🏚️ How neighbors saved the John Cook House

Neighbors save the John Cook House

In early May, Seth Stattmiller and Elizabeth Richardson bought the ultimate fixer-upper: the John Cook House in Northeast Minneapolis. It’s a 137-year-old local landmark and oh, yeah – condemned. Stattmiller, who also co-owns Recovery Bike Shop, Richardson, and other neighbors banded together to save the house from demolition. “I really feel like this building epitomizes what Northeast stands for,” Richardson said on today’s show. “It was built by and as a home for the workers and craftspeople who built our city into what it is today. The majority of them were Scandinavian immigrants.” [🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]

• Looks like a “haunted house”: The historic home is known for its Queen Anne details: the hexagonal corner tower and stained glass, with special flourishes of cream-colored brick and red accents by its architect John L. Cook. In 2019, the home came into the hands of developer Abubakar Jibril who wanted to use the land as a staging ground for construction equipment. Stattmiller said Jibril purposefully let the house fall into disrepair so the city would allow him to knock it down. Jibril’s lawyer argued that the city put him in a difficult position by granting the house a historic designation but then condemning it. [City Cast Twin Cities / Star Tribune]
• Hammer time: The county assessed the land’s value at $131,200, and the couple said they offered Jibril more than that. “ We are going to make this a house again. It is going to survive,” Stattmiller told City Cast Twin Cities. He wants the house to be accessible for the whole neighborhood, not just one or two tenants. In the meantime, the couple will be fixing up the brick exterior, with financial backing from the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. [City Cast Twin Cities / Star Tribune]

Tuesday, May 26

• 🆓 Minneapolis Audubon Society Guided Bird Walks | Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary
• 🆓 Joanna Ho, A Room With a View — Outdoor Storytime | Red Balloon Bookshop
• 🆓 Books & Bars: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar | Urban Growler
• 🆓 Carolfest 2026 | Uptown VFW
• 🐈 Kitten Yoga | Forgotten Star Brewing
• 🎤 Comedy Bang Bang | Fitzgerald Theater
• 🎵 Twin Cities Latin Jazz Orchestra | Jazz Central Studios

Wednesday, May 27

• 🚲 Bike Night with BRAPB and Fury du Nord | Arbeiter Brewing Co.
• 🌿 Party for the Parks | Wigington Pavilion, Harriet Island Regional Park
• 🎹 Robert Glasper OG Acoustic Piano Trio | Dakota
• 😂 Improv Zodiac! | Bryant Lake Bowl
• 🎼 Marisa Anderson | Cedar Cultural Center
• 🎤 The Moth StorySLAM: Opposites Attract | The Parkway Theater
• 😂 Queers Crush Comedy | Black Hart of Saint Paul
• 🎸 Weird Nightmare | Turf Club

• Vice President at American Indian OIC | $100k per year
• Senior Accountant at Minneapolis American Indian Center | $65k – $75k per year
• AI Project Manager at UMN AI Hub | $36.06 – $40.39 per hour
• Training Director, Community for Mental Health and Wellness at Amherst H. Wilder Foundation | $110k – $120k per year
• Clown Coordinator at Barebones Puppets | $750 stipend