End of an era on the West Bank as video store shuts its doors
The modern internet era, combined with the proliferation of cable, has made the brick-and-mortar video store as obsolete as an elevator operator.
Cityscape
Lawmakers at work: On roadways, hands-free phones and bike ed
Debates in the Minnesota Legislature have reached full swing, and so far the early results suggest there could be a lot of activity around state transportation policy.
St. Paul’s skyway issues are ongoing and unsolved
The issues? “Security, safety, litter, comments about things like employees having to walk through the skyway when there are people sleeping in there,” said Jon Fure.
A delicate negotiation: Rainbow Foods sits smack in the middle of soccer plans
Something as seemingly simple as dislodging a redundant grocery store has proven to be a real challenge.
Winter bike deliveries: The coffee and bread must go through
“On days like today, where it’s 30 degrees or sloppy, it’s my favorite,” said Micah Taylor. “… for me personally, biking in the winter just feels good.”
Mobile, one-room Light Hotel celebrates ‘the luxury of less’
Throughout 2017, the Light Hotel — created from a salvaged shipping container — will plant itself all around St. Paul and Minneapolis in the hopes of creating a conversation about housing and design.
Minnesota Capitol parking: highlights of the off-off-the-beaten-track tour
Parking lots form half of the state government’s land-use footprint in St. Paul.
Is it even possible to plan for transit to the Shakopee Amazon facility?
With the thousands of entry-level jobs that are migrating to the exurbs, something must be done. Starting this month, a new pair of suburban buses will be trying their best to serve Shakopee’s workers.
Blue Line’s public art project still hanging in there, surviving the cold
Called “Small Kindnesses, Weather Permitting,” the short recordings are a 2004 light-rail-station project by Janet Zweig.
Downtown Minneapolis nears another retail watershed
It turns out that the downtown retail scene isn’t all bad news. It is beginning to focus on a local, small-scale, and walkable future.
Minneapolis is breaking new ground in winter plowing of protected bike lanes
“There’s a lot more interest in winter maintenance of bike lanes than there was 10 years ago,” because biking is growing rapidly, said Ethan Fawley of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition.
Zombie corner store rekindles debate over crime and the future of St. Paul’s Stryker Avenue
After being condemned for much of this year, the store has begun trying to reopen. But one big obstacle remains.
50 years later, Minnesota-made fallout shelter signs still hanging in there
In the 1940s, 3M began developing special reflective “glass bead” signage technology. And the fallout shelter signs — at least when new — have a remarkably modern look.
Making yesterday’s clock towers timepieces of tomorrow
Next time you pass through the east end of downtown Minneapolis, raise your gaze to the clock atop the tower of City Hall, for it’s undergoing a transformation.
The quest for market-rate housing in Minneapolis’ Seward neighborhood
Unfortunately for Seward, well-intentioned requirements have left the city unable to intervene in neighborhoods abandoned by the regular real-estate market.
St. Paul’s century-old Carnegie libraries head their separate ways
As library needs have changed over the years, the three Carnegie buildings now have unique fates that reflect the diversity of the city around them.
Working-class stained glass offers a window into the past
They’re called “piano windows” or “transom windows” and were a hallmark of upward-mobility sensibilities, an aspirational gesture for people enjoying the fruits of boomtown St. Paul.
Bicycle/driver confrontation philosophies: escalation vs. detente
Bicycling bliss is vulnerable. So much depends on maintaining peace with the automobiles swirling the streets, deadly as sharks.
St. Paul unveils its innovative Capital City Bikeway
The new bikeway design’s innovative features make it the first Dutch-style urban trail in the state.
Floor area ratio 101: This obscure but useful planning tool shapes the city
And as two recent examples from St. Paul and Minneapolis show, FAR might be becoming a more useful tool in the future as cities look to double down on old-school urban density.