Tonight - North Loop Neighborhood Association Annual Meeting

For more information about this meeting or to make a nomination for theNorth Loop Neighborhood Board email us at info@NorthLoop.org

Tonight - The Minnesota Magazine Mingle at Open Book

January 25, 2012, Wednesday - The Minnesota Magazine Mingle at Open Book

Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Location: Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South

The Loft Literary Center and the Minnesota Magazine and Publishing Association play host for the ninth time to the casual networking event that also celebrates the breadth of Minnesota’s magazines. The Magazine Mingle is a unique opportunity for professionals in the magazine world to come together in a casual setting. 

Freelance writers and editors, primarily, will gather to shake hands, put faces to names and marvel at the quality and quantity of Minnesota magazines. Magazines published in all regions of the state will be on display. Discounts available for early registration and for bringing more than one colleague. Light refreshments, cash bar, door prizes. 

Park for free at Periscope, 921 Washington Avenue South, just west of Open Book. Supporting organizations include the America Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), the Professional Editors Network (PEN) and the Minnesota chapter of the National Writers Union (NWU).

Click here to register for the event.

Gov. Dayton Tells Viking the Metrodome Site is the Only Option

From the Star Tribune:

Gov. Mark Dayton told the Minnesota Vikings on Monday that the only workable site this year for a new stadium is the Metrodome, apparently bringing the team's long search for a new home back to where it started.

"The governor spoke to Mr. Zygi Wilf this afternoon and told him that if we are going to get a stadium bill passed this year, it will have to be at the Metrodome site," said the governor's spokeswoman, Katharine Tinucci.

Read the full article...

3rd Annual Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Photo Contest

Attention photography enthusiasts - the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board(MPRB) has posted preliminary information on their 3rd annual 'Picture A Park' photo contest, sponsored in conjunction with People for Parks(PFP) and National Camera.  

Photos and completed entry forms will be accepted between May 1 and September 4, 2012.  Photos from any time of the year may be submitted. The name or location of the Minneapolis park, parkway or lake property is required with each submission.

Click here to view previous year's winners, and check back frequently for contest updates.

The Week Ahead in Mill City / January 23-29

Above: The latest update to the Mill City Photo Pool...

Each Monday morning we provide an easy to reference list of events and activities for the week ahead in the Mill City neighborhood.  Submit your events here...

Monday, January 23

Keb Mo at The Guthrie

Wines of Italy Seminar at Sorella Wine & Spirits

Tuesday, January 24

Name That Tune at Aster Cafe

Wednesday, January 25

Mediterranean Wine Dinner at Spill the Wine

North Loop Neighborhood Annual Meeting at Target Field

The Minnesota Magazine Mingle at Open Book

Thursday, January 26

Go Red For Women Dinner at Sanctuary

Friday, January 27

Live Music at Crooked Pint

Live Music at Aster Cafe

The Dragons Are Singing Tonight opens at Southern Theater

TwinsFest 2012 at the Dome

Saturday, January 28

Live Music at Crooked Pint

Live Music at Aster Cafe

How'd They Do That Workshop at the Guthrie: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

TwinsFest 2012 at the Dome

Sunday, January 29

Brownie Demo at Mill City Museum Baking Lab

TwinsFest 2012 at the Dome

Tonight - "White Gardenia" at the St. Anthony Main Theater

Director: Jiang Lifen
Run Time / Year: 85 min | 2005
Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
Showtimes: Sun, 1/22 @ 7:00 & Mon, 1/23 @ 4:30

St. Anthony Main Theater

Directed, acted and penned by Jiang Lifen, one of China’s up-and-coming women filmmakers, White Gardenia has keen insight into the lives of women and shows that insight with great conviction, depicting how women in crisis struggle with decisions that will affect their lives and future happiness. White Gardenia tells a traditional story of romance set against wartime China. With a nod to Madame Bovary and tales of women who choose family but long for the spotlight, Jiang herself portrays the main character, Yang Liuqing. Yang’s outwardly contented life as a mother and wife begins to crack as events cause her past to resurface – memories of her career as a famous Yue Opera singer in Shanghai, a life that ended with the Japanese attack in 1937. The plot is simple and archetypal, the characters compelling and real.

--------------------------------------------------------

The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul presents three films representing the diversity of contemporary Chinese cinema in honor of the Chinese New Year. The program is co-curated by Tom Rose, Professor of Art at the University of Minnesota. “What I find interesting [with White Gardenia] ... are the visible links to the past enhanced with stunningly beautiful contemporary cinematography. Wang Hong Hai’s beautiful My Dream is also stylized and mannered in that it highlights the Chinese love of spectacle.” Let the Bullets Fly combines both elements, with an added comic slant, to make for one wild cinematic ride.

