GreeningFrogtownMayJune

MAY/JUNE 2018
Inside…
Can't Afford
Vaccinations
for Your Kids?
Find out how, where
to get them for free
— P. 7
Hope News impresario Tyler Olsen and videographer Aidyn Draughn. Inset: Local artist Tou SaiKo Lee quizzed by Hope kids.
BUGS WIN THIS ROUND, BOULEVARD TREES GET THE AX — P.3
Local Heroes
Ifthere were a Museum ofFrogtown, their portraits would be in it
When William Brown collapsed in his home of a heart attack
in March, another old-school hero in Frogtown’s history
headed for his grave. Mister Brown — not much of anyone
addressed him without attaching the honorific — was a standup
figure during Frogtown’s dark days in the 90s. Read more
about him on page 3.
Mister Brown was one of a cadre
of activist neighbors from that
era who have now passed on.
Barb Lammers, Fran Tessier, Les
Barrett — all dead and most
likely unknown to the majority
of current neighbors — would,
like Mister Brown, deserve to
have their portraits hung in the
Museum of Frogtown, if such a
place existed.
Barb Lammers served as chair of
the Thomas Dale Block Clubs, a
confederation of Frogtown block
clubs that fought for more civilized streets while the crack
epidemic raged. Fran Tessier, who from his modest Dale St.
home had a ring-side seat on what was then a world of
commotion, served as grill-master for innumerable
neighborhood functions, searing thousands of hot dogs in the
process. Les Barrett, an old white guy with a walrus mustache
and a cane, teamed up with a then-young African American
organizer, Johnny Howard, to form the block club
organization.
All of them were real-deal Frogtowners. They lived here. They
all probably figured they’d die here. In between they stood up
Once they were in the streets: the honor roll of
Frogtown figures who deserve to be remembered.
to face the challenges of the day and tried to come up with a
plan to make this a better place to live. They didn’t just talk
about it, or post on Facebook. They put their feet in the street.
Those were complicated times. Then again, the times are
always complicated Today
Frogtown is a place where
household income has actually
decreased over the past 1 5 years.
Homeowners, many of them still
underwater from the housing
collapse of the Great Recession,
are eager to see prices go up.
Renters, who make up more than
60 percent of the neighborhood’s
households, know that rising real
estate prices most likely mean
higher rents that they can’t
afford. Which is to say nothing
of the gun violence, racism and
related disparities that underlay the
lives of many people here.
My bet is that Frogtown will always be Frogtown. A first stop
for immigrants, refugees, young families. A haven, albeit
increasing difficult to afford, for people struggling to make
ends meet. A decades-long home for people engaged by the
complexity of urban life, or just too obstreperous to leave.
The key fact about the Browns, Lammers, Tessiers and Barretts
of Frogtown is that they dignified themselves by imagining
something better was possible. They struggled to make it so.
That's an opportunity Frogtown continues to offer, every day of
the week. — Tony Schmitz
Assessed
Value Up for
Local Homes
But median prices
remain lowest in
city ofSt. Paul
— P. 5
Food Giveaway:
How It Happens
Behind the scenes
with Delinia Parris
and Lynn Thompson
— P. 2
In County
Board Race,
MatasCastillo
Gets DFL Nod
Rettman, Nguyen
Moore continue
toward primary
— P. 3

HOW IT WORKS
Food Giveaway, Step‐by‐Step
The behind-the-scenes planning that puts needed food in the hands ofhundreds each week
Want to see a great example of
Frogtowners working together to solve a
neighborhood problem? Check out the
food giveaway that runs every Friday
from 3-4:30 pm in space donated by City
School at Western and Lafond.
It’s no surprise that many Frogtowners
struggle to put food on the table. The
giveaway, run in conjunction with the
food rescue operation, Second Harvest
Heartland, delivers roughly four and a
half tons of food each week to the 200-
plus people who show up. They’re
bringing food home for households that
include more than 900 people.
This giveaway runs on rules that are
looser than those at many food shelves.
You don’t need to provide an ID for
yourself and everybody in your home.
You don’t need to prove you’ve got a
Social Security card. If you get yourself
to the school door, you get a sticker with
a number on it, and a place in line to load
up a box with a startling wealth of food
that’s been salvaged from area grocery
stores.
