Columbia Heights

Civil commitment overhaul moves to Senate floor

Two bills designed to reduce the amount of time mentally ill offenders spend in jail awaiting treatment passed a Senate committee last week, and will now head to the floor. One of the bills would mandate that the Department of Human Services transfer the offender out of jail within 48 hours of a j ... More >>

Alberto Palmer told police he killed Brittany Clardy during postcoital "tussle"

Earlier today, 23-year-old Alberto Palmer was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Brittany Clardy. Police say Clardy, an 18-year-old St. Paul woman, was working as a prostitute at the time of her murder. She was found dead in a vehicle that had been towed to a Columbia ... More >>

Brittany Clardy, woman found dead inside towed vehicle, was a prostitute, police say [UPDATE]

-- UPDATE AT BOTTOM: Original post published 1:47 p.m. -- Authorities have arrested Alberto Palmer, 23, in connection with the death of Brittany Clardy, the 18-year-old St. Paul woman who was found dead inside a car at a Columbia Heights impound lot last month.SEE ALSO: Corey Thomas gets 34 years fo ... More >>

DFL Sen. Barb Goodwin introduces theatrical smoking ban after constituent complains

In control of the House and Senate following November's election, DFLers promised heading into this legislative session to focus on jobs and the economy. But first, they're taking care of the really important stuff -- like banning smoking during theatrical productions.FROM JANUARY: DFL Rep. Tina Lie ... More >>

Hops for Hunger

Twin Cities specialty food stores wow

Chiles, chutneys, and chicken feet make for unique, delicious holiday treats

Cheap eats around the Twin Cities

A dozen different dishes for under $10

Karta offers Thai with a smile

New Northeast spot has a lot to make diners happy, including the prices

Javier's Crew, Mexican heroin ring, busted in Twin Cities

A Mexican heroin ring led by a one-armed drug dealer was broken up last week by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors. Sheriff's deputy Quincy Grabau began investigating the drug ring in September 2010 after a "confidential reliable informant" ... More >>

Royal Orchid reopens in Columbia Heights

Royal Orchid, which formerly had a location in Roseville in addition to its spot in the skyway of downtown Minneapolis, has reopened on Central Avenue in Columbia Heights after being closed in Roseville for the past year and a half. This is a welcome development for the stretch of Central Avenue th ... More >>

Catalina's Mexican fare is fresh and easy on the wallet

Diverse menu items made from scratch

Controversial pro-gun "deadly force" bill approved by Senate, likely headed to Dayton

​Yesterday, with a mostly party-line 40-23 vote, the Minnesota Senate approved the controversial Defense of Dwelling and Person Act, a bill that broadens the rights of property owners to use deadly force. Since the House passed a version of the bill last year, the legislation should soon reach the ... More >>

Catalina's Restaurant in St. Anthony: a first look

Mo PerryCatalina's Restaruant is now open in St. Anthony​ In mid-July, the run down pizza joint in the inauspicious strip mall across from IHOP on 37th and Stinson, where St. Anthony, Columbia Heights, and Northeast Minneapolis converge, gave way to a shiny new storefront. Sensing opportuni ... More >>

Nobody's Perfect: The Films of Billy Wilder

Nobody's Perfect: The Films of Billy Wilder

Now Open in the Best of Hot Dish: June 20-24, 2011

​It's summer, and everyone is throwing their hats in the restaurant ring. Sure, some opt for the small step--a food truck or stand--while others go whole hog (love that phrase) and roll out something big and all-encompassing. This edition of Best of Hot Dish offers a healthy slice of "Now Open" fo ... More >>

Amu's Madras becomes Indian Garden

Amu's Madras replaced by Indian Garden.​Once again, the metro's ground zero for South Indian food has a new name on a not-so-different menu. A few years ago the space was Udupi, then Nala Pak, then, last fall the former Udupi crew, including the head chef, came back to reopen the space as Amu' ... More >>

Top 5 suburban patios you may not know about

Photo fromTria RestaurantSuburbanites need patios too​As a follow-up to yesterday's post about the top 5 under-the-radar restaurant patios in the Twin Cities, we thought we'd show the suburbs a little love today. While places like Maynard's in Excelsior and Grumpy's Bar and Grill in Rosevill ... More >>

Twin Cities south Asian hot spots

Gorkha Palace, Darbar India Grill, and more

'Les Flammes de Paris' to screen at the Heights Theater

​If you cannot afford the trip to Moscow to see Les Flammes de Paris in person at the Bolshoi, do not fret. The Heights Theater is presenting the world-renowned two-part ballet in HD tonight on their popular silver screen for just $15--a far cry from the thousands you might spend trying to get you ... More >>

