MINNEAPOLIS — Indie rock band Low headlines the second annual benefit concert at Minneapolis’ Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery.

Tickets are now on sale for the June 9 performance. Proceeds will help support efforts to restore the historic steel and limestone pillar fence on the cemetery’s border.

Nearly 1,500 people attended last year’s cemetery benefit concert featuring Jeremy Messersmith. That concert was recognized as best community project at the 21st annual Minneapolis Preservation Awards.

The Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery had its first burial in 1853. The cemetery contains the graves of some of the first settlers of Minneapolis.

Tickets are $16 in advance and $20 at the show. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. Opening act Zoo Animal performs at 5:30 p.m. and Low takes the stage at 7 p.m.

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Article source: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/361369/

Something with slow-cooked, nutritious food. A place where families could sit down, workers at the neighborhood nonprofits could enjoy a nice lunch, and suburbanites could head for a drink after catching a show at the Capri Theater down the street.

But after three years of working to attract a restaurateur who shared his vision, Ackerberg has instead agreed to lease space in the century-old building to Northside Achievement Zone, a nonprofit whose mission is to boost school performance in the poorest segment of Minneapolis.

“It’s a great opportunity to have this, but it’s certainly not what we originally envisioned,” he said.

As Minneapolis pushes to draw people and development to the struggling North Side, a difficult question among some business and government leaders has been how to attract higher-quality restaurants to an area dominated by low-end food. City records show that north Minneapolis has more than three dozen restaurants, most of them serving fast food. About a third are chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC.

“There are so many businesses the North Side has real deficiencies in,” said Dean Rose, who is planning a housing and retail development near Five Points. “We need a good sit-down restaurant … that’s healthy and fresh, a place you can sit down and relax and feel comfortable.”

Rose, who is partnering with developer Steve Minn, said he hopes to make a restaurant part of the project.

Yet even as supporters maintain that the demand is there, restaurateurs are not exactly racing to supply it.

The kind of restaurant that is not a franchise “feels very vulnerable in coming to an unproven marketplace,” said City Council Member Don Samuels, who represents the area. “Even if demand is there, they’re not confident enough at this point. … It’s perceptions of safety, it’s the reputation.”

The city “felt if we drew the housing, we could bring the customers in, then everything would fall into line, but it’s not happening as fast as we want it to happen,” said Samuels, whose wife, Sondra, is CEO of the Northside Achievement Zone.

North Side resident Ken Powell is one who would like to see more healthful dining-out alternatives. Powell tries to stay away from high-cholesterol and fried food, but he lamented that “the choices here are slim.”

A study by MJB Consulting in 2007 determined that about $7.8 million spent at sit-down restaurants by people who live on and around W. Broadway went to establishments outside the area. The report, which examined how to revitalize the North Side, said that market provided one of the larger opportunities to recapture lost dollars.

A foothold in neighborhood

A mile north of Broadway, at the intersection of Penn and Lowry, Darryl Weivoda runs the Lowry Cafe next to his hardware store.

When he inquired about a loan to start the restaurant, the banks “weren’t real excited about it” and wanted to charge him a “crazy high” interest rate, he said. So Weivoda took out a home equity loan and last summer opened the cafe, which serves pork chops, meatloaf and salads.

Nearly a year later, the restaurant is not breaking even. But Weivoda is standing firm. “I kind of look at it as … Do you want to get in when [the price is] low and establish it and be here once [the neighborhood] is developed, or do you want to wait around and see if it gets developed?”

Dennis W. Spears, artistic director at the Capri Theater on Broadway, said that a lot of people who attend shows there are looking for a place to eat and drink afterward, and they can do that at the Lowry Cafe.

“We’re hoping that with the redevelopment on the North Side that there’s more that will come over here,” said Spears.

One of the people who declined the opportunity to do business in the Five Points building was Kim Bartmann, whose restaurants include Bryant-Lake Bowl and Red Stag Supperclub.

“The investment required by me wasn’t necessarily borne out given the risk, because in a place where … there’s not much, why isn’t it there? And who’s going to be the first one to go?” Bartmann said.

