2018 Holiday Events Guide PAGE B4 November 15–28, 2018 Vol. 29, No. 23 southwestjournal.com A history-The color barrier is broken on the making county board, and a refugee is going to election Congress By Dylan Thomas / [email protected] Voters had a chance to elect a person of color to the Hennepin County Board for the first time ever on Election Day. They elected two. History was also made in the state’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis, where voters for the first time elected a refugee to represent them in Washington, D.C. And after spirited challenges to the county’s top two law enforcement officials, Hennepin County voters narrowly elected a new sheriff. Those changes at the local level came as DFLers swept races for governor and the state’s other constitutional offices and a surge of support for Democratic candidates nationwide gave that party control of the U.S. House of Representatives, even as Republicans gained seats in the Senate. Minnesota’s state Legislature will be similarly split along party lines, with DFLers taking the state House from Republicans, who maintained a narrow state Senate majority. SEE ELECTION RESULTS / PAGE A14 Ilhan Omar is one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Photo courtesy Ilhan Omar for Congress Ilhan Omar’s road Skier asks for to Washington inclusive timing Fulton resident wants state high school league By Michelle Bruch / [email protected] to account for disabilities in races “Here in Minnesota, we don’t only welcome Roots immigrants, we send them to Washington,” said When Omar’s mother was born in Somalia, Congresswoman-elect Ilhan Omar, closing her neighbors came to give condolences. A first- By Nate Gotlieb / [email protected] acceptance speech with the song “Girls Like born daughter traditionally wasn’t cause for You,” a nod to her music video cameo. celebration, Omar told St. Joan of Arc Church in Michael LeBlanc finishes near the bottom The coaches in LeBlanc’s high school The song is fitting for Omar, who proposed February. But her grandfather wouldn’t hear it. of most of his high school Nordic ski races conference, the Metro West, have agreed amending the Minnesota Constitution to add “My grandfather told the visitors that his because of a disability that makes it impos- to use time factoring at their meets for the gender equality under the law and says she daughter was going to be better than any son sible for him to ski with poles. upcoming season. LeBlanc, his coaches was raised by “crazy feminist men” who never that they will raise,” Omar said. The Fulton resident, his family and his and his family plan on petitioning the paid much attention to Somalia’s traditional Her mother’s first job was assistant to the coaches hope to change that in coming Minnesota State High School League to gender roles. minister of petroleum, Omar said, and she years by having race organizers account for use factoring at its section and state meets. In her acceptance speech, Omar noted she’s later became a department director. his disability when timing him. “I think it’s just so important that he can the first woman of color to represent the state “[My grandfather] instilled in her this LeBlanc and his team are advocating finally feel like it’s the result he’s earned,” in Congress. The first woman to wear a hijab in feeling, this desire to prove everyone wrong, for the use of an algorithm that would said Kate Hokanson, Nordic coach at Congress. And the first refugee in Congress. to know her worth and to know that she had a cut a skier’s time by a certain percentage, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, the school with “She’s the American dream. She’s an inspi- place in the world,” Omar said. depending on his or her disability. They which LeBlanc competes. ration for all of us,” said Aboubaker Hassan, Omar never knew her mother, who died shortly say such a “factoring” system, which is “Nobody thinks that he’s not working hard an immigrant from Djibouti in the audience. after giving birth to Omar, her seventh child. But used at the Paralympic level to account enough to earn those results,” she added. “She kind of reminds us there is still hope in Omar was close with her grandfather, who called for athletes’ disabilities, would even the LeBlanc, 16, has a condition called this country.” SEE OMAR / PAGE A10 playing field for skiers such as LeBlanc. SEE INCLUSIVE SKI TIMING / PAGE A18 July 25–August 7, 2019 Vol. 30, No. 15 southwestjournal.com INSIDE Apartments TOY STORE A filling their culture available OF parking spots A new place to No matter how many play in Linden Hills A3 street spaces they offer, garages are well used DEDICATED art BUS LANES ADDED MURALS By Andrew Hazzard 20 WALLS In July, the Minneapolis