The Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival, an annual event now in its 31st year, begins Oct. 23 and runs through Nov. 2.

Most screenings take place at the Minnesota Jewish Community Center’s Sabes Center in St. Louis Park and the Capp Center in St. Paul, but screenings are also scheduled at other venues around Minneapolis including the Riverview Theater, the Main Cinema and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Tickets and showtimes are available at tcjff.eventive.org.

In total, the festival encompasses 47 films telling a range of fictional and true stories. A couple, like Minnesota-born Joy Sela’s debut documentary “The Other,” respond to ongoing conflicts in Israel and Palestinian territories. Many others focus on the wide range of the global Jewish experience, including a biopic on gay Jewish Beatles manager Brian Epstein; a modern Hungarian family drama called “All About the Levkoviches”; and “Days Between Rest,” a documentary short focusing on Grammy-nominated Ugandan Jewish singer Rachel Namadosi. On Halloween, there’s a block of horror shorts, including some in Yiddish.

Alongside Sela, other Minnesota artists and projects are well represented, too. The festival’s lineup includes local filmmaker Michael Greenberg’s short film “The Combination”; “The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & the Art of Survival,” a documentary inspired by a play written by Minnesota playwright Carson Kreitzer; and a brief preview of “Milkweed,” billed as the first feature-length animation created here that’s slated for completion in 2027.

Sela, whose father is Israeli and mother is American, began filming “The Other” in 2017, not expecting that it would become a documentary. Originally, through a nonprofit she founded, she was doing performance art-style interventions aimed at bringing opposing viewpoints in conversation with one another, but when she brought the work to Israel, she quickly realized people were eager to tell stories that went beyond her initial project’s scope. So she began listening, and recording.

Growing up, Sela said, she did not have much contact with Palestinian people or perspectives, but these initial recordings sparked a multiyear journey through Israel, the West Bank and her own sense of “the other.” The ultimate film focuses on personal stories of people like Ahmed Helou from the Gaza Strip and Maoz Inon from Israel who, despite trauma — more than 60 members of Helou’s family in Gaza have been killed; Inon’s parents were both killed during Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — are building these bridges across communities.

For Sela herself, “it took many years to confront the conditioning that comes from growing up on one of these sides and consider how that shaped my understanding,” she said. “The people (in the film) who are doing this courageous work coming into relationship with each other, they’re coming from living in occupation or unequal systems, or from having lost a child, or having experienced or enacted violence and chosen nonviolence now. These are very complicated and difficult, extreme things to go through, but sometimes they bring about the most powerful transformation.”

Sela continued filming through 2024, including following up with all her interviewees amid the current Israel-Hamas war that began Oct. 7, 2023. Since that day, when Hamas also captured approximately 250 Israeli hostages, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed or displaced, sparking worldwide protests. Approximately 67,000 Palestinians and approximately 1,200 Israelis have been killed since Oct. 7, according to United Nations figures.

In such a tense environment, asking people — especially Palestinian women — to share vulnerable stories on camera is not easy, Sela said. She’s built up deep trust over more than half a decade and has worked with her interview subjects to ensure the documentary portrays them authentically without putting them in additional danger, she said.

“We just hope it’s a way to start rehumanizing the conversation and hopefully engaging people in ways we can be constructive together,” she said.

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The last time a school board member in Forest Lake resigned midterm was in February 2003 when Rebecca Otto stepped down after being elected to the Minnesota House.

The board accepted her resignation on March 3, 2003, and then placed an ad in the Forest Lake Times, for three consecutive weeks, asking for résumés from interested applicants. They held a special meeting on April 21, 2003, and interviewed three candidates. Rob Raphael was appointed to fill the remainder of Otto’s term. He took office on May 5, 2003.

The Forest Lake Area School Board plans to follow a different process this time around.

School board member Luke Hagglund, whose term expires on Jan. 4, 2027, has announced plans to resign at 11:59 p.m. Thursday — right after this week’s school board meeting. Hagglund said Tuesday that he is resigning due to “personal reasons.”

