It’s been fun. It’s been work. It’s been rewarding to see this site grow. It’s been great meeting and hearing from all of y’all. It’s really transformed the way I experience the Twin Cities.

I’ve got some new projects that I’m excited about: cinna.mn and fresh.mn. I hope you’ll check ‘em out.

Thank you.

• The James J Hill Library is on Twitter: @jjhill_library. Blogging, too. Matt the Librarian is doing an awesome job. Interesting insight as to how a business research library works.
• ThriftyLocalHipster’s website is still not operational, but they are putting all the happy hours and various events that they would post if they had a website on Twitter: @localhipster.
• You tell me whether @MPRMemberDrive is as annoying to read as it is to listen to. It does have some quirky behind the scenes stuff. I guess I don’t ever think about what it’s like to sit/work inside a radio studio. And official tweeter Jacquie Fuller (On-Air Fundraising Manager at MPR) has a sense of humor.
• The PiPress folks are using @MNvotes to attract election day votecasting stories. Tweet ‘em your tales of polling place folly/woe/appalledness/crowds/whatever. You could probably tell ‘em how pleasant and stress-free your early voting experience was, too. Use the hashtag #mnvotes. They’ve got some useful tidbits and factoids, too. And a terrible retweet from @MayorRTRybak (because the original was a terrible tweet).
• Jason DeRusha turned me on to Second Act, a store in Eden Prairie that sells discounted fancy TVs. I was perusing their website looking at electronicals that I really have no good reason to buy and I noticed that they are twittering at @secondact. That fact alone made it so much more likely that I would personally shop there. They’ve got some small business behind-the-scenes stuff and the occasional deal. And, apparently, their own fantasy football and baseball leagues. Guess what the prizes are….
• The Link is the latest local non-profit to jump into the social media fray with @thelinkmn. They’re still pretty new (to Twitter), but so far they have some tidbits about non-profits in general, issues specific to their mission (”Our mission is to build a supportive community network that links youth and their families to their inner strength through life skills, education, advocacy, supportive housing, and a dynamic network of social services to transform lives.”), and some things about what people in their organization are actually doing as part of their jobs. If they keep that up, I’d say it’s a great example of helping people to get to know their organization. (via @lisa_ray)
• Speaking of non-profits, the Nonprofits Assistance Fund (@NAFund) has certainly been a leader in using Twitter and teaching other NPs how to do the same.

Sunday, October 26
Solera, 2nd floor
6-11pm
$20 suggested donation

Free beer and hors d’oeuvres, DJs, tarot card readings, and a silent auction and prize raffle. Think gift certificates to fine dining establishments and (and!):

Other silent auction and prize raffle items include a night on the town package from Classic Auto & Limo, tickets and merchandise from the St. Paul Saints, donated pieces from local artists, tons of movie and sports memorabilia and yourself as a character in the upcoming sequel to the Iron Chef America video game.

Open to everyone. You don’t even have to know anybody. Have you ever been upstairs at Solera? It’s nice. It’ll be worth it for the food alone.

You can find more info about the fire, how Tamara and Ryan are doing, and make donations at mnphoenix.wordpress.com.

[facebook event]

The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.

According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.

The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.

The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.

The RNC certainly got more bang for their buck here, with that whole no-sales-tax-on-clothes thing. $75,000 at Neiman Marcus! That’s fancy downtown shopping. Not even at the MOA or the Galleria. Suck it, Bloomington and Edina!

If you want to do some studying and perhaps make up a cheat sheet before you actually go vote, go look up your sample ballot right now: [Hennepin County] [Ramsey County]

If you didn’t vote in September’s primary and still aren’t sure where to vote, you can find your polling place from there, too.

Paving the way for gay marriage in Minnesota

Below the radar, the groundwork is being laid to change the meaning of marriage in Minnesota.

The new “Rights of Unmarried Couples Task Force” of the Minnesota State Bar Association is the latest step in this process.

Here’s how the Bar Association defined the task force’s mission: “In light of the disparity between legal rights and protections available to same-sex couples as compared to different-sex couples,” the task force will “review the current state of Minnesota law and … make recommendations as to desirable changes, if any, in the law to address this disparity.”

“The task force’s goal is to ensure that Minnesota law treats all people equally and with fairness,” said attorney David Ahlvers, a task force co-chairman. “It is not to make recommendations on equal marriage rights for same-sex couples and heterosexual couples.”

I even finished reading it and I do believe my blood pressure did not rise at all. Which is not to say that I agree with her. It’s just that she rehashed an old, tired argument and then drew a ridiculous conclusion. Same ol’, same ol’. Oh, and I avoided all the reader comments.

Looks like the the MSBA assembly voted to create the task force in April of this year and expects to finish staffing it soon as applications to serve on working committees are due today.

There are currently 515 ways in which Minnesota laws discriminate against couples and families (pdf) (start on page 9). Knowing what those are, it’ll be interesting to see what the task force recommends.

Folks are working on it. That makes me feel good.

I’m in funky cold Medina County.

He may not be the first or the last to make that joke, but I’ll go for a little Tone Loc anytime.

Next Tuesday, Anoka Technical College is hosting a symposium on K-14 education for education professionals, parents of students, and business people which I assume means “people who need to hire people with some skillz.” I found this item posted on LinkedIn.

An Opportunity to Administrators, Teachers, Parents, Business People and any one interested in Education.

I invite K-12 Educational Leaders, Business Leaders and others who believe community and technical colleges are a great way to serve students and such people to the 3rd Annual K-14 Symposium, Students as Partners in Revitalizing Education, a Symposium sponsored by ASSET (Alliance for Successful Student Transitions) and Anoka Technical College. An inspiring and innovative program by the students in Minnesota Area which will help dispel the misconception about community and technical colleges….

Who do you know that needs to hear that community and technical colleges are a great way to serve many of our students?

Who do you know that has an outdated view of community and technical colleges?

Who do you know doesn’t realize that community and technical college is a path to high tech/high wage jobs?

Who do you know that doesn’t realize that many community and technical college students go on to 4 year degrees in fields such as engineering?

If you do know some of these policy holders, K-12 educational leaders, business leaders and others, please invite them to the “Third Annual Symposium, Students as Partners in Revitalizing Education.”

Attendance is free and registration is required though. Please contact K-14Symposium@anokatech.edu for registration.

Details of Symposium:
Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Venue: Anoka Technical College, 1355 West Highway 10, Anoka, MN

Lunch provided.

So when you have a complaint, the first thing you do is you blog about it, right? My friend KathyHowe kindly pointed me towards the state law on campaign yard signs.

Some municipalities have ordinances restricting the placement of lawn signs. In a state general election year (even years), these ordinances are overruled by Minnesota Statutes 211B.045 from August 1st until 10 days after the general election, and campaign signs may be posted in any size and number. In municipalities which have no sign ordinance, campaign signs may be posted in any size and number throughout the year.

Additional information on the legal placement of signs may be found in the DOT Letter to Candidates (pdf).

211B.045 NONCOMMERCIAL SIGNS EXEMPTION

In any municipality, whether or not the municipality has an ordinance that regulates the size or number of noncommercial signs, all noncommercial signs of any size may be posted in any number from August 1 in a state general election year until ten days following the state general election.

So display your yard sign proudly. Even though you might not catch the bastard thieves, you can feel whatever you need to feel knowing your display was not illegal.