All posts in the topic Give Me One Reason To Come Back To Minneapolis... (Short link)
Summary
- There are 21 posts — by 16 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Dyna Sluyter at 2008 Jul 07 23:17 UTC
I'd planned to make a day trip to Starbuck today- my friend
Stephanie was in and the city was hinting that my car's summer wheels
didn't belong in the back yard. No problem- this ain't like second story
painting.
However, before I could escape crime ridden Minneapolis I had to get
out the ladder again. Turns out our local protected species, the
criminals, had busted out a couple of my storm windows. So before I
could escape Minneapolis I had to spend a couple hours cleaning up the
broken glass, then screw a couple 2 by 4s across the window so our
criminals can't get in even if they break the glass. I'd board the place
and be done with it were it not for the city's $6000 penalty for
protecting yourself and your property. Apparently the city wants to
discourage boarding, hoping to maintain the myth that Minneapolis is a
safe city.
About now someone, probably from the mayor's office, will drag out the
latest crime stats and point out how murder and mayhem are down a few
percent since last year. Well, to the still too high a percent who have
lost loved ones or have been disabled for life by Minneapolis' violent
criminals, the percentages are far too high.
"Crime rates" are tied to population, and given the population we've
lost as law abiding citizens have left our once fair city our crime rate
may in fact be steeply climbing. In Hawthorne half the homes on
virtually every block are empty, yet crime has only dropped by 10 to
20%. We have last winters respite from global warming to consider too,
and as the temperature in Minneapolis thousands of abandoned buildings
has risen so has our population of criminals and crime with them. On my
block the now empty but still notorious 310 saw a breakin attempt sunday
morning- the burglar was so out of it I had to yell at him twice to
scare him off. Up the other street, one of the criminals from 310 has
moved into abandoned 2515- I note from the City Attorney's webpage that
he may not have shown up for his last 90 day sentence and I doubt
he's informed his P.O. of what building he's illegally occupying. Next
up the street at 2519 I noted some cars far too nice to be parked in
front of a squat and possible prostitution. With inadaquate jail
capacity all we can hope for is a normal Minnesota winter to at least
send these criminals back to KC or points south this fall. But
ultimately global warming will make unheated living in Minneapolis
abandoned buildings tolerable year round and the disappearing tax base
will cause further police layoffs as Minneapolis continues it's death
spiral into bankruptcy.
Out here in Starbuck my pickup and motorcycle have sat unmolested
outside for months. I've got CBC Radio Two streaming out of my laptop
via Starbuck Telephone Company's excellent DSL- In Minneapolis our
unregulated cable, phone, and wireless internet providers can't keep the
connection up for more than a few minutes. I just perused the ad
circular that comes with the Starbuck Times, and home prices out here
haven't dropped a bit. It appears that foreclosures are largely a
Minneapolis problem- If you were paying over a thousand a month for a
house surrounded by criminals, you'd probably walk away from it too.
Haven't heard any gunshots here, and probably won't 'til hunting season.
So can anyone give me one good reason to come back to Minneapolis?
from Starbuck, on the shores of Lake Minnewaska at the foot of the
glacial ridge...
Dyna Sluyter
Yeah, you're right...time to bring the "Surge" to Minneapolis...let's just
shoot
all these suspicious characters and be done with it.
On 7/1/08, Dyna <email obscured>> wrote:
> In Minneapolis our unregulated cable, phone, and wireless internet providers
can't keep the connection up for more than a few minutes.
I've used Time warner/comcast for 6 years and have lost the connection
once and that was because the equipment on the pole became outdated
and needed to be replaced. One time in 6 years.
Just sayin...
John Harris
webber-camden, mpls
I have friends who live down in Lincoln County, MN. Fifteen years ago, they had
to install locks on the tractor shed. It seems that thieves were coming in and
stealing tractors, combines, and other equipment costing oodles of boodle to
purchase and maintain.
