GreeningFrogtownJulyAug19

JULY/AUGUST 201 9
Inside...
From France
to Frogtown
Marc Heu opens a
pastry outpost
serving up Parisian
delicacies — P. 2
Above: Hibaq Mohamed used her new language to tell about life a refugee camp, scrambling for food, water and health care,
SAFE SPACE FOR TEENS: FREE Y SUMMER MEMBERSHIP, P. 3
BlametheFlowers
Who knew that beauty is the enemy?
The other day volunteers planted some
marigolds outside West Minne Rec
Center. Great, you might think. Who has
a beef with flowers?
That’s where you’re wrong. “Planting
flowers is gentrifying,” announced one
passer-by.
Well, sure. There’s a strain of
reasoning that might go like this: Any
jot of beauty that makes a place
somewhat more desirable might
make other people want to live there,
too. And if those flower lovers move
to the neighborhood, they’ll drive out
others. Therefore, best not to truck
with those agents of gentrification,
flowers. For that matter, it’s probably
best not to paint the house, mow the
grass, pick up the litter or do much of
anything to promote safe streets, since
who knows where that will end.
Which leaves open the question, who
really wants to live in such a place? Is the
idea to create a neighborhood where only
people with no choices are left? If that’s
the extent of our vision, maybe it’s time
to get our eyes examined.
Frogtown’s problem isn’t too much
beauty. It’s low wages and low income
that leave too many of us on the edge. A
third of residents live in poverty by
federal standards. That’s $25,750 for a
family of four. Another 1 6 percent make
it up to 1 50 percent of poverty —
$40,975 for a four-person household.
Gentrifier.
That’s nearly half the neighborhood
that’s scraping by, dreading the next rent
hike or tax jolt.
Everyone can agree there’s no magic
bullet. But that’s not the same as saying
there’s nothing we can do. There’s room
for more neighborhood-based job
training to get neighbors out of the rut of
minimum-wage work. Same for back-toschool
incentives for the 50 percent of
Frogtowners over age 25 with a high
school diploma or less. Add easily
accessible credit repair and budget
management classes to the list, with all
of the above located in a one-stopshopping
community hub. Consider
more aggressive promotion and
expansion of existing programs that
offer cheap fix-up money to landlords
who agree to offer reasonable rents.
Look at streamlining, and making
more affordable, efforts to build
backyard granny houses to add
density and build family wealthy.
These are a few starters; surely we
can dream of more.
Some people are displaced because they
are buffeted by the harsh realities of
capitalism. Prices go up. If you don’t
have the training, job and money, you’re
out of luck. Others move on because
they’ve got choices in their lives. If a
neighborhood can be said to have a
culture, then how about this: Frogtown
as a place that makes it easy for people
to get started, easy to dig out of a hole,
and makes them happy to stay put.
Frogtown not as a stop on the train, but
as a permanent home — a place where
you can dare to plant a flower or two.
— Tony Schmitz
When Businesses
Bug Neighbors
Cops, officials,
residents meet to
work toward
solutions — P. 5
Constant Change
Eid celebration at
West Minne puts
growth oflocal
Somali population
on display — P. 3

THE NEW ENTREPRENEURS
ASweetTouchforFrogtown
Trained in the top Paris pastry school, Marc Heu brings exotic cakes to University & Western
In his trim white chef’s smock, Marc Heu
looks the part. He’s a pastry chef, trained
in France, and rolling the dice now by
starting a shop — Marc Heu Pâtisserie
Paris — specializing in elegant pastries at
the corner of Western and University.
On a mid-June afternoon he sat at the bar
left behind by the previous entrepreneurs,
who had briefly run a Filipino/Mexican
fusion restaurant in the stylish storefront.
He set croissants and an exotic pair of
sweets — vanilla and chocolate Saint
Honorés, a elaborate concoction of puff
pastry, carmelized sugar, cream and more
— on the steel countertop and launched
into a description of the path that took
him from France to Frogtown.
His Hmong parents made it out of a Thai
refugee camp to France, where Heu was
born and raised to the age of three. From
there his family decamped for French
Guiana, a former French colony on the
northern coast of South America. For
Hmong who had lived an agrarian life in
southeast Asia, it was a familiar scene,
where jungle land was readily available
for farming.
Heu lived there with his family until the
age of 1 5, when his parents decided to
ship him back to France for high school.
Sweet things: Marc Heu with a platter of vanilla and chocolate Saint Honorés.
The French education system funnels
students into career paths early on. Heu
knew he wanted to be a pastry chef,
which in France, Heu explained, is
viewed as low-status manual labor.
“People look down on it,” said Heu. “I
was embarrassed to want to become a
chef.” His parents preferred to see him
set on a science track, which would allow
him to become, for instance, a doctor.
In 201 2, after Heu had finished a year of
medical school, his father bought him a
ticket to visit the US. He ended up in
Minnesota, where one thing led to
another. He met his future wife, Gaosong
Vang. He got a job at Fairview Hospital,
moving medical equipment around. He
decided to start again on the road to a
medical degree in the US by enrolling at
Century College.
The day before school was to start, he
came to a realization: “I don’t want to be
a doctor. I want to be a pastry chef.”
He told his wife, who said she wanted
him to be happy. Then he told his parents.
“Who did not understand,” he said.
Heu decided that if was to go to a pastry
school, he would go to the best. By his
lights, that was the Lenôtre school in
Paris. It was the only school he applied to.
He got in, finished the program as second
in his class, and moved on to an
internship at Stohrer, a Parisian patisserie
founded in 1 730 by the pastry chef to
King Louis XV. Returning to the States
last November, he landed an internship
with Dominic Ansel, another star in the
world of pastry. In January Heu returned
to Minnesota to start his own business.
For now, the shop operates via online
ordering, with pickups at 383 University.
A menu of cakes and other pastries are
available at marcheuparis.com. Heu also
plans to run a pop-up shop during the
annual Night Market, set for July 6-7.
