated organization for this Northeast Minneapolis neighborhood.  It is also the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) contracting organization for the Windom Park neighborhood.  Working with a nine-member board and committees Gayle steers a steady course helping residents to identify neighborhood needs, plan and implement solutions, and enhance the quality of life for neighborhood residents.

Gayle is adamant in her insistence that it is the neighbors who make the decisions that shape the community.  An ardent believer in grassroots engagement Gayle spends much of her precious time informing and involving the community at large.  Monthly neighborhood meetings, announced broadly online and by postcard, draw a healthy mix of concerned neighbors.  Increasingly Gayle is turning to social media to share the word.  A striking example of Windom Park’s participatory environment is a recent survey of the neighborhood, conducted online and on paper, in English and Spanish.  Residents were queried about a broad range of imminent and long-tern options; at this time the board is delving through the returns to present the results and the challenge of decision-making to the membership.  Though drastic cuts in NRP funding render those decisions painful at best Gayle insists the tough choices will be made by the neighbors not staff or board.

Currently, Gayle is working with WPCIA’s Community Land Use and Planning committee, NRP, and a mix of home improvement and security loan programs.  As a concerned citizen volunteer she continues to grapple with future development of Shoreham Yards – a political, environmental, legal and regulatory quagmire that would fell a lesser mortal

To contact Gayle with questions or suggestions, email info@windompark.org,   For a listing of board, committee and task force members, meetings and responsibilities, check the Windom Park website – better yet, volunteer to serve.  Watch your mailbox and e-list for notices of WPCIA meetings – sign up for e-mail notices here.  The next WPCIA meeting is set for Tuesday, August 16, 7-9 p.m., Pillsbury School Annex, 2551 Hayes – free parking, treats, child care upon request, a chance to learn and have your say about the future of our neighborhood!

 

 

 

 

 

MPIRG at 40

MPIRG – Minnesota Public Interest Research Group MPIRG Board Chair Kathy Dekrey testifies against lifting the nuclear power moratorium in the house environment committee.

www.youtube.com

When Kathy Dekray, current Board Chair of the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG), and a senior at Augsburg College recently testified before the Legislature she argued against the removal of the nuclear moratorium in Minnesota.   She was the most recent in an endless list of MPIRG representatives who have expressed the position of MPIRG student members on scores of issues facing the state.

More than 150 members, former members and supporters of MPIRG gathered on Friday, January 21, to celebrate four decades of advocacy and involvement through this “grassroots, non-artisan, nonprofit, student-directed organization”.  The occasion gives Executive Director Josh Winters pause to reflect on the origins and future of MPIRG.

What Winters sees is change.  The Minnesota public interest research group, along with Oregon, were the first two campus-based public interest research groups.  Though the beginnings are often associated with Ralph Nader, Winters is quick to credit others, including Don Ross, who took a good idea and made it happen.  “A good idea is a good idea, but it takes people to do it,” Winters observes.

An intriguing question Winters raises is just how did a small cadre of students, volunteers and others create a statewide – actually national – network in a pre-social media environment.  The answer, he affirms, must be based in a deep commitment to grassroots organizing coupled with a shared vision to give voice to everyone.  That commitment is expressed in the mission of MPIRG to “empower and train students and engage the community to take collective action in the public interest throughout the state of Minnesota.”

Today some 70,000 Minnesota college students are members of MPIRG;  the ranks are augmented by hundreds of community volunteers, including many MPIRG alumni.

MPIRG operates on nine campuses throughout the state:  Augsburg College, Carleton College, St. Catherine University, Hamline University, Macalester College, U of M-Duluth, U of M-Morris, U of M-Twin Cities, and William Mitchell College of Law. The individual campus-based websites reflect a wide range of individual campus activities.

Campuses offer a mix of membership options, most in the refusable/refundable range, thus avoiding past conflict re. mandatory membership that at times have pitted campus conservative groups against MPIRG which they perceived as too far left of center – or organization that reject mandatory memberships out of hand.

The current statewide identified issues on which MPIRG members and volunteers are working include green transportation, health care for all, and affordable higher education. The roster of scores of issues tackled over the years range from solar tax credit to car lemon laws to a 2006 production of “The Vagina Monologues.”

An ongoing priority for MPIRG members is voter registration and involvement.  Clearly, students are focused on, but not limited to, youth engagement in the political process.

