Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
The Park Board Wants You
It's Sandcastle's last year on Lake Nokomis, which means the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is seeking someone new to take over next spring. Think you have what it takes to replace Doug Flicker and Amy Greeley's beloved hot dog/seafood/taco stand? Proposals are due Friday, July 8, and the Park Board will host two walk-throughs for those who are interested in the space on June 22 and June 29. And Greeley mentioned, in announcing that this'll be Sandcastle's last year, that they're happy to offer advice, insight, and anecdotes about operating the space, though they won't be involved in the selection process. Elsewhere in iconic south Minneapolis snack shack news: A sale on the 38th Street walk-up window (formerly Dave's Popcorn, recently Lil Jam) is currently pending.
Mitchell Hamline Makes History
When Maureen Onyelobi continues her education at St. Paul's Mitchell Hamline School of Law this fall, she'll make history—Onyelobi just became the first currently incarcerated person accepted for enrollment by an American Bar Association-approved law school. According to an announcement from the university, Onyelobi received word of her acceptance on June 9. The groundbreaking achievement is being made possible by the Prison to Law Pipeline, a program from All Square in south Minneapolis and its newly formed subsidiary, the Legal Revolution. “We have a drive and a passion to learn the law that most have never seen before because we know what it is to be in here,” Onyelobi said in the statement. “We know what it’s like to be on this side of the law.” She'll attend classes virtually from the state prison in Shakopee.
Summer: Already Ruined?
Summer is a lie. It promises months of carefree outdoor fun after the dark, cold isolation of winter. But this is the reality of summer: sunburn, humidity, and, most of all, bugs. If it seems like flying pests are worse than ever this year, you’re not just being a giant baby. The facts support your whining. We have been afflicted, as though by a vengeful Jehovah, with what MPR calls an “epic crop of black flies” and what The Timberjay of St. Louis County more poetically refers to as “a mosquito apocalypse,” “a black fly bonanza,” and a “deer fly debacle.” The culprit was our wet winter. However, MPR found several Minnesotans to offer chipper, chin-up responses to this hellish development. Susan Hill of Bloomington, who went mountain biking up north, referred to “a swarm of about 400-plus mosquitoes” as her "personal trainers" because they would assault her whenever she tried to take a break. “You'll see the most wildlife, you'll catch the most fish,” said Tom Spence, a carpenter and photographer from Tofte, adding that this means we’ll have a great blueberry crop. Why won’t you people ever just admit that sometimes nature is bad?!
MN Muslims Can Now Find AA Support at Mosques
At its core, Alcoholics Anonymous is a Christian organization. Prayer and fealty to god is one of the 12 steps. But what if you’re not Christian? A recent piece by Joey Peters in the Sahan Journal explores how nurse practitioner Munira Maalimisaq is helping address alcohol abuse in the Muslim community through hosting meetings at mosques. While churches are common locations for AA meetings, meeting at a mosque can be a hard sell—the religion bans the consumption of alcohol, making the stigma of being honest and asking for help all the more difficult. “We had zero exposure to alcohol at home because it wasn’t sold in stores,” Munira says. “We do not have a healthy understanding of what alcohol is. So when people started drinking, there was no, ‘This is my cutoff.’” Munira got the idea to start the program while working in a detox center, where she saw many Somali men struggle with addiction. These days she’s trying to make recovery more accessible for people in her community who may feel great shame or lack understanding of alcoholism.