Maybe, Dyna, your bike and other stuff seems too paltry for the risk, when, as
long as someone is going to be a thief, he can get more for a combine or one of
those newer fancy tractors with stereo and air conditioning.
The only reason, hypothetically, for you to return to Minneapolis is that the
real estate market is kaput and it's a buyer's market for any house pretty much
anywhere.
If I sat here all day and gave out reasons why someone should stay or come back
to Minneapolis I would be wasting my time. The simple truth is if you love
Minneapolis, and love to live here, you just do. If you don't, that's fine too.
I love it here. I miss the city when I am away. It's the people, it's the
buildings, art, food, family, etc. It's mine and when people talk bad about
Minneapolis it pisses me off.
Okay I was still fuming a little after my last post and I got an email
privately sort of reinforcing my opinion so this is a little more of what I had
to say:
I think it's just the fact that our city is readjusting. A lot of people moved
out of the city in the late 90's and early 00's because of all the crime
(non-whites) and so what? I don't miss 'em. So now we are readjusting. People
losing homes, other people buying homes they otherwise couldn't afford (like
me). I think in the end it's about not being a victim. If you have the victim
mentality you are going to be a victim where ever you go. It's my opinion of
late that the people who run from the city are going to end up living next to
the meth houses. lol
I'd rather get my lawnmower stolen then get my house blownup. I'm gonna post
this.
I have a little different prespective as someone who owned homes in SW Minneapolis for 35 years (I was a Bloomington girl before that) and left for Edina only because I found just the right and affordable condo there. I live a couple of blocks north of Southdale. I wasn't entirely comfortable about leaving the city but it was definitely the right new home at the right price. I still work full-time in the city. The upside is that city services really do seem somewhat better and it appears to be a mite safer than even SW Minneapolis -- and all for somewhat lower taxes. The downside is that it can be an unpleasant commute (I need to use Hwy. 62 to connect with 35W) by car and because of tranfers it takes forever to use public transportation. It's also farther from all the best aspects of the city -- theater, interesting restaurants, etc. There is the beginning of diversity but only the beginning, and although the politics are becoming more liberal (probably due to liberals like me moving in), my elected officials are Republicans. Furthermore, the squirrel ate every one of my tulip bulbs, which I attribute to their lack of fear of gun violence. Fredda Scobey who works in Cedar Riverside Quita-B-Northside Belmares <email obscured>> said: > Okay I was still fuming a little after my last post and I got an email privately sort of reinforcing my opinion so this is a little more of what I had to say: > > I think it's just the fact that our city is readjusting. A lot of people moved out of the city in the late 90's and early 00's because of all the crime (non-whites) and so what? I don't miss 'em. So now we are readjusting. People losing homes, other people buying homes they otherwise couldn't afford (like me). I think in the end it's about not being a victim. If you have the victim mentality you are going to be a victim where ever you go. It's my opinion of late that the people who run from the city are going to end up living next to the meth houses. lol > > I'd rather get my lawnmower stolen then get my house blownup. I'm gonna post this. > > > Marguerite Belmares > Willard-Hay, Minneapolis > Info about Quita-B-Northside Belmares: http://forums.e- democracy.org/p/3tuYH2wYbZEimpAvFjd7HD > > This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e- democracy.org/r/topic/2cDNk6Z9dhpLdccLubAmSX
I concur with Marguerite. Maybe the housing crisis and all the social ills that
attend it haven't caught up with places like Starbuck yet, but it'll happen.
And yeah, tweakers and their drug have penetrated the rural areas -- no thanks.
I think James Howard Kuntsler is right on in his prediction that peak oil will
lead to a renaissance for the cities. I love Minneapolis for all the reasons
Marguerite does: art and culture, a million kinds of great food, progressive
politics, community (not the virtual kind, but the kind where you actually
interact face-to-face with other humans). Plus the fact that I can work, shop,
get my kids to school (a pretty great neighborhood public school, thank you
very much), dine, go to the library, hang out in a locally owned coffee shop,
etc. without having to get in my freaking car. Although I wish we didn't live
across the street from two abandoned houses -- one of which is a frequent
source of criminal activity -- I think the benefits of being a Minneapolitan
still FAR outweigh the drawbacks.
