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Intermedia Arts in financial “crisis”
UPDATED December 16, 2008, 8:28am
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By Dylan Thomas
Arts organization hosts town hall meeting Friday THE WEDGE — The dire state of the economy has plunged Intermedia Arts into financial “crisis,” the nonprofit arts organization reported in a message on its website Monday. Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S., will host a community town hall meeting 5:30 p.m. Friday to discuss the situation and rally support. The meeting notice included an urgent request for donations. Board of Directors Chair James Farstad said funding from some major contributors had been cancelled or delayed in recent months, resulting in “a significant cash crunch.” Like individual investors, many foundations have seen their assets dwindle with the turmoil in the global financial markets. “We’ve seen a significant falloff in some of that regular grant activity,” Farstad said. As a result, the organization was forced to make several tough choices. Beginning next month, five full-time staff members will be shifted to contract or hourly positions. Staff was informed of the change about two weeks ago, Farstad said.
The Intermedia Arts gallery and poetry library will close to the public. The building will only open for events that are already funded. Farstad said the organization’s leadership recognized that Intermedia Arts relied too heavily on grants from foundations and corporations. A recently developed strategic plan called for Intermedia Arts to get more funding from individual donors over the next three to five years. Now, that shift must occur in the next three to five months, Farstad said. The timeline for dealing with the organizations’ current cash-flow crisis is even shorter. Farstad put it at about three to five weeks. Intermedia Arts is far from the only local arts organization to take a hard hit in this economy. At least four closed earlier this year, Farstad said, adding: “From what I hear, we’re at risk of losing a number more.”
He said Intermedia Arts would host a State of the Arts meeting with representatives from small and mid-sized arts organizations Friday to discuss collaboration and the sharing of resources. That meeting will take place before the town hall discussion and will not be open to the public. Intermedia Arts was founded in 1973 as University Community Video. It began as a group of University of Minnesota student activists and community members using emerging video technology to explore social issues. The name changed to Intermedia Arts in the 1980s, as the organization expanded beyond video to include other artistic disciplines. It moved to its current location in The Wedge in 1994.
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City declares snow emergency
UPDATED February 8, 2010, 1:27pm
By Cristof Traudes
With snow falling almost non stop since Sunday, the City of Minneapolis this afternoon declared a snow emergency.
Starting at 9 p.m. today, cars will not be allowed to be parked on either side of snow emergency route streets. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow, cars should only park on the odd side of non-snow emergency route streets, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, cars should only park on the even side of non-snow emergency route streets. Cars parked on the wrong sides of streets will be ticketed and towed.
To look up what streets are affected when, click here. More information is at ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow.
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Neighborhood notebook
By Sarah McKenzie, Dylan Thomas and Jake Weyer
CARAG
Newspaper proposal withdrawn CARAG residents approved a motion to support the current management structure of the Uptown Neighborhood News in January, putting an end to a months-long discussion of a possible reorganization. CARAG Board of Directors Member Anna Matthes and Jill Bode, a CARAG representative to the newspaper’s managing board, requested in November that CARAG consider transferring management of the newspaper to them for several months. Matthes and Bode proposed they eventually take control of the paper, which they said was operating under an inefficient management structure. In January, Matthes also said newspaper managers had lost focus on community-building efforts, instead focusing on
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Green digest // Making Bryant a bike boulevard
By Dylan Thomas
Making Bryant a bike boulevardCARAG — If you bike, live or work along Bryant Avenue South take note: An upcoming public meeting is your chance to contribute to plans for a future bicycle boulevard. City planners expect to make changes to the street this summer that will make the north-south street more bike-friendly. Area residents have an opportunity to voice their opinions on some of those changes 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Bryant Square Park, 3101 Bryant Ave. S. New pavement markings and signage to identify the bicycle boulevard are a given, but other elements intended to slow vehicle traffic and improve the safety of intersections will be put to a vote. Ballots will ask voters to rank new street features such as curb extensions,
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Crime reports
By Jake Weyer
Editor’s note: Alleged crimes against persons (assault, murder, etc.) will feature the + symbol. Note, this compilation of crime reports provides highlights of area criminal activity. It’s not intended to be a comprehensive overview of Southwest crime.
CARAG+ Jan. 26, 8:20 p.m., 3200 Emerson Ave. S.Officers were dispatched to a report of a robbery at gunpoint. The victim was a 26-year-old man and two suspects, who fled in a car, were involved. Police thought the robbery might be related to several others that have been reported recently in the area. EAST ISLESJan. 30, between 3:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., W. Lake St. and East Calhoun
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Biz buzz // Guse Green Grocer
By By Lana Walker and Jake Weyer
Guse Green Grocer opens at 46th & BryantWhen Tom and Terry Thomson, owners of the long-awaited Guse Green Grocer, put in an order for 40 pounds of organic bananas, their supplier commented that the order was too much for such a little store. When the following Monday morning rolled around, however, it seemed the supplier could eat his words. “I called him and said, ‘We only have five bananas left!’” Terry Thomson said. Located on the corner of 46th Street and Bryant Avenue, the grocery store celebrated its soft opening on Jan. 23 and 24. It didn’t have an advertising scheme or a grand event, but 400 eager customers showed up on day one and the weekend was full of positive feedback and neighborhood
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Schools notebook // Board recommends Johnson
By Dylan Thomas
School Board recommends Johnson to lead districtWhen it came time to name candidates who might replace Minneapolis Superintendent Bill Green, the School Board had only one person in mind: current Deputy Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson. School Board Chair Tom Madden, reading from a prepared statement at the Board’s Jan. 19 meeting, emphasized the importance of “stability” in a district rocked by a decade of enrollment declines, budget deficits and school closings. “The constant churn which has come to characterize Minneapolis Public Schools has taken a toll on our children, our families and our staff,” Madden said. He also said the district was “fundamentally on the right track,”
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Co-op loan drive short $100,000; deadline extended
By Jake Weyer
The Linden Hills Co-op needs $1.5 million in member loans to help pay for a move to the west side of the neighborhoodLINDEN HILLS — The Linden Hills Co-op arrived at its Jan. 31 loan-drive deadline about $100,000 short of the $1.5 million needed to help pay for a move from 43rd & Upton to the former Almsted’s Sunnyside Market site near 44th Street and France Avenue. That was close enough for Bob Olson, who owns the new site, to grant an extension for the drive and for the co-op to move forward with its plans, said spokeswoman Jeanne Lakso. “We’ll continue to collect loan agreements for at least the next two weeks and we’re fully confident we’re going to meet if not exceed our goal,” Lakso
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Kingfield unveils plans for new community gardens
By Jake Weyer
KINGFIELD — It’s hard to think about gardening in frigid February, when hoes, rakes and seeds are stowed away and snow blankets frozen plots, but green thumbs are buzzing right now in one Southwest neighborhood. Following up on years of resident interest, the Kingfield Neighborhood Association (KFNA) this spring will launch two community gardens, one on the Center for Performing Arts property at 3754 Pleasant Ave. S. and the second on another private lot at 3912 Van Nest Ave. The sites will serve as the first of four community gardens KFNA would eventually like to develop in the area. “Our goal is really to create a network of gardens and gardeners throughout the neighborhood,” said KFNA executive director Sarah
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