Latest News

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New Karen community space opens on Arcade Street

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

A new community gathering space called Urban Village has opened at 1082 Arcade St. The space, geared toward supporting the local Karen community, fills a long-vacant building. The Karen are an ethnic group from Myanmar, also known as Burma, who fled the country due to persecution and genocide. The community space opened just this spring but has already held a number of art shows and community discussions, including a budget chat with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. Click here for the compete article.

Johnson High School Choir Sponsors Needed!

Monday, September 23, 2019

For the first time in almost 30 years, Johnson High School is stretching to take the choir on a choir tour to Chicago, IL. People have been saying that it cannot be done because of the financial barriers that our students face each day. Their director is determined to prove them wrong and give our students an opportunity that they would not normally be able to have. On April 2nd, they plan to embark on a three day adventure to Chicago where students will work with a collegiate choral conductor, attend a Broadway musical, perform at Medieval Times Dinner Theater, and take i...

CLUES celebrates expansion

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The nonprofit Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio, also known as CLUES, celebrated the grand opening of its headquarters expansion on July 31. The build added 19,000 square feet to the nonprofit’s headquarters on East Seventh Street in Dayton’s Bluff, more than doubling its space, which is shared with the Mexican Consulate. Founded in 1981, CLUES serves more than 35,000 Latino people each year from throughout Minnesota and the midwest. Its programs and services include career and financial coaching, cultural and civic engagement, education services for youth and adults, and health and wellbeing services. Click here for the complete article.

ArT@967 Artist Studio Space Available

Friday, August 16, 2019

Artist Studio space is available at 967 Payne Ave! Collaborative Studio and Co-Workign Space for Artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, makers, non-profits in the Arts and Community Development can have a home on the Avenue. " Harboring and Growing a diverse and inclusive community of artists working teaching and making and impact on the East Sie of St. Paul." Contact Dimitri Hatzigeorgiou for more infomation: 612-868-6326 dimitri.hatzi@icloud.com

Want to Start A Food Business?

Friday, August 16, 2019

This program is designed to teach the fundamentals of starting a food business to people who already have culinary experience. You'll work with food industry experts to create a solid business plan, so that you can avoid the common failure factors associated with this challenging and exciting market in the Twin Cities. This program is in partnership with East Side Area Business Association (ESABA). Now accepting applications for the Fall cycle. Find out more: Fill out the application today and send it to Robert Taylor with NDC: rtaylor@ndc-mn.org 651-379-8116 Workshop #1 What It Takes to Be in the Food Business Types of Facilities of the Various Food Busines...

Historic Yoerg is a nice fit for former Strip Club Meat and Fish building

Wednesday, August 07, 2019

It’s been a long road for Yoerg Brewing. The reboot of Minnesota’s first brewery began in 2016 with its original recipe brewed across the border in Wisconsin, for sale here. The brewery, which dates back to 1848 but had been closed since 1952, had planned to open a tavern/restaurant to showcase its beer on the West Side of St. Paul, but that deal fell through. There is a happy ending, though, as Yoerg eventually ended up in the charming building that formerly housed Strip Club Meat and Fish on St. Paul’s East Side. We dropped by for a quick dinner recently, and were please...

Cozy up to Railroad Island, the Twin Cities neighborhood you’ve been neglecting

Tuesday, July 09, 2019

The East Side Featured in City Pages! Full of bewildering bluffs and industrial history, Railroad Island is the authentic truth St. Paul keeps behind a gaping railroad ravine and 35E. It’s a disorienting place, 180 acres of neighborhood wrapping around the east side and smooching Swede Hollow Park. It’s lush with trees; you can’t see the St. Paul skyline from here, though it’s close. Streets are tossed around and mended together where they don’t make sense, split by the railroad gorge, thus the clutter of the place. Cross streets are a little darker, so it’s easy to feel inquisitive, even meddlesome...

New name, same character: Flat Earth is now St. Paul Brewing

Tuesday, July 02, 2019

When John Warner bought what would become Flat Earth Brewing in 2010, he looked at a few locations to move it before settling on the old Hamm’s Brewing buildings off Minnehaha Avenue on the East Side. “It was so awful,” he says of the buildings and their decrepit state, but he wasn’t deterred. “God told me to do it, so I did it.” Warner bought the future home of Flat Earth Brewing in November of 2012. Some two years later, after working to make the space safe for brewing and a taproom, he moved Flat Earth from Highland Park to the Eas...

The life and times of a White Bear Ave. watchmaker

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Bob Tuerk, the 79-year-old owner of House of Clocks on White Bear Avenue, has been on a nonstop grind since he was 14, and doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon. Succession was not in the cards for House of Clocks. The clock and repair shop, with dark brown grandfather clocks decorating its building, has been at the intersection of White Bear Avenue and Arlington Avenue East since 1975. Bob Tuerk, its fiercely independent and hardworking owner, has been there the whole time. The plan, set around 2014, he says, was that he’d take on an apprentice, who would eventually take ove...

Where the Chefs Eat: 3 Minneapolis–St. Paul restaurateurs share their favorite dining spots

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Nobody knows food like a chef, so it stands to reason that they’ve got strong opinions about where to eat. We talked to three well-known cooks in Minneapolis–St. Paul about where they like to dine and came up with a list of some remarkable restaurants that are worth a visit. Click here for the complete article.

East Side Freedom Library marks 5 years

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

The East Side Freedom Library is celebrating its fifth anniversary in June. The labor and immigrant history library and community space is marking the occasion with a few upcoming events, including a release this summer of a book about the library and neighborhood, as well a discussion with journalist and Columbia University professor Jelani Cobb on June 12. Click here for the complete article.

Karibu celebrates grand opening

Monday, May 13, 2019

After a soft opening last fall, Karibu Grocery and Deli celebrated its official grand opening on May 3, recognizing all who were involved in the process of making the business happen. Karibu, located on the corner of Payne and Minnehaha avenues, has found strong support in the neighborhood, and serves as a gateway of sorts to the East Side — “karibu” means welcome in Swahili. “I’m so excited to see this developed and to see these ideas coming from our neighborhood,” said Don Lorr, a former Railroad Island Neighborhood Task Force chair. Click here for the complete article.

Taxes in the Age of the Apocalypse: What’s New in 2018

Monday, June 04, 2018

New: Get Ready for Taxes: Learn how the new tax law affects tax returns next year (Spanish) Prepárese para los impuestos: Conozca cómo la nueva ley tributaria afectará declaraciones de impuestos el próximo año IRS Publication 5307: Tax Reform Basics for Individuals and Families (GOOD STUFF HERE!) Steps to Take Now to Get a Jump on Next Year’s Taxes Previously Shared with You: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: A comparison for businesses (many partners said they really like this one!) Taxpayer Advocate Service, Tax Reform Changes – By Topic Taxpayer Advocate Service, Tax Reform Changes – By Form

Swede Hollow Master Plan Approved!

Monday, September 23, 2019

Good news! The Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Commission approved the Swede Hollow Park Master Plan yesterday evening. This is a milestone to celebrate as the master plan will guide future improvements in Swede Hollow Park. Approved master plan is uploaded to the project website. Thank you for your participation in the master planning process for Swede Hollow Park!