I saw an incredible presenation last week by Jeff Strand, of Hennepin County
Taxpayer Services, on foreclosures. And it was very clear that it is not
"largely a Minneapolis problem." It has decimated several suburban and
exurban communities as well.
caty royce
loves minneapolis in bancroft
B. L. Campos: "So, the next time you feel like spouting rancor about the
"criminals," how about folks spend some time also venting about the actual
situations that lead to criminal behavior...and...wait for it...then GO AND DO
SOMETHING ABOUT IT."
In 1989, the central Southside was every bit as bad as Northside is today. But
died-in-the wool Southsiders, some even members of this list, decided they
would not leave, they would do something to change the dynamic. We came out by
the zillions to meetings (long, fractious meetings), we leaned on the
politicians who responded affirmatively, we leaned on the police who performed
as well as they were able and that was pretty good often times.
And, low and behold, ten years later, the Southside was well on it's way to a
huge transformation, which transformation is still going on as Ventura Village
is now addressing the Northeast corner of Franklin and Portland, once a hotbed
of gunshots and all sorts of scary stuff. Mr. Campos is living in the
resuscitated Sears building, once the beacon of 11.6 acres of abandonment.
At the same time, gentrifiers really honk me off. I prefer the petty criminals
to them. I truly despise some johnny-come-lately swanning around the
neighborhood trying to cripple and get rid of legitimate businesses because
they "don't want to live in a neighborhood with car dealers." How very white of
them. Those legitimate businessmen were born and raised here and most of them
are topping out in their seventies. Who has the better claim to sense of place?
I came to Minneapolis from over a thousand miles away and chose to live here
because I like it. If it didn't have the cruddy winter temps, I would be
positively Pollyanna about living here to the point of annoying the neighbors.
I understand why people want to live in suburbs and small towns and deep
country, but I'm not one of them. I like city. I like the smell of rain on
sidewalks. I like the bus stop 120' from my house. I like the "million stories
in the naked city." If you ain't into all that, then I guess you're not a
MaryMpls or a MarvinMpls. But don't give me this yadda-yadda about crime.
Something else is going on. Maybe it's not enough roughage in the diet,
lonesome for egg creams or no Kosher deli on every corner. But it ain't crime
that drives the whine.
I love Minneapolis. I hate what's happened to my beloved city, but I blame the
decline mostly on its roots: social injustices (including an oppressive
economy), rather than on the consequences: crime. And I blame those injustices
on Tim Pawlenty, George Bush and the Republican ideology. Desperate people do
desperate things, and anger/aggression moves in when hopes moves out. So, don't
move out Dyna, keep working to speed the renaissance! Join the PEACE Foundation
and its allies. Give time and money to non-profits that are attempting to ease
the pain. Vote DFL and then hold them accountable to Democratic values. When we
fulfill our social responsibilities, we will better enable personal
responsibility.
LuAnn Wilcox
North Minneapolis
Good bye Dyna. I will not miss your whining! Bruce Leier Powderhorn Commit random acts of literacy! Read & Release at http://www.bookcrossing.com/friend/agitator
I will say also that I love living here. I live in north and work in south and
am in love with both my neighborhoods. I am an "inside the beltway" commuter
and after working in Edina the first 3 years I was here, wouldn't have it any
other way. My kids thrive: the 10 year old at an outstanding MPS sponsored
charter school, the 4 year old at the downtown YWCA (outstanding early
childhood education). My wife and I both have jobs we love, that pay enough to
pay our bills and save a little for retirement and college for the kids. I get
to sojourn in all areas of the city depending on my daily mission. I have a
house that is just right and just the right price. I have friends and
neighbors and co-workers who really care about what happens here.