The bounty, which varies from week to
Food giveaway coordinator Delinia Parris, volunteer wrangler Lynn Thompson.
week, typically includes staples like
apples, potatoes and onions, mounds of
packaged salad, a range of meats,
occasional delicacies such as fresh
salmon, lobster, crab legs and sushi, bread
and other baked goods, deli items and
thousands of pounds of fresh produce. It’s
a standard American contradiction: food
that would otherwise get tossed and
people who need a boost to fill the
refrigerator.
For most of the neighbors who grab a
box, it’s a seamless operation. But what
goes into making it run smoothly? Here’s
a step-by-step deconstruction, offered by
coordinator Delinia Parris and volunteer
organizer Lynn Thompson.
Monday/Tuesday: Thompson checks her
SignUpGenius account to get a count on
volunteers. (Do a Google search for
SignUpGenius Lynn Thompson and sign
up online if you want to volunteer.) The
giveaway runs on about 50 volunteers per
week who help move tons of food from
Second Harvest trucks to the school gym,
manage tables filled with food items and
help with clean up. Second Harvest sends
about 1 0 volunteers per week. Another 20
to 25 come from Frogtown’s St.
Stephanus Lutheran Church, while 1 0 to
1 5 are Frogtown neighbors.
On the run-up to Friday, Thompson also
takes stock of supplies — all the bags and
cleaning equipment and paper towels that
are necessary to make the Friday
giveaway work.
Wednesday: Parris goes to the Second
Harvest website and puts in an order for
food. On a typical week, there might be
900 pounds of meat, 2,000 pounds of
— Continued, Page 11
PAGE 2 JULY MAY/JUNE / AUGUST 2018
6

RIP: Old‐School Neighborhood Activist,
Original Hard‐Worker, William Brown
Frogtown lost another of its old-school
heroes when William Brown died on
March at the age of 82 of a heart attack he
suffered in his home.
Mr. Brown left behind a reputation as a
tireless worker, capable of leaving
younger men in the dust. Up until his
death he was a routine sight in local
alleys, which he worked as a scrap
collector in a battered red truck typically
piled high with
cast-off metal.
“Old as he was, he
could still climb on
top of that truck,”
recalled his friend,
Johnny Howard.
“He called me to
say, Johnny, help
me move this
refrigerator and I
told him, I can’t get
on top of that
truck.” Mr. Brown,
serving as the spry
muscle for this job and a host of others,
was the man on top of the truck on that
job and many others.
Mr. Brown was known throughout the
neighborhood as the guy who could get a
job done. “He was a jack of all trades and
he mastered them all,” said his friend
Richard Smaller. He repaired cars. He
fixed up lawnmowers. He mowed his own
lawn, then pushed his mower down the
block to take care of an elderly neighbor.
He served at the local food shelf. When
the gardening initiative, Frogtown Green,
needed a large plot tilled, Patricia
Ohmans contracted with Mr. Brown, then
in his 80s, who ground away at the job for
the better part of a day until the soil was
ready for planting.
Mr. Brown moved to St. Paul in 1 984
after getting laid-off from a New Jersey
Ford Motor Company plant. When he was
After Borers, New Trees
Frogtown residents who are feeling mournful
about the lineup of tree stumps along Lafond
and Van Buren Avenues as well as Virginia
and Avon Streets will soon be seeing
replacement plantings, according to St.
Paul urban forester Rachel Coyle.
More than 800 mostly native trees such
as oaks and birches will be planted to
replace older ash trees that have fallen
victim to emerald ash borer.
Those denuded streets are a sad sign of
the future, however. At this point, almost
all of St. Paul's emerald ash trees are
likely to hosting the borer larvae, which
damage and kill trees by tunneling just below
the bark.
Want to keep track of the city's efforts to manage
boulevard trees? Check out the new interactive
map on the forestry department's webpage:
stpaul.gov/departments/parks-recreation/naturalresources/forestry/emerald-ash-borer.
FROGTOWN NEWS
offered a new position on the chassis line
at the Highland Park Ford plant, he
moved to St. Paul. He retired in 1 991 , but
retirement for him meant taking on more
work. He hired on at a security firm, and
worked the then rough-and-tumble
Badger Lounge on University Ave.
During the 1 990s, when the crack
epidemic afflicted Frogtown in ways that
are largely unimaginable now, Mr. Brown
became a key
figure in the
Thomas-Dale
Block Club, an
umbrella
organization of
dozens of block
clubs with more
than 600 members.
