I am happy to bring you a conversation with Nelsie Yang, who is a candidate for City Council in Saint Paul’s Sixth Ward, which covers the large northern part of the East Side. Yang is a community organizer who is advocating for economic sustainability, affordable housing, and better public safety on the East Side. We sat down the other day at Caydence Coffee and Records on Payne Avenue to chat about her campaign, her background, and her vision for the neighborhood. I hope you enjoy the conversation, and don’t forget to vote on November 5th. This podcast is sponsored by the Saint Paul flag. Sin ..read more

I’m happy to bring you a conversation with Chelsea DeArmond, one of the founders of Saint Paul’s 350.org chapter. 350 dot org is an international climate action group that is trying very hard to place climate change at the center of our cultural conversations, and catalyze change in how we use energy in the US. Founded by Bill McKibben back in 2007, the name is sadly a bit out of date at this point, as we’ve already hit 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere. The founder of Saint Paul’s chapter is Chelsea DeArmond, a walking and biking advocate who is organizing clim ..read more

Proposed 800-stall parking ramp in the North Loop. I’m excited to bring you today a conversation with Nancy Gardner and Tom Mallon, who residents of downtown Minneapolis that organized an effort to successfully stop a large parking ramp from being constructed in their neighborhood. Nancy and Tom live near the Mississippi River on the northern part of downtown Minneapolis, located very close to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Hennepin Avenue Bridge. When we recorded this chat, it was an auspicious moment: The week before, both Nancy and Tom had testified at a dramatic meeting ..read more

The podcast this week is a conversation with Erica Mauter, a engineer and executive director of the Twin Cities Women’s Choir, a non-profit. Mauter is running for City Council in Minneapolis’ Ward 11, in the Southern part of the city. We sat down for a chat the other day at Berry Sweet Kitchen on 34th Avenue, and chatted about her background, her campaign, her focus on affordable housing, renters rights, equity and engagement, and a bunch of other fun topics like riding a scooter and the Minnesota Lynx. We had a great chat and I hope you enjoy the conversation. Before we begin, the podcast thi ..read more

Today I’m bringing you a conversation with Liz De La Torre, who is running for City Council in Saint Paul’s Ward 1. I sat down with Liz a while back at the Heritage Tea House on University Avenue to talk about her campaign, her background working as a advocate for victims of domestic violence, and why she decided to run for City Council in Saint Paul. We had a nice conversation about her background and experience, what her platform looks like, and what her approach toward outreach and equity. Finally, we discussed affordable housing, transit, and other transportation questions that are central ..read more

This podcast is an interview with Terri Thao, who is running for City Council in Saint Paul’s 6th Ward, on the East Side of the city. Terri Thao is a long-time non-profit professional, former Planning Commissioner, and community organizer, among other things, who has spent years working on issues around housing, transit, and economic development in Saint Paul. I sat down with here a few weeks ago to talk to her about her campaign and am pleased to share it with you today. We became friends and colleagues in our time on the Planning Commission and I have always been impressed by Terri’s dedicat ..read more

Cover of the city’s first draft Pedestrian Plan. DETAIL. Today I’m bringing you a conversation with Fay Simer. Fay Simer is the Pedestrian Coordinator for Saint Paul Public Works Department, and she has been working diligently on the city’s first ever official pedestrian plan. Like most cities, Saint Paul has never had an official plan for how to design a city for people to walk. Typically, there might be ordinances or policies about sidewalks or street engineering or ADA requirements, but putting everything together into a city-wide plan to push walking infrastructure is not something that ..read more

The podcast this week is a conversation with Jeremy Schroeder, a director of a non-profit focused on affordable housing. Schroeder is running for City Council in Ward 11, on the city border in South Minneapolis. We sat down a few months ago at the Wild Mind Ales brewery to talk about his background, the Twin Cities’ housing market, what cities can do to create more affordable housing, and what the future holds for Ward 11. I hope you enjoy the conversation. Also, the podcast this week is sponsored by Bang Brewing. Bang Brewing Company is Minnesota’s only dedicated organic brewery. Established ..read more

An activation event on Nicollet. Today I’m bringing you a conversation with Lisa Middag, the director of Nicollet Activation for the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District. What does Nicollet activation” mean? I’m glad you asked. You’ll find out all about it in just a second, but it’s the person who is charged with bringing street life and economic activity to Nicollet Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis. You might be familiar with Nicollet, which is not only Minneapolis’ #1 shopping street, but was also remodeled at great expense a year or so ago. (Here’s a hint: It’s the street formerly know ..read more

Today I’m bringing you a conversation with Heather Worthington and Paul Mogush, two of the people behind the forthcoming Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan is the basic planning document for the city, a ten-year update required by the regional government, and Minneapolis’ plan has been getting a lot of attention for making some change to zoning and transportation issues, and for placing equity and climate values at its core. In her role as Long-Range Planning Director, Heather Worthington has been overseeing the release and revision of the plans, and h ..read more