Franchise Opportunities in Minneapolis, MN

Gophers coach Ben Johnson glanced at his bench, hoping to give players rest in the second half of Wednesday's 61-57 loss against Indiana, but he had no scholarship players left to send into the game.

Johnson had entered the game with a Big Ten-minimum seven scholarship players available and finished with only five healthy enough to keep going.

The Gophers still nearly pulled off an upset thanks to Jamison Battle's gutsy play and reserves stepping into bigger roles. Even Battle was injured, dealing with a sore back.

"Regardless, if your back is hurting or not, just trying to play my best when my best is required," said Battle, who scored 20 points. "You can see I felt comfortable out there."

The Gophers (7-12, 1-8 Big Ten) are tied with Nebraska with a Big Ten-leading five players out because of injuries. Leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Garcia (bone bruise) and freshman Pharrel Payne (concussion) will be game-time decisions for Saturday's game at Northwestern.

The Wildcats were on a COVID-19 pause earlier this month, but they've won two straight games and only have one player (Julian Roper) out with an ankle injury.

It can be tough to stay afloat in the Big Ten at full strength in such a deep conference, but teams like the Gophers have been forced to compete shorthanded several times.

"This time of the year most teams aren't 100 percent," Johnson said. "Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game. None of us as much as we want to can control it, so you try not to worry about it."

The Gophers had scholarship players miss a combined 11 games last season because of injuries or sickness. Even if Garcia and Payne return Saturday, the U will already have 11 total games missed this year with half the Big Ten regular season remaining. Freshman Braeden Carrington (leg) could still be out for at least a few more weeks.

The U's missed games don't count forwards Isaiah Ihnen and Parker Fox, sidelined the past two seasons because of knee injuries. On Wednesday night, Garcia, Payne and Carrington joined Ihnen and Fox in street clothes on the Williams Arena bench.

Starter Joshua Ola-Joseph (cramp) and reserve Will Ramberg (leg) ended up sitting as well after playing just seven minutes combined after halftime. That left Battle, Ta'Lon Cooper, Taurus Samuels, Jaden Henley and Treyton Thompson to play almost the entire second half.

Battle carried the offense late with 13 points in the second half. His fourth three-pointer of the game gave the Gophers a one-point lead under two minutes to play.

After suffering a back stinger in the Jan. 16 loss vs. Illinois, Battle was clearly bothered when he was held scoreless for the first time in his career three days later against Purdue at home. He bounced back, putting up 44 points and 10 rebounds combined while sitting just two minutes the next two games, including playing all 40 minutes Wednesday.

"I'm trying to be who I am," said Battle, who missed the first four games this season after foot surgery. "That's something I've shied away from this year. Trying to maybe press the issue or do something I'm not really comfortable doing."

Johnson hopes the Gophers players who are healthy enough to play Saturday against Northwestern can be comfortable and confident, not wasting time or energy thinking about injuries they've had in the past. That includes Battle.

"Don't want him to dwell on it and overthink that," Johnson said. "You want to have as clear a mind as possible when you're out there playing."

For anyone living outside or in a tent this weekend, this latest cold snap is much more than an inconvenience.

It can be life-threatening.

“It’s pretty intense, you know?” declares Damon Applebee, who has experienced homelessness at periods in his life. “What can you say, being out in the cold is being out in the cold.”

Applebee is one of 50 people spending Saturday night at Homeward Bound, a shelter in the Little Earth neighborhood.

A second shelter can hold up to 30 people.

Both facilities are run by the American Indian Community Development Corporation, a Minneapolis non-profit.

“Tonight this will all be full,” explains Homeward Bound manager Mike Forcia. “Every single night here, we are full whenever it gets cold, and we also run the shelter across the street and the same thing there.”

Just across Hiawatha Avenue, next to East Phillips Park, is a small encampment.

Forcia says for some of those living there, Homeward Bound can be a respite when temperatures plummet.

“We do have people who are in the encampments who will run to the shelters before they fill up,” he notes. “The ones who don’t make it, they’re back in the encampment. Now, when it gets really cold, we’ll allow people to come in and sit on this one side, just to warm up. They want something to eat, make sure they get a pair of gloves, and some hand warmers.”

The National Weather Service, which has issued a wind chill advisory for the metro, says overnight wind chills could drop to 25 degrees below zero.

NWS says those conditions could cause frostbite on exposed skin in about 30 minutes.

“It’s pretty nippy out,” Applebee says. “I mean (Homeward Bound) opens their doors here for warm and shelter when it gets like this.”

According to the Homelessness Management Information System, a database used by advocacy groups, more than 7,900 Minnesotans will experience homelessness on any given night.

Of that, nearly 2,200 people are living in Hennepin County, according to the Office to End Homelessness.

Santana Vessels, who’s been staying at Homeward Bound for several months, says that without the shelter he’d be, “back there in the tents.”

