DFL Education Foundation

Preview (4/10): The Mighty Mississippi with Cordelia Pierson and Diane Hofstede

APRIL 10 Saturday, Apr 10 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map) Cordelia Pierson joined the Minneapolis Riverfront Corporation as interim Executive Director in September 2009, after twelve years with the Trust for Public Land, to help launch the fledgling organization. With a specialty in conservation vision and finance, she helped raise public funds for land conservation, both at the state legislature and through local ballot measures, and helped shape the DNR’s Metro Greenways Program and the public-private partnership Metro Conservation Corridor project. Cordelia also has helped revitalize the riverfront as an engaged community volunteer. She lives with her two sons and husband near St. Anthony Falls, and can be seen running on the Stone Arch Bridge, or exploring the Mississippi River’s edge below the Pillsbury A Mill. Diane Hofstede is the Third Ward Council Member for the City of Minneapolis, representing 9 neighborhoods in North, Northeast, and Southeast. Related to Saturday's discussion, Council Member Hofstede also represents the City of Minneapolis on the following Boards, Commissions, and Task Forces: Co-Founder and Co-Chair Mississippi Riverfront Corporation, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO), and the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board. *** Only 3 blocks north up E. Hennepin Avenue (County Road 52) from our old meeting place, and a half block west. As usual, invite anyone interested--free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can't bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

What's Happening at Metro Transit

If you ever need to know what Metro Transit is up to, then this is the pod cast for you.  Charles Carlson, Facilities Planner for Metro Transit, came to Gardens of Salonica to go over the new challenges and triumphs of using buses downtown Minneapolis and how we can use buses to better connect our neighborhoods.  He also spent time sharing with us new technology, including how to use their website to find your bus, and revealing that there is an iPhone app out there.  Of course, what would Stone Arch be without a little controversy surrounding the Central Corridor, the Southwest line and the proposed Bottineau line.

Just click here for the conversation.

This pod cast was brought to you by The DFL Education Foundation and iDream.tv.  

David Gee, Executive Editor of Minnesota Business

Early February we hosted David Gee, Executive Editor of Minnesota Business magazine.  This was a wide-ranging conversation in which we covered vignettes on what businesses are experiencing during the recession, and David's more immediate challenge of continuing to provide extraordinary journalism in the age of new media.

Just click here to listen to the conversation.

As always, this pod cast is produced by The DFL Education Foundation and iDream.tv.

Fritz: The Walter Mondale Story

"Fritz: The Walter Mondale Story" will be screening at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis this Saturday, March 27th @ 3pm

Tickets

Movie trailer and more information

“You can divide every vice president in American history into two categories:  pre-Walter Mondale and post-Walter Mondale.”

— Former Vice President Al Gore
Interview from FRITZ: The Walter Mondale Story

Video: Restoring Fairness to Minnesota's Tax System

Did you know the poorest Minnesotans have a tax rate three times higher than the richest? Hear Rep. Ann Lenczewski's far-reaching proposals that would restore fairness and stability to Minnesota's tax system. Rep. Lenczewski spoke to a forum of the DFL Education Foundation and moderated by Growth & Justice's Dane Smith, on Nov. 9, 2009.  The video is now available right here:

March Events and News

UPCOMING EVENTS (details below)

MAR 13: [Stone Arch] Charles Carlson of Metro Transit [Downtown]: We have an organizer, now we need a venue See Event Calendar for details

EVENT RECAPS

Tom Hanson: The Eagle and the Bear, U.S. - Russia Relations: video Rep. Loeffler: How Should We Address Taxes in Minnesota?: audio and recap Iric Nathanson on Minneapolis in the 20th Century: audio and recap John Kaul shares a progressive lobbyist's perspective of 2010: audio and recap Joel Kramer on the Future of American Journalism: audio and recap

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

Featured Article: Minnesota Needs a Balanced Approach to its Deficit Problem Remembering Board Member Dwaine Lindberg Events 3/11 - Garbage Dreams: How One Community's Zero Waste Practices Can Be Achieved Globally 3/11 - Jeanette Rankin, 1st Woman Elected to Congress 3/13 - International Conflicts & Reconciliation Strategy 3/24 - Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide 3/25 - Day on the Hill, Joint Religious Legislative Coalition 3/25 - Making Way for Transit: Central Corridor, Parking, and Business Access 3/25 - International Water Policy 3/25 - Women and Water Rights (exhibit closing) 4/1 - Role of NGO's in Helping Alleviate Global Poverty See Progressive Issues Calendar for event details and more events Articles Budget forecast highlights the vastly different federal stimulus views of Pawlenty and state economist Final unallotment brief, by Pawlenty's side, says: Read the law; governor followed it State Rep. Jeremy Kalin -- clean energy leader -- won't run for re-election "Freedom" Rhetoric Doesn't Change Minnesota's Bottom Line Study suggests junk food taxes may beat healthy food subsidies Supreme Court, gun control and the Second Amendment: a reckoning

Video: Two High-Performing Principals Talk Achievement Gap Strategy

On October 3rd, 2008 we heard two high-performing Minneapolis principals talk about their work: Ossie Brooks James of Lyndale Elementary School, and Jane Thompson of Loring Elementary School . The presentation was moderated by Katherine Page, former principal of the award-winning Highland Elementary School in Columbia Heights.

The Principals spoke about curriculum and instruction, collecting and using data, staff development, teacher collaboration, and family involvement. Both schools have made progress in student outcomes.

Potholes, Politics, and the Rest of Us

By Arvonne Fraser

It may be mean, but I hope the next time someone utters the phrase, “no new taxes,” he encounters a huge pothole he can’t avoid and soon discovers his Toyota needs a front end realignment job.  Or, possibly, we should simply tell purveyors of that popular phrase that we will settle for old taxes, thank you, such as the progressive income tax.  Then our governments might have enough money to fix those potholes and save us taxpayers some money on car repairs. 

It’s that time of year.  We become morose, maybe even mean and nasty.  Winter has gone on too long, the snow is dirty, and we face April 15 tax deadlines.  The best news I’ve heard lately is from a conservative, David Brooks, on public TV chatting with Charlie Rose.  Brooks asserted that our problems today are not social, but governmental.  Voters ask for programs but don’t want to pay for them, Brooks said. 

Preview (3/13): Charles Carlson of Metro Transit

MARCH 13 Transit Talk with Charles Carlson Saturday, Mar 13 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map) Charles Carlson, Facilities Planner for Metro Transit, will give us a tour of his current projects and lead our conversation on additional topics. First, we'll talk about recent changes in downtown Minneapolis, and the implications of transit needs and investments for residential development, commercial businesses, and ridership satisfaction. Charles will then lead us in a conversation about the current status of regional transitways, such as the Central Corridor line and the proposed Southwest and Bottineau lines. Lastly, we'll learn about Arterial Bus Rapid Transit and how this concept can provide faster travel with better service and better stations along our highest ridership urban corridors. Charles is a facilities planner with Metro Transit Engineering & Facilities. He has worked for the Metropolitan Council and Metro Transit for five years on transportation policy, planning, and programming. Charles is a longtime resident of Minneapolis and has a bachelor’s degree in geography and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree, both from the University of Minnesota. *** Only 3 blocks north up E. Hennepin Avenue (County Road 52) from our old meeting place, and a half block west. As usual, invite anyone interested--free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can't bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.