Bartmann said she is still interested in the idea of a restaurant on the North Side, but doesn’t know the area well and cautioned that many are still scared to go there. “I think there are plenty of people in that area to support a sit-down restaurant, it’s just finding the right level of investment to make it work,” she said.

Ackerberg also drew interest from Marzell Harris, who wanted to open a Louisiana Fried Chicken in the building. But Ackerberg and Harris said they did not agree on the menu for the restaurant, which offers a more upscale version of fast food similar to Boston Market, with dishes such as gumbo and po’boys. The developer wanted healthier food and a bar.

Article source: http://www.startribune.com/local/152116975.html

By VIN A. CHERWOO

May 18, 2012 7:14PM

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Article source: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/12606332-419/reigning-champion-lynxlooks-like-team-to-beat.html

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) May 19, 2012

Hot Spring Spas of Minnesota participated in Couples Appreciation Month in April to stress the importance of mental, physical and relationship health for residents of the greater Minneapolis region.

“People lead busy lives these days. And whether they work from home, in an office or not at all, there’s always something to do and little time to do it. Often, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the stresses of life and forget to say thanks for the millions of selfless things our partner does for us every day,” said Dan Eppard the company’s General Manager. “Luckily, there are some simple things people can do to improve their relationships.” Here are just a few:

Acknowledge the “Little” Things – From getting that cup of coffee to picking up a favorite dinner to just letting them sleep in, these are the actions that make people’s lives easier, more convenient and hassle free. This month, take the time to stop and recognize your partner for making every day just a little brighter. People will be amazed at how far a little genuine appreciation goes. It doesn’t have to be a big production – in fact, just a simple kiss says it all.

Have a Real Conversation – How many times during the day do couples have a meaningful conversation with their significant other? And that doesn’t include an upcoming doctor’s appointment, what the realtor said or the guy at work, but a real discussion that was engaging and fun. Unfortunately, many of us talk all day long and never truly talk to the ones we love.

In honor of couples appreciation month, people should try having a genuine conversation with their partner- they should talk about what they enjoy doing together or how much they look forward to spending time together. Maybe plan an upcoming vacation or discuss an evening out on the town. Taking a few minutes each day to really talk to one another reminds them why they fell in love in the first place and is a terrific way to show gratitude and appreciation.

Re-Connect Over a Soak in the Hot Tub – Nothing sparks romance quite like a hot tub. Make time with a loved one to soak in the warm water and soothe the tension away. Total relaxation from head to toe, a hot tub is the perfect way to share an intimate moment and re-connect by sharing time talking, laughing and just enjoying each other’s company.

Plus, as an added benefit, use the hot tub just a few times a week and improve your health. It’s true. A dip can improve sleep, reduce tension, relieve aches and pains and even help control Type 2 diabetes.

“This month, we recommend that couples remember their loved ones for all the special things he or she brings to their life. Show gratitude and appreciation by acknowledging the little things that make your life easier every day. Take some time out of the day’s busy schedule to relax in the hot tub and have a conversation,” said Eppard.

“To help educate the public on how warm water hydrotherapy can help improve relationships and improve your health we will provide free hot tub test soaks in our 5 locations during the entire month,” commented Eppard. “We want to encourage local consumers to check out the benefits of a relaxing soak in an energy efficient hot tub for themselves.”

Consumers wanting to find the Hot Spring Spas location nearest them are encouraged to visit the company website for more information. The website address is http://www.HotSpringGreen.com.

About Hot Spring Spas of Minnesota and Iowa

HotSpring Spas of Minnesota and Iowa offer a large selection of new and used hot tubs and saunas for sale and a variety of hot tub, sauna, repairs, parts, and accessories. We are Minnesota’s and Iowa’s premier source for Hot Spring Spas and Hot Tubs, Saunatec and Finnleo Saunas, A B Backyard Accessories, and proudly carry the SilkBalance for Spas water treatment system. To learn more, pick up a copy of our free report “7 Critical Questions You Must Ask Before Your Buy a Hot Tub”. Just give us a call at 651-731-9745 or go to http://www.HotSpringGreen.com.