By law, Hagglund’s seat must be filled by appointment and then put up for a vote at the next school board election.

According to the agenda for Thursday’s board meeting, the board plans to vote on a resolution appointing Forest Lake resident Scot Doboszenski to fill the remainder of Hagglund’s term. Hagglund said he plans to vote on Doboszenski’s appointment.

“I am a voting member (of the board) up until the time of my resignation,” he said.

The Forest Lake school board, which is split 4-3, has drawn attention because of its recent debates over whether to remove a dress code ban on swastikas, the KKK and the Confederate flag. The board also has urged the state education department and the state governing body for high school athletics to comply with a Trump administration demand to bar transgender athletes from girls sports.

Timing question

An attorney for Education Minnesota and the Forest Lake Education Association is questioning whether Hagglund can legally vote for his own replacement.

State law says that “any vacancy must be filled by board appointment at a regular or special meeting.”

“However, before member Hagglund’s resignation becomes effective, the board will vote on an appointment to fill his vacancy that does not yet exist,” attorney Jonathan Reiner wrote in a letter to School Board Chairman Curt Rebelein on Wednesday. “Further, Hagglund himself could vote on the appointment to fill his vacancy. Voting on an appointment that does not exist and allowing Hagglund to vote on his successor violates the law. … Only remaining members of the board may vote to fill the vacancy.”

If the board “violates the law,” Reiner wrote, the Forest Lake Education Association has authorized Education Minnesota to file a writ of mandamus in Washington County District Court “to order the board to comply with the relevant law and to pursue any other available legal remedies.”

Claire Luger, a member of the Forest Lake Joint Coalition, a group founded to inform residents about policies at the school board level, said state statute is clear.

“A vacancy has to exist in order for it to be filled,” she said. “Given that Luke Hagglund’s vacancy won’t be effective until 11:59 on Thursday, there is no vacancy to fill, right? … The statute is pretty clear that the vacancy has to be a thing first.”

Luger said the addition of the agenda item — which was made public when it was published at 3 p.m. Monday — is “another example of this board’s lack of transparency and unwillingness to play by the rules.”

The Minnesota School Boards Association has a list of steps listed on its website as to the process to follow when there is a vacancy on a school board, Luger said. It includes a sample application form and sample questions to ask potential applicants.

“We pay a lot of money to the (MSBA) for their legal advice,” Luger said. “They have a process that is reflective of the statutes that we’ve got in Minnesota. We just want them to follow the rules.”

The last-minute agenda item means no one has had time to consider applying and the public hasn’t had time to learn about Doboszenski, Luger said. “There’s kind of a whiplash effect happening right now where it’s like, ‘Wait, can they do that? Nope. No they can’t. No, wait, what’s going on and why? And who is this guy?’”

Rich Elliot, president of the Forest Lake Education Association, said the lack of opportunity for public debate or input about Dobszenski’s appointment is concerning.

“This is someone who’s about to have significant input over our students’ education,” Elliot said. “Without any transparency or public input, this seems unnecessarily rushed.”

Retired colonel, businessman

Doboszenski’s appointment “shall be effective 30 days after the adoption of this resolution (Nov. 22, 2025) unless a valid petition to reject the appointee is timely filed and verified with the school district clerk,” the resolution states.

Rebelein said Tuesday that he did not expect Doboszenski’s appointment to be controversial. “He’s not a polarizing individual,” he said.

Doboszenski, a retired U.S. Army colonel, works as a licensed general contractor.

Curt Rebelein (Courtesy photo)

“He’s been working with the schools quite a bit, and he and I have talked a lot about him possibly running for school board,” Rebelein said. “It’s a position he’s been interested in for three or four years, something he’s been looking at really closely. He’s worked a lot one-on-one with independent students, helping them finish high school.”

Doboszenski emailed a release to the Pioneer Press on Wednesday morning announcing his intention to seek appointment to the school board.

“Doboszenski is a local business owner and retired Army colonel,” the release states. “He brings a wealth of experience in leadership, strategic planning and program management. He holds degrees in psychology, information management and national security and resource strategy.”

