Minnesota/Minnesotans C or D

Kmart's lease at the site doesn't expire until 2053.

what the hell

i know, it's wild

is that the one where the road runs into the parking lot? maybe people accidentally drive in and figure they'll do some shopping

it's the worst

I really wonder how a pretty notable street came to stop, turn into a k-mart, and then continue

The city has tried unsuccessfully to reach an agreement with Kmart that would allow Nicollet Avenue to reopen while store operations continue, said David Frank, the city's director of economic policy and development.

i can kinda understand kmart balking at this. what could the city tell them? "yeah, the store can stay open, we're just gonna, sort of run a road right through the fuckin middle of it, and the parking lot"

I really wonder how a pretty notable street came to stop, turn into a k-mart, and then continue

― mh, Thursday, May 18, 2017 9:09 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

from what i've pieced together, 70s redevelopment ideas were about as bad as they are now, just different.

Today, it almost feels like it was a move to intentionally block off one section of neighborhood from the other.

as someone who doesn't live in mpls, but has been there enough times to mostly navigate without checking a map by knowing cardinal directions and major streets, I've been bitten by driving into the dead ends on *both* ends of that fucking k-mart

instead of this busy street with old storefronts and people hanging around, why not have a big new superstore with ample parking, like in the suburbs!

xp yeah it's a huge pain. i hope they work something out.

also if you've ever been in there, the detail that it's something close to a kmart flagship is stunning

do you think it was some dominance move by k-mart during target's early years? lol

i haven't read this thru yet but here's a short history:

https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2014/04/history-nicollet-wall-and-hamstrung-city-hall

the street was blocked before kmart even agreed to go in there? jesus

It's a travesty, and whoever gave them that lease was a fool, but does "Eat Street" benefit by being less of a thoroughfare?

Also part of this bit of sad local history:

http://truecrime.wikia.com/wiki/Murder_of_Anne_Barber_Dunlap

didn't it get put in for the same reason that they ran the fucking interstate right through the middle of a neighborhood aka racism?

not sure that Lake and Nicollet would be the place for that? foolhardy visions of an urban Southdale seems more plausible.

xp that's what I'm saying! Feels a little Rondo lite

Total segregation. The Uptown side is white and gentrifying, the other side is new arrivals/black residents.

in 1977?

Lyndale has always been the dividing line tho in that neighborhood, not the interstate.

Hmm yes, definitely - my mom was born around Bloomington and Lake in the 40s on the 'new arrivals' side (Swedish dad, Polish mom, maternal grandmother with a tavern on Lake). The other side has always had MIA and MCAD so a transient student/younger renter population even back then. Also nicer houses between Lake and Franklin.

Wouldn't between Lake and Franklin be what's theoretically getting walled off here?

Lived in this neighborhood pre-K-Mart (though I guess my parents were transient students at the time), and doesn't make sense to me (could well be wrong).

I'd actually submit that a Kmart is actually more beneficial to many of the residents of the neighborhood many of whom rely on public transportation than knocking it down and turning it into more fucking brewpubs. It's actually one of the few stores in that area you can get essentials at non-corner store inflated prices.

Though I'm sure it will eventually be another ugly ass condo with first floor retail

Also true

Man, this Current countdown of listeners' 893 artists is weird. And by weird, I mean super predictable.

Dave Matthews Band approximately 250 slots higher than Mozart.

well I'm going to be irrationally angry for the rest of the day now

LOL, no need to listen now. It's gotten past the amusingly oddball/random phase and is settling decisively into the boring phase. Just holding out hope that somehow Bjork places higher than Dessa tbh.

http://www.thecurrent.org/countdown/893-essential-artists/

2pac hologram is gonna be so psyched at making #154

i noticed there were like 17,000 disqus comments on it and immediately closed the page

ah yes, crammed into a cage next to a mud road, the delights of downtown in the summer

Sidewalk cafes are back on south end of Nicollet! pic.twitter.com/DlfjkdFGLX

— R.T. Rybak (@R_T_Rybak) June 5, 2017

lol

http://m.startribune.com/the-yanez-jurors-a-snapshot/428447093/

Juror 10: A middle-aged white male who is retired from preprinting work, he said he followed news about the case off and on. He said he had seen Reynolds' Facebook video. "She seemed overly calm" he said on his juror questionnaire. He owns a handgun and hunts.

Jeez, the number of jurors who claim only passing familiarity with the cast at best ...

10 of the Trumpiest folks in Ramsey co. and 2 black people

Doesn't speak well of the prosecution's competence.

FWIW, the jury foreperson:

Juror 6: A white male in his 40s who is the jury foreperson. A wellness coach for the last seven years, he believes too many "victimless" crimes are prosecuted, including drug use and sex work. He believes marijuana should be legalized. He said he was "somewhat isolated" and knew nothing about the Yanez case.

So one fewer Trumpy folk.

xxxxpost

having worked downtown for a little more than 2 yrs now
the nicollet project has been almost bafflingly mishandled...like to an unreal degree

also it's like they are turning a street w/sidewalks into a....street w/sidewalks

they act like it's the big dig in boston or some shit

Worse sidewalks on top of that.

You've got about 16 years to go before you can say the Nicollet Project has been mishandled as badly as the Big Dig.

sorry, 14 years

not including the 9 years of preplanning

I'm enjoying the "how do we get in the building today?" part of the project.

it's one of those clusterfucks that looks so ridiculous I want to see it if I'm in town

I'd hurry up to do so, but it sounds like I have time

speaking of clusterfucks, outside of the controversy, how's the walker's new sculpture garden?

i'll let you know when i see it --- NEXT WEEK

(btw i go to mpls next week)

"She seemed overly calm" he said on his juror questionnaire

you dumb motherfucker can you not recognize a sublime moment of terrible humanity when you see it

The ridiculous vicissitudes of being the 15th biggest metro area in the U.S.

Yanez found not guilty, fucking bullshit

https://www.facebook.com/CBSMinnesota/videos/10155552597118825/

Pretty fiery speech.