GreeningFrogtownSepOct17

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
Inside…
A Big Idea for
Home Fix-ups
How to make it
easier for the home
handyman — P. 2
For Vic Theater,
A Pile of Cash
Mayor's budget
includes money
for purchase
— P. 3
Promise Neighborhood Director Muneer Karcher-Ramos and son, Jibril, on the porch of their Frogtown home.
PERMANENT HOME FOR FROGTOWN FOOD SHELF? — PAGE 3
What Comes After Tragedy?
A neighborhood effort to create meaning out ofchaos
If ever you needed more proof of life’s frailty and unpredictability,
the death of Kenneth Foster was another case in point. Foster, a
North End resident on his way back home, made a series of mundane
decisions that on a normal day would
have no consequence. Arrive at the
stop in time for this bus instead of the
next. Sit here instead of there. And
thus manage to be killed by a fool who
decides that the best course of action
after a fender bender at Victoria St. is
to race eastward on Charles Ave. at 70
miles per hour, blow through the stop
sign at Dale St., and hit a median that
launches his vehicle into your bus,
which happens to be passing by at that
exact moment. If you tried to plan this,
you could never pull it off.
In the days that followed, people did
what people do in the aftermath of
events that threaten the normal course of our lives. On Facebook,
some asserted that there should be sturdy barriers that prevent others
from hurtling their vehicles into busy streets. Others wondered if
roundabouts — proposed but never built when Charles Ave. was
declared a bikeway — would have prevented this tragedy. Maybe,
but it’s tough to erect barriers large enough to stop massive stupidity.
And so often stupid enters the room wearing a fresh new disguise.
In their effort to comprehend what happened, two Frogtown
residents, Kiki Usuda and Judy Caravalho, decided to call neighbors
and Foster’s family together for an evening vigil, both to honor his
Kiki Usuda (center) and Judy Caravalho on Charles Ave.
life and to share their grief. They got a permit to block off the
street, organized food and music, and waited to see who
would show up.
By the time Foster’s children
appeared, more than 1 00
people had gathered in the
street. Foster’s friends shared
bits of information about his
life. Forty-eight years old,
with six children, he belonged
to Nehemiah’s Walls Full
Gospel Baptist Church at
Grotto and Charles. He was a
good cook and enjoyed
making meals for others. “He
was a giving, loving man,”
said his daughter, Kenyatta
Foster. “He took care of us.”
The driver, Tyler Randall
Bjelland, was charged with criminal vehicular homicide. The
court proceedings will perhaps deliver a familiar but dim
sense of satisfaction. There is no real justice when a decent
life is so absurdly taken.
Maybe the best we can hope for is the message
communicated by the simple street ceremony that Caravalho
and Usuda organized. We are all in this together. We can try
to feel each other’s pain and grief. In the face of life's
uncertainties, those tools don't always seem so powerful. But
they are the best that we have at hand. — Tony Schmitz
Crazy for Birds
in Frogtown
Local birder
uncovers a trove of
natural riches
— P. 9
Secrets of
Local Kitchen
Magicians
Home-style cooking
recipes revealed in
a special insert

BIG IDEAS
Make DIY Home Fix‐ups Easier
A local couple's kitchen redo inspires ideas on how to jumpstart more Frogtown rehab efforts
You’re underwater on your Frogtown
home, you can’t afford to hire a contractor
for an expensive kitchen redo, and there’s a
question whether you’d ever see a return
on the investment if you did. But it’s time
to make some updates in your old house.
So what do you do?
If you’re Davu and Emily Seru, in their
home on Charles Ave., you reach into the
tool box and get to work. Davu has
handyman skills that he learned from
watching his own father. He has the
confidence to bust up a wall, move around
some plumbing and electrical, and believe
things will work out.
Right now the Serus are living in a typical
do-it-yourself fix-up apocalypse — torn
out walls, exposed studs and plumbing,
plus kitchen items stacked up in the dining
room. Along the way they’ve had plenty of
time to think about the particulars of home
fix-ups in Frogtown, and how it could be
made better for individual homeowners
while adding to efforts to boost the
neighborhood as a whole.