Said Doboszenski: “I believe in fostering collaboration between educators, families and the community so we can create a safe and nurturing environment where every student can thrive. I look forward to contributing my skills and vision to the board so we can accomplish our shared goals of engaging students and preparing them for the next chapter of life whether that be trades, college, military or immediate employment.”

More time

School board member Gail Theisen said she plans to ask Rebelein to switch the agenda item to the school board’s next main meeting, which is Nov. 6.

“That is the most-watched meeting,” she said. “School Board member Luke Hagglund’s replacement on the board could attend, be interviewed and the process would be more transparent to us and the public. Sharing texts and emails is not transparent, we need a better process.”

Theisen said she had talked with Doboszenski and told him that being appointed on Thursday would not be a favorable way to start his time on the board.

“Our community is watching everything that happens around the board table,” she said. “The board chair knows that this is not a good way to operate. He knows he should have transparency with our community and to not throw out surprises. It isn’t a good way to run our board actions.”

Rebelein said he had Superintendent Steve Massey check with the MSBA for their recommendations regarding a board member’s resignation. Among the options: the board can select somebody and appoint them, or the board can go through an application process, he said.

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“But the application process can be pretty long,” Rebelein said. “It can be arduous. You can end up without somebody in that position for several months. The way that it read, at least to me, was that we were better off having a short selection pool going through that list and then making a proposal to the board.”

If the board cannot come to a consensus on Thursday night, Rebelein said it could vote to go through a full application process.

“But, you know, it could be February or March before we have that position filled,” he said. “So it felt more appropriate just to go with (Doboszenski).”

A 17-year-old from North Oaks is representing Minnesota on the national stage for the Miss Teen USA pageant.

Maisie Adams waves after she was crowned Miss Minnesota Teen USA. (Courtesy of Miss Minnesota Teen USA)

Maisie Adams was crowned Miss Minnesota Teen USA on Aug. 10. She’s competing for Miss Teen USA this week in Reno, Nevada, and if she wins in Thursday’s finals she’ll be the first Minnesotan to do so in the contest.

Being Miss Teen USA is something Adams has been dreaming of since she was 11, she said.

“It means representing more than a crown,” Adams said. “It is about being kind, showing compassion and representing the state I love.”

Her platform, Compassion in Action: A Movement not a Moment, focuses on inclusion and kindness.

Adams volunteers at Best Buddies, a nonprofit organization that works to promote one-on-one friendships and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She has volunteered there for five years promoting inclusion across Minnesota.

Adams once had a speech impediment, she said, so she knows what it’s like to feel excluded.

“Best Buddies gave me a way to turn that into a purpose by helping others feel seen and valued,” Adams said.

Through Best Buddies, she met Mikayla Holmgren, the first woman with Down syndrome to compete in Miss Minnesota USA. 

Mikayla Holmgren, left, and Maisie Adams connected through Best Buddies. (Courtesy of Miss Minnesota Teen USA)

They instantly connected over their love for pageantry and fashion, Adams said.

“From Mikayla, I have learned that joy is contagious and confidence comes from being unapologetically yourself,” Adams said.

Adams and Holmgren raised $41,000 in 2024 during a six-week campaign for Best Buddies. They also work together on an inclusive fashion show called Dreaming Big Without Limits.

“Seeing the audience rise to their feet for every model, many of them with disabilities, was unforgettable,” Adams said, recounting one of her favorite memories with Holmgren.

The 7th annual fashion show is happening in Stillwater the same night as the Miss Teen USA pageant in Reno. For more information and tickets, visit dreambigwithoutlimits.com. 

The Miss Teen USA finals begin at 7 p.m. Central Time on Thursday. The competition can be livestreamed at thenextmissusa.com for $22.99.

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A “fall refresh” is how 89.3 The Current is describing a series of recent changes, which include ending the Saturday night all-request show Radio Free Current and the Local Current, Purple Current and Rock the Cradle streams. At the same time, longtime DJs Barb Abney and Bill DeVille will pick up more airtime on the Minnesota Public Radio station.

