Minneapolis, MN

Art Shanties return to Lake Harriet in Minneapolis

Published

2 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Art Shanties return to Lake Harriet in Minneapolis

An annual event featuring uniquely designed shanties — all on a frozen-over lake — starts this weekend. The Art Shanty Projects have been taking place since 2004, hosting performances and interactive experiences for attendees.

“We’re very excited by the beautiful ice that’s out there. It’s absolutely gorgeous,” said Artistic Director Erin Lavelle.

“We are a mix of winter enthusiasts and winter curmudgeons … [we] just want to be out there with the public on this temporary floating sheet of ice.”

This year features 20 projects, from puppet melodramas to daily dance parties at noon. Last year’s event was delayed and then closed early due to warm conditions.

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“We have a number of shanties who are returning this year from last year. They only had one weekend [last year]” Lavelle said.

“Our [ice] measurement a couple of days ago was already 13 inches, and our threshold is 12 to do the program. So that’s very exciting!”

New this year is a formalized mentorship program, where returning artists have been paired with new participants. The process began by having perspective shanty builders submit things they’d like to learn to make the projects successful.

“We selected four of those applicants and paired them with four returning artists … we set it in motion with an initial conversation of what the artists want to learn and what skills can be shared. And then they’ve been off on their own, working together,” Lavelle said.

The Art Shanty Projects can be seen on Lake Harriet in Minneapolis from Jan. 18 through Feb. 9.

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Minneapolis, MN

Inside a Minneapolis neighborhood’s impromptu speed-skating race on a lake

Published

10 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Inside a Minneapolis neighborhood’s impromptu speed-skating race on a lake

An anonymous post on an unofficial Instagram page named “powderhornskatingclub” was all it took to coax nearly three dozen intrepid skaters onto the frozen lake at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis a few days later.

“That’s right baby. The Powderhorn Skating Championship is back!” the post said.

The origins of speed skating on Powderhorn Lake in Powderhorn Park date back to the 1930s and ‘40s when, according to the Minneapolis Parks website, a local ice track hosted national skating championships and even Olympic trials. In 1948, four of the nine skaters on the U.S. Olympic team were from the south Minneapolis neighborhood.

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Shira Breen skates down the finishing straight during the unofficial speed skating championships at Powderhorn Park.

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Spectators wave flags and cheer — Community members Helena Howard (right) and Orren Fen (center) wave flags and cheer on skaters at Powderhorn Park.

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Skaters race across a frozen lake — Skaters in the beginner division cross the finish line during the unofficial speed skating championships at Powderhorn Park.

Organizers said they wanted to honor Powderhorn Park’s history of speed skating and bring their neighbors out for some winter fun. On Saturday, skaters toed the starting line of the hand-shoveled track in two categories: beginner and intermediate. Heats consisted of one lap for beginners and two laps for the intermediate division.

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Before the start, Powderhorn community members Orren Fen and Helena Howard passed out handmade cardboard signs for a dozen or so spectators lined up on the frozen lake.

“We saw the flyer and I was like, ‘We should grab some flags and come on down,’” said Fen.

Racers were decked out in outfits ranging from figure skating tutus and Carhartt coveralls to neon-patterned singlets straight out of 1980s workout videos.

Mar Horns, who skated in the beginner heat, said her grandfather grew up competing on the ice at Powderhorn Park. “It’s cool hearing my grandpa talk about his time living here, then seeing people continue to have some of these really cool traditions.”

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People in ice skates wait on a frozen lake — Racers in the intermediate division line up on a hand-shoveled skating track on the lake at Powderhorn Park.

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A skater swings their arms during a race — Intermediate division winner Spencer Polk glides toward the finish line during the unofficial speed skating championships at Powderhorn Park.

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A person wearing a spandex outfit raises their hands — Margie Freed (center) celebrates as she’s awarded a prize for her outfit — a spandex ensemble she says her mother wore in the 80s — at the unofficial speed skating championships at Powderhorn Park.

“The real victory is being here with my friends and feeling my heart race as I skate around the ice,” said Spencer Polk, who finished first in the intermediate heat.

In the end, unofficial winners received tiny prizes that were thrifted from a store up the street, and awards for best outfits and most helpful shovelers were handed out as well.

MPR News video producer Anne Guttridge contributed to this story.

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Minneapolis, MN

Votes roll in for Minneapolis’ Senate District 60 special primary

Published

18 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Votes roll in for Minneapolis’ Senate District 60 special primary

More than a half-dozen people are squaring off Tuesday in a special election primary in Minnesota’s heavily blue Senate District 60 following the December death of Sen. Kari Dziedzic.

The winner of Tuesday’s DFL primary is also expected to win the Jan. 28 general election for the safe blue seat and end a 33-33 tie in the Minnesota Senate.

Polling places are open until 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Doron Clark, who chaired the Senate 60 District for two years, is the DFL-endorsed candidate in the race. He works in the ethics department at Medtronic. Monica Meyer, the political director at Gender Justice, has also been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. And Peter Wagenius, the legislative and political director for Sierra Club Minnesota, has been endorsed by state Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Other candidates include Iris Grace Altamirano, who has held leadership positions at SEIU Local 26; Joshua Preston; Amal Karim and Emilio César Rodríguez.

The two Republican candidates are Abigail Wolters and Christopher Robin Zimmerman. Wolters, a software engineer, is endorsed by the Minneapolis Republican Party.

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Minneapolis, MN

Primary underway for special election of Minneapolis state Senate seat

Published

1 day ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Primary underway for special election of Minneapolis state Senate seat

Minneapolis voters are headed to the polls Tuesday to nominate a candidate for an upcoming state Senate special election.

The party nominees to arise from the Senate District 60 primary will face off in two weeks, on Jan. 28.

Gov. Tim Walz called the special election last month after former DFL Sen. Kari Dziedzic died of cancer.

Candidates scramble for open Minnesota legislative seats; uncertainty remains ahead of session

Eight DFL candidates and two Republican candidates will appear on the primary ballot, but a judge disqualified one Democrat, Mohamed Jama, from participating because of evidence that he voted outside Senate District 60 in November. Any votes cast for Jama will not be counted, per the judge’s order.

Polls are open until 8 p.m. A list of candidates and instructions for finding a polling place and checking voter registration are available on the Secretary of State’s website.

The district encompasses all of northeast and southeast Minneapolis and the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on the opposite side of the Mississippi River. It’s considered a safe Democratic district and is expected to tip a tied 33-33 Senate to DFL control.

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