Their big idea starts with recognizing the
particular state of Frogtown housing. Much
of it is more than 1 00 years old, with all
Emily and Davu Seru, chin deep in a do-it-yourself kitchen remodeling job.
the cracked plaster, outmoded wiring and
clotted plumbing that goes with it. A lot of
neighborhood housing has been subject to
ill-advised repair projects over the
decades — the Seru house being a case in
point. Previous owners encased a simple
fireplace behind hundreds of pounds of
brick. Then later, workers cut through
nearby floor joists while installing duct
work. The result: seriously sagging floors
that couldn’t support the load.
Step one: recognizing that people without
a serious bankroll — which is to say
virtually all of Frogtown — might take a
stab at making repairs and improvements
themselves if they’re going to do
anything at all. And they might not
necessarily have a great idea about what’s
structurally sound and safe.
The way the Serus see it, this is where
city inspections could play a helpful role
in helping Frogtown homeowners to
prioritize repairs and improvements. The
inspections department could offer more
guidance on how to properly execute the
job, and establish a sliding scale on permit
fees so that residents are less tempted to
fly under the permit-system radar. The
Serus paid more than $600 in permits for
their kitchen work — $337.57 for a
building permit, $74 for a heating/air
conditioning work permit, $75 for
electrical inspections and $11 6 for
plumbing. (“Even though we’re only
replacing the sink,” said Davu.) For many
Frogtowners, that adds up to 600-plus
reasons not to pull a permit.
The Serus imagine a system where, before
you get a building permit, a city worker
would do a walk-through of your home
and help you understand what needs to be
done, what might pay off but isn’t
essential, and what you should sensibly
live with. During the project, inspectors
could more often serve as coaches to
— Continued, Page 11
PAGE 2 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER JULY / AUGUST 2017
6

Frogtown Food Shelf: High Demand
Shows Need for Permanent Location
The collapse of Frogtown’s food shelf,
Sharing Korner, last year revealed two
things — the number of neighborhood
people who need food assistance, and the
need for a permanent food shelf location.
Since Sharing Korner closed in June
201 6, other food shelf operations have
stepped up to fill the gap. Though
normally food shelves are open to people
from specific neighborhoods,
Frogtowners have been welcomed at
Hallie Q. Brown, Keystone and Salvation
Army. Keystone’s grocery truck will
continue to serve the neighborhood
through September at City School,
Lafond and Western, Fridays from 1-3 pm.
This summer, a weekly afternoon food
giveaway organized by St. Stephanus
Church, Frogtown Neighborhood
Association, Second Harvest and
Stillwater’s Valley Outreach, with
additional fresh produce donated by
Frogtown Farm, has also provided
groceries to all comers without any
questions asked. The giveaway, which
operates from 3-5 PM on Friday
afternoons and will continue through
September, has drawn mobs of people.
As many as 320 families have shown up
on a Friday, representing well over 1 ,000
people served, says Delinia Parris, the
FNA organizer who is searching for a
permanent Frogtown food shelf solution.
Until a recent change in policies, people
had been appearing at the Blair and
Grotto church parking lot as early as 11
AM. (People are now told to arrive at
2:30 to get a randomly-assigned number
that puts them in line to load up a box of
food.)
The parking lot operation has the feel of a
FROGTOWN NEWS
Latin American marketplace, with a
variety of tents and tables featuring meat,
vegetables, fruit, dairy products, snack
foods, and even pet food on offer from
the Animal Humane Society. But with
colder weather approaching, the
operation needs a roof and heat.
According to Parris, most customers are
from the area east of Dale St., so a new
location toward Frogtown’s eastern
border makes sense.
One possibility, says Parris, is the gym at
City School, located at Lafond and
Western. The space allows easy access
from the street for unloading food, is
accessible for people with mobility
issues, and is easily separated from the
school and students. In addition, the
school holds a commercial kitchen,
which could be used for cooking classes
or other programming. At City School,
Director Nancy Dana says, "We are
definitely making all the steps to move
forward on this...but I can't tell you how
soon or when."
At St. Stephanus, organizer Lynn
Thompson says the operation to date has
been “enormously successful,” but that it
still hasn’t solved the problem of getting
enough food to the number of Frogtown
families that need help. A permanent
location is one necessary step; finding
more volunteers is another. So far, she
says, of the 35 or so weekly volunteers,
about 20 have come from the St.
