Star Tribune
St. Paul cafe owner is convinced city officials are trying to hurt his business
After two years of having the street in front of Mim’s Cafe torn up for rebuilding, owner Mahmoud Shahin admits he should be relieved.
But despite the imminent reopening of Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul’s St. Anthony Park neighborhood, the massive light poles and electrical boxes the city has stuck in front of his restaurant have soured his mood.
“They replaced three beautiful trees with the ugliest things ever,” said Shahin, who gave up being a physics professor to take over Mim’s in 1996. “I think it’s become personal.”
The Cleveland Avenue reconstruction project, from Como to Larpenteur avenues, has sparked plenty of neighborhood angst. Much of it has been directed at Ramsey County, which is rebuilding the county road, for the loss of 160 mature trees.
Shahin said he wasn’t one of those people. If some trees were in the way of replacing old sewers or utilities, he said, he understands. What he doesn’t understand is why first a fire hydrant, then a couple light poles and electrical boxes had to go in front of Mim’s Cafe — the only business on the block — and its arbor-covered patio.
The city, in charge of that part of the project, has refused to move the eyesores even a few feet farther down the block, Shahin said. He’s even offered to pay $10,000 to offset the cost. He said he believes officials became angry with his continued requests.
“Basically, it became a reality that cannot be changed,” Shahin said of what he called shifting city arguments — first citing code, then cost — as the project’s completion drew closer.
St. Paul traffic engineer Randy Newton disputes Shahin’s characterization.
With a joint city/county project, Newton said, making changes on the fly is neither simple nor easy. As time went on, officials felt more constrained by the need to finish much of the project in time for the Minnesota State Fair.
While possible, Newton said, changing the plan “was never [going to be] easy.” Now, it’s become even more difficult and expensive.
“I don’t think he understands all that would go into it,” Newton said of Shahin, whom he has spoken with several times. “I certainly feel for him. But I don’t think we’ve been inconsistent.”
Newton added: “At this point, it’s essentially set in stone.”
Shahin doesn’t believe that. Neither do neighbors and customers like Jon Schumacher, the former head of the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation. Shahin, who returns to his home in Palestine several times a year, is a generous and involved member of the neighborhood, Schumacher said.
And Mim’s Cafe is “an intersection” of students and staff at the nearby University of Minnesota St. Paul campus and longtime residents who live nearby, he said.
“I don’t know why the city is being so obstinate,” he said. “For two years, he has been in the worst possible place because of the Cleveland reconstruction. And he’s never complained. He told me, ‘I live in Palestine, I get how things work.'”
Schumacher added: “I don’t know if it’s a power play, or it’s a personal thing. Would a different owner in a different situation have had more luck with the city?”
City Council Member Mitra Jalali, who represents the area, voiced frustration Friday with what she described as poor communication between city and county planners and residents.
“I just think that more proactive dialogue is needed [on such projects],” Jalali said. “My takeaway is that we needed to know about problems sooner — whether that was the number of trees, or light pole and electrical box location. Are we helping to ensure that everyday people who are impacted by this are included in every way?”
When asked what options remain for Shahin, Newton said he could choose an artistic wrap around the electrical boxes to make them more attractive. “To date, we have not heard from the owner about interest there,” he said.
Shahin said his response to the city was: “Please, don’t do that,” adding, “I still hope they’ll make changes.”
If not, he said, “I’ll sue.”
Mohamed Omar is the new board chair of Hennepin Healthcare System, the organization that runs HCMC, making him Minnesota’s first Somali American hospital board leader.
The health care system board permanently appointed Omar to the position Wednesday at their regular meeting. He had served as interim chair since Babette Apland stepped down in September.
Omar has been on the volunteer board for three years, working on the finance, investment, audit and compliance committees. He is the chief administrative officer at the Washburn Center for Children and previously was chief financial officer at the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.
In a statement, Omar said he was excited to lead a hospital board in the state with the largest Somali American population in the U.S. He said he shared the health system’s dedication to providing “equitable, high-quality care.”
“My commitment is to deepen our community engagement, build more authentic connections between patients and team members, and build a confident future together,” Omar’s statement said.
CEO Jennifer DeCubellis and Nneka Sederstrom, chief health equity officer, praised Omar’s selection to lead the board. They said more inclusive leadership with a commitment to ending health disparities are key to HCMC’s success.
Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando, who is also on health system board, said she was excited to work with Omar. She said county leaders are dedicated to good stewardship of the “state’s last public safety-net hospital.”
“As the first Hennepin County Board Chair of color, I know how impactful it is for our communities to see themselves represented in public leadership,” Fernando said.
DULUTH – The Superior National Forest has lifted its forestwide campfire ban, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, effective Friday.
Recent rain and humidity have improved conditions across the national forest’s 3 million acres, forest officials said in a news release.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has also lifted fire restrictions in Cook, Koochiching, Lake and northern St. Louis counties.
Fire danger is still a concern this time of year, said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist.
“As leaves fall and vegetation continues to dry out, it’s important for people to be cautious with anything that can cause a spark,” she said.
The national forest imposed its broad campfire ban nearly two weeks ago, after a third wildfire, named for Bogus Lake, was discovered on forest land. No significant fire activity has been reported in recent days for any of those three fires. A fourth fire inside the forest, the 8.5-acre Pfeiffer Lake Fire, started Oct. 17. It was contained within 24 hours, the Forest Service said.
Much of northeast Minnesota is still classified in the “severe drought” stage by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris was asked this week if she thought Donald Trump was a fascist, and she replied ‘’Yes, I do.’’ She subsequently called him the same thing herself, saying voters don’t want ‘’a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.’’
But what exactly is a fascist? And does the meaning of the word shift when viewed through a historical or political prism — especially so close to the end of a fraught presidential race?
An authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is often associated with the far right and characterized by a dictatorial leader who uses military forces to help suppress political and civil opposition.
History’s two most famous fascists were Nazi chief Adolf Hitler in Germany and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Known as Il Duce, or ”the duke,” Mussolini headed the National Fascist Party, which was symbolized by an eagle clutching a fasces — a bundle of rods with an axe among them.
At Mussolini’s urging, in October 1922, thousands of ”Blackshirts,” or ”squadristi,” made up an armed fascist militia that marched on Rome, vowing to seize power. Hitler’s Nazis similarly relied on a militia, known as the ”Brownshirts.” Both men eventually imposed single-party rule and encouraged violence in the streets. They used soldiers, but also fomented civilian unrest that pit loyalists against political opponents and larger swaths of everyday society.
Hitler and Mussolini censored the press and issued sophisticated propaganda. They played up racist fears and manipulated not just their active supporters but everyday citizens.
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