During that period
street-corner drug
dealers were a
common sight at
all hours of the
day. Prostitutes
routinely worked
the corners as well. Groups of misguided
young men declared that the sidewalks
were theirs, and charged tolls for
neighbors to walk down them. In
response, block club members organized
take-back-the-street marches and
occupations. Mr. Brown, decked in his
uniform and armed, provided security in
frequently tense situations. “You’ve got
to stop and think about the nerve to be
standing on those corners back then at 2
am,” Howard, then the block club
director, recalled. “But that was Brown.”
He left behind four living children —
“That we know of,” Howard added —
with another daughter who died before
Mr. Brown.
Howard offered up a simple eulogy. for
Mr. Brown “He was a hard worker. He
treated everybody decent. He was a good
old dude.”
Stockpiling: Sharon and Larry Paulson with their porch stash of sale items.
Bargain Binge with a Purpose: Yard
Sale Benefits Local Projects, Seniors
Don’t miss one of Frogtown’s defining
social events — Larry and Sharon
Paulson’s annual garage and plant sale,
scheduled this year for 8 am - 5 pm, Fri.,
May 4 and 8 am - 2 pm, Sat., May 5 at
581 Blair Ave.
Co-sponsored this year by the Hamline
Midway Elders organization, proceeds
from the event go to support
neighborhood elder programming, plus
other resident-driven initiatives such as
the horseshoe court at Como Ave. and
Elfelt St.
There’s no telling what will be up for
grabs this year, but past years have
featured clothes, shoes, toys, appliances,
electronics, bikes, furniture, lawn and
shop tools, kitchen gadgets and much
more.
By early April, Larry and Sharon had
already stuffed their porch with boxes of
donated merchandise. Got a last-minute
donation you want to make? Call Larry at
651 -224-2456.
Considering the job ahead, Larry said,
“This is my last year.” At that, Sharon
rolled her eyes. “You know he says that
every year.”
MatasCastillo Snags DFL Endorsement
in Race for County Board Seat
The race for our area's County
Commissioner seat took a twist at the
March DFL endorsement convention, as
delegates handed the party endorsement
to Trista MatasCastillo over challenger
Jennifer Nguyen Moore and incumbent
Janice Rettman.
MatasCastillo is a military vet who is a
legislative aide to County Commissioner
Blake Huffman. Nguyen Moore, a child
of immigrants who grew up on University
near Victoria, works for the city of
Bloomington. Rettman has held the
board seat for 20 years after serving 1 0
years on the St. Paul City Council.
The district includes wildly different
communities, ranging from Frogtown to
Falcon Heights, Como Park to the North
End, and into a swath of the East Side.
The job itself is equally far-reaching. The
county’s hand extends into human
services, parks, libraries, the courts,
county law enforcement, roads, waste,
housing and more.
As usual at these conventions, delegates
presented the candidates with a party
loyalty question. If one of the others
secured the endorsement — which
requires a 60 percent majority of the vote
— would they drop out of the race?
MatasCastillo and Rettman both said
they’d run in the August primary contest
regardless. Nguyen Moore said she’d
abide by the result of the convention.
MatasCastillo nailed down the
endorsement on the second ballot with 66
percent of the vote. Rettman was left with
1 8 percent, and Nguyen Moore with
nearly 1 5 percent.
In a turn-around, Nguyen Moore said
later that she would continue in the race.
Her reasoning: She said she figured the
convention would result in no
endorsement. Wrong on that front, she
looked at the arcane, day-long process
that, she maintains, excludes working
people, or parents stuck with childcare
responsibilities. “It prevents a lot of
people from getting involved… About
200 voters decide on who to endorse. It’s
not fair for them to decide.”
“She miscalculated,” MatasCastillo said
later of Nguyen Moore. “She believed
there would be a blocked endorsement.
She was playing a game. People care
about integrity.”
In the convention’s aftermath, Rettman
said, “Obviously I didn’t get the
endorsement. I’m sad about that, but
that’s how it is. I’ll be taking it to the
people.”
MAY/JUNE 2018 PAGE 3

Big Ideas: Housing
Solution for Area
Seniors, Families
Here’s another one for the Big Ideas file
that addresses a pair of problems. What’s
the best way to meet the need for
affordable, safe and convenient housing
for Frogtown seniors? And how to get
more decent, affordable housing on tap for
young Frogtown families?
