Hope your weekend was splendid, gang. Here’s a quick wrap-up of some of the top stories from around the University of Minnesota and metro over the last two days:
*The Midtown Greenway, a proposed one-mile bicycle path that would go through downtown, has some officials balking at its estimated $9.2 million price tag, the Star Tribune reports. The route would allow Minneapolis bikers to commute through the city without crossing a single street, but the sour economy has some leery, like Ron Werner, a former city Park Board employee, who said, "In these economic times, it’s like, to me it’s like the bridge to nowhere almost."
CORRECTION:My apologies here folks, but I did wrongly identify the name of the trail, as the reader noted below. The trail in question here is the Cedar Lake Trail. The Midtown Greenway was referenced in the article as a point of comparison Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Skyler.
*You’ve probably seen some of the coverage of Verne Gagne, the famous former University of Minnesota wrestler who attacked a fellow resident at a retirement home, eventually leading to the man’s death. MinnPost followed that with an interesting article on the mental and physical health of former athletes and how Alzheimer’s might not be to blame. Instead, years of blows to the head and body could lead to repeated concussions and, eventually, brain damage. Speculation is that Gagne’s outburst at the retirement home may be a result of years of beating he took as a wrestler.
*Tonight is Oscar night, so get your popcorn ready if you’re a movie buff. Minneapolis’ own David Carr, now an entertainment blogger for the New York Times, has some interesting Oscar’s coverage, as well as his pick for best picture–"Slumdog Millionaire."