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Get your augers and rods ready! Aitkin’s annual World Famous Fishhouse Parade on Friday, November 27, celebrates the coming ice fishing season. The event features wacky and wonderful ice houses displayed on trailers and paraded through downtown Aitkin as thousands gather to watch the yearly ritual procession.

For a glimpse into the quirky world of ice fishing, check out A Hard-Water World: Ice Fishing and Why We Do It, with photographs by Layne Kennedy and text by Greg Breining.

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Guest blogger Iric Nathanson is the author of the new book Minneapolis in the Twentieth Centry: The Growth of an American City.

In my South Minneapolis neighborhood, the lawn signs are dueling during these final days of the city election campaign.  The red ones are urging a “no” vote on Amendment 168 on November 3, while the blue ones are calling for a “yes” vote on the same measure.  The controversial amendment to the Minneapolis charter abolishes an obscure city agency known as the Board of Estimate and Taxation, which sets the property tax levy for the city of Minneapolis and its  Park and Recreation Board.

Across the river in St. Paul, there are no “yes” and “no” signs because that city does not have a Board of Estimate and Taxation.  There, the city council and the mayor set the tax levy.  Unlike Minneapolis, where the voters elect the members of an independent Park Board, the St. Paul park system functions as just another department of city government.

While they may be known as “twins,” our two central cities are quite different when it comes to their governmental structures. In St. Paul, municipal government is relatively straightforward, with a mayor who oversees the day-to-day operations of city government and a seven-member council that functions mainly in a legislative capacity.

In Minneapolis, the organizational chart in city hall is considerably more complicated.  Here, the mayor and our thirteen-member council have worked out a delicate power-sharing arrangement, while independent agencies like the Board of Estimate and the Park Board function as mini power centers.
 
The current brouhaha over the Board of Estimate and Taxation is the legacy of more than a century of battles over charter reform in Minneapolis. Year after year,  the “no” votes have prevailed at municipal elections as  reformers have tried but failed to overhaul the city’s convoluted structure.

If history is any guide, the “no” votes are likely to prevail again when it comes to Amendment 168 on the Minneapolis election ballot.

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Northern Lights/Southern Cross: Tales from the Other Side of the Worldopens this weekend at the Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio. MinnPost describes the piece as a “cosmic collaboration between artists from the United States and Australia.” Both the play and Kevin’s book The Dog Says How relate his experiences surviving a near-fatal motorcycle accident. The Pioneer Press also reviewed the show.

Check out the 3-Minute Egg interview with Kevin about the show and video of Kevin at Interact Center in Minneapolis. Cathy Wurzer also talked with Kevin about the show on MPR.

Kevin’s newest collection of stories, Kevin Kling’s Holiday Inn, is in stores now. He’ll share stories from the book at the Minneapolis Central Library’s Talk of the Stacks on November 12 and at Common Good Books on November 17.

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Visit us at Rain Taxi’s Twin Cities Book Festival this Saturday October 10th, at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College. The day long literary festival will feature notable writers including Robert Olen Butler, Laurie Moore, Nicholson Baker and Ruth Reichl.

Recent MHS Press and Borealis Books featured on our blog will be available for purchase at a 30% discount. For more information, read the Star Tribune article about the event.

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N. M. Kelby, author of the short story collection, A Travel Guide for Reckless Hearts, will be in the Twin Cities later this week to share her work at Common Good Books, Grand Hand Gallery, Birchbark Books, and The Bookcase in Wayzata. The Star Tribune explains why “it’s fun to have N. M. Kelby’s voice banging around your head.”

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The folks at Hell’s Kitchen in Minneapolis and Duluth invite you to a publication celebration for Damn Good Food: 157 Recipes from Hell’s Kitchen by Mitch Omer and Ann Bauer on Wednesday, September 30 from 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. at the Hell’s Kitchen Minneapolis and Saturday October 3 from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

The celebration will include live music as well as a fantastic 7 course tasting tour of Hell’s Kitchen favorites. The best part? Mitch Omer and co-author Ann Bauer on stage between music sets to regale us with some crazy stories in the cookbook.

Ticket price: Only $25 per person + tax/gratuity. Autographed cookbooks will be available for purchase. Cash bar (with drink specials!) 80 S. 9th Street, downtown Minneapolis.

Don’t wait . . . They anticipate a very fast sellout!
For reservations, send an email to Cookbook800@HellsKitchenInc.com and let them know how many in your party. All requests processed on a first come/first served basis.

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Tomorrow, Friday Sept. 18th at 4:30 p.m. on FM 107 in the Twin Cities, N. M. Kelby, author of A Travel Guide for Reckless Hearts will be a guest on the popular radio show,  Lori & Julia. N. M. is a former broadcast journalist in the area who has since written several widely acclaimed novels and now an intimate and heartwarming collection of short stories. To quote Pulitzer Prize winning author Robert Olen Butler:

“N. M. Kelby has long been one of my favorite writers, and her new story collection, A Travel Guide for Reckless Hearts, is the sweet, pure, hilarious, sneakily profound essence of her. We ache and we laugh: this is the experience of living in the 21st century.”

The Utne Reader Great Writing blog recently began a lively discussion on the future of the short story collection in print and online. To quote N. M. Kelby, “short stories are the new black because they are the perfect read for the digital age!”

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The Minnesota Book Publishers Roundtable is pleased to bring designer Chip Kidd to town for their season opening event. Kidd will be speaking at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design on Wednesday September 16th at 7:00 p.m.

Kristin Tillotson interviewed Kidd in today’s Star Tribune, and tune in to MPR’s Mid-Morning tomorrow (Wed.) to listen to an interview with the renowned designer.

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It is with deep sorrow that we let you know that Will Powers, MHS Press Design & Production Manager, passed away Tuesday afternoon. He was vacationing at a family cabin in Canada with his wife Cheryl when he had a heart attack. Memorial arrangements have not yet been made, but we will post information once we have it. If you would like to make a charitable donation in Will’s name, here are organizations recommended by Will’s family:  Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Twin Cities Jazz Society.

During over 10 years of service at the MHS Press, Will produced beautiful books; he is known as a leader in national design and typographic organizations. He was a well-loved and respected colleague, and we feel his loss profoundly. We at MHS Press have already received hundreds of notes of support which we will send onto Will’s family. If you would like to send your sentiments to Will’s family, please send it to info-mhspress@mnhs.org and we will make sure they receive it.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press also ran a wonderful article about Will today.

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Pamela McClanahan, our director here at the Minnesota Historical Society Press, spoke with Star Tribune reporter Steve Alexander about the future of e-books and our foray into the e-book market. The MHS Press currently has 50 titles available as e-books, and we plan to have another 50 out by the end of the year. The e-books are currently available as Kindle editions or on the Sony Reader.

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