The Next Best Thing to Being There at the Northside Benefit Concert

Post, photo, and video by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

If you weren't at the State Theater on Sunday night, you missed one of the best concerts Minneapolis has seen in a very long time.  The fact that the show didn't sell out immediately was rather disappointing.  North Minneapolis has already felt the arms of over 5,000 volunteers wrapped around our community in support, but a show of this caliber deserved more people watching.  Thankfully, I took plenty of video footage.

Before we get to more music, here's a fun fact:  The Northside Benefit Concert took place on Sunday June 12th, and NOT, as I had mistakenly put in my calendar, Saturday June 11th.  This mistake was compounded when I immediately bought two tickets the instant they went on sale, and invited a friend along for the show, which I found out later, was on SUNDAY.  In spite of the clear instructions on my ticket, I just assumed that if we were going to get this many amazing local artists in one place on a weekend, then an event of such magnitude would have to be on a Saturday.

Not wanting to be late, my companion and I unknowingly arrived a full twenty-four hours ahead of time.  Since this would be the social event of the summer, I put on a suit and she wore a sleek outfit with shoes that looked so great they had to be tremendously uncomfortable.  We excitedly posed for pictures outside the State Theater, and went inside to find...nothing.  It was a veritable ghost town.  "Oh no!" we thought, "Nobody cares about north Minneapolis!"  Upon a closer examination, however, we determined the correct date for the concert.  As it happens, my Android phone is synced with Google, but apparently Google did not notify the dozen or more performers, their stagehands, and other appropriate staff that everybody needed to arrive a day early.

I'm telling you this, dear readers, because my friend is so pleased with the opportunity to talk about how shameful this all was for me that you've probably already heard about it.  And because the concert was so amazing that it easily offset the temporary (or if she has her way, permanent) embarrassment I have suffered.

One of the first acts was the Billie McLaughlin Group, whose namesake suffered from focal dystonia. The nerve disorder meant he could no longer play guitar with his left hand and had to retrain himself to play some chords right-handed. He played this song as both a personal testimony and as a way to reach out to our community:



Watch that hyperlink to the CBS story, if you have time. The videos above and below have McLaughlin playing straight chords and strumming, not the intricate finger-picking that he displays in the news story. His comeback is nothing short of amazing, and we can only hope that north Minneapolis can mirror it.



There were plenty more phenomenal acts, including...

What Does Post-Tornado Crime Data Tell Us?

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo from KSTP.

Shortly after the tornado hit, I was quick to criticize several media entities for over-reporting isolated incidents of criminal activity.  I also promised to look into actual statistics to see if perhaps I was the one jumping to conclusions.  The city of Minneapolis and the 4th Precinct have made some data available - enough to do a preliminary examination of crime trends to see what things are like in NoMi.

First off, Ed Kohler at The Deets wrote an excellent piece about how we shouldn't read too much into shot spotter map disparities.  Keep in mind that shot spotters are installed only in certain areas of the city, making the reporting higher in those areas than elsewhere.  Shots fired aren't over-reported in parts of north and south Minneaoplis, they're just under-reported in other areas.

Second, I'm compiling numbers based on visual recounts of maps from the city's shots fired page.  One criticism of those maps is that they don't actually show hard numbers, only dots.  When multiple shots are reported in a small area over a one-week period, it's hard to be 100% certain how many dots one is counting.  So if my numbers are slightly off when compared with other data, that's why.

With that out of the way, the shot spotter data indicates...

A Tornado Karma Story (In Which Multiple Lives Are Saved and Red Bull is Offered)

Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

On Saturday I joined a legion of 2,000 volunteers as people from all around the Twin Cities continued to clean up NoMi after the tornado.  My group spent the bulk of our time around 29th Avenue and Morgan Avenue North, cleaning up the yard of an immigrant couple.  Most of the heavier branches had already been cleared up, but plenty of other debris remained.  When they found out we were cleaning for free and not some kind of scam, we were quickly invited into their yard and got to work.

The husband and wife pitched in, and seemed almost compelled to tell us their story:

A Billboard We Can All Appreciate

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo by Joel Breeggemann.

This billboard has been popping up all over town, and says it all.  Thanks everyone, for your generosity.

A Response to the NoMi Tornado: How Can I Help?

Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

I've said it already, but it bears repeating:  Hawthorne was lucky in that the tornado left us relatively unscathed.  There are trees down in the EcoVillage, but none on houses, a few garages were hit with a downed tree, and a smattering of properties lost a few shingles.

We were even more forunate, though, in the response.  Our office was inundated with phone calls the next day; virtually all of them either offering something specific in response or simply asking "How can I help?"  Forget the isolated case or so of looting.  Forget the unfounded fears that crime would somehow be out of control (although the heightened police presence was still, in my opinion, the right call).  The real story in the aftermath of the tornado is that so many northside organizations stepped up, along with thousands of volunteers from across the metro, all of them asking "How can I help?"

Without a doubt, my biggest (organizational) thank-you goes to Urban Homeworks.  You wouldn't know it from the coordinated response, but...

Potential Housing Insurance Fallout from Tornado

Post and photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Shortly after the tornado hit NoMi, Alex Stenback of the Behind the Mortgage blog posted this article about how insurance premiums are allocated.  It's no secret to northsiders or pretty much anyone else in Minneapolis that the storm damage was compounded by having gone through an area ravaged by foreclosures and vacancies.  The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal stated that over 200 vacant or foreclosed properties were affected by the storm to some degree.

