[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
www.mplsobserver.com
Vol. 3, No. 4
August 25, 2003

**********************************************************

THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* New Development Planned for Historic Mill
* University Unions Moving Closer to Historic Strike
* SMBQ, R.I.P.
* The Twin Cities as Game Board
* City Center to Get a Makeover
* Conference Highlights Role of Somali Women
Plus: Freedom Rider, 40 years later; R.T. and R.O.A.R.; Highway 55 revisited; and reaping what Pawlenty has sown

**********************************************************

NEW DEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR HISTORIC MILL
The historic Pillsbury A Mill across the river from downtown Minneapolis is the site of a proposed retail and housing development that could spark new activity in the long-dormant St. Anthony Main district.

UNIVERSITY UNIONS MOVING CLOSER TO HISTORIC STRIKE
With negotiations bogged down, two unions representing more than 3,000 University of Minnesota employees are moving closer to an unprecedented strike.

SMBQ, R.I.P.
Tissues at the end of each row for blubbering mourners, an open casket oddly shaped like a contrabassoon case, people in black telling jokes about death and double-reed instruments. That was the scene Saturday evening, August 16, at Augsburg College's Sateren Auditorium, a full house with late-comers sitting (and sometimes rolling) in the aisles. The sad and hilarious occasion: the South Minneapolis Bassoon Quartet's last concert, played as a funeral.

THE TWIN CITIES AS GAME BOARD
The University of Minnesota Design Institute is inviting people to get better acquainted with the Twin Cities with the help of a B.U.G.--a Big Urban Game.

CITY CENTER TO GET A MAKEOVER
The much-maligned City Center retail complex downtown will be getting a much-needed renovation beginning in January.

**********************************************************
The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. �2003 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
Senior Executive Editor: Sharon Parker
Contributing writers: Chris Dodge, Leo Mezzrow
Equine consultant: Nora Cox
Perspective: Martin Cox
Thanks to: Jeremiah Creedon, Elaine Eschenbacher, Dean Lindberg, and Mary Turck

*******************************************************
Fight media consolidation! Support the independent press! Pick up your neighborhood newspaper!
*******************************************************