During the course of a March Frogtown
Neighborhood Association meeting at
City School, one approach to both issues
arose from the neighborhood discussion.
The meeting was intended to describe
plans by the Frogtown-based
Neighborhood Development Center
(NDC) for a $22 million development for
the northwest corner of Dale and
University. The five-story building would
offer two lower levels of retail and
commercial space, with three additional
floors that could include about 60 units of
affordable senior housing. The units are
intended for seniors making 50 to 60
percent of the area median income, or
$33,050 to $39,650 per year. Rent would
come to about $850 to $1 ,050 per month.
Certainly there are Frogtown seniors who
FROGTOWN NEWS
are weary of the burdens of home
ownership — the snow shoveling, lawn
mowing, routine maintenance,
unexpected repairs, and unneeded space
that nonetheless must be heated. If local
seniors can sell the home they no longer
want, move a few blocks to a fresh new
apartment where the owners take care
of the upkeep, and open their too-big
home for a family for whom it might be
just the right size, then everybody wins.
As usual, there’s a devil in the details.
NDC’s partner in the project, Steve
Wellington of Wellington Management,
observed that it might not be legally
possible to reserve space in the new
building specifically for Frogtown
seniors while excluding others who
don’t happen to live in the
neighborhood. However, he
acknowledged that it might be possible
to run an “affirmative marketing”
campaign that gave a heads-up to
Frogtown seniors, allowing them to get
their applications in first and be at the
front of the line for high-demand,
subsidized senior housing.
But don’t sharpen up your pencil to fill
out the application form quite yet,
warns NDC director Mike Temali. At
the earliest, construction would start a
year from now. The build-out would
take another year. “And it could be an
additional year or two,” said Temali.
Just one example: Estimated market
value of this Frogtown home for 201 8
taxes: $11 4,900. For 201 9: $1 40,700.
This Old Frogtown
House: Suddenly
Value Gets Jacked
You’re a Frogtown homeowner. You got
your March notice from the Ramsey
County Assessor’s Office, describing its
view of your home’s value. And now
you’re wondering, if you’re in the same
boat as most Frogtown homeowners,
what’s going on here? What does it mean
that my home value is soaring?
Frogtown, as always, is rife with
contradictions. This year it boasts the
highest rate of increased home values in the
city. Values for single-family homes are up
by 1 6.2 percent this year, and that’s on top
of gains of 1 0-1 5 percent in the year prior.
Nonetheless, the median value (half priced
higher, half priced lower) of a Frogtown
home is $1 29,200 — the lowest in the city.
As a point of comparison, the median value
of a home in Summit Hill is $444,300.
What’s behind higher Frogtown home
values? A low inventory of moderatelypriced
houses for sale has helped boost
local housing prices, says County Assessor
Luis Rosario. His office is obliged by law
to take a look at comparative sales in a
neighborhood, and fit nearby homes into a
range within 90 to 1 05 percent of those
prices.
The valuation notice you just received is
part one of a two part process. In
November you’ll receive another notice,
telling you exactly what your taxes payable
in 201 9 will be.
How you feel about rising values depends
on your situation. “You go back to the 2007
recession,” says Rosario, “and values in
specific neighborhoods went way down.
One of them was Thomas Dale. It’s still
— Continued, Next Page
MAY/JUNE 2018
PAGE 5

FROGTOWN NEWS
ASSESSMENTS, CONT. — recovering.
The median home value in 2007 was
$1 45,000. Values now are still 9.5 percent
below that high. A lot of people in
Thomas Dale are going to be relieved to
see values go up, since many of them are
still underwater.”
If you own a home, aren’t planning to
move soon, or are living on a fixed
income, increased values that lead to a
potential tax increase are a mixed
blessing. You’re home is worth more, so
in an abstract sense you’re richer. You’ll
got more when you sell, or you’ll have
more to pass on to your kids, thus
building generational wealth. But if in the
meantime you’re eating cat food because
you can’t afford groceries and taxes both,
that wealth might not seem like it’s
making you richer on the day-to-day.
And if you’re renting, as most
Frogtowners are — nearly 62 percent of
local households are renters — higher
values can turn into higher taxes, greater
costs to landlords, and boosted rents. For
the 60 percent of Frogtown households
who pay more than 30 percent of their
monthly income for housing — a rent
hike is one of the last things they need.