Stephanus congregation, another ten from
Second Harvest, and five to ten from the
neighborhood. To volunteer, email
Thompson at goodluna01 @gmail.com.
“This has been a wonderful coming
together of the neighborhood,” she says.
“A great community-building thing.”
At Victoria Theater, Funds in Mayor's
Budget, Another Step toward Purchase
Frogtown Neighborhood Association arts
organizer Vong Lee and his son, above,
Yeupheng, got their glow sticks on at a
July 22 event at 81 3 University, an empty
lot just east of the Victoria Theater. With
face-painting, a food truck, glow-stick
sculpting and other activities, the event
was part of an effort to boost awareness
and pave the way for the rehab effort at
the currently gutted Victoria Theater.
The theater project got a boost in Mayor
Chris Coleman’s budget August 1 5
budget address, where he announced that
$462,000 in city money will be directed
toward purchase and roof repair of the
historic structure. Combined with
$1 50,000 awarded to the theater in the
last budget cycle, that’s $61 2,000 in city
funding available for the project.
Though the Mayor’s address was
significant, it’s not quite the last word.
The money comes out of an obscure
Housing and Rehabilitation Authority
(HRA) Enterprise Fund, and its release
depends on a vote of the City Council in
its role as the HRA board. “We’re
counting votes,” says Mai Chong Xiong,
aide to councilmember Dai Thao and a
board member of the Victoria Theater
Initiative.
In community meetings at the theater
since 201 4, a plan for the structure as a
neighborhood arts hub was hammered out
with resident input. Neighbors wanted the
theater to function as a space for
performance and visual art, with meeting
areas where they could also get a cup of
coffee and connect. The initial interior
demo job revealed layers of the building’s
rich history, first as a movie theater, later
as a cabaret with Chinese food, then
finally as a lighting store hung with
hundreds of fixtures for sale. Beneath the
lighting shop drywall, workers discovered
huge murals of pastoral scenes and
elaborate paint detailing.
The property is now owned by the
Minneapolis-based Land Bank Twin
Cities, which bought the one-time theater
and, later, lighting fixture store from
owner Bee Vue for $250,000 in 201 4.
Sale of the property to the Victoria
Theater Arts Initiative was supposed to
occur within 1 8 months, but that deadline
came and went, with the Land Bank
paying taxes, insurance, essential repairs
and security costs along the way.
According to Land Bank staff, the
purchase price will be in the
neighborhood of $350,000, though
Frogtown Neighborhood Association
director Caty Royce says she expects that
figure will be negotiable.
As the purchase moves forward, the
nonprofit theater organization is adding a
pair of professional fundraisers, and
hiring a full-time director.
Photo by Kevin Malloy
DOES WATER MATTER? Lifelong Frogtown resident Lauren Colwell believes it
does. As a Master Water Steward, Colwell (shown here at this summer's WaterFest
at Lake Phalen) volunteers at community events to spread the word about ways to
keep our water cleaner. Tactics range from clearing debris away from storm
drains, raking up fall leaves instead of brushing them into the street, and picking
up pet waste. "Even small efforts make a difference; our water is a shared
resource and we can all work together to protect it," says Colwell. The Capitol
Region Watershed District (CRWD) is recruiting Water Steward trainees for fall.
Opportunities to participate in fun events like WaterFest make the volunteer hours
even more worthwhile, according to Colwell. There's a free information session
scheduled for September 1 4, 5:30-7 PM at Urban Boatbuilders, 2288 University
Avenue West. For more information, contact CRWD at 651 -644-8888.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
AT FROGTOWN FARM, YOGA: Floyd Williams, above, offers Saturday yoga
classes at 9 am through September 30. Contact him at 662-633-731 5 for more info.
PAGE 3

On Trash Talks, the
End Draws Closer
The long struggle to move St. Paul
toward an organized system of garbage
hauling moved closer to a resolution, as
the City Council held a final public
hearing in July and then told staff to put
together a final contract with the haulers'
consortium for approval in early October.