Dan Eppard
HotSpring Spas of Iowa and Minnesota
651 731 9745
Email Information

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/used-hot-tubs-dealer-minneapolis-just-finished-celebrating-164011760.html

Target Field is the home of Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins, marking the first time that the event will be held at a Major League Baseball facility. The 2014 tournament will be held at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., the site of the NCAA Division I Men’s College World Series.

The Big Ten Baseball Tournament has been played as a neutral-site event in Columbus, Ohio, since 2009. The event was held at Huntington Park, the home of the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, in 2009 and 2011 and will be played at that ballpark May 23-26, 2012. The tournament was held at Ohio State’s Bill Davis Stadium in 2010. Prior to 2009, the Big Ten Baseball Tournament was played at the site of the regular-season champion or the champion from a pre-selected division, with the exception of 1993 and 1994, when it was held in Battle Creek, Mich.

Five different teams have won the Big Ten Tournament in the event’s 31 years. Minnesota leads all Big Ten teams with nine tournament titles, Michigan and Ohio State each have eight, Illinois has four, and Indiana has two.

The 2013 tournament will be the seventh played in Minneapolis, as Minnesota hosted the event in 1984, 1986, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The 2014 tournament will be the Big Ten’s first in Omaha and the state of Nebraska.

Tickets for the 2012 Big Ten Baseball Tournament at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, are on sale now. Visit www.bigten.org for more information.

About Target Field

Target Field, one of America’s most urban ballparks, is located in the historic Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis. In 2011, the Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily named Target Field the Sports Facility of the Year.

In 2010, ESPN The Magazine ranked Target Field as the best stadium experience in all professional sports in North America. Designed by POPULOUS with Mortenson Construction serving as construction manager, the 39,500 seat ballpark was completed in 2010. For more information on Target Field, visit www.twinsbaseball.com/targetfield.

Article source: http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/sports/big-ten-baseball-tournament-moving-to-twin-cities-in-2013-omaha-in-2014

North Side rebuilding block party on Saturday

Posted by: James Eli Shiffer
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People and neighborhoods

Updated: May 18, 2012 – 6:38 PM

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Article source: http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/152107995.html

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) May 16, 2012

The WeRaiseIt Fundraising Web Portal Software offers a platform for credit card processing for online donations, auctions, and the promotion and processing tools for physical event activities. The portal provides a nonprofit the ability to design their own fundraising website based on a large collection of standard customizable templates and host any number of online or physical events. Full scale online auctions can be conducted and the comprehensive features allow for important details like registering silent auction donations, building and printing catalogs and bid sheets. Visitors to the website can give donations, make advanced reservations, purchase event tickets, pay sponsorship fees, participate in online auctions, etc.

The summer is just around the corner, which means getting ready for your summer event. WeRaiseIt is feasible with all types of summer charity events. These events include, but not limited to, charity golf events, marathons, walkathons, luncheons, banquets, camp registration, sports event registration, and many more.

To learn more about what WeRaiseIt has to offer please visit the website or connect with WeRaiseIt on Facebook or Twitter.

About Event Payment Services: Event Payment Services was created by BancCard Financial Services, Inc. (BFSI) to specialize in the fundraising needs of nonprofit organizations. ePSPay ™ and WeRaiseIt are brands of Event Payment Services. Since 1997, BFSI has provided credit and debit card processing, check verification, check conversion/imaging, gift and loyalty card services, and merchant processing terminals. BFSI provides these services through its terminals and web-based software. EPS was created in 2006 to focus on the fundraising needs of nonprofit organizations. BFSI, through ePSPay ™ and WeRaiseIt brands, is an innovator in fundraising tools for the nonprofit world. BFSI, EPS and WeRaiseIt can be found on the web at http://www.eventpaymentservices.com, http://www.weraiseit.com.