Taxes aren’t exactly like death, in that
there are steps you can take to lessen the
blow. For one, if you think the Assessor’s
Office is out to lunch on the value of your
home, there’s still time to pick up the
phone, call 651 -266-21 31 and say you
want a second opinion. You’ll get a call
back from an office rep within a few
days. An appraiser will check out your
home, inside and out, and decide whether
the value should be adjusted. But that
deadline is imminent, so don't delay.
If you’re happy enough with the
assessor’s determination of your home’s
value, you can still get a break on taxes
via the special homestead credit refund if
your property tax has gone up by more
than 1 2 percent in the past year, or if the
increase exceeds $1 00. The same applies
for renters.
Cash-strapped seniors can catch a break
by applying for the state’s Senior Citizen
Tax Deferral Program. You must be 65 or
older, with a household income less than
$60,000. Once you’re enrolled, your
property tax is limited to three percent of
your total income. But the deferred tax
must eventually be repaid, with interest,
to the state if the property is sold, if
you’re no longer enrolled, or by your
heirs if you die.
Find out more by searching for Senior
Citizen Property Tax Deferral on the
Minnesota Department of Revenue’s
website.
They did it in Duluth: I-35 vanishes under Jay Cooke Plaza.
Freeway Lid Plan
Gets Another Boost
The notion of a five-block wide land
bridge over I-94 got another bump
forward in March when the prestigious
Urban Land Institute landed an expert
panel that studied the idea, interviewed
stakeholders and made recommendations
on next steps.
Potentially a $1 billion project by the
rough estimate of the ULI team, the
bridge would be centered on Victoria St.,
creating a green corridor that would
extend from Frogtown Park and Farm to
the Mississippi. Though still in the
dreamy stage, the
project could include
housing, retail and
greenspace that would
transform the dead
zone above the
freeway into 20 new
acres of land.
Though the idea might
have the sound of
Mission Impossible,
the reality is that
similar bridges have
been built in Duluth,
Chicago, Denver,
Boston and Dallas,
among other cities.
The panel recommended a $6 million
start-up fund to hire a development
director, start a fundraising drive and put
together cost and engineering estimates.
Additional steps include putting a team of
community organizers on the ground to
explain the project and solicit resident
opinions, conduct market research, and
develop plans to limit displacement as
surrounding property values increase
when the land bridge is developed. Now
is also the time, panelists said, to
encourage Mayor Melvin Carter to make
an investment in the project’s future.
The project is pushed locally by the
group, Reconnect Rondo, which has
PAGE 6
MAY/JUNE 2018

pitched the bridge as a patch-up that
acknowledges the destruction of the
Rondo African-American community by
freeway construction in the 1 960s. The
ULI panelists emphasized that the project
offers an opportunity for African-
American leadership and ownership. “It’s
an opportunity for healing, a celebration of
history and a way to capture the benefits
of economic development for the local
community,” said panelist Beth Callender,
a San Diego-based ULI official.
She admitted that the bridge sounds like “a
moonshot,” but said it would produce new
job opportunities and wealth in the
community, mitigate freeway noise and
pollution, and “create a new legacy.”
Callender said the project brings with it a
gentrification risk. “We want to address
that before it happens,” she said. “But we
also don’t want to cut off the
opportunity for growth, and the
opportunity for a more thriving
community.”
Get Those Kids
Vaccinated, Free
You want to get your kids vaccinated
against diseases like measles, mumps,
tetanus and pertussis, but you don’t have
insurance, your insurance doesn’t cover it,
or you just can’t afford it. Here’s what you
can do.
FROGTOWN NEWS
Check out the Minnesota Vaccines for
Children program to make sure your kids
get the recommended vaccines at the
right times.
The program offers free or low-cost
vaccines for eligible children 1 8 years of
age and younger. As a parent, you do not
have to enroll to get your kids vaccinated.
Clinics participate in the program and
offer vaccines for little or no cost
to children who qualify. Most
clinics that provide
medical services to
children in
Minnesota
participate
in the
program.
Simply ask your
clinic about getting
free or low-cost vaccines
for your child.
If your child does not have a medical
provider, you can get free or low-cost
vaccines from local public health clinics.
Frogtowners can contact the Ramsey
County Immunization Clinic at 555
Cedar and make an appointment via Ifrah
Yusuf at 651 -266-1 249.
Your kids can get free or low-cost shots if
they are Medicaid eligible, American
Indian, are uninsured or underinsured.
Underinsured means that your insurance
doesn’t cover certain vaccines, or has a
limit on how much it will pay.