At the July 1 9 Council meeting, the
mayor’s environmental policy director,
Anne Hunt, described the result of
negotiations to date with the 1 5 national
and local firms that are currently licensed
to haul garbage in St. Paul. The monthly
rates would vary according to frequency
of service and cart size. As of July, here’s
what you’d pay pay if the city settles on a
five-year contract with haulers:
• Small cart, two-week pickup: $25.49
• Small cart, weekly pickup: $28.78
• Medium cart, weekly pickup: $34.1 4
• Large cart, weekly pickup: $35.93
Service would include free pickup of
three bulky items annually — that
otherwise expensive-to-get-rid-of junk
such as appliances or furniture — plus
free pickup of a Christmas tree. When
compared to what people are paying now,
according to the results of a city-run
survey, the total is on average about $3
less per month.
FROGTOWN NEWS
But these aren’t the final figures, since
negotiations with haulers will continue
until a contract is approved in October. At
the public hearing, council members saw
trouble in aspects of the proposed
contract. For instance, city staff proposed
a $52 annual administrative fee, included
in the prices tallied above. Council
members pushed back, asking whether
the fee could be lowered. Similarly, they
wondered if there was a way to
accommodate residents who currently
share a trash can with a neighbor.
City recycling and solid waste program
manager Kris Hageman figures there’s
some hard negotiating ahead. “You can’t
change everything to make everybody
happy all at once,” she says.
Hanging over these negotiations is the
example of what Minneapolis has
accomplished after running an organized
collection system for four decades.
Residents there pay $26.97 for weekly
service with a small cart, and $30.26 for a
large cart. The base rate includes weekly
pickup. But that fee also includes:
• yard waste pickup,
• recycling pickup,
• collection of up to two large burnable
items and up to two boxed, bundled or
bagged materials outside the cart per
week,
• collection of up to two large recyclable
items (appliances, electronics, mattresses,
and metal items) every other week,
• garbage carts and cart maintenance,
• six vouchers per year for disposal of
excess garbage, move-out, cleanout, or
construction and demolition debris (2,000
lbs. per voucher),
• two vouchers per year to dispose of up
to 1 6 tires at a collection center,
• graffiti response, illegal dumping
cleanups, litter pickup.
Hageman said that after Minneapolis
officials appeared at the St. Paul
negotiations to describe their program, she
was left with a case of “garbage envy." She
added, "But you can't change everything to
make everybody happy all at once. We’ll
learn from this negotiation, and work to
improve service next time around.”
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: The new
owner at Kendall’s Hardware at Front
St. and Dale is a familiar face. Josh
Kahlhamer, step-son to Kendall Crosby,
took over on August 1 . The 33-year old
Kahlhamer, married with three boys,
has managed the store since 2007, and
worked there since childhood. Kendall
will continue running his hardware
palace on Payne and Phalen Blvd. “I’m
not planning on a ton of changes,” said
Josh, with one notable exception. The
signature employee tie dye t-shirts are
on their way out.
By the Numbers:
Jacked Local Rents
What's happening in the local rental market?
The City's Market Watch web page offers a
view. (stpaul.gov/books/market-watch).
Quick facts: Ifyou think your rent is going
up faster than overall rate ofinflation, you're
right. Inflation in 2016 was 1.26 percent.
Meanwhile a St. Paul one-bedroom
apartment cost 7.9 percent more over the
same period. A two-bedroom unit in a
standard apartment building showed a one
percent decrease, while rents in the socalled
shadow market — units in single
family homes or condos — went up 20
percent. Meanwhile, the Frogtown area
leads the league in vacant buildings, with 80
ofthe city's 844 total.
PAGE 4 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Photo by Jack Delano, Library of Congress
Pullman Porter, 1 943
A People's Reading
Room Is Part of
New Model Cities
Work on the Model Cities retail/housing
development at Victoria and University
took another step toward completion with
a call for artists’ proposals to fill a reading
room that will focus on the history of
Pullman porters.
The reading room will be an 800-square
foot space that highlights the contributions
of these railroad workers to the union and
FROGTOWN NEWS
civil rights movements, plus their impact
on local families. The reading room will
be stocked with fiction and non-fiction
that explores these broad themes, says
marketing director Kizzy Downie. Model
Cities is seeking a variety of art works
that will, as the artists’ call says,
“illustrate the African American tradition
of facing challenging times with strength,
courage and artistic problem solving,”
said Downie.
“We’ve always had the idea that we want
this building to be a little different than
the other buildings going up. We’ve asked
how we can create a cultural vibe and pay
tribute to history.”