Tonight - "My Dream" at the St. Anthony Main Theater

Director: Wang Hong Hai
Run Time / Year: 90 min | 2007
Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
Showtimes: Sun, 1/22 @ 4:30 & Mon, 1/23 @ 7:00

St. Anthony Main Theater

In My Dream, director Wang Hong Hai pays tribute to the stunning works in dance and music performed internationally by the 84 members of the China Handicapped Performers' Troupe. During a one-year period, Wang and his production staff lived together with the members of the troupe, recording their daily lives, practice sessions and efforts the performers made to train their bodies. The troupe was founded in Beijing in 1987 by a group of 30 artists and includes performers who have hearing or sight impairments. My Dream is a combination of documentary and visual poetry that transcends the limits of language and geography.

--------------------------------------------------------

The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul presents three films representing the diversity of contemporary Chinese cinema in honor of the Chinese New Year. The program is co-curated by Tom Rose, Professor of Art at the University of Minnesota. “What I find interesting [with White Gardenia] ... are the visible links to the past enhanced with stunningly beautiful contemporary cinematography. Wang Hong Hai’s beautiful My Dream is also stylized and mannered in that it highlights the Chinese love of spectacle.” Let the Bullets Fly combines both elements, with an added comic slant, to make for one wild cinematic ride.

Crown Hydro Seeks New Location on St. Anthony Falls Lock & Dam Property

From local resident Doug Verdier: 

This latest effort by Crown Hydro to advance the hydro plant at Upper St. Anthony Falls indicates that they now are trying to cut a deal with the Corps of Engineers to build the plant on Corps-controlled land, thus bypassing the MPRB and local government authorities. This letter announces that Crown wants to amend their license again so they can proceed with the project.

View a digest of Crown Hydro documents...

Tonight - "Let the Bullets Fly" at the St. Anthony Main Theater

Director: Jiang Wen
Run Time / Year: 132 min | 2010
Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
Showtime: Sat, 1/21 @ 6:30

St. Anthony Main Theater

One of the highest grossing domestic Chinese films in history, director/screenwriter/actor Jiang Wen’s Let the Bullets Fly propels the audience through an unpredictable world of gunslingers, bandits, physical comedy, bloody combat, and surprising plot twists. Set during the Warlord Era of the 1920s, Jiang’s character “Pockey” Zhang embarks on a Robin Hood like escapade to benefit poor townspeople. Malevolent mobster Master Huang (Chow Yun-Fat) opposes Zhang’s efforts, highlighting both actors’ comedic abilities as well as Jiang’s directorial talent for fast-paced action.

--------------------------------------------------------

The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul presents three films representing the diversity of contemporary Chinese cinema in honor of the Chinese New Year. The program is co-curated by Tom Rose, Professor of Art at the University of Minnesota. “What I find interesting [with White Gardenia] ... are the visible links to the past enhanced with stunningly beautiful contemporary cinematography. Wang Hong Hai’s beautiful My Dream is also stylized and mannered in that it highlights the Chinese love of spectacle.” Let the Bullets Fly combines both elements, with an added comic slant, to make for one wild cinematic ride.

Open Houses This Weekend in the Mill District of Minneapolis

Here's a link to open houses this weekend in the Historic Mill District of Minneapolis -

http://matrix.northstarmls.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=10031507691

Courtesy of Cynthia Froid Group

Job Posting from Riley Hayes

User Experience Architect

35+ Person Minneapolis ad agency with a strong commitment to strategic and creative excellence is looking for a talented and energetic User Experience Architect to help drive the customer experience on many of our client’s Web initiatives.

You will lead a small team of designers, UX analysts and developers that will be responsible for developing the user experience for marketing Web sites and Enterprise applications.

*Riley Hayes is located in the Historic Mill District of Minneapolis.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Championing the users needs, making workable recommendations for improving the user experience
• Conducting user research such as usability testing, expert reviews and surveys
• Conducting requirements analysis, task analysis, stakeholder workshops, competitor analysis
• Developing personas & scenarios, user journeys, design concepts and prototypes
• Detailed design of new screens by producing wireframes, sitemaps and other standard Information Architecture documentation
• Documenting interface specifications for developers (e.g., how functionality will work, how data will be displayed)
• Coordinating the design workstream using a user-centered design process

Candidate Requirements

• Strong customer focus and a passion for UX
• Experience with all forms of prototyping from low-fidelity to high-fidelity
• Expert UX skills and knowledge (Information Architecture/User Research/User Centered Design)
• Experience with agile development methodology
• Confident persuasive communicator – experience working with stakeholders
• Strong team leader and knows how to take advantage of collaboration with other team members
• A keen interest in current / future developments in Web trends and innovations
• An understanding of Web site development, back end technologies, browsers, plug-ins, etc.
• Experience with accessibility guidelines and standards
• Proficient in Visio, Omnigraffle and/or Balsamiq
• Familiarity with Adobe Illustrator, Silverlight and/or Sketchflow, a plus.

Come join a fun and enthusiastic team (learn more about our culture by visiting our Facebook page).