The New Entrepreneurs
"Light, sweet and fluffy!" That's how Kaliah Linear, pictured above, describes the
cupcake topped with a mini-waffle that she's holding. She should know—with help
from her mom, Frogtown resident Sarah Corral, she baked a dozen of the treats for a
recent group meeting at the Ober Center. Kaliah, 1 5, runs Cupcake Nirvana, a home
business that caters (and delivers) a variety of "rich and decadent" cupcakes on
demand. Phone in your order to 61 2-282-4579.
MAY/JUNE 2018 PAGE 7

WHAT'S HAPPENING
PAGE 8
MAY/JUNE 2018

BY THE NUMBERS
Sex Offenders: Where They Live
Everybody's got to live somewhere. But should the distribution be more equitable?
By Tony Schmitz
The notice from the police
department always starts the
same way. “Dear Concerned
Citizens:” it reads. “A Level
III Predatory Offender
Notification meeting will be
held…” The notice includes
the sex offender’s name and
the block where he will live.
If you go to the meeting,
you’ll learn that Level III sex
offenders include the highest
risk perpetrators released
from Minnesota prisons.
They’re under supervision of
a probation officer. They may
have restrictions on where
they can go, their access to
the internet or whether they
can drink alcohol.
And what you’ll learn from
the map at right is that the
vast majority of sex offenders
make their new home in
Frogtown or neighborhoods
immediately adjacent. The other fact a
glance at the map reveals is that if you
live in a neighborhood that’s richer and
whiter, your chance of living down the
street from a Level III offender is just
about zero.
I took the map above to a mid-March
meeting at the Western District police
headquarters that was intended to
introduce the neighborhood to the latest
offenders to move in to the neighborhood.
It wasn’t much of a crowd. Two St. Paul
police officers. One Ramsey County
Correction Department intensive
supervision agent. One neighborhood
resident besides me.
“If we said somebody is moving into
Highland Park, do you know how many
people would show up?” asked Joel
Hanson, the county’s supervision agent.
“It would be a packed house.”
By Hanson’s analysis, it’s no mystery
why Level III sex offenders are jammed
up in a small part of the city. “It’s safe to
say that nobody wants a sex offender
living next door. That’s the way it is. So
when you have a landlord that says,
‘Okay, I’ll rent to a registered sex
offender, it’s an all or nothing thing. You
have to let everybody in the building
know that a sex offender is moving in. If
you go to Highland, where you’re talking
about more expensive property, who’s
going to rent to a sex offender out there?”
The result is that for some landlords,
their business model is built around
renting to sex offenders. And since
everybody’s got to live somewhere, and
most landlords won’t rent to sex
offenders, you can argue that this is, in its
Number of Level III Offenders/Block
This map shows the location of 39 offenders
subject to public notification as of March 30.
1 2 additional were homeless, or in unknown
locations, and not plotted. Map by Maya Swope.
own way, a service. The private market is
filling a need. And according to St. Paul
officer Ramar Davis, who made the
Western District presentation,
clustering offenders has
certain advantages.
Supervisors are visiting their
home more often. And
roommates who observe their
fellows breaking the rules are
apt to report them, to keep
from running afoul of the law
again themselves.
But you could also argue that
the inequitable distribution is
one more burden placed on
those least likely to protest. In
a 201 6 study of the
concentration of Level III
offenders in Minneapolis, the
city attorney’s office observed
that a concentration of sex
offenders has measurable
effects on the “disadvantaged”
communities most likely to
host them. Among the
downsides — an increased
level of fear among residents,
and a negative effect on home
values. In short, the property
value of the city’s least
prosperous residents is driven down,
while that of the richest are insulated from
— Continued Page 11
MAY/JUNE 2018
PAGE 9

FROM PAGE ONE
Where There's Hope
Kids deliver good news from West Minne via YouTube, Facebook
By Patricia Ohmans
“Hi, I’m Aidyn, and this is HOPE News!”
Announcer Aidyn, 8, opens the week’s
newscast from West Minnehaha Rec
Center with a crooked grin, a roll of his
big brown eyes, and a mock punch and
jab at his cameraman, Jeremiah, also 8.
Both of them crack up, aaaand…cut!
There’s a perfect opening for the next
episode of HOPE News.
