No one was heard complaining about the hot, sticky evening as the 2022 St. Anthony VillageFest Parade stepped off Friday evening, August 5. The shade of St. Anthony Parkway helped, as did the energy of the parade units and the eagerness of the paradegoers.

Shorin Ryu Minnesota in St. Anthony is home to two new AAU Karate National champions. Sophia Soriano and Iris Luz Hernandez both took home gold medals in Shorin Ryu Kata division. Shorin Ryu Minnesota is owned and led by Sensei Dieter von der Marwitz who also took home two gold medals at the WUKF World Championships and a silver medal in Shorin Ryu Kata at the AAU Karate National Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., over the July 4 weekend.

Over the course of six performances between August 4 and 13, the Columbia Heights Fine Arts Foundation (CHFAF) will answer a question that has eluded investigators the world over since 1949: Who killed Mr. Boddy? Was it Colonel Mustard, in the library, with the wrench? Or perhaps Mr. Green, in the study, with the lead pipe?

This stage adaptation of the classic board game “Clue” is set to be one of the foundation’s most ambitious projects to date, according to CHFAF secretary Kim Davis, who said during a tech rehearsal that despite the many challenges of this production, the cast and crew have high hopes for this show.

The 29th Annual Minnesota Fringe Festival takes place August 4-14 in several Minneapolis theater venues. It’s the largest performing arts festival in the Midwest. This year will be the first in-person Fringe Festival since 2019, with 119 shows and over 800 individual artists performing. All attendees must purchase a $5 button, buy tickets to their performances of choice and check in at the box office the day of the show.

“No matter what happens in this game, if we get down by 10 runs in the first two innings, we still try our hardest. If you can’t win the game, at least gain the respect of the other team.” These were the words Coach Bernie Kunza gave to his 10U baseball team in the dugout before they hit the field for what would be coach Kunza’s final game coaching.

The old saying “One person’s trash is another’s treasure” certainly applies to Minneapolis artist Mayumi Amada. On Saturday, July 16, she hosted a talk and slide show at Pierre Bottineau Library on how she uses recyclable materials to make beautiful art from things that are considered garbage. Amada’s primary materials are recycled plastic bottles and plastic bags. The Japanese culture and the philosophy of Zen also influences her creativity.

Ralph “Mickey” Rooney passed away peacefully in his sleep July 2, 2022 at age 93. Rooney worked hard for his success as a real estate agent, a career that started about age 40. (He was in the Million Dollar Club and often touted No. 1 in sales in Columbia Heights.) In the days before cell phones, he came to know all the places – including the Northeaster office – where he could stop in and use a phone. In the process, he’d share some news or promote a good cause.

Any non-treated ash tree alive today will be gone in less than three years, and that timeline is being generous, say Columbia Heights city officials. Having treated or removed all ash trees on their public land, they’re concerned that fewer than 10% of those on private property have been treated for emerald ash borer, or removed, and that it’s too late to save more than half.

The labor shortage has hit the City of Minneapolis. If you live south of a line that runs from the Mississippi River to Industrial Blvd., your yard waste collection has changed from weekly to every other week. The line zigzags north from Ramsey Street, to 13th Avenue, Main Street, Broadway, Washington Street, 17th Avenue, Monroe Street, 18th Avenue, Quincy Street, 19th Avenue, Jackson Street, 20th Avenue, Fillmore Street and 22nd Avenue, then heads south on Ulysses Street to 18th Avenue and cuts across Hwy. 88 to Ridgeway Pkwy. The new collection schedule began June 27. If you live above the line, your yard waste collection schedule has not changed.

At 11 a.m. on a summer Saturday, the trees behind the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization’s amphitheater perfectly shade those who are seated. When family and friends gathered to honor the life of Mary Jamin Maguire there near the Lowry Avenue Bridge June 18, they basked in that shade and a gentle breeze.

Jamin Maguire died of lung cancer at age 72 in February after a five-month battle, some suspect due to pollution from industries along the river.