The reading room will be part of a
building that will feature 35 units of
affordable one- and two-bedroom
apartments above first floor retail space,
located just steps away from the Victoria
Green Line station.
Downie says Model Cities hopes that in
addition to providing a showcase for art
work, the room will also serve as a
programmed meeting and study space for
neighbors. The building is scheduled to
be completed in early October. Residents
should be able to move in to their
apartments in November. Retail tenants
will include a barber, says Downie, with a
bakery and law office as other possible
occupants.
LARGEST-EVER
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT:
This year’s National
Night Out drew the
highest participation
ever, says Patty
Lammers, the St. Paul
Police Department’s
crime prevention
coordinator. Of the 335
city-wide Night Out
events, 1 2 were held in
Frogtown. At St.
Stephanus Church, the
festivities included a
bounce house, games
for kids, hot dogs
and more. Inset:
the Capitol Heights
Block Club drew a
crowd to the pavilion
just east of Bethesda
Hospital, with food
and the band, Men to
Boyz. Don Grundhauser
— dubbed “King of the
Block Clubs” in our last
issue after 32 years of
block club participation —
was crowned on his 75th
birthday. "Oh, God,"
shouted one heckler. "It's
going to go to his head. Somebody,
take the crown away!"
Need Repairs at Your Rented Home?
Is your landlord ignoring expensive
repairs? Tell him or her about a new St.
Paul Rental Rehabilitation Loan program
that offers up to $30,000 per building to
make rental housing safer and more
comfortable.
The interest-free loans can be paid back
over ten years, and will be initially focused
on what the Metropolitan Council judges to
be concentrated areas of poverty —
neighborhoods where at least four out of ten
households have income below 1 85 percent
— Continued, next page
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
PAGE 5

FROGTOWN NEWS
of the federal poverty
threshold. That’s about
$43,500 for a family of
three. With a median
income of about
$35,000 (half above,
half below), Frogtown
is more than qualified.
The caveat for
landlords: they have to
agree to keep rents at or
below the federal
standard for fair market
rents for this area.
That’s $862 for a onebedroom
apartment,
$1 ,086 for a twobedroom
unit, and
$1 ,538 for three
bedrooms. Plus they
have to agree not to
raise the rent by more
than three percent per
year for the loan term.
"The idea is to preserve
existing affordable
housing and see that it's
maintained as a safe
place to reside," says
city spokesperson
Mollie Scozzari.
More info at stpaul.gov/
RentalRehabLoan.
A Big Award for
Artist Seitu Jones
In August Frogtown artist and
community figure Seitu Jones landed the
type of award you can't apply for — a
$50,000 jolt of recognition from the
McKnight Foundation, which declared
Jones a Distinguished Artist.
The award goes to artists who "create and
contribute to vibrant communities," as
Foundation officials put it. Jones more
than qualifies as a 20-plus year Frogtown
resident who, among numerous other
works, is responsible for art at the Dale,
Lexington and Rice St. Green Line stops,
art in the Rondo Library children's
section, and the 201 4 Community Meal
that fed 2,000 people and stretched along
Victoria St. from University to
Minnehaha. He serves on the Capitol
Region Watershed Board, and on the
board of Frogtown Farm.
"It's such an honor and so flattering to get
this thing," Jones said on a recent
weekday afternoon as he stoked the
wood-fired oven at Frogtown Farm. "I
hope it will inspire others in Frogtown to
jump off the ledge and commit
themselves to life in the arts."
The way he sees it, Frogtown offers
Seitu Jones
particular opportunities for young artists.
Compared to other parts of the city,
housing here remains relatively
affordable. The still-plentiful turn-of-thecentury
corner commercial buildings
could be remade into first floor studios
for visual and performance artists, with
second floor apartments. Jones and his
wife, the writer Soyini Guyton, own this
type of live/work space near St. Agnes
church.
Jones isn't taking the award as an
invitation to rest on his laurels. "I don't
intend to rest on this," he says. "I plan to
continue to work."
