Susan Lenfestey

From cut-and-paste to digital layouts, a cofounder looks back on 50 years of neighborhood journalism and community building.

Why showing up for Minnesota’s February caucuses matters—and how the Luminary Loppet offers a perfect post-caucus community celebration.

Residents notice drastic pruning of Summit Avenue trees and ask whether power line protection had to come at such a cost.

The fall 2025 city election was rough. For a city that so often agrees on the issues, Minneapolis still found a way to turn shared values into a full-contact sport. Maybe this is a good moment to pause, take a breath and consider a few ways we might do better next time.

For nearly fifty years, the Hill & Lake Press has been stitching our corner of Minneapolis together with stories, snapshots and the kind of local reporting you can’t get anywhere else. It all runs on the magic of volunteers and donors, and your support keeps this scrappy little paper going strong, brings our digital archives to life and makes sure we can keep celebrating the place we call home.

"What a lift to the spirits it is to see lights strung in the trees at Franklin and Hennepin and all along the avenue that endured the two-year onslaught of construction. What a gift that downtown’s holiday lights now extend all the way to Uptown, a sign of unity and renewal..."

As another chaotic election season collides with an unseasonably warm fall, gratitude feels complicated. Between politics, climate change and human suffering, maybe the best we can do this Thanksgiving is find small moments of hope — and wish for snow.