Vessels says the shelter has complete bathrooms including showers, a laundry, and separate sleeping facilities for men and women.

“This place is amazing,” he exclaims. “It’s a blessing, saving lives and keeping us warm, feeding us.”

Outside Homeward Bound is a prototype tiny home — part of a larger, more ambitious plan, Forcia says.

The idea by staffers is to build and place 75 of the single-person structures in East Phillips Park.

Forcia says he’s been working to get support from Minneapolis City Council members and several state officials.

He says carpenters in the Native American community have expressed interest in helping out.

But the immediate issue, he says, is to shelter as many people as possible, until this latest cold snap subsides.

“Right now we have an award-winning architect drawing up the plans for a tiny home village in East Phillips Park,” Forcia says. “To me that’s the solution to shut down the encampments here on the south side, and to get those people healed. To get my people healed.”

Resources for those experiencing homelessness in Hennepin County can be found here.

Those of us old enough to remember the discos of the 1980s know the song well: “Won’t you take me to… Funkytown?” It was a worldwide hit from the Minneapolis group, Lipps Inc. and the guy who wrote and recorded it, Steven Greenberg, used the proceeds to launch a new business in the North Loop.

I only know that because I was curious about this 1998 photo of the building we now know as TractorWorks–or the place where Bar La Grassa and Snack Bar are.

First of all, how could they cover up the terra cotta deer heads at the entrance? But anyway, there was a big sign for Designstein over that entryway 25 years ago.

And as you can see from this 2003 profile of Designstein in the Star Tribune, it was a web design firm with big name clients like Hormel, Clairol and 3M–back when many corporations still weren’t quite sure that websites would be valuable marketing tools.

In the early years of Designstein (which started with the name Planet Software), royalties from Funkytown helped fund the business. And Greenberg displayed his gold and platinum records on the walls of his office on Washington Avenue.

Now, good luck getting that song out of your head for the rest of the day!

A reminder: we have several pages of neighborhood history in our Historic North Loop section.

Gotta make a move to a town that’s right for meTown to keep me movin’Keep me groovin’ with some energy

Well, I talk about it, talk about itTalk about it, talk about itTalk about, talk aboutTalk about movin’

Gotta move onGotta move onGotta move on

Won’t you take me toFunkytown?Won’t you take me toFunkytown?Won’t you take me toFunkytown?Won’t you take me toFunkytown?

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Company Name Froggy Hops, LLC Contact Name Ryan Peterson Phone 763-670-5311 Address 1206 155th Ave NW City Andover State MN Postal Code 55304 Country United States Website https://www.froggyhops.com/

COMTEX_423410154/2759/2023-01-27T10:03:07

The Gophers have shown flashes all season, but there is still plenty of room to grow.

Despite struggling to add wins to their record, Gophers men’s basketball is continuing to develop into a promising young team.

There’s no denying the Gophers have struggled this season. With an overall record of 7-12, they’re currently in last place in the Big Ten. While this is a rather unfortunate year for the Gophers, there’s hope on the horizon with five true freshmen, three transfers and a head coach in his second year.

Being a rather new team, they have competed relatively well. Freshman Pharrel Payne leads the team with 20 blocks and transfer Dawson Garcia leads the team in points (14.9 per game) and rebounds (6.3 per game).

After losing to the No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers 61-39 on Jan. 19, head coach Ben Johnson said he is proud of the team for their efforts, but also acknowledged losing takes a mental toll on the athletes, making it difficult to find a rhythm.

“This group doesn’t have quit in them. So now we need to fight when our back is against it,” he said. “It’s such a mental game, and it isn’t easy seeing the ball go in just one time. The inner confidence comes from knowing you put in the time and we just have to stick with it.”

In their last game against Indiana, Minnesota was without Braeden Carrington (leg stress fracture), Pharell Payne (concussion) and Dawson Garcia (bone bruise). Other players were asked to step into roles they haven’t been playing. Johnson commented on his team’s confidence and specifically called out freshman Jaden Henley.

“They played relaxed. They didn’t worry about the play, positive or negative,” he said. “Jaden even played 32 minutes and did a heck of a job. I mean no turnovers, and that was my biggest thing. No turnovers against a team that was trying to climb up in them.”

Johnson said he knew last year he was going to have a whole new team this season, and he’s feeling comfortable heading into next season with this year’s teaching moments.

“We’re almost starting over again. So to be able to go through the good and the bad with a group that you’re going to be able to bring back, all of these are reference points and teaching points,” Johnson said.

With such a young team, the Gophers have time to rebuild and become more competitive in the coming years.

After battling to a four-point loss against Indiana with only seven scholarship players, the Gophers have plenty to build off of. They will soon travel to Evanston, Illinois, where they will take on the Northwestern Wildcats in their next matchup Saturday at 11 a.m.