PAGE 6
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Funding for Harvest Fest is provided in part by the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
PAGE 7

FROGTOWN FLAVORS
Farmers Need It? Good Acre's Got It
Group helps make the city green again by supporting food production
By Hannah Whitney
Behind the food scene, a lot of work is
required. Luckily, a non-profit food hub
called The Good Acre is on the case, with
a vast network of support stretching
across the Twin Cities. In our
neighborhood, this network partners with
the Hmong American Farmers
Association and Frogtown Farm, and
collaborates with other small, local, and
organic farmers.
Rhys Williams, Executive Director,
oversees The Good Acre. With decades of
experience in organic farming and co-op
work, Williams, along with two cofounders,
had a vision. Why not go
beyond the average model? Why not offer
cohesive food infrastructure, in a
community setting?
Whatever a farmer needs, The Good Acre
has likely got it. Walk into the building’s
warehouse, and you will see washing
stations open to farmers and gigantic
walk-in fridges and freezers which can be
rented at low cost, to store their pallets of
produce and dairy.
The Good Acre also manages a CSA,
Good Acre Director Rhys Williams — helping to build an urban food network.
(Community Supported Agriculture, a
system in which a farm operation is
supported by shareholders who share both
the benefits and risks of food production.)
On CSA day, hundreds of boxes are lined
up to be filled with produce. The Good
Acre has an eventual goal of institutional
sales and want to bring local farmers to
that capacity.
What does this look like? Williams
envisions a sustainable cycle of local
farm-to-school kitchen, which includes
1 3 school districts. And, that’s one part of
food infrastructure often overlooked.
Schools around the nation often rely on
mega suppliers while their cooks are
given bland instructions and even blander
frozen meals. The Good Acre offers
hands-on training for school cooks, a
Photo by Hannah Whitney
program that has recently expanded to
include over a dozen schools across the
Twin Cities. Cooks are given lessons to
incorporate fresh produce into meals,
including butternut squash, beets, and
Brussels sprouts. Plus, kids from the
schools get to vote for their favorite fresh
meals!
The training kitchen also allows space for
groups working towards their commercial
kitchen licenses. There are cooking
classes for aspiring chefs (or, at least,
aspiring home-cooked meal wizards).
Classes are affordable and open to all,
and include topics such as “Immigrant gut
health,” “Global comfort foods,” and
“Classic Italian soups.”
The Good Acre is dedicated to giving
support in any form, be it physical space
and materials, CSA programming,
training, or even crop health support. A
farm specialist frequently goes around to
check in with their network of farmers,
offering advice and consultation from
biologists to help control plant pests and
diseases.
What does this mean for Frogtowners?
— Continued, Page 11
PAGE 8
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Birds of Frogtown
THE NATURAL WORLD
Local birder Sally Heuer proves that an astonishing variety ofbirds call Frogtown home
The predator stared, and Sally Heuer
stared back, thrilled. Then she snapped
the shutter. Click. Cooper’s Hawk,
Frogtown Park and Farm. Another bird,
captured painlessly and forever, just a few
steps from home.
Heuer, an avid birder, has been scoping
out the neighborhood’s birds ever since
moving to her Thomas Avenue home, just
two blocks from the park. Along with her
wife Carol, Heuer has traveled to several
different countries in search of birds to
photograph and marvel at. But the list of
birds she’s seen at the nearby park at
Victoria and Van Buren suggests that one
needn’t go around the world to spot a
wide variety of them, including hawks,
bluebirds, swifts and woodpeckers.
From left: Cooper's Hawk, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Phoebe, all photographed at Frogtown Park and Farm by Sally Heuer.
Right: Local birder Heuer, who proves that for the sharp-eyed, a variety of birds are here for the viewing.
So far Heuer’s “Frogtown Farm List”
includes 38 different birds, ranging from
tiny redstarts (black and pumpkincolored,
flitting songbirds) to massive
bald eagles. The latter are often spotted
soaring over the farm, along with redtailed
hawks and turkey vultures.
The crop areas at the top of the hill are
attractive to a variety of birds, Heuer
says. “Lots of birds like the open fields
with trees ringing them. And the crops
give littler birds cover from the predators
like hawks,” she explains, walking along
the path that rings the Farm’s fields.
Heuer makes it a point to visit the park
frequently, but she does have her favorite
times and seasons. “Mornings are good,
generally, and spring is the best time to
observe a lot of different birds. Some, like
warblers, are migrating through. You can
see them in the tree tops in May and
early June. Others will stay a while and
nest.”