West Minnehaha Rec Center’s HOPE
News is not your usual news show, filled
with matte-faced, stiff-haired anchors,
reading their teleprompter as footage of
murder and mayhem rolls. Nor are these
your typical news writers. Aidyn, Amara,
Jannah, Jayden, Jhonasia, Karcyn,
Letterion, Marcus, Mekayel, Mohamed,
and Senncere film, write and produce
stories that reflect the joys and concerns
of Frogtown’s younger citizens. They are
kids who manage to fool around, goof up,
and report on their community at the
same time.
The show’s purpose is embedded in its
name—short takes on neighborhood
news, with a hopeful twist. The team has
scored lengthy interviews with some
political heavy hitters, like Police Chief
Todd Axtell, former Mayor Chris
Coleman, and State Representative Ilhan
Omar. But they’ve also talked with a
school social worker, a rap artist, a parks
employee, and two animal trainers.
They’ve even grilled yours truly on the
various forms of “animal poop” that work
best for fertilizer. “I’ve really learned a
lot about how many interesting people
there are in Frogtown,” observes Amara,
a HOPE news veteran.
Each show runs about five minutes, and
airs on Facebook and YouTube. The
THEY'RE ON!: Youth from West Minne are in front of (and behind) each broadcast
of the community news program. Previous shows, with interviews of Frogtown
residents and leaders, are archived on the HOPE News YouTube channel.
series is the brainchild of Rec Center
director Bilal Muhammad and local
theater artist Tyler Olsen.
“About two years ago, my company,
called Dangerous Productions, worked
with St Paul Parks and Recreation
department to produce a series called
‘Happy Frogtown’ Olsen recalled
recently. “We included some interviews
with kids called ‘Happy Who Am I.’ This
was around the time of the Philando
Castile shooting. Bilal told me he was so
saddened by all the negative news, with
so many police shootings and protests.
Frogtown kids—particularly kids of
color—are so challenged by the systemic
racism that ricochets all over the
community. We really wanted to produce
something hopeful.”
Thus, HOPE News was born.
The show is now closing in on a year’s
worth of episodes, with plans to continue
through 201 8. Olsen and his team of
camera people and editors have
developed a lively, action-packed format
that intersperses interview footage with
shots of the kids working on each show.
Weather announcements, songs, and
drawings make an occasional
appearance, but a standard feature called
“The Best Thing That Happened This
Week” closes out every HOPE News
show. Kids ask each other, as well as
adults
they
interview,
to think
back over
the past
seven days,
and name a
highlight.
What’s the best
thing that’s
happened to the
regulars at HOPE News each week?
Football usually rates high (trying out,
making the team, great scores); along
with family visits; new clothes;
swimming, and trips to the mall. Then
there’s pizza! Getting a girlfriend! Hiking
in the woods! Substitute teacher!
Look for upcoming episodes in which
youth interview other youth doing good
things, normal things, Olsen advises. “It
could be something as simple as
volunteering to help younger kids with
their homework, or something a lot more
unusual, like raising money for a good
cause or inventing something cool,”
Olsen says. Got some ideas? Youth ages
8 and up are welcome to drop in and help
produce the show, every Wednesday from
4-6 PM at West Minnehaha Rec Center.
LEARN TO RIDE A BIKE: Adults who were too busy doing other things as kids to
learn to ride a bicycle get another chance this summer, thanks to a free, popular
program run by local non-profit Cycles for Change. Four weekly, one-and-a-half
hour sessions are enough to get most non-riders tooling along confidently. Class
begins with learning to balance and pedal, then progresses to basic bike handling
skills and how to ride in the road. Helmets and bikes are provided for participants
during the class. Classes are offered in May, June, July and August on Wednesday
evenings at West Minne Rec. For more information, contact Cycles for Change at
651 -222-2080, or Anneka@cyclesforchange.org.
PAGE 10 MAY/JUNE 2018

FOOD GIVEAWAY, CONT. — bakery items, 460 pounds of dairy,
90 pounds of deli items, 1 ,300 pounds of cereal, crackers and
other dry goods, and 3,740 pounds of fresh produce.
Thursday: Parris makes a report to Second Harvest on how many
people were served on the previous Friday and the average
amount of food they took. Usually that’s about 11 pounds per
person. The reporting is necessary for Second Harvest’s
fundraising, Parris says. At the same time, she wants to keep the
information she collects to a minimum. “We’re trying to do this in
a different way, so people are equitably served. What’s really
accomplished by us collecting Social Security numbers?”