Apply Now:

Interested candidates please send a resume to jobs@rileyhayes.com

CPED and Shamrock Speak on Izzy's Ice Cream Factory

Miles Mercer from Minneapolis CPED speaks on the proposed land sale of 1100 2nd St. S. to Izzy's Ice Cream:

Shamrock Development counsel speaks on the land sale:

Several local residents spoke against the sale, Eric Roper of the Star Tribune summarizes their views well in the article he published on the meeting:

Opponents worry that the facility will be an eyesore in the area and could become a nuisance if Izzy's expands or another industrial tenant moves into the building. Izzy's also does not have immediate plans to sell scoops of ice cream at the factory -- only prepackaged items.

"This is not about ice cream. This is about a factory," said Judith Borger, a novelist who lives at the lofts, near the site. "And if you start thinking of it as Acme Nuts and Bolts, then the picture changes considerably."

Read the full article here...

The matter goes next to the full City Council for approval.

This Weekend in Mill City / January 20-22

Events this weekend in and around the Historic Mill District and Minneapolis Riverfront Neighborhoods.  Have an event to share?  Contact us...

Friday, January 20

Live Music at Crooked Pint

Live Music at Aster Cafe

Suzzy Roche Reading/Performance at The Loft

Lunch with MacPhail

Happy Hour with a Preservationist - Tour of the Basilica of St. Mary

Saturday, January 21

Live Music at Crooked Pint

Live Music at Aster Cafe

Monster Jam at the Dome

Washburn A Mill Tour at Mill City Museum

Farmers Market at Local D'lish

Snow Play Family Workshop at MCBA

Minneapolis Central Friends Children’s Book Sale at Central Library

Spotlight Series at MacPhail

Childish Films at Central Library

Get in the Mood for Paris Fashion Week with A Woman’s Paris™

Barbara Redmond of A Woman’s Paris™ would like to help you get in the mood for next week's Paris Fashion Week!  She shared the following:

French Impressions: an interview with Jack Edwards, our exclusive interview with costume and fashion designer, Edwards.  At the Goldstein Museum of Design, "Character in Costume: A Jack Edwards Retrospective."

Fashion trends from the street, Rule of Five. In Paris I've seen trends take hold. French sailor jerseys: waves of blue and white stripes shifting in the Paris breeze; each wave like a cat-paw on the surface of the ocean, now dark, now light, now gone. Still, the Parisienne never tried to fit in. Daring, carrying herself confidently, with her own inbred style, she moved quickly through the city, hardly disturbing its surface, with a slight breeze that riffled through her hair; as sexy and seductive as ever... 

French Lessons: Pack It, Wear It, Buy It! whimsical pairings for Paris Fashion Week coming this Friday at A Woman’s Paris™.

Subscribe for FREE to A Woman’s Paris™ blog, follow on Twitter, like on Facebook.

Tonight - Happy Hour with a Preservationist - Tour of the Basilica of St. Mary

Time: 5:30pm to 6:30pm

Location:   Basilica of St. Mary, 88 North Seventeenth Street

This event is free!  Check out Preserve Minneapolis for more tours.

Note: Please enter through the Rectory (located on located on the west side of the church on N 17th St.). We will gather in the Sacristy to begin the tour.

The Basilica of Saint Mary has been more than a church for more than a century. A well-established beacon of hope on the modern Minneapolis skyline, it is the spiritual home for more than 12,000 parishioners. Join us for a tour of the magnificent Basilica and learn about the restoration projects that will begin in February of 2012 due to the recent win in the Partners in Preservation contest.

Guthrie Theater and Gold Medal Flour Sign at Gold Medal Park

Views of the Guthrie Theater and Washburn A Mill taken at Gold Medal Park in the Mill District of Minneapolis.

Take Advantage of Mill City Commons' New Membership Promotion

Join Mill City Commons in January and have your annual membership extended through March 31, 2013!

Our mission: Mill City Commons’ members build community through social, educational, cultural, and wellness activities and connect with each other and the resources to maintain healthy and vibrant lives as we age.

For more information, please contact Executive Director Linnea Tweed at linneatweed@millcitycommons.org or 612-455-3329.

Dave and I have been members for a year now and consider it a valuable part of our lives in the Mill District.

Tonight - Third Ward Meeting Hosted by Diane Hofstede

City Community Development Committee Votes to Approve Land Sale to Izzys

Minneapolis Community Development Committee just voted 6-0 to approve the land sale to Izzy's.

Izzy's owner Sommers, one of his employees and his architect spoke in favor of the sale.

8-12 (I'm estimating) neighbors, developer Stanton and his attorney spoke against the sale. No local residents spoke in favor.

The matter goes next to the full City Council for approval.

Crown Hydro Update

The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board will vote to approve its 2012 Legislative Agenda during the next regular MPRB meeting Jan. 18. One of the items on the Legislative Agenda is the following which addresses the Crown Hydro proposal:

PROTECT LOCAL CONTROL OF PARK LAND: Attempts were made last year to force the Park Board to grant a private entity the right to use park land for a hydroelectric facility. The Park Board and other local governmental units had serious concerns about the constitutionality of the legislation and the usurpation of local control, and no such legislation was passed. We will again fight any efforts to force the Park Board to relinquish control of its land to private entities.