Paul McConville
BancCard Financial Services- WeRaiseIt
612.706.5968
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Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/spring-summer-charity-events-151223245.html

So goes the old lyric. Bloomington, however, is aiming for a switcheroo: to unpave those parking lots and put up Paradise. Well, maybe not Paradise, but a kind of new town dense enough to allow apartment living, shopping, dining and — be still my suburban heart! — walking. Seriously, I don’t think I have ever set one foot outdoors in Bloomington that was not in a parking lot.

The vision, embodied in a plan now in the final stages of winning approval, seems hard to grasp when you visit the so-called South Loop, a triangular stretch of Bloomington bounded on the north by Interstate 494, on the south by the Long Meadow Lake and on the west by Hwy. 77.

Looming over the landscape are the Mall of America and Ikea. Hotels and office buildings, most prominently the headquarters for Health Partners, as well as Reflections, two mirror-sided hi-rise condos, sit isolated on large plots to the east like modern-day versions of the dolmens at Stonehenge. The major streets are six lanes wide, designed not to facilitate walking but to stream cars from highway to parking berths.

Frankly, it doesn’t look promising.

But I am rooting for the South Loop plan because it makes a whole lot of sense.

‘Smart growth’

The theory behind it, says Larry Lee, Bloomington’s director of community development, is “smart growth.” There are certain locations where higher density can work well, he contends, and the South Loop is one of them. Already, the area’s offices and hotels, not to mention the vast MOA, draw workers from all over the metro. The light rail has four stations in the South Loop, and the one at MOA, the most heavily trafficked on the line, connects riders to 15 bus lines.

Bloomington Land Use Framework Concept

If more people live in the area, we the public, both Bloomington and state taxpayers, leverage our investments in roads, mass transit and everything else. If we instead continue to encourage people to spread to the far corners of the exurbs, we have to build more roads, schools and other infrastructure to accommodate them. That’s very expensive and very inefficient. Call it “dumb growth.”

Bloomington’s land-use plan leaves most everything where it is now. A large swath down the middle of the area will contain offices to the south and hotels to the north. MOA and Ikea are designated an “entertainment” zone which is, I guess, what shopping is for most of us. But in the southwest and northeast corners will rise condos and apartments to house both those who work in the area and commute into Minneapolis. Surveys have shown, Lee says, that 30 to 40 percent of people in the housing market would like to live without lawns to mow, sidewalks to shovel and traffic to contend with every time they pick up a bottle of milk. Right now, most housing in the metro requires people to do all three.

And the area has a giant amenity — the Long Meadow Lake portion of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a stunningly beautiful wetland that the South Loop plan contemplates connecting to housing via new trailheads and walkways.  If everything comes together, the area could supply everything modern-day families want: city life with flora and fauna nearby.

First step in the plan, however, is a lot of unglamorous road and utility work, chiefly the extension of Lindau Lane to 30th Avenue South to hook the mall up to the Minnesota River. The portion of Lindau coming off the freeway will be lowered. Bridging the road will be a pad on top of which will sit a planned expansion of MOA. That, according to Daniel Jasper, the mall’s vice president of public relations, will contain a luxury hotel, a Mayo clinic office and 135,000 square feet devoted to retail.

That may sound like a lotta retail, but it’s about the size of three supermarkets and a teeny addition to MOA’s existing 2.8 million square feet of retail space. Already set to open in the spring of 2013 is the Radisson Blu hotel on the south side of the mall.

Mall and South Loop plan

My question is: How will the Mall’s expansion — and who knows how big it could get in the next 10 years? — mesh with the South Loop plan for more intimate high density living? The two seem disconnected. MOA is a grandiose structure designed to facilitate cars and delivery trucks; it can function only when surrounded by huge roadways that become barriers to pedestrians. I don’t know if I would want to walk from that northeastern corner to, say, the Health Partners Building. It’s not that far, but in the winter, the prairie wind would blow you down.