In Fall 2010 MPIRG was one of several organizations involved with what Star Tribune journalist Eric Roper referred to as “a minor battle of generations” brewing in Minnesota politics.  College students gathered at the State Capitol to express their concerns. Speaking as an MPIRG representative Carleton College student Ben Hellerstein raised the question “With only half as many people turning out to the polls, is everyone’s voice really being heard?”

Roper reflects on a number of factors students perceive to leave college students left out of the political arena.  The moved-up primary, for example, meant students were at work or out of the country.  Another issue cited by students is the fact that candidates’ tendency to court over-60 voters may ignore attention to students.

Winters overflows with ideas as he looks to the future – how to harness today’s social media without losing the essential “hands on” essence of the organization.   He speaks enthusiastically about community/campus based initiatives, e.g.  a research-based approach to mandatory business recycling in Minneapolis.

Another priority for tomorrow’s MPIRG is research, particularly in-depth and long-term research. At present, for example, MPIRG is initiating an extensive survey of photo ID on voting.  Another ongoing longitudinal survey focuses on a statewide survey of sexual violence and assault on campus; the report of that study is due out next fall

The recent 40^th anniversary recognition offered an opportunity for today’s students and advocates to reflect on the legacy of MPIRG.  Students could learn about the roots of the organization, its accomplishments, changes and intent.  For alumni the event was an occasion to see how their legacy is being carried forward by ambitious and committed students equipped with new tools and putting them to the task of sharing a the vision of “common sense good policies.”

More than a whimper

 

 

Somewhere buried in the news of the day we will probably miss the fact that Tuesday, December 21, 2010 should mark a major blast in the ongoing saga of  Census 2010. The headlines, I predict, will focus almost exclusively on which states win/lose Congressional seats.  The Census-based reapportionment is a momentous outcome, of course.  Still, it is but one immediate and visible application of the massive data collected in the 2010 Census.  Though reapportionment means a lot to the politicos and the media and ultimately to the people  it is simply not sufficient to let that be the end of the discussion of what Census 2010 can and should mean in the lives of ordinary people.

 

A year ago we were inundated with grand information campaigns encouraging  participation in the Census.  It was great, almost heady, stuff!  Advocacy groups, nonprofits, churches, neighborhood organizations, education groups were getting together on the common cause to promote understanding and participation.  All in all, it was one of the most united, effective, positive initiatives I’ve ever witnessed.  I get excited remembering the energy and commitment that prevailed.

 

Then comes the whimper….I worried then and I’m more worried now about how that Census information will ultimately improve the lives of the millions of good people who took time, overcame fears, and shared information about themselves with the U.S. government.  We know that developers, government agencies, advertisers, planners know where the data are and how to use them.  That’s as it should be.  My concern is this:  If information is power, what are we doing to empower the people to put to good purpose that data that is theirs – ours.  What resources – money, time, energy, focus – will we commit to ensure that the information works for the people?

 

The surge to push for participation was generously funded by the government, eagerly taken on by a host of responsible organizations.  To some extent, the message was simple and straightforward:  Census 2010 is not a threat, it’s important, participate.

 

Now it gets complicated:  The challenge now is to learn how to use those numbers to shape and improve services, to allocate resources, to interpret needs and to identify solutions.  The process is neither glamorous nor fast-paced – it’s just essential.  We owe it to the people who listened and shared their time and information.  The government, state or federal, can do just so much.  It remains to those same groups who worked so hard last year  – the media, nonprofits, churches, advocacy groups, educators – to stay on duty.  That means following the Census data as it oozes out of the federal government.  It means learning new skills, taking serious time to locate, organize, interpret, apply and share the information and the skills of access.

 

Tuesday, December 21, ought to signal a major kickoff of the next phase of Census 2010.  We can’t expect that thrust – the energy or the resources – to emanate from the federal bureaucracy.  The commitment simply must come from the field where those who care about outcomes for real people.  Information power as a priority is unprecedented.  Those who believe in the power of an informed public to make good decisions need to shift gears to incorporate access to government information, including Census data, as a priority.  Access tools are in place or within reach.  The data are gathered, eager to gush forth on demand. My hope is that the next phase of Census 2010 will go forth not with a whimper but with a mighty bang.

