Attention Artists in the Corcoran Area!
There are more of us here than you realize! If you are interested in meeting like-minded people or becoming part of an art community, then let's create an association. Becoming an organized association will increase our visibility and foster community connections and pride! And as a unified group, we could have the potential to create our own Art Crawl or other possibilities. So let's join together and see what we can achieve!
The first meeting will be September 8th, starting at 6:30pm, at CNO, 3451 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis.
If interested, please contact me: Chris Sutton at [email protected].
4th of July: Time for Celebration or Isolation?
My name is Tara, I live in the Corcoran Neighborhood and I am a Combat Veteran. I returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in September, 2012. During my deployment I completed roughly 280 missions (mostly foot patrols) in the most dangerous, Taliban-ridden district in Zabul Province, Afghanistan. Our tiny Combat Outpost (COP) was frequently the target of local Taliban attacks along with the District Center and Afghan Police station co-located next just outside the gate. For my tour, I earned a Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge for engaging in direct enemy combat. Before I even left the country, I knew I would never be the same.
Read moreTenants Demand Better Living Conditions, Affordable Rents
Latest News:
Star Tribune: Embattled Landlord Plans to Sell Buildings and Minneapolis Landlord Steve Frenz Deceived Court
KSTP: Tenants Protest Minneapolis Housing and Group of South Minneapolis Tenants Sues Landlord
MPR: Living Conditions in Low Rent Housing
MinnPost: Courageous Minneapolis Tenants Point the Way
Twin Cities Daily Planet: Renters Collectively Demand Justice Equity from Minneapolis and St. Paul
Protesters lined the sidewalk in the 3100 block of 22nd Avenue South in the Corcoran neighborhood. Tenants, community organizations and Corcoran residents were among those present demanding changes by the landlord, the City of Minneapolis and the community, while anticipating a property sale and rent increases at 8 buildings owned by the landlord. Five of these buildings (69 units) are on this b
lock of 22nd Avenue. Some of tenants’ demands are:
Buyers: keep a clean, safe environment and affordable buildings.
City: get buildings into good hands and let tenants choose new owners, take responsibility for the fact that Zorbalas can continue to generate profits (explained below), and fight for the rights of tenants.
Community: The community should recognize that this is a problem in every neighborhood in the city of Minneapolis and needs to support and walk with tenants.
Read moreSupreme Court Decision on DACA and DAPA
In a split decision 4-4 Supreme Court said the DACA and DAPA programs remain locked.
This means that the case is not completely finished but rather that the Court decided to temporarily continue blocking programs until the district court decides whether DACA and DAPA are constitutional ("legal"). It will take several months or years for the case to possibly return to the Supreme Court.
Migration has said it is deporting people who are "high priority".
Read moreCommunity Prayer Vigil - Reflection
On Monday night, July 11, Greater Friendship Church (38th Street & 26th Avenue) opened its doors for a Community Prayer Vigil in the wake of the incidents in Baton Rouge, Dallas, and St. Paul, that had just occurred. Though there were probably hundreds of different perspectives present, we were able to come together as a community, laying down all agendas but the common faith we shared in the message of the gospel.
When I arrived it was standing room only. Multiple speakers (mostly African American) called us to lock arms as brothers and sisters in the faith, over and above our skin color or any other dividing factor. Billy G. Russell, the host pastor, seemed genuinely thrilled to see his white brothers and sisters and talked repeatedly about the cross unifying us.
Read moreAugust 2016 Milly's Peace Garden Update
Pam Morgan and Anne Holzinger with their tomato plants
The gardening season at Milly’s Peace Garden is in full bloom! All eight plots are planted, and the potato, kale, tomato, and basil plants, among others, are all thriving. Herbalist Cynthia Thomas’ plot is full of blooming medicinal plants, and the pollinators love them. Three of us gardeners spent one afternoon a few weeks ago filling a truck with wood chips and then spreading them on our garden paths. What an improvement to the garden!
Peggy Kaproth with her basil and potato plants
Cynthia Thomas with her blooming medicinal plants
August 2016 Corcoran Community Garden Update
Lots of beautiful flowers blooming at the Corcoran Community Garden! Amazing how tall the sunflower is already! Looks like the gardeners are having another successful year of growing this season! Happy summer everybody!
The Earth Laughs in Flowers
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Like People, Plants Don't Like to Exist Alone
Imagine 90% of the vegetation in your yard is edible, medicinal, pollinator friendly, and is a pest deterrent. The praxis of permaculture has been a human function for quite some time. Today, many around the world and for various reasons, practice some form of permaculture.
This article marks the first in a series of articles where I will share my two-decade, accrued portion of knowledge on the general subject of raising and maintaining crops, and how I am currently using it to transform my yard into a perennial food forest ecosystem. Since I can’t eat grass I decided to fill yard-space with edible, medicinal, and pollinator friendly plants, reducing the amount of mowing. The real work requires cultivating a balanced co-existence with these very plants.
I spent two years observing, collecting, and assessing data on insect and animal life, water flow and what previous occupants left of perennial plant growth. I designed a 5 year layering plan that promotes and sustains relationships between its component parts--trees, understory, ground cover, soil, fungi, insects, and animals. The idea is to simulate the patterns and features of a natural ecosystem--flowers and herbs attract insects, insects attract birds and bats, birds, bunnies, and squirrels attract raptors (hawks & owls). You get the picture.
Read moreCorcoran GROWS is Helping Neighbors Share Garden Ideas and More!
Summer is a busy time for those who wish to take advantage of Minnesota's growing season. Corcoran GROWS is pulling together two events this summer to showcase some of the garden and other back-yard projects some neighbors have accomplished and lessons learned. Please join us for any of the following events to meet neighbors and be inspired!
Read moreCorcoran Residents Fight Displacement
Latest News:
Star Tribune: Embattled Landlord Plans to Sell Buildings, Minneapolis Landlord Steve Frenz Deceived Court, Housing Referee Rules, Minneapolis Puts Embattled Landlord Stephen Frenz on Notice
KSTP: Tenants Protest Minneapolis Housing
Southwest Journal: Revelation in Renters' Lawsuit Prompts City to Act
On Monday, August 15th at 5:00pm, tenants from 8 buildings owned by Spiros Zorbalas and Stephen Frenz will be gathering with their neighbors to protest the ongoing neglect of their homes by building management and the City of Minneapolis, and a property sale that could result in the displacement of over 130 families in the Corcoran, Standish, Powderhorn Park, and Lyndale neighborhoods. Tenants are calling for investments to maintain affordability and improve building safety and livability, and new City policies to protect renters rights.