In a sense, however, the South Loop plan could never become a reality without the Mall. Last year, says Jasper, it drew 42 million visitors and broke the $1 billion mark for sales. While a whole lot of malls are going sideways, MOA is in a class by itself, says retail analyst Jim McComb, president of the McComb Group in Minneapolis. About half of its customers come from outside a 150-mile radius, many of them from overseas. While gawping at the immense structure, they drop a lot of dough, producing millions in sales and income taxes for the state and property tax revenues for Bloomington.

In its 20 years of existence, the number of (hospitality-tax generating) hotel rooms has risen from 5,000 to 8,000. Perhaps most important, contends Lee, is that the Mall has given the area an identity. “If you say ‘South Loop,’ nobody knows what you’re talking about,” he says. “But you can talk about the Mall, people from all over nod: yeah, I know that.”

Maybe they should rename the area MallWorld or Mallandia or, to get more lyrical, Mallifluous.

Think of the Mall as a petite version of Disney World. Without it, nobody would have heard of Orlando, Fla. The theme parks — love ‘em or hate ‘em, they are what they are — draw millions of visitors and money. Outside the Disney complexes, however, sit a lot of neglected strip shopping centers, ugly hotels, big box stores and suburban sprawl. 

 Bloomington’s planners are trying to do better than that. Let’s hope they succeed.

Article source: http://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2012/05/vision-make-bloomington-more-giant-parking-lot

You most likely know Wyatt Cenac from his work on The Daily Show as a correspondent and writer or from his one hour Comedy Central stand-up special "Wyatt Cenac: Comedy Person." He was also a writer on FOX's animated show "King of the Hill" and did stand-up at shows like "Comedy Death Ray" and "The Tomorrow Show." He starred in the film "Medicine for Melancholy" which was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards.

Ted Leo, loved for his wit and energetic performances, is the front man and main songwriter of the indie rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, a band radio host Tom Scharpling says "embodies the perfect synthesis of head and heart." The band's latest album is "The Brutalist Bricks."

Shows start at 8:00 p.m., but the party starts early. Come at 7:00 p.m. for the Tweet-up. Current DJ Barb Abney will spin some song and you can get yourself one of our drink specials. After the show, we keep the lights on and the bar open, so everyone can join in the conversation and have a Big Ginger®, made with 2 GINGERS Whiskey.

You can purchase a full season ticket package to all six Wits or create your own package to a minimum of four shows. When you purchase the Six-Show Package or the Choose-Your-Own-Show Package you will receive a .00 discount off the price of each single show ticket. All single show tickets are .00. Minnesota Public Radio Members receive a .00 discount of the price of each ticket.

at The Fitzgerald Theater
10 East Exchange Street
Saint Paul, United States

Posted at: 05/17/2012 12:25 PM

Updated at: 05/17/2012 2:52 PM

By: Naomi Pescovitz

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In their first meeting since the Vikings stadium bill was signed into law, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission is looking to the future.

During their meeting Thursday morning, Chair Ted Mondale recognized the next and final hurdle, a vote from the Minneapolis City Council.

“We still have seven,” Mondale said, referring City Council votes. “But we can’t lose one.”

“Never count your chickens till they hatch,” he said.

The Commission voted to begin the process of searching for a consultant to be an “owner’s representative” for the new Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority during design and construction.

Representative Ryan Winkler, (DFL) Golden Valley, also presented his idea to pay for the state’s portion of the new stadium, which is a part of the stadium bill.

He suggested that premium seats be raffled to the public. The funds raised would be used to pay for part of the state’s tab.

“My idea would be that they would be 50 yard line seats, lower deck, so that people would really have a dream of getting great seats for a long time to come and I think that would motivate people to put some money down and try to win,” Winkler said.

No price for the raffle tickets has been set.

“It has to be a share of what you are going to win. So if you are going to win prime seats for every game for for 30 years, it’s going to be more expensive, if it’s for one season maybe it’s cheaper. It all depends on what the fan interest is and that has to be determined,” Winkler said.

The Minneapolis City Council vote is scheduled for next week. It goes before a committee next Thursday and a formal vote next Friday.

Article source: http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S2622155.shtml?cat=10728