Friends of the Northeast Library Gather in Minneapolis

Library openings and re-openings have a way of getting a community’s juices flowing.  Thus was the case with the Friends of Northeast Library, a fledgling but energetic group that gathered last week to plan how best to celebrate and capitalize on the re-opening of the Northeast Library which has been closed for renovation for many months.  On one of autumn’s last perfect evenings a dozen enthusiasts and bibliophiles gathered to anticipate and plan for the re-opening, set for a date yet to be determined in Spring 2011.

Topics on the agenda included the establishment of an endowment, coupled with much discussion about the intent and disposition of that endowment.  Attendees focused on the way in which “their” library will link with and build on a strong community with ethnic roots and a thriving arts environment.  A short-range plan calls for a fundraising book sale set for Friday and Saturday, December 10-11, 2010 at the East Side Coop.

The energy was palpable and the hopes high as attendees looked to the future, including the legacy that an endowment might leave to the community, the ways in which area residents tap a mix of public libraries, especially Bottineau and St. Anthony Village, and the role of a Friends group.

The nascent Friends group is assisted by the Hennepin County Library Foundation which is working with local groups to create and support Friends organizations throughout the Hennepin County Library system.  The challenge facing the Foundation is to incorporate and envision a mix of library Friends groups in an environment profoundly transformed by the merger of the Hennepin County and Minneapolis Public Library systems, each of which had a unique profile of Friends organizations.

Fortunately, organizational heritage was not the primary concern nor the determinant of those gathered to explore the future of Friends of Northeast.  This new group has ideas, energy and commitment to take on the challenge of the new Northeast Library soon to grace and inform the Northeast community.

The Right to Know: A Guide to Public Access and Media Law

Horrendous losses in the legacy print press and the spread of access tools have inexorably combined to create the citizen journalist.  The fact is, we cj’s too often lack the professional journalist’s preparation for the task.  One thing that professional journalists understand at their core is their right to access and to know.  The First Amendment Coalition and the California Newspaper Publishers Association have produced a guide that promises to equip citizen journalists, bloggers, activists and public officials to know the possibilities and the limits when it comes to access.  The Right to Know: A Guide to Public Access and Media Law is a one-stop law guide on access and First Amendment issues. It’s written by James Chadwick and Roger R. Myers, both national authorities on the right to know.  The guide is available from the First Amendment Coalition.  Purchasers of The Right to Know will also receive access online to the full text of all court decisions cited in the book and access online to new legal developments and updates.  The book is $30 from the First Amendment Coalition, 534 4th Street, Suite B, San Rafael, CA 94901, (415) 460-5060 or online at First Amendment Coalition

Emergency and Community Health Outreach – ECHO

As most Minnesotans know, October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, enthusiastically supported by scores of national chains, professional sports teams, health care providers, churches and community groups.  What caught my attention was a welcome spate of  multi-language PSA’s and public television information programs devoted to cancer detection and treatment.  As is my wont, I poked around so that I now understand this multi-language Breast Cancer Awareness campaign can be credit in large part ECHO, officially the  Emergency Community Health Outreach.  ECHO is a leader in multi-language access geared to the needs of immigrants and refugees.  The organization promotes collaboration among a host of health and safety experts and bilingual community leaders to create high quality programming for TV and radio broadcast, phone, print, web, DVD and relay distribution.  Breast Cancer Awareness Month is just one product of ECHO’s ongoing initiatives to meet the needs of communities that are too frequently disenfranchised

The breast cancer awareness campaign is just one of scores of programs and projects supported by ECHO to ensure that over a half million Minnesotans with limited English-speaking skills have access to the information they need to make informed decisions affecting their well-being.  ECHO dates from 2004 when local and state public health and safety agencies joined forces to address the health, safety and emergency information needs of an expanding number of Minnesotans with limited English-speaking experience.  A dozen bilingual community leaders became ECHO’s first team of community spokespeople.

Early on ECHO launched ECHO TV in partnership with the St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) and Twin Cities Public Television.  This was the first series in the country dedicated to presenting health, safety, and emergency readiness programs in multiple languages.  It forged a partnership that endures and continues to produce multi-language materials on a wide range of topics. Full seasons of ECHO TV – up to 12 programs in 7 languages (English, Hmong, Khmer, Lao, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese) are now available on DVD.  Individual topics may also be available in multiple languages on single DVDs which are  available without charge to organizations and individuals that meet needs requirements.