Planning Commission TO 20 WALLS approved a 146-unit apartment building with IN LYNLAKE 92 parking spaces at 26th & Blaisdell. These types of developments with low parking-to-unit ratios have become common- Hennepin Avenue to get lanes just place since the city changed its minimum for buses parking requirements in 2015. Before, each new A10 building had to provide at least one spot. Now projects near high-frequency transit corridors ART CHAT with fewer than 50 units have zero parking requirements and buildings larger than 50 units need to include one spot for every two units. Currently, Minneapolis does not keep data on parking utilization rate at apartment build- ings, according to planning manager Jason Wittenberg, who said the city would like to better understand how residential parking spaces are being used. An interview with the Walker’s But as the city plans for a future with fewer new director cars and more density, newer apartment build- A12 ings constructed in Southwest before and after the requirements report their parking spaces are Story and photo by Nate Gotlieb Minneapolis WEIRD still in high demand. Regardless of the amount of artist Reggie parking, newer developments are confident they AND LINE-Y Minneapolis artist Reggie LeFlore talked to a mural she called “Love Me Not.” Meanwhile, LeFlore poses are offering attractive living situations to residents. passersby July 13 in front of a newly finished four other artists put the finishing touches in front of a Bryan Walters, the co-founder of Yellow Tree self-portrait on a wall behind The Herkimer onto murals further down the alley. self-portrait he Development, said his firm is very comfortable in LynLake. The six artists were among 35 participating created July 13 as part of the constructing new residential buildings with About 20 feet away, artist Nell Triggs spray- in the second-annual LynLake Street Art Series, second-annual fewer spots than units. painted bumblebees and flower petals onto hosted by the LynLake Business Association. LynLake Street another wall of the building as she wrapped up SEE LYNLAKE STREET ART / PAGE A19 Art Series. SEE PARKING / PAGE A18 The intricate illustrations of a LynLake artist B1 Flood risk on the rise as rainstorms gain intensity 50 BLOCK Flooding unsurprising at 22nd & Lyndale but rainfall is getting heavier in Twin Cities PARTIES By Zac Farber As motorists drove home from work along Lyndale Avenue on July 16, a summer storm dumped more than 2 inches of rain in a single hour onto a small neighborhood that’s been Inside a tight-knit Lynnhurst identified as one of the most flood-prone areas community in all of Southwest Minneapolis. B5 With the low-lying corner of 22nd & Lyndale suddenly turned into a thigh-high pond, the FEMALE staff of Hum’s Liquors ventured out into the BUILDER street and used their hands to pull wood and other debris from the city’s storm drains. In the shop’s basement, waterlogged cardboard boxes fell apart and two cases of wine dropped and shattered. Across the street, at the Wedge Co-op, at least five employees’ cars were damaged and one was totaled. Meanwhile, at the Red Dragon Restaurant and Lounge, patrons sat at the bar, nursing their Ella Pendergast’s prolific early 20th drinks and pulling their feet up as the carpet century home disappeared below a couple inches of water. “It construction has flooded here for as long as I can remember,” B8 said Pat Chan, who has bartended at the Red Hum’s Liquors owner Hanh Van donned yellow rain gear and rallied his staff to clear debris from storm drains by hand SEE FLOOD RISK / PAGE A14 after the corner of 22nd & Lyndale flooded on July 16. Photo by Jason Grote Neighborhood Spotlight. Art Beat Get KENWOOD/ At Mia, Egypt’s Out CEDAR-ISLES-DEAN lost cities Guide. PAGE B4 PAGE B1 PAGE B10 November 1–14, 2018 Vol. 29, No. 22 southwestjournal.com Inspiring future scientists Bakken museum founder worked to inspire youth / [email protected] By Nate Gotlieb arl Bakken employed a “ready, fire, aim” approach when inventing the Efirst wearable transistorized cardiac pacemaker in the 1950s. His namesake museum in the West Calhoun neighborhood gives young people the opportunity to take a similar approach while learning about everything from elec- tricity to Frankenstein. “The museum is really a reflection of (Bakken’s) interests and passions,” said David Rhees, the museum’s former longtime execu- tive director. “People who visit will get a Bakken museum founder Earl Bakken passed away on Oct. 21 at the age of 94. sense that it’s a place that is open to new ideas Bakken’s museum receives thousands and really wants to help advance science in a of visitors annually, including about way that helps advance humanity.” 10,000 students on field trips.