“The goal,” he says, “is to run a retail
shop. But for now I want to take it slow.”
PAGE 2 JULY/AUGUST 201 9

FROGTOWN NEWS
Arts, Housing, Apartment Complex Are
among Latest Development Projects
Above: the faithful filled West Minne Rec Center to celebrate the end of Ramadan.
Below: It's a family event. Jelle D. Abdi and children, left to right, Rayan, Maryana
and Abdullahi J. Dubow.
Change You Can See: Islamic Faithful Fill
West Minne Field for Eid Celebration
In case you needed evidence of the
constantly evolving nature of Frogtown,
the morning of June 4 at the West Minne
Rec Center playing fields was proof. On
Minnehaha Ave., a traffic jam. Cars
parked up and down the side streets. A
throng of pedestrians joining the crowd
that filled the field.
All this was part of a
celebration to mark the
end of Ramadan,
organized by Al Ihsan
mosque at Minnehaha
and Chatsworth. Who
knows what the exact
head count was, but
to say it was well
over 1 ,500 is no
stretch.
Though the
crowd came
from throughout
the metro area,
mosque executive director
Ahmed Anshur said many were
Frogtown residents, drawn here by
proximity to Al Ihsan.
The ceremony included an extended
series of prayers, led by Imam Mohamed
Mursal. Separated into male and female
groups that faced northeast — the shortest
route to Mecca — people spread out
prayer rugs in the grass and prayed along.
Ramadan lasts about a month, and is
marked by fasting from dawn to sunset
for adult Muslims. After a pre-dawn meal,
the next stop for food and water is
after the sun goes down.
Fasting is intended to
cleanse the soul, and
is believed to increase
self-discipline and
empathy for the less
fortunate.
On the other hand, no one
at West Minne seemed
sorry to see the fasting end.
“This is like Christmas,” said
Anshur. “It’s a family day.
Anyone who can take the day
off will spend it with their
family, maybe going to a park,
going to the Mall. For us this is the
biggest day of the year.”
Free Teen Summer Membership at YMCA
Looking for a way to keep teens active this summer in a safe environment? Check out
the free summer membership offered by the YMCA.
Teens entering grades nine through 1 2 can get a free membership from June 1 through
August 31 . The membership gives teens access to Y facilities, including racquetball and
basketball courts, pools, weight and aerobic equipment, plus programs such as work
force training, job skill development and leadership.
Slots are still available at the Midway (1 761 University Ave.), Downtown (1 94 East 6th
Street), and East Side (875 Arcade Street) YMCAs. Sign up in person, or by going to
ymcamn.org/getsummer.
At 750 Milton, the 1 36-unit high-rise
apartment building recently bought by
the non-profit CommonBond
Communities, plans are being worked up
for an extensive rehab effort that will
start next year if funding from the City of
St. Paul and the Minnesota Housing
Finance Agency is approved. The $1
million project will include an update of
windows and mechanical systems such as
electric service, hot water and boilers,
says project manager Justin Eilers. The
current mechanicals date from
the 1 974 construction of the
building. CommonBond, a
player in the local affordable
housing market for nearly 50
years, has also recently added
social services for tenants at
750 Milton as part of its
management package.
Habitat for Humanity has a
new home under construction
at 720 Lafond. Built with
volunteers from the St. Paul
City Council, the Department
of Safety and Inspections and
St. Paul’s Regional Water
Services, the three-bedroom
home with detached garage
should be completed sometime
in late fall or early winter. A
buyer has not been selected yet
for the home, but as usual, the
new owner will have invested
sweat equity and signed on to a
low-cost mortgage. Among the
nail-bangers on a blazing mid-
June day was council member
Dai Thao, who observed, “It’s
too hot out here!”
Springboard for the Arts, a recent
neighborhood addition in a former Saxon
Ford showroom at 262 University, landed
a $1 million grant from the Knight
Foundation to continue converting the
space into its permanent headquarters.
The organization offers training to artists
on the business side of the arts world,
along with help nailing down health
insurance and legal assisstance. It also
advocates for artists’ roles in building
healthy communities. The latest Knight
money will become part of a $5.85
million campaign to add administrative
offices, multi-purpose community spaces,
and a public lawn in part of what is now a
parking lot. Expect to see markets,
performances and community
celebrations in the converted space, with
a grand opening in 2020.
A 250-unit apartment building is in the
works on Lexington near University. The
Wilder Foundation will sell two acres of
land near its headquarters to the
Minneapolis development firm Alatus,
which will construct a 1 0 to 1 5-story
building on the site. At a June meeting
held by the Union Park district council,
Alatus development director Chris
Osmundson got an earful. Summarizing
Habitat's Beth Juedes at work on Lafond home.
previous meetings, the Union Park staff
said neighbors wanted apartments in the
project to be affordable to people at all
income levels, taking into account the
discrepancy between the area median
household income and the median income
in areas like Frogtown. The area median
is $94,300 for a family of four, while the
Frogtown median is $37,905. But
Aurora-St. Anthony neighbor and former
city council member Debbie Montgomery
observed that new affordable housing is
clustered in this area, and argued for a
mixed-income development. The project
is still in the early planning stages, with
another community meeting scheduled
for 6:30 pm, Monday, July 1 5, at the
Wilder Foundation, 451 Lexington
Parkway.
Recycling or 'Wish‐cycling'? Get the Low Down to Do It Right
When it comes to recycling, a small
change can have big consequences. St.
Paul’s recycling program staff say much
more unsuitable material is being dumped
into the wheeled recycling carts that
replaced smaller, curbside bins in 201 6.
The big carts have led to more ‘wishcycling,’
says recycling program
manager Kris Hageman.
“People will throw stuff in the cart,
hoping that it’s recyclable, when it’s
not. Stuff like plastic kids’ toys, storage
bins, and cookware with plastic
handles. We used to have a rejection
rate of under two percent but now
nearly ten percent of what gets put in
recycling bins shouldn’t be there.”