The changes are due to a number of factors, including federal funding cuts to public media and a shift in listener habits due to streaming services, said program director Lindsay Kimball.

“I think now is a good time to make these changes that we’ve kind of been sitting on,” Kimball said. “So all these little nudges have kind of come together.”

Here’s a look at what’s going down.

Thursdays

Producers at The Current have started an on-air new album listening party at 9 p.m. Thursdays, two hours before those records go live on streaming services. Pre-recorded messages from the artists behind the records air between songs.

“Some of the artists will set up every song and tell us a story or other information about it,” Kimball said. “A lot of times you get this deeper context that helps you really understand an album. And the cool thing is, you’re hearing it for the first time, but you’re not just hearing it for the first time. You’re hearing it for the first time presented to you by the artist.”

Neko Case, Big Thief, Polica, Mumford and Sons, Bon Iver, the Head and the Heart and Avett Brothers are among the acts who have participated. Brandi Carlile is on the schedule this week. An abbreviated version airs at 8:30 a.m. Fridays.

Saturdays

Sheroes Radio, a weekly show amplifying diverse female voices hosted by Carmel Holt, will now air an hour earlier, at 6 a.m.

The 7 a.m. hour will now feature DJ Jake Rudh’s Transmission. The weekly post-punk, new wave and indie show previously aired at 10 p.m. Thursdays. Two hours of the retro rock program Teenage Kicks follow.

“Weekend mornings are actually pretty strong,” Kimball said. “Weekends in general are pretty strong. If we’re putting a lot of work into these shows we’re thinking about when’s a good place (to air them).”

Barb Abney’s show “Radio Free Current” has been discontinued. (Courtesy of Barb Abney)

Abney’s final Radio Free Current aired over the weekend, but she’ll still host from 7 to 10 p.m. She’s also picked up a new shift, from 9 p.m. to midnight on Sundays.

Radio Free Current was one of the station’s oldest specialty shows and began as an annual event, Kimball said. After Twitter launched in 2006, it opened a new avenue to take requests and Radio Free Current went weekly. This was years before Spotify and other streaming services took off.

“At that time, if you wanted to hear a song, maybe you downloaded it on iTunes. Or you could request it and there was definitely a space for that. That’s one of the reasons why that show has been so awesome and fun. But it’s become less special, because, for the most part, we all have access to every song at our fingertips.

“The other thing is, I’m thinking about my staff. Barb knows so much about music and I felt like I haven’t been able to give her the opportunity to schedule her own music and then just be herself on the air. She tells stories about these artists, these stories about the songs, and really, leans into what she does best.”

Sanni Brown’s classic hip-hop and R&B show The Message will now air at 10 p.m. followed by an hour of Carbon Sound, the station’s hip-hop and R&B program.

Sundays

Bill DeVille’s United States of Americana — which focuses on folk, alt-country and similar genres — is gaining an hour and now airs from 7 to 10 a.m. Sundays.

In January, The Current will launch a new 6 a.m. show focused on emerging country singer/songwriters.

“It’s going to lean into the genre of country that’s not on radio,” Kimball said. “It’s the stuff that’s blowing up on streaming and selling tickets everywhere. It’s singer/songwriter and country stuff that’s not pop country, not mainstream country. It doesn’t fit on United States of Americana and it’s not getting played on (local country station) K102.”

Streaming

The Local Current (artists from the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota), Purple Current (all things Prince) and Rock the Cradle (children’s music) streams will conclude at the end of October.

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“We’ve had those around for quite a while,” Kimball said. “As we think about how we prioritize where we’re putting our effort and what new streams that we’re working on, we also have to ask what are we going to stop so we have capacity to launch some new things. I would say music discovery is probably our biggest thing. We want to do streams that focus on seasonal components and streams that align with celebrating music and music discovery.”

To that end, the station launched a Halloween stream earlier this month and a Holiday stream will follow in November. They join the Current’s live stream, a 20th anniversary stream and full streams of Teenage Kicks and Carbon Sound.

The station also offers a Latin music stream (Ritmofonica) and one focused on amplifying women in music (The Siren).