Yes, we're going through a rough patch, and for our fellow Minneapolitans
living on the edge, that translates to some higher crime and some tough times
to come. We've come a long way in the past 10 years and there are going to be
some "one step back" moments. But the ever positive and vibrant citizens of
this town don't give up easily or give in easily to the baser human instincts.
BUT, the thing that has impressed me about this town more than anything else is
that the people who live here just won't let it go "over the edge" as some
other cities have done. They are viglant, active, passionate, and steadfast in
their belief that we are a good and decent town, full of good and decent folks,
who, for the most part, have everyone's best interests at heart.
OK, end of tourism board commercial...
I'm sure Starbuck is nice, but for me, after moving all over this country for
the first 30+ years of my life, I have found my home.
Eric Oines
Lind-Bohanon
Luanne wrote:
"I love Minneapolis. I hate what's happened to my beloved city, but I blame the
decline mostly on its roots: social injustices (including an oppressive
economy), rather than on the consequences: crime. And I blame those injustices
on Tim Pawlenty, George Bush and the Republican ideology. Desperate people do
desperate things, and anger/aggression moves in when hopes moves out. So, don't
move out Dyna, keep working to speed the renaissance! Join the PEACE Foundation
and its allies. Give time and money to non-profits that are attempting to ease
the pain. Vote DFL and then hold them accountable to Democratic values. When we
fulfill our social responsibilities, we will better enable personal
responsibility.
Luanne,
I agree: let's enable personal responsibility. While it's easy for liberals to
blame all of society's ills on Republicans, I'd ask you to take a deeper look
at the city's leadership. What majority party makes up your city council (and
has for the past how many years)? Democrats, and some Greens. What hope has
this party and ideology achieved after years of majority rule and legislation?
Perhaps you should try voting for a conservative and see what they can do for
Minneapolis. We all want peace, but berating those who believe in a different
solution to a problem is hardly helpful — especially when your party has been
the cause of our current state. The city is populated mostly by liberals and
run by liberals, and what do we have to show for it? Who really is to blame?
The change you're living now is the change the DFL caused (and promises every
election to fix). Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is
doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. We
the people deserve better.
Nancy LaRoche: "The city is populated mostly by liberals and run by liberals,
and what do we have to show for it? Who really is to blame?"
I don't know where you get your information, but you could not be more wrong.
The city is run by DFLers, but all DFLers are not liberals. The members of the
city council, in the majority, are certainly not liberals, nor is the mayor a
liberal. Nor, for that matter, is the city populated by mostly liberals.
The GOP (or actually it was IR at the time) left the field. I think the last
declared IR council member was Charlie Hoyt. The last stealth IR was Denny
Schulstad, who ran as an independent, but was a died in the wool conservative.
Even this list is a spectrum of liberal and conservative posts, but many, if
not most, are still DFL. Certainly the progressive wing of the DFL is in the
minority. (BTW, calling a progressive "liberal" is an insult to the notion of
progress.)
Voting for a conservative is not the answer, they're even more backward than
the conservatives in the DFL. The trick is to vote for the one who has an
ethical core, the brains to come in outta the rain, and understands the city.
Personally, I also think that the ones who are not-very-good politicians, but
know how to work and get things done, are the best bet to fill the seats on the
council and in the mayor's office.
Always good to hear. I've been living on the north side for 23 years, the last
9 as a homeowner andfortunately haven't been the victim of a violent crime
other than at the hands of my ex-husband during an 18-month nightmare of a
marriage. Other than making bad choices when it comes to men, I'm glad I live
where I do and my kids are thriving here. My soon-to-be first grader is in the
RecPlus program at Webber Park and has ice-skated, hiked, fished, is learning
to play tennis, does crafts and visits the library weekly and spends time in
their computer lab. The preschool for my youngest is minutes from home across
the street from his brother, and once they're older they can walk to Loring
School 10 blocks from home. The many Ice Cream Socials and community fairs and
events are a fun, inexpensive way to get outside and entertain the kids without
leaving town or heading to a place that costs$20 a head just to get in the
door.