Hageman’s biggest bugaboo is plastic
Candy wrappers: not so sweet in your recycling.
bags, including frozen food bags, candy
wrappers and six-pack rings. Plastic bags
and wrap get tangled in the recycling
equipment facilities, forcing workers to
remove them by hand.
Wondering whether something
belongs in the recycling cart? For a
list of accepted and unaccepted
materials, go to
tinyurl.com/FTrecycle.
As for those plastic bags: grocery
and big-box stores like Cub,
Walmart, Target and Lunds have
drop offbins where you can recycle
them with a clear conscience.
PUT A FROG ON IT! Just what
Frogtown's been waiting for — frog
stamps from the US Postal Service.
The first-class forever stamps feature,
among others, the northern leopard
frog (which, as you know, is
Minnesota's state amphibian). They're
available starting July 9.
JULY/AUGUST 201 9
PAGE 3

On Charles, Safe
City Reaches Out
The street was blocked off, the grill was
blazing, music pumped through speakers,
and kids danced on a mobile stage set up
at the corner of Edmund and Kent. It was
another night at the Safe City Project, the
mission outreach operation run by the
married couple John Tolo and Jen Marek.
John Tolo’s path to Frogtown starts with
a story not altogether unusual among
religious figures. A minister father, a
rebellious youth, hard living and a couple
near-death experiences, this leading to a
re-examination and conversion,
missionary work abroad, and then a
store-front coffee shop in Dinkytown
intended as a sober, safe place for teens.
While working there, Tolo was
approached by a Frogtowner who told
him what he should do: start a similar
coffee shop in Frogtown. “Of course the
drug dealers and the prostitutes will ruin
it,” she said.
Tolo was not utterly deterred. Instead of a
coffee shop, he bought an abandoned
house down the street from Faith
Lutheran Church in 201 0 for $400 down
and $400 a month. Over the course of
three years, using about $25,000 in cash
and $1 00,000 in donated materials and
labor, he converted it into an outpost for
street outreach, where a couple dozen
young adults could hang out but also find
help with mental health issues, or get
connected to
social service
assistance.
The next step
was a takeover
of an
abandoned
lot across the
street that the
Tolo transformed
into a
greenspace.
Despite these
efforts, it was a
tough venue by
Tolo’s account, with a nearby off-theradar,
in-home liquor store contributing
to a spray of bottles on the boulevard
and a steady stream of traffic day and
night.
FROGTOWN NEWS
From left: Ari Marek, Jen Tolo, Semaj Deputre,
John Tolo, Uriah McGillivray, Eleazon Bell.
Since then he’s bought up the thenvacant
and run-down Family Inn bar at
Kent and Edmund, transforming it into a
headquarters for outreach operations and
classes. The group also owns four
houses and manages three others, all of
them used as safe housing for adults
allied with Safe City.
The group actually does the outreach
that so many talk about — canvassing
the nearby streets to gather a crowd for a
Monday barbecue and kids club; running
a Tuesday morning mission that works
on gardens, cleans up alleys and takes up
small projects for neighbors; organizing
a Thursday food giveaway that serves
about 50 families weekly.
“We’re asking
ourselves, how
do we serve
the community?”
says
Tolo. “How do
we get
healthy? If
you’re focused
on your own
crap all the
time, it’s a pit
you get stuck
in. The majority
of the time
we don’t have a
solution for anything. We’re a crossroads
for people to help each other.”
Tolo’s success here has turned him into
an international figure in evangelical
circles, with mission and speaking
engagements in Dublin, Belfast, Lisbon,
Beirut and beyond. In Frogtown, his
latest project is a collaboration with
Frogtown Green on the Lily Pad garden
at Lafond and Dale St. The sprawling
lot, once home to the Hmong Funeral
Home, is being reimagined as a garden
and sustainability center.
Neighbors say that despite some initial
dubiousness, Tolo has won them over
with nine years of steady work. “His
emphasis is on helping people who need
help,” says Kristen Kidder, who lives
nearby. Eleazon Bell, a 1 7-year old who
lives down the street and is a regular
participant in Safe City programming,
said, “I was a little kid when I met them.
These people changed my life.”
Nayeem Booted
from FNA Board
The Frogtown Neighborhood Association
removed Abu Nayeem from its board at
the organization’s June 3 meeting.
Nayeem, elected to represent the far
western portion of Frogtown, got the boot
for making critical comments about the
organization without noting that he was
speaking for himself, and not for the
board.
Board chair Tong Thao said that Nayeem
“violated critical board policies” when he
made what Thao called “false accusations
and inflammatory statements about FNA
board and staff” on Facebook. At the May
board meeting, the board voted to allow
Nayeem a month to publicly apologize if
he wanted to keep his board position.
Nayeem claimed on Facebook that FNA
was characterized by a “lack of internal
organization, transparency and zero
expectation of board members.” He said
he was attacked for requesting basic
documents, such as past board meeting
minutes and bylaws, and was asked by
fellow board members why he wanted to
join the board when he could have known
that such documents wouldn’t be readily
available.
In Thao’s view, Nayeem breached a board
policy that states: “While different points
of voice are not only respected but
encouraged, once a board decision has
been made, the board presents that
PAGE 4 JULY/AUGUST 201 9

Abu Nayeem, in caped crusader get-up.
decision in a unified voice to staff and the
community.” Nyeem’s problem, said
Thao, was that he did not clearly state
that he was expressing his personal
opinion, not that of the board.
At the June board meeting, Nayeem said
he would apologize if the FNA staff and
executive board did as well. That didn’t
happen. He said that neighbors have
demanded “greater transparency/
accountability from the organization for
years,” citing the lack of a phone bank
and email list-serve, and an out-of-date
website.
Nayeem called for new executive
leadership and new board members.
Instead, he was voted out, 9-2.