Heuer was thrilled to spot dark blue
indigo buntings this past spring, and
believes they must have nested in the
park, along with the more common
phoebes, blue jays and cardinals.
Spotting a bird is harder than hearing it,
of course, and Heuer is good at
identifying different species from their
calls alone. There’s the strong “what-
CHEER, what-CHEER” of the cardinal,
the “WHEEEP” of the great-crested
flycatcher, and the “potato-chip” call of
the goldfinch. She uses an app on her
phone that helps with the tough calls, and
is never without a good pair of
binoculars, along with her camera.
Frogtown Park offers fine birding
opportunities, but the pleasures of
birdwatching can begin in your own
backyard, Heuer says.
“My father fed the birds when I was a kid,
and was always thrilled when a cardinal
came to the feeder,” she remembers. Her
father also put out feeders at the family’s
lake cabin, attracting hummingbirds,
orioles, and woodpeckers. “That cabin is
where my love of birding began,” she
said.
Next spring, Heuer hopes to instill the
same fascination with birds in a few
Frogtown kids, by offering bird walks
during migration season.
is published six times per year by Health Advocates
843 Van Buren Ave., St. Paul, and is distributed
door-to-door in the area from Lexington Pkwy.
to 35E, and University Ave. to Pierce Butler.
Publisher: Patricia Ohmans
Editor: Anthony Schmitz
651 .757.5970 • patricia.ohmans@gmail.com
651 .757.7479 • apbschmitz@gmail.com
Ad rates & more at GreeningFrogtown.com
Next issue, November/December.
Ad deadline October 20.
Health Advocates sponsors Frogtown Green, an initiative
that promotes green development as a means to increase
the health and wealth of Frogtown residents.
The Frogtown Flavor feature is sponsored by a grant from
the Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Minnesota Foundation.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
PAGE 9

FROM PAGE ONE
Help Kids Get the Most from School
Top tips from Promise Neighborhood director (and local dad) Muneer Karcher-Ramos
Muneer Karcher-Ramos scrolled through
the pictures on his phone to find a photo
of his four-year old son, Amir. In this
photo, Amir did not look entirely happy,
and for good reason: one of his soulful
brown eyes was swollen shut.
Most proud parents would show a reporter
only their cutest kid pics, but the puffyeyed
boy in the photo helped Karcher-
Ramos make a point: family comes first.
Greening Frogtown’s scheduled interview
with the director of the Saint Paul Promise
Neighborhood had been briefly
postponed, when an allergic reaction to a
bug bite necessitated a quick, unscheduled
trip to urgent care. A dose of antihistamine
later, Amir was back at preschool, and
Karcher-Ramos was back on the job,
ready to talk about how to help all
Frogtown kids succeed.
It’s a good example of how Karcher-
Ramos brings his personal experience—as
a Frogtown resident, husband and father
of two young boys—to his work as the
director of the Saint Paul Promise
Neighborhood. The initiative works with
families, teachers and students at
Frogtown area public schools to use
education “to create pathways to college
Promise Neighborhood Director Muneer Karcher-Ramos with son, Amir.
and career for children" in the Frogtown,
Rondo, and Summit-University
neighborhoods.
Q: So… how did you choose a school for
your pre-schooler?
My wife (Fartun Abdi, a Frogtowner who
graduated from Central High School) and
I wanted our kids to go to school with
kids from the community. The school we
chose (Benjamin E. Mays IB World
School) draws 75 percent of its students
from the neighborhoods around it.
— Continued, Page 11
Where to Get More Help
Sankofa Reading Program: A
culturally-based literacy tutoring
program for children ofAfrican descent
that works to increase reading skills,
using African-centered stories and
activities. Enrollment information:
Susan Martin, Program Coordinator,
651 -209-3355 or 61 2-588-2244.
Center for Culture, Families and
Learning: Rooms “that parents own”
in neighborhood schools, equipped
with computers, where parents can
meet other parents. More information at
651 -744-2870 (Maxfield School), 651 -
293-8650 (Jackson School), 651 -325-
2435 (Benjamin Mays), 61 2-244-9349
(St. Paul City School).
