Marjorie Otto

courtesy of Ramsey County The Rush Line bus rapid transit project will run between downtown St. Paul and White Bear Lake, using buses on dedicated lanes. A few stops — at Cook Avenue and Buerkle Road — were added following community input over the past few months.

Courtesy of the City of St. Paul Both seats for East Side St. Paul City Council wards 6 and 7 are up for election this year. Ward 6 will have a guaranteed new face following former council member Dan Bostrom’s resignation and retirement. In Ward 7, incumbent council member Jane Prince and community organizer Mary Anne Quiroz have announced their intentions to run.

courtesy of Jane Prince The East Side Freedom Library held a community conversation about murals in St. Paul City Hall on Jan. 10. The murals have raised concerns for a number of years due to their depiction of African American and indigenous peoples in relation to white men. More recently, residents have wondered if the murals should continue to be on display in what is considered a democratic space.

Sheldon Johnson

courtesy of the Sanneh Foundation The Sanneh Foundation, which manages Conway Recreation Center, is planning to make a series of outdoor renovations at the center during 2019. Planned upgrades include new LED lighting, installation of 250,000 square feet of turf and fencing to keep kids and equipment off the busy nearby streets.

Marjorie Otto/Review Chobe National Park, located in northern Botswana, has the largest elephant population in the world, an estimated 50,000.

Marjorie Otto/Review Most of Marjorie Otto’s holiday ornaments hold special memories or meanings, like the tiny red mailbox her grandma gave her years ago with a note she left inside it. Though her grandmother passed away years ago, Otto still takes the note out every year to read it.