When the Business
Bugs the Neighbors
Among local evergreen topics, this one is
especially timeless: businesses that bug
the neighbors. June brought the latest
installment of this discussion, as residents
met with police to talk about the Thomas
Deli at 922 Thomas and the Nickel Joint
bar at 501 Blair.
Residents in the vicinity of the Thomas
Deli complained that the business attracts
a crowd of shooters and loiterers that
undermines their feeling of safety. Nickel
Joint neighbors said a pivotal event was a
May 1 0 shoot-out that left a patron
wounded with a bullet to the head.
Councilman Dai Thao and Western
District police officials Paul Ford and
Steve Anderson got an load of opinion
from 20 neighbors who gathered on June
4 to vent about the Nickel Joint. It was a
complicated discussion. Neighbors were
riled about the May fusillade that woke
them up, left a body in the street and left
them fearful. They complained, too, about
unruly patrons who urinated on their
yards, parked in their driveways smoking
weed, argued loudly on the street after bar
closing and left behind a blizzard of litter.
They remembered the decades during
which the bar, tucked amidst a residential
neighborhood, was no trouble.
With a recent change of ownership had
come an unacceptable level of disruption
that left several saying they were ready to
move because of safety concerns. At the
same time, a few noted that they had met
the new owners and had sympathy for
them. They had never owned or run a bar
previously. And they were in a sense the
victims of trouble at another neighborhood
bar, Johnny Baby’s, where a
shooting had led to a temporary shutdown,
and then age restrictions that
barred would-be customers under 30-
years old. That crowd converged on the
FROGTOWN NEWS
Nickel Joint.
Binyam Wolde, an Ethiopian immigrant
who owns the bar with his brothers, said
that he had been overwhelmed when the
Johnny Baby’s crowd poured into the
Nickel Joint. “It was a huge crowd all of
a sudden,” he said. “It was scary. The
money was coming in, but I don’t need
that kind of business.” In the aftermath of
the shooting, he installed additional
security cameras. He added inside and
outside weekend security personnel,
wanded patrons at the door and closed
down at 1 0 pm in the 1 0 days after the
shooting.
Wolde, who arrived in the US in 1 999,
worked his way up from taxi and
custodial work to buying his own
business. Councilman Thao recognized
the dilemma for a Frogtown entrepreneur
trying to make a living in a neighborhood
where money doesn’t grow on trees.
“This is their dream,” he said. “But we all
have dreams too. We need to work with
business owners to make this business
work.”
The cops, Ford and Anderson, delivered a
familiar message to the Nickel Joint
meeting and to the smaller crowd that
convened at West Minne Rec Center to
discuss the Thomas Deli. For neighbors
with complaints, pick up the phone and
call 911 . “You gotta call,” said Anderson.
“This gives the police power to take care
of the problem.” For all the grousing at
the meeting, he observed that there had
only been eight calls from neighbors in
the past 30 days concerning the Nickel
Joint. But he cautioned residents to use
common sense. "Three people standing
on the corner, there's nothing wrong with that."
Thao promised more meetings with
neighbors and the Nickel Joint owners to
work toward a resolution.
Meanwhile, other neighborhood bars are
scheduled for a date with city hall. Johnny
Baby's is set for a public hearing, still
being scheduled, ahead of the city council.
Nickel Joint owner Binyam Wolde.
The trouble there is violations related to
license conditions that require video
surveillance footage to be available
immediately upon police request, and
stipulate that bouncers refrain from
socializing with customers. Cops report
that bouncers couldn't provide video after
an incident involving a patron brandishing
a handgun in the bar during a yelling
match with two other bar-goers. They
claim that the bouncer's ineffective
wanding allowed the patron to slip the gun
into the bar undedected.
A preliminary agreement between the
city's Department of Safety and
Inspections and the bar recommended a
— Continued, Next Page
JULY/AUGUST 201 9
PAGE 5

— Businesses, Continued
$1 ,000 fine and ten-day closing that the
bar fulfilled in early May. That agreement
must still be approved by the City
Council. "It's not a rubber stamp," says
Ward One Council aide Mai Chong
Xiong. You can testify at the public
hearing when it's scheduled. Or submit
your written comments — the more
specific the better, says Xiong — to
ward1 @ci.stpaul.mn.us.
At Willards, owner Arlene Favors is
applying for a liquor license to run the
bar. The council hearing, set for June 27,
drew the attention of a pair of neighbors,
who sent written complaints charging that
the bar had previously disturbed them
with yelling, shooting, public urination,
loud music and trash. The Frogtown
Neighborhood Association offered the
opinion that "new ownership will be a
positive part of our neighborhood." A
legislative hearing officer will consider
the license application and make a
recommendation to the City Council.
In the wake of these neighborhood dustups,
Councilman Dai Thao joined with
colleagues Jane Prince and Rebecca
Noecker, plus the Department of Safety
and Inspections, to offer a community
brainstorming meeting. Thao's intent is
to standardize the application process for
business licenses, including liquor
licenses, making it easier for businesses
to navigate the bureaucracy, and for
neighbors to offer input. A first meeting
was held at Rondo Library as we went to
press. Look for more details in our next
issue.
Five Now in Race
for Ward One Seat
The City Council seat now held by Dai
Thao got more complicated in June, as
neighborhood activist Abu Nayeem
declared his candidacy. Nayeem, recently
kicked off the board of the Frogtown
Neighborhood Association (see Page 4),
joins a contest already populated by the
incumbent Thao, long-time Aurora-St.
Anthony entrepreneur Lucky
Rosenbloom, Minneapolis NAACP vicepresident
Anika Bowie, and Liz De La
Torre, a Sexual Violence Services/St. Paul
Ramsey County Public Health worker.
Questions for Candidates: Here's your
chance to get answers from candidates
running for the Ward One seat. The local
website streets.mn publishes candidate
questionnaires for local political races.
