Month: May 2007

My friend Thomas and I were in Dubrovnik, Croatia, for two-weeks this past December. The town was getting ready for St. Nicholas Day–when the children receive chocolate in their stockings–and part of the celebration is a parade of the Dubrovnik Region Old-Timers Car Club. Well, it was quite a surprise for us as we sat sipping mocciatos at a cafe on Stradun, the pedestrian-only main street of Dubrovnik.

Hello – I have always enjoyed the red-handed pictures and blurb. We took two pictures and couldn’t decide which one you would like better: the classic Alamo or the Air Force Reserve Jet Car which goes 400 mph and runs on biodiesel.

While the rest of us toiled away in below zero temps in early February, Kelly Marczak and Lisa Thurstin of the American Lung Association were enjoying 70 degrees at the Alamo and basking in the warmth of the National Biodiesel Conference in San Antonio, TX. Conference attendance was 3,500 with representatives from the U.S. and 15 countries. Celebrity biodiesel-supporters spotted at the meeting included Larry Hagman of Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie fame; country icon Merle Haggard; actress Daryl Hannah and political-hybrid/husband-wife team, Mary Matalin & James Carville. Our region is looked to as the national leader in production and use of biodiesel — all Minnesota diesel fuel sold at retail contains 2% biodiesel. The American Lung Association works to educate consumers, truckers and service station owners about the benefits of biodiesel as a “Clean Air Choice.” Learn more at: www.CleanAirChoice.org .

I pick up your magazine every month. The March cover [“Murder by Numbers”] seemed too much for me to bear. But then a friend told me there was an accounting of every murder that took place in Minneapolis last year. I went directly to victim number thirty-six, my son. His name was Pestelence V.D. El-Shabazz, aka Valentine Alexander Durray Riley. We all know—including the homicide detectives working on this case—that he had a criminal record. But despite being incarcerated, he was a very good son to his mother. He was always concerned about me, always called me on the phone, always encouraged me about my goals in life, and loved and respected me. These qualities should be reason enough to solve his and these other unsolved murder cases. I love and miss my child, my son, my friend. He wrote me a rap symphony called “My Mama.” He was very intelligent and full of good advice. He had the most handsome smile. He is surely missed by all who knew him.

It would be nice if your March issue could be circulated all over the North Side of Minneapolis. I have always been concerned about my community. I hope that the next elected officials will care about it, too, and that the people who live there will care even more. Form more block clubs, watch out for your neighbors, call the police more often, and report the drug and gun dealers. I always did. There has to be a change. We have to do a better job of taking care of each other.

So what your article [“No. 1 Hard,” February 2006] tells me is that your intent is to steal North Dakota’s oil reserves. Has it occurred to you that we like it here? I’ve lived in California, Florida, Connecticut, Ohio, Washington, and Pennsylvania. After seeing these crime-filled, dirty places it was always my pleasure to come home. So much so that I chose to raise my children here, where they had more freedom and safety. If you don’t like it here, leave and leave us alone.

I have had the pleasure of working with Dave St. Peter [“Marathon Man,” April] in the world of media with the Minnesota Twins. We are fortunate to have a man like Dave running the Twins. He is the consummate professional who always presented a positive outlook, even when the Twins were not world champions. He sees the team’s value to the community no matter what the win/loss record. It was a great article and I think it captured that essence.

Thank you, and Brian Lambert, for pointing out the inadequacies of our local newspapers. [See Lambert’s blog Lambert to the Slaughter, at www.rakemag.com.] Many of us have given up on the mainstream and instead look to your magazine and other free venues for intelligent, comprehensive, and well-written journalism, telling us what is going on in our world. Of course, with a regime in the White House incapable of concise communication we can understand the dumbing down—generally—of too much of today’s media. The bar is at its lowest.

As the executive director of The Wildcat Sanctuary, the only accredited sanctuary in the Upper Midwest, I wanted to thank you for your insightful article “Cat Scratch Fever” [May]. The article helped raise awareness of the exotic pet trade in Minnesota and the United States. In one year alone, The Wildcat Sanctuary assisted authorities in removing thirty-three tigers from Minnesota’s backyards. Even though Minnesota passed an exotic-animal law in 2004 to help control the purchase and trade of wild cats, there are thousands of wild cats and hybrids kept as pets in the state, many that will eventually need sanctuary or face being destroyed. The Wildcat Sanctuary provides a safe solution for the public and a humane alternative for the animal. We hope there will be a day that our sanctuary will no longer be needed and that wild animals will be allowed to be just that—left in the wild.