[Mpls] This Week in the Minneapolis Observer

[Craig Cox]

T H E M I N N E A P O L I S O B S E R V E R
A Weekly Digest of All Things Minneapolitan
Vol. 1, No. 30
March 11, 2002

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THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* Sniffing Out Airport Pollution
* Jackie's Filegate
* Robyne Robinson's Gallery Revolution
* Healing Needed at the Indian Health Board?
* End of an Era in Dinkytown
* The Future of Energy
* We Could Call It the Sardine Theater, But That Would Give Tin Cans a Bad Name
Plus: DQ takes a licking, saving money on stoplights, yet another quiz, the city's toughest neighborhoods, trashing the mayor's house, and garden catalogs worth reading.

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SNIFFING OUT AIRPORT POLLUTION
Eighteen months after a federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study identified toxic air pollution concerns in the neighborhoods surrounding our nation's airports, state officials have installed monitoring equipment to see if their concerns are valid.
According to Dean Lindberg, writing in Southside Pride (www.southsidepride.com), state pollution control agency officials have placed an air monitor on the airport's old north terminal building to measure levels of 10 compounds described by the EPA as "pollutants of concern" in the air around the airport. Of particular concern are three of those compounds--formaldehyde, acrolein, and 1.3 butadiene. Formaldehyde and acrolein can irritate the eyes, nose, and respiratory system, and 1.3 butadiene is a known carcinogen. The state's heaviest concentration of these compounds--all exceeding federal health risk benchmarks--are found at the airport and nearby neighborhoods, according the EPA report.
The $20,000 monitoring device will test the air every sixth day for the next year, but what exactly will be done with the data is unclear. State Pollution Control Agency air quality expert Rick Strassman says it's difficult to accurately estimate levels of acrolein and 1.3 butadiene and it may be too early to chart an effective course of action.
But South Metro Airport Action Council president Dick Saunders is pleased that the state is making an effort. "We are hopeful the results will clarify the extent to which aircraft and ground vehicles at the airport contribute to our air pollution problems," he says.

A GREAT FIFTH WARD TRADITION
We're not talking Enron here, but charges are flying around City Hall after new Fifth Ward Council Member Natalie Johnson Lee discovered that her predecessor, former Council president Jackie Cherryhomes, had left her with almost no files.

ALTERNATIVE ART
With her 18-month-old Flatland Gallery in Northeast, KMSP anchor Robyne Robinson is sparking a renaissance of small, low-priced galleries citywide, writes Dean Seal in Skyway News (www.skywaynews.net).

NO HEALING AT INDIAN HEALTH BOARD
The popular medical director at the Indian Health Board (IHB) has been fired in what appears to be an ongoing internal crisis at the local clinic.

END OF AN ERA
The longest-running business in Dinkytown is closing up shop at the end of this month after more than a century of service to the neighborhood.

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The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. ©2002 Independent Media, 4152 Snelling Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55406; www.mplsobserver.com. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Independent Media. Subscriptions: $12/yr. To unsubscribe, send us an e-mail ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and we'll get you off the list and refund the unused portion of your subscription.

Editor: Craig Cox
Associate Editor: Sharon Parker
Contributing writers: Nora Cox, Mark Engebretson, Tim Herwig, Leo Mezzrow, Sarah Wash
Occasional research assistance: Martin and Nora Cox
Online technical assistance: Christopher Pollard
Thanks to: Caitlin Pine

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