You can submit your questions at
FrogtownCandidateSurvey201 9.com by
August 1 6. Queries, the group says,
should follow the streets.mn philosophy
— “To foster positive connections and
inclusive conversations about better
places in Minnesota.”
Get on FNA Board
The Frogtown Neighborhood Association
is looking to fill as many as six vacant
board seats by appointment at its July 8
meeting, says Board Chair Tong Thao.
Want to be considered for a position?
Email Thao at tongcthao@gmail.com with
your name, email, phone and address, plus
a biography that includes why you want to
FROGTOWN NEWS
serve on the board. You'll be interviewed,
and your application will be presented to
the full board. The open positions include
seats to represent the area from Marion to
35e, from MacKubin to Marion, plus
three youth seats. Another four to six seats
will be filled by election at the annual
meeting, set for Sept. 1 4. Stay tuned for
information on how to get in this race, or
contact the FNA at 651 -236-8699.
Sorting Out the
Garbage Mess
Frogtowners tracking the ins and outs of
the great St. Paul
Trash Debate may
wonder whether
and how their
garbage will be
collected in the
coming months.
While the
particulars of the
citizens’ lawsuit
that challenges the
city’s newly
instituted, centralized trash collection
process are being worked out, here’s the
official scoop. (To stay updated, go to
tinyurl.com/SPgarbage.)
Will my garbage still be collected after
June 30th? Residential garbage service in
St. Paul will continue as usual and the
garbage collection day will not change.
Garbage will be collected by the citydesignated
hauler. The city has a contract
with the hauler consortium and services
provided under that contract will
continue.
Will I get a bill after June 30th and will
I have to pay it? As of now, residents will
not receive a garbage bill in July.
Will I have to find a new hauler after
June 30? No. Residents will continue to
receive garbage service from their citydesignated
hauler on their current
collection day. Residents do not need
to, nor should they make any attempt to,
secure garbage service from a different
hauler.
Are my property taxes going to increase
to pay for garbage collection? If the City
is unsuccessful on
appeal, it will need
to cover the cost
of collection. This
would require a
property tax
increase.
Will there be a
referendum? If
so, will it be in
November or
earlier? If the
City loses the appeal, the garbage
ordinance will be put on the November
5 ballot.
If there is a referendum and the plan is
overturned, what then? If the
referendum passes, the garbage ordinance
will be repealed. The current contract with
the hauler consortium will still be in
place. For the remaining six months of
201 9 (July-December), estimates for
contracted garbage services are $1 3
— Continued, Page 10
PAGE 6 JULY/AUGUST 201 9

SEASON OF EVENTS
Summer brings a splurge ofevents to Frogtown. Here are a few ofthe
recent neighborhood gatherings.
WEAR ORANGE AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE: The national organization Moms
Demand Action took over West Minne Rec Center on June 8 to push for laws
regulating firearms. Along with the bouncy house, kid activities and flower
planting was a serious message delivered by speakers including West Minne
director Bilal Muhammad, school board member Jeannie Foster and Minnesota
Commissioner of Public Safety John Harrington. Muhammad decried a recent
shoot-out at the Rec Center, where a gunman sprayed 20 rounds toward the
building.“People become numb,” he said. “We’ve got to be courageous enough to
speak out against this.” Foster observed, “This should be sacred space. What
happens in the community spills over into the schools.” Harrington advised
taking a good look at public officials and asking what they’ve done for you lately.
“It’s the fundamental duty of your government to give you protection,” he said.
FLOWERS ON THE FARM: At a June community gathering at Frogtown Farm,
intern Tulsi Patel took charge of the flower giveaway. The Macalester College
senior is helping out during the Farm's busy season. Springtime staff changes,
including the departure of a recently-hired executive director and a longtime
education coordinator, reflect the Farm's growing pains. But now that summer is
here, many fields are planted and flowers are blooming. Festive community
gatherings are planned for the second Thursday of each month, through October.
THEY SCORED THE WELCOME MAT: Aaquil and Raheem Cross brought home a
welcome mat and landed free food at the Neighborworks Home Partners' annual
neighborhood party. Rain and wind dampened the proceedings, but not the
enthusiasm of participants, including the Western District police mascot, Sgt.
Fuzz, and county commissioner Trista MatasCastillo.
is published six times per year by Health Advocates Inc.
843 Van Buren Ave., St. Paul MN 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
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Ad rates and back issues at GreeningFrogtown.com
Next issue: September/October • Ad deadline August 1 9
Health Advocates also sponsors Frogtown Green, an initiative that
promotes green development to increase the health and wealth of
Frogtown residents.
JULY/AUGUST 201 9 PAGE 7

FROGTOWN HISTORY
AtNewRecCenter,120YearsofHistory
Remembering Rec head "Ma" Thompson, busted-up chins and more from Scheffer's past
Then and now: Right: Como-Scheffer playground around 1 91 0; Middle: Scheffer Rec in 1 934. Right: the new Frogtown Center, currently being completed.
By Jennifer Gascoigne
A state-of-the-art community center is
rapidly taking shape on land that was
most recently home to well-worn softball
fields and filled with memories for
Frogtowners past and present. The new
Frogtown Community Center is the latest
development on a playground site that has
existed for about 1 20 years. Work on the
new building began in July of 201 8 and is
set to be completed in the fall of 201 9.
Offering activity rooms including an area
for the center’s after school program,
communal spaces separated by age group
from children to seniors, a kitchen, gym,
fitness room, walking track, and off-street
parking, the new facility is the third rec
center building to serve the area and will
replace the former Scheffer Recreation
Center, constructed in 1 974.
Why this corner of Frogtown? Bordered
by two busy roads, Marion Street and
Como Avenue, this hardly seems like the
ideal spot to have neighborhood children
doing what kids do — running
roughshod, playing outdoors year-round.
But this little slice of Frogtown has lived
in the memories of kids-turned-adults for
generations as the place where they ice
skated, participated in grade school track
and field days, attended dances and
holiday parties, played team sports, and
were served a warm meal.