One glaring problem with damaged foreclosed properties is figuring out who owns them in the first place?  Securitized home loans were split up on the secondary market with various entities owning parts of each mortgage.  And often those entities aren't even easily traced.  The Mortgage Electronic Recording System, or MERS, is a storage point of sorts for securitized mortgages.  Essentially MERS facilitates multiple, frequent transfers of mortgages by having their name listed on state and county records as the owner - even though they only store the data of who really does own an interest in a property.  So if a foreclosed property needs repair or demolition, how do we hold such "owners" accountable?

Putting a more human face on this, however...

Sisters' Camelot Serving Free Meals 5-7 at St. Olaf

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

The Sisters' Camelot (click here for their website and here for their Facebook page) have made it their mission to distribute free, organic food to anyone in need.  This week they felt the best place they could be was here on the Northside.  Today and tomorrow they are giving north Minneapolis residents, volunteers, and anyone else who needs a free dinner and free organic produce.  They are stationed at the St. Olaf church on 29th Ave N and Emerson Ave N and will be there Wednesday and Thursday from five p.m. to seven p.m.  Already the pizza they're making smells delicious.

I stopped by to thank them, gave them a hammer to pound in stakes for their tent, and graciously accepted their offer of some amazing free trade, organic coffee.  One of the volunteers, Clay, said they had just gotten on various relief network websites today.  Knowing that quite a few people at the center set up at Farview only a few blocks away wouldn't have internet access, I asked if I could bring their fliers over to the park to spread the word.

I quickly ran out of fliers, but spread the word as best I could.  And while I did that, I talked to quite a few people who needed at least to have someone listen to their story of how they have been displaced or affected.  Dear readers, I've been very impressed with the response so far.  But until the last person's situation is made right, the need will always outpace the work everyone is doing to help.  So please volunteer or donate; do whatever you can for NoMi.

And then stop by for what is sure to be a great dinner tonight and tomorrow at St. Olaf.

NoMi Tornado and Irresponsible Journalism

Post and stock photo by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

The tornado and the aftermath were tough enough on NoMi, but once again we weren't helped out by at least one media entity.  Fox 9 initially reported gunshots and looting in North Minneapolis in conjunction with the tornado.  (Warning:  do not read the comment section of that article unless you are standing next to someone you can punch without legal repercussions.)  I'm not sure what came first, the mainstream media or the tweet, but Twitter was full of misinformation and racist comments.  Most likely Twitter was breaking the "news" of the looting that wasn't before Fox picked it up.

Shortly after the storm, I was getting text messages and phone calls from people, some of which reported looting all along Broadway.  So when I went to try and help out a friend, I intentionally took a route that went along Broadway for as long as possible.  From 94 to James, you'd hardly know a tornado hit, and there were certainly no signs of looting either taking place or having had taken place.  Nobody could get anywhere near Penn and Broadway, the site of the ONLY confirmed looting incident.  But the barricades could have been for any number of reasons.

If the rumor mill was to be believed though, Broadway and north Minneapolis in general had descended into chaos.  On the ground, this was clearly not the case.  I understand the pull to break news before anyone else, whether it's via blogging, Facebook, Twitter, or any other medium.  I mean, in a world where Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson can break the news of bin Laden's death, who's to say that you or I can't stumble upon the next huge story through social media?

Here's the problem with being too hasty...

Cub Foods Puts Out a Spread for NoMi Residents and Volunteers

Post and videos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

Don Samuels, Linda Higgins, and Ed Anderson (Cub Foods Manager) spoke at an event to get food out to volunteers and residents affected by the tornado.  Ed said that Cub will put on another event like this tomorrow, but they will need volunteers to come at around 7:30 or 8 to take down tables and chairs and clean up.

Thanks to everyone who helped out today, but there's still PLENTY of work left to do.

More North by Northside posts on the way....

Please Keep NoMi Streets Clear

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

I was fortunate.  Hawthorne as a neighborhood did not bear the brunt of the tornado that touched down, and neither my place of residence, my car, or my self was damaged by the storm.  I received calls from other neighbors affected, and got in my car to check out the EcoVillage before seeing if I could reach anyone in need.  It's been stated already, but let me repeat:  many of the roads in NoMi are impassable.  Please, do NOT drive around or come here to gawk at the damage.  It's tempting, I know.  As a blogger or citizen journalist or whatever you want to call me, I have that itch to go around and collect as many photos, videos, and stories as I can.

But I tried to get to one person's house to help, and couldn't make it closer than a few blocks - by car at least.  And dropping another friend off at home was an adventure in and of itself.  Not in a good way, either.  Already Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and other sites are exploding with video and photos.  But really the best thing folks can do is to keep the streets clear, especially of vehicular traffic, so that emergency and repair vehicles have easier access.  Call 911 if there are emergencies.  Call 311 to report downed trees or other non-emergency situations.  And if you really want to help out, Urban Homeworks is organizing a volunteer clean-up tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m.  People are meeting at 1823 Emerson Ave N.

For whatever it's worth, if people need my help for anything, don't hesitate to ask.