Matthew Eric Linngren nabbed in Calif. in child porn case

Matthew Eric Linngren's run from the law is over.​Matthew Eric Linngren, a former church youth director convicted of distributing child porn, has been arrested in California. He was one of the notorious 10 included in our Minnesota's Most Wanted list. Although U.S. Marshals originally marvele ... More >>

Amu's Madras Cafe now open

Indian food is back in the former home of Nala Pak!​The "open" sign is lit once more at 4920 Central Ave. in Columbia Heights, former home of the famed Indian eateries Nala Pak, and, before that, Udupi. This time, the new joint, Amu's Madras Cafe, has an antithetical neighbor: Sonic. The buil ... More >>

The Heights presents 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' tonight

​The Heights Theatre in Columbia Heights is, without a doubt, one of the most glamorous movie theaters in Minnesota. And though they regularly show first-run movies at this antique single-screen theater, it's often more exciting to catch one of their second-run films.

Tirso Cruz Gomez attacked Grumpy's bouncer with a knife and was shot dead

​Twenty-four-year-old Tirso Cruz Gomez of Columbia Heights came after the Grumpy's bouncer with a knife early Sunday morning. Now the question is, did the bouncer act with reasonable force when he shot Gomez dead?

Grumpy's bouncer shot Tirso Cruz Gomez dead, police say [UPDATED]

​Updated: Minneapolis police told the Star Tribune late Monday that a bouncer at Grumpy's Bar and Grill shot Tirso Cruz Gomez dead early Sunday morning after Gomez came at the bouncer with a knife. The Hennepin County Medical examiner identified 24-year-old Gomez as the man police found dead ... More >>

I Feel Love, '90s party at 331 Club: A-List Extra

​ This week's bonus A-Lists include free dance performances in a rose garden, local fashion in the Grainbelt Brewery, and the return of the early '90s. 

Jessica L. Howe fumbled for phone in wreck that killed infant

Photo: Samantha CeleraHang up and drive, please​On the morning of March 18, 38-year-old Paul Jett was stopped at the intersection of Central Avenue and 50th Avenue N. in Columbia Heights. In the back seat of his station wagon, his 14-month-old son, Grayson, was strapped into his car seat. ... More >>

Catwalk Cabaret, Rock the Cause mansion party: A-List Extra

​This week is another big one, and the overflow is glorious. In this week's A-List Extra we have awesome MN Fashion parties, a mansion party sure to trip you out, and more. 

Minneapolis City Council keeps streetcars on track

Photo: minnemom​In 1920, streetcar ridership in the Twin Cities was 238 million. Today, the Minnesota Streetcar Museum's Como‑Harriet Streetcar Line and Excelsior Streetcar Line are all that remain of the once mighty system. And Friday, the Minneapolis City Council may have made another mode ... More >>

Kevin Lindee, Chocolatier: Five Questions

The owner of Ganache Truffles explains what the hell he's thinking by bringing thyme-flavored truffles to Sunday's Taste of Chocolate event.

Sonic to open fourth restaurant in Minn.

Sonic is putting down firm Minnesota roots.

Minneapolis Hilton hit with another harassment and retaliation lawsuit

Minneapolis Somali community facing dark web of murders

They came to escape civil war, so why are they killing each other in the streets?

Dancing Ganesha: Lost in Translation

The spot aims to take Indian food upscale, but communication gaps can detract from the tasty cuisine

Up in Smoke

Minnesota's smoking ban is putting local hookah bars out of business

Olive You

Dear Dara takes on the salty, savory, occasionally even burning issue of olive bars in our time

Fall Arts Movies

Indian Exceptionalism

Two new restaurants reinvigorate what was a seriously depressing local Indian food scene

Single Malt: Innumerable Bottles

The rarest single malt scotches in all the world can be found in Minnesota, if you only know where to look

Vegetarian Phoenixes

Perennial pleasers Udupi and Tanpopo are even better following their rebirths

Pushing Tin

Nestled in the middle of the Twin Cities, the tiny trailer-park city of Hilltop (pop. 766) has been getting shoved around since the day it was born

North by Northwest

The Rolling River music and movies festival goes through a divorce

The Big Picture

The Heights Theater's love of cinema's abandoned technologies is larger than life--as is their upcoming 70mm film series

I Hear Mid-America Singing

The season's first snowfall brings out the high culture in all of us

Pattern Recognition

Dosai, Do

Nordeast to Far East

Screening New Heights

The ambitious Heights Theatre stretches to bring upscale cinema to an audience outside of Uptown

On Closer Inspection

Was it Leland Stauch's buildings that Columbia Heights officials were after--or his tenants?

Cat Fight

A shelter loses its funding, its low-cost rental space, and even some cats, which have reportedly been put down at other shelters. But the biggest problem facing Miss Kitty's Cat House is Minneapolis's zoning code.