🚧 CVS demolished. What’s next?

The future of the Hamline-Midway neighborhood

The blighted CVS in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood has been demolished, much to the joy of some. The store has been closed and boarded up since 2022. It became a symbol “of neglect, of disinvestment,” St. Paul Councilmember Molly Coleman tells City Cast Twin Cities. But Coleman and Lisa Nelson, executive director of the Hamline-Midway Coalition, have a lot of optimism for the neighborhood. [🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]

• How did we get here? The city voted to demolish the building in November despite objections from the company’s attorneys and the publicly unnamed building owner. “ We don't want our government to be … knocking down buildings because we don't like them,” Coleman told City Cast Twin Cities. But she said it was such an “extreme” issue that the city had to take the vacant storefront down. [Pioneer Press]
• Good neighbors: Nelson, of the Hamline-Midway Coalition (HMC), said “hundreds” of neighbors have come together despite the area’s problems. Volunteers have passed out medical supplies, tradespeople helped repair buildings damaged by ICE activity, and HMC started a diaper drive for people sheltering in place.
• New things coming: Coleman said she’s looking forward to bringing her child to the new Hamline Midway Library. The historic Hale Library was demolished in 2025. [KSTP]

“Major milestone”: The St. Paul Sears has been sitting empty since 2019, but it’s getting a new life. The Rondo Community Land Trust purchased the site for about $10 million, and the organization will plan a community engagement process to decide what to do with the site. Before Sears, the area was part of the historic Rondo neighborhood. [MPR]

Garbage problem: Activists with the Zero Burn Coalition are planning a hunger strike unless Hennepin County sets a date to close the Minneapolis incinerator, known as the HERC. They say the county has not done enough since recognizing the health impacts of the incinerator in a 2023 resolution. If you want to learn more about this issue, listen to our episode with MinnPost reporter Trevor Mitchell. [Sahan Journal / 🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]

Young hero: Victor Greenawalt, a fifth grader at Annunciation Catholic School, has received a Citizens Honors Award. Greenawalt shielded his classmate as gunfire tore through the church. The national award he’s nominated for recognizes Americans 17-years-old and younger for “their courage in a dire situation.” [MPR]

National football: Minneapolis wants to host the NFL Draft in 2028, with plans centering the draft at U.S. Bank Stadium. Local leaders are competing to bring the three-day event to the Twin Cities. A Minnesota Sports & Events executive said the event would mainly be funded with corporate dollars. [Sports Illustrated]

Local angle: “The Boom,” a short film inspired by the mysterious “Longfellow boom,” will premiere at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival in April. “An Indigenous man investigates a mysterious sound echoing through the city that reverberates through space and time,” reads the description. [Longfellow Whatever]

Thursday, Mar 26

• 🎻 Purple Orange | Landmark Center
• 🎤 Louise Erdrich | Plymouth Congregational Church
• 🎸 Cecil Alexander Trio | Berlin
• ⚖️ The Meaning of the News | Lake Monster Brewing
• 🆓 Free Night | The Museum of Russian Art
• 👐 Leslie Vincent with Patrick Adkins and Blake Foster | Icehouse
• 🪕 The Gated Community & Kaitlin Cassady | Aster Cafe

Friday, Mar 27

• 🖤 Pop Punk Prom from Quarter Life Crisis | First Ave
• 🪕 Pert Near Sandstone | Turf Club
• 💦 612 Sauna Co-Op | Lake Nokomis
• 🖼️ After Hours: Christine Sun Kim | Walker
• 🎭 It’s Like An Amazing Time to Be Alive Right Now | Playwrights’ Center
• 🎺 Jake Baldwin | Jazz Central Studios
• 🪈 SPCO Schubert’s 2nd Symphony | Ordway

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