Smoking and drinking and nudity … oh my. Dylan Thomas (that’s his name) of the Southwest Journal reports, “The Kenwood Isles Area Association will consider a resolution calling on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to temporarily close Hidden Beach tonight. The neighborhood association’s board of directors called a special meeting at 7 p.m. at Kenwood Recreation Center to discuss the resolution. Hidden Beach, formally known as East Cedar Lake Beach, has been a source of complaints about noise, drug use and unruly behavior that continues past the beach’s official closing time of 10 p.m.” So then what? All the smokin’, drunken nudes wander over to Lake of the Isles?
The Strib’s series on the slumping appeal of golf is worth reading even if you’re a once-a-year 40 handicapper. Mike Kaszuba and Jason Gonzalez say today, “All over the state, and especially in Minneapolis and around the Twin Cities, communities are quickly trying to decide whether to abandon the game; change their courses and golf culture for a new generation; or wait out the slump while hoping for another 20-year hot streak. … Minnesota Golf Association membership, a strong indicator of avid golfers of the 492 state courses, has fallen from a 1999 high of 94,000 to 65,000.”
No resemblance to Walter and Jesse … Marino Eccher of the PiPress says cops have nabbed the two leaders of the Twin Cities meth import trade. One of them is 18 years old. “Two men helped tens of thousands of dollars worth of methamphetamine flow to the Twin Cities from Mexico in recent months, according to federal charges filed last week. Jesus Eduardo Soto, 23, and Brian Valdez, 18, were charged Aug. 13 with possessing the drug with intent to distribute. … Under questioning, Valdez admitted he sold 15 to 20 pounds of the drug in Minnesota over the past few months for $1,500 per pound, the charges said. Soto said they'd received at least four shipments of meth since arriving in the state, with 10 to 12 pounds in each shipment.”
Who needs Muzak? At KSTP-TV Jennie Olson posts the story of the man who fiddled through brain surgery. “Violinist Roger Frisch has performed around the world, but a tremor in his hand started preventing him from playing. Doctors at Mayo Clinic used a technique called deep brain stimulation, where they inserted an electrode to stop the tremors. Because the procedure is so precise, doctors kept Frisch awake and even performing so they could see exactly when they reached the source.”
Apparently you don’t mess with Lino Lakes when it comes to ante-ing up for the fire department. Nina Moini at WCCO-TV says, “Concerned citizens in Lino Lakes say they are worried because soon they will have fewer firefighters in their city, and lawyers for the group say they expect to file a lawsuit against the city council. … Lino Lakes was paying for about 70 percent of resources for the district, even though the resources were split evenly three ways [with Centerville and Circle Pines]. The city council wasn’t happy with this arrangement so they decided to break off.”
It looks like a “crime scene” in Duluth … Brady Slater of the News Tribune says, “Police and fire officials are investigating the origin of a fire early Monday morning that caused significant damage to a historic mansion on East Superior Street in Duluth. Meanwhile, officials also are investigating after an apparent Molotov cocktail was found Monday morning in a building across the street. That device did not ignite.”
At this point who would even notice another road closure? Peter Cox at MPP says, “Drivers in the northeast suburbs of the Twin Cities will have a month-long pinch to cope with, as the ramp from Eastbound Interstate 694 onto southbound I-35E closes for a month Monday morning. The Minnesota Department of Transportation hadn't slated the ramp for closure until heavy spring and summer rains washed out parts of the ditch below, putting the road in danger of damage with further erosion.”
We have a Winona LaDuke sighting! Says Elizabeth Dunbar at MPR, “The leader of a Native American environmental group is riding horseback across the state in protest of a proposed oil pipeline in northern Minnesota. Winona LaDuke plans to ride the proposed route of Enbridge's Sandpiper pipeline, which would carry crude oil across northern Minnesota from North Dakota to Superior, Wis.”