Friday: Parris rolls out of bed and asks herself, “What have I
gotten myself into?” She’s at the school by 1 0:30 to set up the
tables and bins, plus get the hand trucks and carts in order. Even
though the doors won’t open until 3 pm, some people are already
lined up when she arrives.
Thompson makes sure the walkie-talkies used to communicate
with volunteers at the food tables are charged up. She arrives at
the school at about 1 pm.
Volunteers start showing up at about 1 :1 5, ready to meet the
Second Harvest trucks, which begin to pull up at 1 :30. Usually
there are more than 20 pallets of food to move. It’s not the most
efficient set-up, since food has to be carried by hand across a
muddy lot. (A planned paving job in spring will make it possible
to use pallet jacks to move food to the gym.)
At about 2, Parris goes outside with a pile of stickers, assigning a
number to people who have been waiting in line — some of them
for more than four hours. Strictly speaking, it doesn’t really pay to
wait so long. The volunteers take stock of the amount of food they
have at their table, divide it by the number of people expected to
show up, and try to portion it out equally. Parris judges it to be a
reaction to trauma — that people are coming out of environments
where their supply of food was precarious.
The doors open at 3. People are let in 1 0 at a time, according to
the number on their sticker. About 60 percent of those collecting
food are from Frogtown. The rest are from all over — both
adjacent neighborhoods and from parts of Minneapolis.
By 4:30 it’s usually over except for the clean-up. Often there are
piles of food that remain untouched. On a recent Friday there were
barrels of salad greens, piles of bananas, a mountain of bread, and
a pallet of left-over chocolate Easter bunnies. Some of it is carted
away by volunteers to other locations where it’s given to people
who need a hand. Some items are collected by a farmer who turns
it into hog food. Another large pile goes into a dumpster.
Volunteers break down food boxes, clean and fold up tables, stack
pallets and cart off boxes and bins. By 5:45, the gym is emptied,
swept and ready for another day of school.
Until the following Friday, when it all starts again.
SEX OFFENDERS, CONT. The Minneapolis report made
recommendations on how to even up the scales. Among the
alternatives: offer rent subsidies so that offenders can afford to
live in more expensive parts of town; offer vouchers that enable
offenders to live in state or county-owned housing; and conduct
aggressive outreach to landlords, encouraging them to rent to
offenders; and, petition the state Department of Corrections to
restrict offender residence in areas already over-burdened.
What about housing subsidies for sex offenders, I asked at
Western District meeting. After a moment of bemused silence,
Hanson said, "Hmm, that would be interesting."
This Just In...
Trash drop‐off: Here's a chance to get rid of the stuff you can't
put in the can, like appliances, electronics, and upholstered
furniture. Fees apply. Sat., June 9, 8 am to 1 pm at the State
fairgrounds. Info at stpaul.gov/recycle.
Free summer kids stuff: Don't forget to sign the kids up for
free summer splash programs at West Minnehaha, Scheffer and
Valley (Boys and Girls Club). Find out more at commed.spps.org.
is published six times per year by Health Advocates Inc.,
843 Van Buren Ave., St. Paul, Minnesota, 551 04,
and is distributed door-to-door from Lexington Parkway to 35E,
and from University Avenue to Pierce Butler Route.
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, July/August • Ad deadline June 1 5.
Health Advocates also sponsors Frogtown Green, an initiative that promotes
green development to increase the health and wealth ofFrogtown residents.
Out of the Box
Ask the Animal Humane Society Outreach Trainers
BEYOND CABIN FEVER — Q: My dog has so much energy! I take
her for three walks every day and it’s still not enough. What can I
do?
A: It sounds like a little extra enrichment will go a long way to use up
more of that energy. Brain puzzles will be as tiring as physical
exercise, without you needing to do much. The first thing we
recommend is ditching the food bowl and feeding her from a fooddispensing
toy. Your dog now has to work for her food. Google “food dispensing dog
toy” for ideas, or there are many you can make at home. An empty soda bottle, large
oatmeal canister, or milk jug with a hole cut in the side (just a little bigger than the
kibble) is one easy toy to make. Cut more holes in the container to make it easier for
the dog to use, or leave just one hole for more of a challenge. Active cats benefit from
food toys, too! Contact Elise and Katie for free in-home training with free supplies
like these if you need more help! 651-802-8246
MAY/JUNE 2018
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