A couple of memorable staff from long
ago — “Ma” Thompson and Dave
Gulner — are still fondly remembered by
the kids who knew them. “Ma Thompson
was the director exceptional, everyone
loved her. There is a group of people who
still put a card in memory in the paper to
her every year on her birthday,” former
Frogtowner Judy Lambert recalls.
“l spent many hours at Scheffer
playground during the 50s, especially in
the winter, ice skating and at the hockey
rinks, said Judi Engel, reminiscing about
her childhood at Scheffer in the 1 950s. “I
loved Ma Thompson, who seemed to live
there and help everyone.”
The playgrounds dates back to
approximately 1 900, when St. Paul’s first
city-sanctioned playground, known as the
Eighth Ward Playground (later as Como
Playground) graced this same parcel of
land. Como Playground also served the
students of nearby Scheffer School in the
early 1 900s. A small shelter structure
known as “The Shanty” was part of the
original playground.
“My first set of stitches came from the
metal slide,” Sherrie Kenny remembers.
“I tried to beat the other kids to the top.
While they climbed the steps, I ran up the
slide...but my patent leather shoes had
very little grip. As fast as I went up is as
fast as I came down — landing on my
chin!”
In 1 934, architect Clarence Wigington
designed the new Scheffer Rec Center. It
and Scheffer School were named for
Albert Scheffer, a banker, state senator
and school board member. Wigington
designed other St. Paul landmarks
including the Highland Park Water Tower,
the St. Paul Public Safety Building, and
Como Park Pavilion.
Fast-forward to 1 973, when the first
Scheffer Rec Center was razed and
replaced by the utilitarian block building
that still stands today, worse for the wear
after nearly half a century and no longer
meeting neighborhood needs. Though
doors have yet to open on the new
Frogtown Community Center, the site’s
long history begs a mind-boggling
question: in the year 2070, what sort of
rec center will neighbors think they need?
PAGE 8 JULY/AUGUST 201 9

MAKING A NEW HOME
Learning,andExplaining
At the Hubbs Center, English learners use a new tongue to describe the life they left behind
Flight from Burma: Naw Shee: "The
soldiers came to my village. they burned
down my house and killed our animals,
and if they saw people, they shot them
too. They killed everybody they saw. If
we knew they were coming to our village,
we ran to the forest and stayed there, and
were as quiet as we could be. We had a
little food, but when our little food was
gone we could not get more again.
Because if we did the soldiers would find
us and shoot us. When they left they
ruined the crops, so it would be a desert
for everybody who returned. After they
left we had to rebuild our house again.
In 2001 my mother moved to a Thai
refugee camp. After ten years we moved
to the United States. We got here on
February 24, 2011 . I was very surprised. It
was my first time on a plane, or in a hotel.
And this country was so big. I feel lucky
to live here, because I do not have to
worry about soldiers burning down my
house and killing me."
In the Camps: Hibaq Mohamed "This
is my story of people living in the refugee
camps. People who live in the refugee
camp live with many difficult situations.
They lack water. Access to medical care.
Good education. And money. Their lives
are hard. But people are smart and find
ways to survive.
Water is an essential resource, and people
spend a great deal of time and effort to
obtain water. For drinking. Cooking. And
washing clothes.
The World Health Organization provides
medicine, and ways to get water. Money
comes from relatives outside of the camp,
and from whatever work people can find.
A family in the camp, I asked them, how
many children do you have? And they
replied two daughters and two sons. They
are trying to immigrate to the United
States. They explained that their lives are
hard. They don’t have food, money, water
or good education. They wash clothes by
hand and hang them out on the trees to
dry. Because they don’t have enough
water they can never get clothes well
clean.
Abdi is an engineer who builds houses in
the camp. His sons and others help him to
cut trees with an ax. The trunk is used for
the corners and the middle of the house,
and plastic bags for the roof. They use
leaves for the roof too. His girls clean the
house and help with meals. The boys get
water and get the wood for the fire. At 6
am the children get up. At 7:30 they put
on their uniform to go to school. When
school ends at 11 :30, the children return
home to help the family with chores
around the house. When children reach
the age of 11 , they are called adults. This
is their life in the camp."
A Fowl Tale: Mirna Urzua "I am here
to tell you guys a story about my mother.
This is a real life story. So one time my
mom had a chicken with 1 2 eggs. Eleven
chicken eggs and one duck egg. The
chicken was on a nest, and the chicks
were born. But the duck needed help
Left to right, front: Mawoulawoe Foli, Mirna Urzua, Hibaq Mohamed, Deka Mohamed.
Back: Farhia Mohamed, Anna Petrova, Ismahan Ali, Mohamed-deq Keynan
The Hubbs Center on University Avenue is a global
crossroads, filled with immigrants who are working
hard to learn the language oftheir new home. In
early June a group ofthem engaged in a public
speaking exercise to a small crowd ofschool board
members and Hubbs staff. It was a learning
opportunity for everyone — for the immigrants
using a new vocabulary, and for the native speakers
who got a glimpse into the difficulty and sometimes,
horror, that brought these students here.
getting out of its shell. So my mom
helped him crack the egg shell and get
him out. The little duck thought that my
mom was his mom. And so he started
following her everywhere she went. Even
to the bathroom. This duck was beautiful
and he would follow her around
everywhere. All of the neighbors were
very curious how come this little duck
was following her. She had this duck until
he was really big. And this duck, if you
were wearing red, he would chase you
and even fly after you. This is not a made
up story. This is real. When my mother
died, this duck was right by her bed. A lot
of people were coming so my brother
decided to take him outside. And since
then I never saw him again."
The Lottery Winner: Anna
Petrova "I have a question for you.
Have you ever won the lottery? I was at
the top of the list for the lottery. (A
drawing in which 50,000 immigrant visas
are available each year for people from
countries with low immigration rates to
the US. Around 20 million people apply.)