I work at the Hennepin County Welfare office downtown, but will be relocatingto
a position at Northpoint, formerly Pilot City, which will savemea minimum of
$200/month on gas and parking. And to top it off,I'll be serving the people who
are most in need. I've seen myneighborhood and my neighbors change quite a bit
overyears, and I think it's on the upswing as far as optimism and a rekindled
energy to improve the quality of life, both on the north side and across
thecity.
Jill Laxen
Cleveland
Dyna -
I'm coming out there to join you in Starbuck tomorrow with my wife, a 4-year
old son and 2-year old daughter in tow - look out! We're coming for the big
4th of July festivities and the all-school reunion of the now-closed Starbuck
High School (actually, closed 1991).
Starbuck's my hometown; my roots are there, my father still lives there and my
mother's buried there in the Fron Lutheran Church Cemetery on the long sloping
hill overlooking the beautiful southern shores of Lake Minnewaska. It's a
great community and I LOVE the people - caring, hard working, deeply faithful,
high achieving students, relatively stable agricultural and recreational
economic base, and I love going back to visit - someday I'd love to have a
cabin there.
And I hate to burst your bubble, but it's not always the Lake Wobegon you're
experiencing right now. Like most human communities, Starbuck has not been
immune to it's share of violence, trauma, and economic uncertainty.
Gun-related crimes, including murder, are not foreign there. Meth labs and
other drug tragedies have ruined the lives of some of my high school friends.
Farm foreclosures in the 1980's drew huge rallies and Jesse Jackson himself to
try to ward off the impending crisis, but to no avail. Poverty and hunger are
concerns there now just as much as they are in Minneapolis; in fact, rural
poverty is often more concentrated per capita than in the "big city."
Having said all of this, I'd still highly recommend Starbuck in a heartbeat as
a place to live. And as I have for the last 18 years (on and off) as a
resident of Minneapolis (now Northeast) where I am raising my children, I still
will continue to highly recommend living here, too.
Minneapolis, like Starbuck, just gets inside of you and while you can't always
objectively state why you want to live there, you just stick it out and you
make it work. Sometimes it's easy, often times it's wonderful, but sometimes
it's awful. Identify your passions, assess your relationships, decide your
tolerance for disruption and less-than perfect community, then make your
decision.
I met you at the City DFL Convention back in May . . . if I see you around
Starbuck this weekend I'll buy you some lefse and Norwegian soda at the old
Depot.
Peace,
Craig Pederson
I thought the reason I blame the city's ills on Republicans was obvious, but
apparently some people just don't get it. When MILLIONS of dollars are
withdrawn from Local Government Aid, when JOBZ moves manufacturing jobs out of
the city, when transit is slashed so people can't get to the jobs that exist,
when funding is stripped for after school programs (my pet issue), etc., etc.,
it should be no surprise that crime rises as a result. DUH! Mayor Rybak has
done an amazing job, given the circumstances that have been imposed on the city
by state and federal government - run by Repbulicans!
LuAnn Wilcox
North Minneapolis
@
Dyna - the urban circus here can only be survived by lone madmen with big SUV's
and bigger guns, violent gangs, and evasive derelicts (like myself), willing to
spread on enough dirt to blend into the city's grime. Best you stay in
Minnetonka with the other pudgy normals. Better still: take your yacht to the
center of The Lake and station there for as long as possible. Bring provisions
enough to last 50, maybe 60 years. I will send you word as soon as this MPLS
problem is figured out. If you dare come back, bring the Hummer, lock the
doors, crank the AC, and DON'T EXIT OFF I-94. Take your path through the city
at a fast clip and keep your eyes focused on St. Paul, just ahead of the
horizon.
Patrick Anderson
The ruins of Loring Park
On Jul 7, 2008, at 11:39 AM, ande8126 Anderson wrote:
> Dyna - the urban circus here can only be survived by lone madmen
> with big SUV's
Patrick, you really want something narrow like a Land Rover- there's
a reason the other NATO armies aren't buying Humvees. My budget won't
stretch to afford a Land Rover anyways, and unless you need armor a
dual sport motorcycle works better in the summer and a small 4x4
works better in the winter in this urban war zone.
