Welcome to our weekly newsletter. On Fridays, we share things we've published, popular links from our daily newsletter, and a curation of stuff to do over the weekend.

Here's a roundup of what we published this week

Southwest Voices got the chance to ride along with a water quality tester with the Parks & Rec department to see how our beach water is tested. We ended up knee deep in water.

In education news, Melissa Whitler wrote a story about the historical context of the Justice Watch lawsuit filed against Minneapolis Public Schools over protecting teachers of color from layoffs. The district first implemented protections for teachers of color back in 1978. Melissa alsocovered the school board's Committee of the Whole meeting this week. Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox led the meeting with presentations from administration and numerous principals about literacy programs, trainings, and individual school practices to create community.

Anna Koenning wrote about her experience looking for apartments in Whittier and Stevens Square-Loring Heights.

We published another round of reader comments, which we always appreciate getting.

Links that our daily subscribers clicked on a lot this week

Readers were interested in the new THC ice cream at Bebe Zito. The THC gummies in the ice cream are from Cultivated CBD, a Minneapolis-based and Black-owned business. Bebe Zito partnered with Cultivated CBD to "create awareness around the injustices surrounding Black lives and cannabis."

A fun photo of Lake Harriet beach from 1971.

Racket confirmed that Loon Deli is closing at the end of the month but the smoke shop will remain open.

Readers dug into Minnesota Reformer's piece on policing downtown Minneapolis.

OUT & ABOUT 🏖️

Our events calendar is filled with unique events happening around town. You can submit events to be added to our calendar here. If you subscribe to the calendar, the events go straight to your personal calendar. Or you can add just the events you like.  🤯

Friday
Stray Gray Duck performs on the Icehouse patio during dinner tonight. You can reserve a table for $15 and enjoy dinner and drinks while they play.

It's Elvis Costello night at Driftwood Char Bar.

Granada's Latin Social Dance night features La Clave Orquesta, a Twin Cities-based, 12-piece band bringing music from the Latin American/Spanish-speaking regions. Dancing starts at 9:30 p.m.

R&B artist Cariah Brinaé plays their second show ever at the Uptown VFW at 11 p.m.

Saturday
Cornbread Harris, jazz legend and father of Jimmy Jam, performs at Icehouse for brunch. If you haven't seen him perform, now is the time.

Kavyesh Kaviraj, a pianist, composer and arranger from India, performs during dinner on the patio at Icehouse.

It's Wicked Saturday with DJ FUJUN at Pimento. Music starts at 6 p.m. and goes all night.

Papa Bleu performs at Williams starting at 8 p.m.

If you are looking to dance to synth-pop from the 80s, check out Transmission, which is back at the Uptown VFW.

Sunday
Jazz-inspired singer-songwriter Brett Studer performs a vibrant mix of jazzy tunes, singable covers, and compelling originals at Granada Theater starting at 6 pm.