I am from Russia. I always dreamed of
being in America as a tourist, but I never
thought I would live here. I worked in
Moscow in an animal hospital for four or
five years. It was a great time. I got a lot
of experience working with animals.
Upon arriving in America my English
was terrible, but I did not despair. I went
to English school. At the moment I am
studying English at the Hubbs Center. I
had to stop working with animals because
my English was poor. There were no
organizations I could work for. But I got
the idea to volunteer at an animal
hospital. That was my first step toward
my goal. I was a volunteer for three
months. And that was enough to show my
skill and my love for work. I applied for a
job but I didn’t have high hopes for an
answer. But I interviewed and I got the
job. I work part time at an animal hospital
now. My main job is in the dentist lab.
America is the land of opportunity for
me. I have an interesting story of arrival
in America. On the street of this city I did
not see anyone on the street. I asked to
myself a question, where the people are?
For me it was really unusual because
when I lived in Moscow there were a lot
of people outside. Then I saw someone, a
"Now that I’m here I can live the American
dream. I have some dreaming to do. I’m not
done planning my future. "
person unknown to me and she smiled at
me and at the moment I thought maybe I
was funny. But no, Americans just smile
all the time."
The Family Back Home: Najma
Awow "I was born in Somalia, but my
family moved to Nairobi, Kenya. I am the
second oldest of my mother’s children,
and the middle child of my dad. Eighteen
children. Growing up, my family never
had much. My mother used to sell meat
and fresh produce on the corner, at the
store store near where we lived. My
parents worked really hard. They both
worked double shifts to put food on the
table.
I wanted to make sure that my siblings
were in a good financial place. That is
what brought me to the United States —
so I could take care of my family back
home. I decided to go to school because
my parents did not have enough money to
provide for all my siblings and me. I
wanted to help as much as I could so they
could have the opportunity that I did not
have.
When I first came to America I had a
culture shock. I was very excited but
really nervous because everything was so
new to me. Over time I was able to find
comfort in the Somali community, where
I was able to find people who would help
me. Coming here I spoke Somali and a
little bit of English. I started taking
classes to learn English and networking to
find better work and opportunities for
myself.
I had to get my work documents so I
could get a job and provide not only for
myself, but also send money to my
parents and my siblings. It was a hard and
long process, and I’m glad I had taken the
responsibility to do so, because I had a
great impact on my family’s success.
Adjusting to the culture here was hard
because the tradition and the culture was
completely different from what I was used
to. Now that I’m here I can live the
American dream. I have some dreaming
to do. I’m not done planning my future."
It's Not a Life: Deka Mohamed "I
am from the refugee camp and I feel the
way I was living in the refugee camp is
not a life. Later I changed my life, but still
I feel bad for those people. Here I get the
opportunity for my kids to go to school. I
also get opportunity to get help. I also get
the opportunity to learn at school. So I
feel that all those people in refugee
camps, they also need what I get today.
I am thankful to Americans, that they give
us this opportunity. I also need to tell that
those people in the camps, they are
suffering for basic needs. Like water.
They don’t get water the way we get here.
They don’t get water for the bathroom, for
the shower. The water they get, they
drink. You see kids who are not going to
school because the school is full. If you
go to the hospital, you got an appointment
there but all the lines are full up. The
doctor can only see some of the people,
and the time is already done.
— Continued, Next Page
JULY/AUGUST 201 9 PAGE 9

Life in Translation, Continued
The last thing I want to say is about the
separation of the family. For me it made
me very sad. My father died almost a
year ago, but my mom, she is in a refugee
camp. I need her to live the way I live
now. Safe. A beautiful and enjoyable life.
I am asking of Donald Trump that he help
us with family unity, which I really think
would be better for us."
On the Corner of Walk and Don't
Walk: Mohamed‐deq Keynan "I
want to share my story. It’s really funny. I
call it, ‘When I Come to America.’ At the
orientation (before you arrive in this
country) they say, ‘When you’re lost, you
have to call the cops, and when the cops
ask you a question you have to answer,
because in America the machines can talk
and the walls can talk, and everything is
talking.’
So when I got to America I started in
school. And I hated it because they always
know when I’m coming in and when I’m
coming out. Sometimes they lock the front
door and say, ‘Everybody out the back
door!’
So they said that one day and I went out
the back door. And I was confused. I stood
there. I looked around. I didn’t know
where I was. So I called the cops. I called
911 .
They asked me what happened, and I said
I need help. I’m lost. They say, where are
you now? I said I don’t know. They say,
‘Look for a sign.’ I only see a stop light
and it says Walk. And I say. ‘I think I am
on Walk Street.’"
THE 23RD ANNUAL PEACE CELEBRATION: This long-running effort to build the
peace in Frogtown/Rondo drew a mob of service providers, government agencies,
musicians, dancers, plus a bouncy house, free food and more to the Ober Center
on June 22. Among the throng were members of the Ober Center's soccer squad,
who showed off their trove of tournament trophies and instructed kids in the
intricacies of the game. Above, from left: Nuh Suleiban, Mahad Bile, Abdinur Omar,
Mustafe Ahmed, Zakaria Mohamed and Fadhi Ahmed. "We use soccer to bring the
community together," said Omar.
Garbage, Continued
million.
If the plan is not overturned, what
then? St. Paul citywide garbage service
will continue as usual with the citydesignated
hauler, and haulers will once
again bill residents for garbage service.
PAGE 1 0 JULY/AUGUST 201 9

SAVING MONEY, LIVING WELL
WanttoStopThrowingMoneyAway?
Find out how neighbors are fattening their wallets by cutting food waste
Ayanle Aden stirs a pot that is simmering
on the stove. The fragrant stew is a
favorite meal for the Aden family: Ayanle,
his wife Shamsa Osman Moge and their
three young children. Made with goat
meat, carrots, potatoes and onions, it will
serve as the basis for several meals,
including breakfast for the family.