> and bigger guns, violent gangs, and evasive derelicts (like
> myself), willing to spread on enough dirt to blend into the city's
> grime.
I'd stay out of the arms war unless I had the pentagons budget,
evasion is a better and cheaper tactic.
> Best you stay in Minnetonka with the other pudgy normals.
Me.. Normal? I can't afford 'tonka rents anyway.
> Better still: take your yacht to the center of The Lake and station
> there for as long as possible.
Again, well beyond my budget... Although a pontoon in Starbuck's
marina might be cheap fun until the city figured out I was living on
it. If you're tired of being hassled by both Minneapolis housing
inspectors and gangbangers, build a houseboat and take up residence
on the river. With global warming it shouldn't be that hard, and
there's already a couple hardy houseboaters camped on the river year
round.
> Bring provisions enough to last 50, maybe 60 years.
Given the way food prices are rising, stocking up might not be a bad
idea... but 50 years worth?
> I will send you word as soon as this MPLS problem is figured out.
No need, I can see the bankruptcy coming... Note how Hennipen County
is already taking over various city functions.
> If you dare come back, bring the Hummer,
Patrick, the Hummer is a glorified Suburban, and totally useless in
Minneapolis.
> lock the doors,
So you can be held captive in your SUV when stray gunfire takes out
your electrical system.
> crank the AC,
No, keep the windows rolled down so you can be aware of your
environment.
> and DON'T EXIT OFF I-94.
I seldom use I-94. I'm partial to 2nd Street North for local trips
and the Floyd B. Olson Memorial Highway if I'm headed farther west.
> Take your path through the city at a fast clip and keep your eyes
> focused on St. Paul, just ahead of the horizon.
Why would I want to go to a city about to be infested by republicans?
>
> Patrick Anderson
> The ruins of Loring Park
Sorry Patrick, but your stereotype doesn't fit- I'm a died in the
wool democrat that has never owned a car bigger than a Ford Ranger,
has no military experience whatsoever, and I have yet to turn on my
air conditioner this summer. I own no firearms, but if it came to it,
would the listmembers prefer law abiding citizens arm themselves
instead of leaving the city?
In reply to some of the defenders of Minneapolis status quo,
criminals included- The "community organizing" model works when most
of your neighbors are law abiding citizens. According to the last
census figures, over 60% of the adults in Jordan neighborhood are
felons... Good luck organizing them! As far as creating events, etc.
to draw law abiding citizens to high crime neighborhoods, there is no
evidence that strategy works. In fact, it may merely provide the
criminals with more victims.
Constance, thanks for you post on the abandoned houses and the video
on Johnny Northside's blog. While there is a romantic attraction to
some of our old houses and it's your job as a real estate agent to
cultivate that romance, the reality is that rehabbing most of the
Northside's abandonned homes is a losing proposition. You can build
new for around $100 per square foot if the city doesn't get in the
way, so spending that kind of money to rehab a century old house is a
losing proposition. Besides, after you spend $200,000 to rehab a 2000
square foot home on the Northside, you'd be lucky to sell it for half
that.
One other note- it looks like it will be a quiet winter in
Minneapolis. A crew from a contractor for the gas company came by
today to shut off the gas to 310 due to an unpaid bill. Now it says
something that the gas company is so far behind on disconnections
that they have to bring in a contractor to help out. The workers told
me there was a backlog of 19,000 disconnections to be made! With Exel
now switching over to natural gas and bidding up the price, I'm glad
I defied Minneapolis and put in biomass stoves. I just bought a ton
of wood pellets on sale, I've got a cord of wood left over from last
winter, and there should be plenty more of down wood in the yards of
the Northside's abandoned homes to get me throught the winter.
from Hawthorne, where the felons freeze and we old timers stay warm
and comfy by our stoves...
Dyna Sluyter
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