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Cheers to the life of Toni Pierce-Sands
The Minneapolis-born artist co-founded TU Dance Center in the Twin Cities and was a featured soloist with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. She appeared in three signature Ailey works, including “Revelations,” an extraordinary accomplishment in its own right. She also spent two decades teaching at the University of Minnesota and taught at Macalester College, sharing her gifts and talents with generations of hometown students and audiences. Her life is a reminder of the richness of the opportunities to see, learn and perhaps even participate in world-class art without leaving home.
Jeers to Jonathan Weinhagen
The former Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce CEO admitted in federal court to stealing more than $200,000 from his former employer. Weinhagen now awaits federal sentencing and is expected to serve more than two but less than three years in prison. The ex-CEO was until recently also an elected member of the Mounds View school board. For years Weinhagen held multiple positions of public trust and was a prominent figure around town. It was a facade as Weinhagen was living a double life. He reclaimed for personal use a $30,000 chamber donation to Crime Stoppers. The chamber had donated to a reward fund in the hunt for suspects in the shootings of three children in 2021. Weinhagen’s sentence ought to reflect his long-running scheme and grotesque abuse of trust that costs us all in lost confidence.
Cheers to keeping food out of landfills
Tom Polich and everyone who works with him are doing the unpredictable work of rescuing rejected food and redirecting it to food banks on tight deadlines. Polich’s in his first year as the Mankato-based regional food rescue coordinator with the Region Nine Development Commission. When the call comes to rescue food, usually because someone has ordered too much, Polich has to act quickly to find a willing recipient who can use it. He operates on a tight deadline with a lot of logistical ground to cover so the food can get to those in need. Rescues range from 50 hams and bags of Caesar salad to 3,000 pounds of chicken. Polich calculated that he and his colleagues have saved 30 tons of food since February. It’s righteous, nerve-fraying work for a great cause, so now we publicly thank these everyday heroes.
Jeers to carbon monoxide poisoning
The silent killer recently claimed the life of Claude Matula’s brother-in-law and best friend, Glen Feilen, 79, of Tulsa, Okla. Matula, who lives in Comstock in western Wisconsin, survived because his wife, Linda, was outdoors walking the dogs and was able to call 911. Matula was rushed to HCMC and placed in a lifesaving hyperbaric chamber. Now we should all heed Matula’s unvarnished warning. “The whole damn thing about [CO] is that it is tasteless, odorless and you can’t see or feel it. It just creeps up and kills you,” he said. “If [they] don’t think they need [a detector] they are the biggest fool in the world.” Take this as a sign to buy a new detector or two or three.
Cheers to holiday cheer
Sun Country Airlines and Make-A-Wish Minnesota made their 18th “Trip to the North Pole” at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday. Some 50 Make-A-Wish kids and their families will board a plane at Terminal 2 then taxi to another gate decked out to look like Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole. Awaiting the kids are cops, firefighters and Sun Country employees decked out in festive attire. The kids get gifts and a chance to chat with Santa before boarding for the return taxi to their gate of origin. It’s one of many events that make MSP festive at holiday time. Here’s to safe travels and a memorable afternoon for all the kids.
Jeers to Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Eagan-based Blue Cross, the state’s largest Medicare insurer, removed the popular YMCA and Life Time options from the SilverSneakers fitness program last month. Some 50 protesters went to Blue Cross headquarters to lament the loss of the valuable classes, swimming pools and social connections they’ve found for years at the Ys and Life Time clubs. Whatever cash Blue Cross is saving with the cuts, it’s a pound-foolish pittance and a major bummer for the seniors who kept up their health and friendships at quality gyms. What an utterly heartless and shortsighted move by Blue Cross.