In short order ECHO Web launched as an online library of multi-language, multi-media resources featuring information on over 70 related topics. ECHO Web provides an online library of health, safety, emergency preparedness and civic engagement resources.  Audio, video and print materials are available on over 70 topics, all supported with  links to help users connect with resources and new information added every month.  ECHO Web provides a virtual hub for public officials, outreach workers and community members seeking multi-language health, safety, emergency and civic engagement education. There’s also an emergency situation e-mail list on ECHO Web.

Another option, ECHO Phone, provides the first statewide toll-free recorded information service through updated multi-language seasonal health and safety tips..

On Tuesday, November 16, ECHO is  sponsoring “ImmigrationMatters,” a free panel discussion and recognition featuring  immigration attorney Howard S. Myers, III,  Wilder Foundation SE Asian program director Tony Yang,  and state demographer Tom Gillaspy It’s at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 451 Lexington Parkway North in St. Paul.  RSVP to www.immigrationmatters.eventbrite.com or call 651 789 4337.

ECHO is located at  25 Charles Avenue, St. Paul, MN  55103.  .  Learn much more about the services and resources of ECHO on their website.

The UpTake Journalists Banned in Edina!

The intrepid crew from The Uptake hit its first bump in the transparency world this week when the Edina Chamber of Commerce banned all video and audio recording from Wednesday’s debate between candidates Erik Paulsen and Jim Meffert.  Not a major hurdle for the folks from The Update who have covered and shared a daunting roster of candidate forums, debates, town meetings and more during campaign 2010.

 

When the dust settles it will be interesting to learn just how many miles they’ve covered, camera in hand – From the Clinton visit to Blaine and Obama’s U of M appearance over last weekend to La Asamblea de Derechos Civiles in South Minneapolis, Farm Fest, the rambunctious Oberstar/Cravaak debate in Duluth and scores of other sites.  The Uptake crew covers the event live if possible, then records and posts the full program on The Uptake website.  They even offer fact check back up that is endlessly illuminating.

 

Today, Tuesday, The Uptake provides live coverage of the much-vaunted debate between Michele Bachmann and Tarryl Clark taking place in St. Cloud.  The enterprising Uptakers suggest that viewers watch the debate live from home or office, then contribute the cost of the gas saved to The Uptake.

 

At this point in the campaign every Minnesotan is burned out on sound bites and TV spots well-funded by a mix of vested interests.  The would-be informed voter might do well to take a breath, settle into an easy chair, and take time to view and listen to the candidates themselves – uninterrupted, on the spot, recorded by The Uptake.

 

Follow The Uptake any way that suits your social media fancy:

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International Right to Know Day

Though you may not read or hear much about International Right to Know Day on September 28, 2010, the astounding fact is that NGO’s, press groups and others in over forty nations worldwide will be taking a moment to celebrate the essential, if implicit, human right.  Since its inception in 2002 the goal of RTK Day has been to raise global awareness of individuals’ right to access government information and to promote access to information as a fundamental human right.

The underlying principles echoed throughout the celebration of RTK Day are that public interest takes precedence over secrecy and that public bodies play a proactive role as vehicles of public access.  Though transparency has become a buzz word at every level of government, organizations and advocates who are truly concerned might well take a collective deep breath and review the reality.  For advocates laboring in the local vineyard there is strength to be found in the fact that committed colleagues in a host of nations are making waves and even progress.  While Canada celebrates International RTK – and the right itself – with great gusto other nations ranging from Bulgaria to China to Nigeria believe, work and are taking concrete steps to promote the right to know as a basic human right.

One example of work in progress is the extensive draft report currently being circulated for discussion throughout Europe.   Access Info Europe and the Open Knowledge Foundation, in collaboration with Open Society Institute Information Program, are holding a “public consultation” on open government data and the right of access to information based on that document that bears the working title Beyond Access. The draft report assesses the current status of open government data and the right to reuse, offering a current and inclusive review of movements, examples and comments on future directions.  It’s worth a look.

FOI Advocates offers an excellent mix of ideas of ways that individuals and organizations of virtually every stripe can celebrate RTK Day 2010 – it’s specific, thought-generating and very useful.  It’s not too late to turn out a letter to the editor, an exhibit or a quick self-assessment of what your or your organization is doing to promote – or inhibit – access.