Families Motivated to Succeed: A
rental assistance program for homeless
families or those on the brink of
homelessness. Promise Neighborhood
adult participants successfully
advocated at the Minnesota legislature
to maintain funding for this program
for two years in a row. Get more
information at 651 -280-2733
PAGE 10 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

School Success, Continued
Q. What should Frogtown parents look
for, when choosing a school?
One key to a good school is the principal.
Parents should feel like the principal is
willing to meet with them. And of course,
parents should visit their child’s
classroom. They have a right to know
what’s going on. I drop my son off at
preschool every afternoon so I have a
good sense of the school environment
and culture.
Q: How can parents have an influence on
their kids’ experience in school?
Sometimes parents themselves had bad
experiences in school. That makes it
tough to want to go back in, even as a
grown adult, and advocate for your child.
The best thing parents can do is get to
know other parents.
Q: That works for elementary school, but
what about in junior high and high
school, when kids don’t necessarily want
their parents hanging around?
Parents can connect through the outlets
the school provides, like attending sports
events, plays and concerts. And a couple
of schools have multi-generational
programming after school hours, so the
kids can go to their after-school fun, and
parents can come in for GED classes,
legal services, or English language
learning. In some schools, teachers are
making home visits to ensure that they
connect with parents!
Q: What’s the toughest challenge facing
the families you work with?
I’d have to say homelessness. There are
so many things that cause it; economic
insecurity, increasing housing prices,
gentrification. When families move
frequently, it means a lot more
absenteeism. It’s tough for kids to learn if
they aren’t sitting in the classroom.
Q: What makes the biggest difference for
kids in school?
Seeing themselves
reflected in the
curriculum. We try to
encourage programs
that deconstruct the
myths that lower kids’
cultural self-esteem,
by presenting stories
about the
contributions that
their own cultures
have made. Kids learn
about their heritage
that way. They learn about their “peoplehood.”
Big Idea, Continued
explain how to do the job right.
The Serus also believe that permit fees
could be adjusted according to the value
of the home, so that a permit for similar
work on a $2 million Summit Ave. home
and a $1 20,000 Frogtown bungalow was
proportionate rather than equal. Emily
sees this in part as what she calls “a
reparations piece” — to account for the
predatory lending practices that
particularly afflicted neighborhoods such
as Frogtown before the housing bubble
burst.
“As a policy, it would help people stay in
the neighborhood, if they can do upkeep
to keep their home safe. It would help
maintain our aging housing stock. City
inspections could be a resource. It’s a way
of doing right by the house,” said Davu.
It’s easy to speculate on how such an
approach could be broadened to help
revitalize Frogtown housing while
acknowledging that neighbors are capable
of helping themselves. Readily accessible
low-cost or no-cost classes on how to take
on the basics of home repair could give
more homeowners the confidence to pick
up a hammer and saw. A low-cost home
inspection program, similar to the Home
Energy Squad that helps homeowners
prioritize heating and energy use
upgrades, could operate in Frogtown and
similar neighborhoods.
Some old problems present themselves
here. “I don’t know exactly how you’d
fund it,” said Amanda Welliver at
NeighborWorks Home Partners. “But we
need to look at more ways to offer
services to people who don’t necessarily
need home improvement loans.”
Good Acre, Continued
The Good Acre hopes to expand to reach
out to the greater neighborhood, beyond
HAFA and Frogtown Farm. It means that
we’ll certainly be seeing more of them as
they make food infrastructure more
accessible and reliable for locals.
Because, as Williams says, “That’s the
whole point of this place, to build
community around food.”
Loco Elote with Jalapeño Lime Butter
Ingredients
sweet corn-on-the-cob, husked
2 jalapeño chiles
1 stick (4oz) butter, softened
minced garlic
1 tsp salt
zest from 1 lime
Additional toppings: crumbled cheese,
sour cream, chili powder, chopped basil,
cilantro, chives, lemon juice
Grill corn over medium-high heat, rotate
until slightly charred - about 5 minutes per
side. For butter, grill the chiles until charred
and cool for 5 minutes. Using a small
paring knife, peel chiles and scrape out
seeds; discard. Chop chiles and mix with
butter, garlic, salt and lime zest. Spread
butter onto grilled corn and add additional
toppings ifdesired!
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
PAGE 11

PAGE 12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017