This is just one of the ways in which the
Adens save money on food bills, by
reducing the amount of their food that
goes to waste. “Soups and stews are an
excellent way to make use of vegetables
and small portions of meat that would
otherwise be thrown out,” says Audrey
Seligman.
Seligman is the coordinator of Waste Not,
a project funded by the MN Pollution
Control Agency to reduce food waste in
Frogtown. She is visiting Aden family and
other families in the program several
times throughout the year, to talk about
the many ways in which reducing wasted
food benefits them, as well as the
environment. (When wasted food goes to
the landfill and rots, it produces
methane—a greenhouse gas. In the US
each year, lost or wasted food generates
the equivalent of 37 million cars’ worth of
greenhouse gas emissions.)
At the household level, wasted food is
expensive; the average American family
tosses $1 ,500 worth of unused food a
year. One way to cut the expense is to
shop more deliberately. As Aden kids
wander in and out of the kitchen, their
father reviews tips that Seligman has
brought along related to food shopping.
She gives him a booklet with meal
planning worksheets that can be used to
create a shopping list.
The first trick is to “shop your
refrigerator,” Seligman advises. “If there’s
food that can be turned into meals, you’ve
already saved money, and kept food from
being wasted.” Aden is an expert at
"refrigerator shopping," and lists leftovers
as one of the meals his family will eat in
the coming week.
Another time- and money-saver is making
use of frozen food, Seligman says. “We
are more accustomed to using canned
food,” Aden points out. But for things like
frozen vegetables, a big bag of frozen
spinach will last a lot longer than an
equivalent amount of fresh spinach, or a
tin of canned greens. The Adens eat a lot
of spinach and greens; Aden adds frozen
spinach to his shopping list.
Frogtown families are busy. The Adens
work and go to school. That doesn’t leave
a lot of time for food preparation, which
is why planning ahead can help, Seligman
points out. “Try to think of ways to use up
all the leftovers from preparing a meal,”
she advises.
Diane Howard is the chief cook for
another Frogtown family that Seligman
visits regularly. The Howard family likes
Chef at work: Ayanle Aden whips up a goat-meat stew for the family. Below:
what's in that pot — goat, carrots, potatoes and onions.
Diane’s homemade tacos. “But when you
make tacos, you often have to buy a big
package of tortillas. These can dry up and
go to waste if you wait til the next taco
night, right?” Seligman says. “So, maybe
we could make wraps with the leftover
tortillas!” Diane Howard suggests.
“Have you ever planned a meal for lots of
people, and wondered exactly how much
to make?” Seligman asks. Howard, who is
hosting an upcoming backyard barbecue,
says she is uncertain about how to
estimate quantities for the large group of
family members and friends she expects.
Seligman suggests using an online
planner, such as Savethefood.com. The
planner will help calculate how many
pounds of meat to buy to serve the
expected crowd. “And if the party is
smaller than expected, there are recipes
for things to do with the leftovers. Some
are pretty creative!” Seligman says.
The Adens and the Howards have
different food preferences but saving
money and reducing waste are priorities
for both. “Think about the food you
typically buy, the building blocks of your
meals,” Seligman advises. For the Adens,
it would be pasta, rice and goat meat. The
Howards are big on fish and chicken.
Kitchen essentials for the Adens include
mayonnaise and ketchup, with marinara
sauce high on the list for the Howards.
Both families like the occasional meal
out, or a take-out pizza. And that’s fine,
too, says Seligman. “Food should be easy
and fun, and every once in a while you
just gotta have a lazy night!”
Wasted food is expensive; the average
American family tosses $1, 500 worth
ofunused food a year.
Ten Tips for Saving
Food and Money
1. DON'T START FROM SCRATCH
Meal planning doesn't mean spending
hours with a cookbook. Start with your
go-to meals and repeat them every
week or two. Then try something new.
2. SHOP THE FRIDGE FIRST
There's almost always something you
can use, already in your refrigerator.
See what needs to be used up and then
think of a meal to make with those
items. Check your pantry for the rest of
the ingredients and then add missing
pieces to the shopping list.
3. USE PORTION PLANNERS
Got a party coming up? Not sure how
much to cook? Portion calculators can
help you feed a big group. Find one at
Savethefood.com.
4. RELY ON ESSENTIALS
Two or three grains can boost a meager
batch of meat that might be all that's
left from a meal. Key spices and sauces
(like barbecue or peanut sauce) can
bring life to leftovers.
5. BUILD A MEAL WITH BLOCKS
Pick two types of protein, a grain and a
vegetable medley at the beginning of
the week, and incorporate them into
different meals.A saute of broccoli and
peppers can be used as a side dish one
night, spooned into enchiladas the next,
and finally added to soup.
6. THINK DOUBLE DUTY
Planning Tuesday taco night? Think
about other ways to use those extra
tortillas before they dry up and harden.
If you plan a second meal around them,
it's easier to avoid overload.
7. SCHEDULE A LAZY NIGHT
We don't always have time to cook.
Plan a few lazy nights and order
takeout, or dine with friends. Better yet,
prepare and share meals with neighbors!
8. GO FRESH FIRST
To preserve freshness and nutrition, use
perishables like seafood and meat
earlier in the week and save pasta, dairy
and eggs for later. Some greens, like
kale, will stay fresher than lettuce.
9. LEAN ON FROZEN FOODS
Frozen fruits and veggies have nearly
all the nutrients as their fresh
versions.Use as much as needed, then
pop the bag back in the freezer.
10. COOK AND FREEZE
Soups, stews, casseroles and lasagnas
can all be made in large batches and
then frozen and defrosted when you
need a quick dinner. Freeze the portion
sizes you will want to defrost later.
This story is the third in a sponsored series funded by MPCA and directed by Health Advocates, the Frogtown-based public health group that publishes
Greening Frogtown. Look for articles on smart storage, smart food preparation, and an 'Eat Me First!' trick in upcoming issues of Greening Frogtown.
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