Sec. of State Mark Ritchie Comes to Stone Arch

Saturday, February 9

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map)

Sec. Ritchie joins this month’s Stone Arch discussion, and we anticipate a lively discussion of election issues (including last November’s Voter ID amendment).  There won’t be a recording this month, so get up early if you don’t want to miss it!

This is part of our monthly series of informal “Stone Arch” conversations at Gardens of Salonica.  As usual, invite anyone interested–free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can’t bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

John Farrell Discusses Clean, Local Energy Options for Minneapolis (Podcast)

We launched our 2013 Stone Arch discussion with John Farrell.  He’s a Senior Researcher at the local Institute for Local Self-Reliance and organizer for the Minneapolis Energy Options campaign try to let the people of Minneapolis take charge of their energy future.  The grassroots campaign is challenging the energy monopoly of Xcel and Centerpoint Energy and hopes to give the city’s homes and businesses a clean, local alternative to dirty, imported energy.

Listen to the podcast from iDream.tv.

The linked podcast is a segment from the Stone Arch Discussion Group, a project of the DFL Education Foundation. It was recorded on January 12, 2013, at Gardens of Salonica in NE Minneapolis. Production services provided by Minneapolis-based multimedia company iDream.tv.

Tom Berg and Rep. Martin Sabo discuss a Minnesota Miracle (Podcast)

This month it’s a discussion of Tom Berg’s new book, Minnesota Miracle, by two people at the center of “a state that worked” in the 1970s, Tom Berg and former U.S. Rep. Martin Sabo.

Listen to the podcast from iDream.tv.

The linked podcast is a segment from the Stone Arch Discussion Group, a project of the DFL Education Foundation. It was recorded on December 8, 2012, at Gardens of Salonica in NE Minneapolis. Production services provided by Minneapolis-based multimedia company iDream.tv.

Tom Berg and Rep. Martin Sabo discuss a Minnesota Miracle

Tom Berg

Saturday, December 8

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map)

This month it’s a discussion of Tom Berg’s new book, Minnesota Miracle, by two people at the center of “a state that worked” in the 1970s, Tom Berg and former U.S. Rep. Martin Sabo.

This is part of our monthly series of informal “Stone Arch” conversations at Gardens of Salonica.  As usual, invite anyone interested–free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can’t bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

Election Reflection with Three State Legislators *Location Change!*

Sen. Kari Dziedzic

Saturday, November 10

 

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Labor Temple 312 Central Avenue Room 217, Minneapolis (map)

Due to the election results and strong interest, we’re moving to a larger venue for this month’s conversation!

This month it’s an open discussion about the election results with with Reps. Loeffler and Kahn and Senator Kari Dziedzic and all the participants in Stone Arch.  Join us and weigh in!

This is part of our monthly series of informal “Stone Arch” conversations at Gardens of Salonica.  As usual, invite anyone interested–free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can’t bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

Higher Education: Problems and Prospects

Saturday, October 13

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map)

This month we talk with the Director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Larry Pogemiller about the challenges of higher education access for Minnesota students.  His office is a cabinet-level state agency that “provides students with financial aid programs and information to help them gain access to postsecondary education,” and manages the $150 million State Grant Program.  Prior to being appointed by Governor Dayton last year, Senator Pogemiller served 30 years in the state legislature, specializing in tax and education policy.

This is part of our monthly series of informal “Stone Arch” conversations at Gardens of Salonica.  As usual, invite anyone interested–free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can’t bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

Minnesota Care (Podcast)

Sen. Linda Berglin and Rep. Lee Greenfield  discuss Minnesota Care (MNCare), a subsidized health care program for people who live in Minnesota and do not have access to health insurance. MNCare was created in 1992 by the Minnesota Legislature (a part of the Grand Consensus) and is administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. It is funded by member premiums, the State of Minnesota, and a tax on health care providers. MNCare provides an alternative to private market plans for low income residents of MN.

A long-time legislator, Sen. Berglin is now Hennepin County’s Health Policy Program Manager.  Rep. Greenfield served 21 years in the Minnesota House, representing Minneapolis.

Listen to the podcast from iDream.tv.

The linked podcast is a segment from the Stone Arch Discussion Group, a project of the DFL Education Foundation. It was recorded on March 10, 2011, at Gardens of Salonica in NE Minneapolis. Production services provided by Minneapolis-based multimedia company iDream.tv.

MNCare – A Health Solution of the Minnesota’s Grand Consensus

Saturday, September 8

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map)

This month is a doubleheader, featuring Sen. Linda Berglin and Rep. Lee Greenfield to discuss Minnesota Care (MNCare), a subsidized health care program for people who live in Minnesota and do not have access to health insurance. MNCare was created in 1992 by the Minnesota Legislature (a part of the Grand Consensus) and is administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. It is funded by member premiums, the State of Minnesota, and a tax on health care providers. MNCare provides an alternative to private market plans for low income residents of MN.

A long-time legislator, Sen. Berglin is now Hennepin County’s Health Policy Program Manager.  Rep. Greenfield served 21 years in the Minnesota House, representing Minneapolis.

This is part of our monthly series of informal “Stone Arch” conversations at Gardens of Salonica.  As usual, invite anyone interested–free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can’t bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

Civil Rights and the Minnesota Marriage Amendment (Podcast)

At our July Stone Arch discussion, Richard Carlbom joined the Stone Arch conversation for a discussion of civil rights and the constitutional ballot measure on marriage. He is the Campaign Manager of Minnesotans United for All Families, the official campaign that aims to defeat the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Listen to the podcast from iDream.tv.

The linked podcast is a segment from the Stone Arch Discussion Group, a project of the DFL Education Foundation. It was recorded on March 10, 2011, at Gardens of Salonica in NE Minneapolis. Production services provided by Minneapolis-based multimedia company iDream.tv.

The Grand Consensus: Progress on Civil Rights

The Grand Consensus: Minnesota’s Progressive Legacy – Civil Rights

By Iric Nathanson

Civil rights activist Josie Johnson

On an April morning in 1961, a young civil rights activist named Josie Johnson was sitting in the ornate reception room at the state Capitol waiting to meet with Governor Elmer L. Andersen.  She had come there to urge Minnesota’s newly elected Republican governor to help rescue the fair housing bill, then bottled up in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Johnson was hopeful that Andersen would be sympathetic because he had staked out a clear position in support of fair housing in his January 2 inaugural address.  Andersen was a not a newcomer to the cause of civil rights.  Earlier in his career, as a state senator representing a St. Paul district, he had been a staunch advocate for the state law banning job discrimination, enacted in 1955.

In the spring of 1961, as the legislative battle over fair housing in Minnesota was reaching a climax, a national civil rights movement was gaining momentum.  Six years earlier, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had risen to national prominence as the leader of the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.  That year, King, with several colleagues, established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which would become a driving force in the movement.  Later in 1961, a group of young activists known as freedom riders would begin their campaign to desegregate interstate buses and railroad stations in the South.  Their brutal treatment at the hands of angry mobs would generate a wave of national outrage.