By: Kelsey Shirriff

Afro Deli and Coffee on the West Bank is known for its diverse food selection, but customers may not be aware of the extent of the diversity behind the counter.

“We have four different languages [spoken here],” said owner Abdirahman Kahin. “Most of our staff have been working in the kitchen for a long time.”

It is commonplace for several different languages to be spoken in restaurants, said Daniel Huff, manager of environmental health for the city of Minneapolis.

“You’ll have a kitchen where you have four different languages spoken, and the common language is everybody’s second language — English,” Huff said. “There can be a lot of things that are lost in translation.”

To address language gaps in restaurant kitchens, Huff cooked up a simpler way to train restaurant employees in food safety standards.

The city teamed up with nonprofit Emergency and Community Health Outreach Minnesota (ECHO), to produce videos detailing proper storage, hygiene and food handling practices in six different languages.

“The idea is [that] seeing it is understanding it, and seeing it in a language you know … makes the message all the more clear,” said Lillian McDonald, executive director of ECHO.

Many chain restaurants have foolproof training manuals and videos premade for staff, but 70 to 80 percent of food establishments in Minneapolis are locally owned, Huff said.

“We in Minneapolis are very fortunate to have all these creative entrepreneurs and culinary artists,” he said. “So projects like this give us tools that we can give entrepreneurs and business owners to work with their own staff.”

At Rare Steak and Sushi, communication had weakened among employees who spoke English, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish.

“Everybody speaks at least a little bit of English,” said general manager Jason Cooney. “But the difficult part for us to certify [is] food safety in a lot of different languages … so this video helps with that.”

The restaurant decided to show some of the videos to the staff, and Cooney said he has seen improvement.

The sheer amount of training kitchen employees need can be overwhelming, McDonald said, because they’re so busy.

The videos cut down on the time employees need to be properly trained and also strengthen the relationship between the city and restaurant owners, she said.

“It engages a relationship between a city inspector and a food business owner,” she said. “And relationships are really key.”

For the Afro Deli, food safety hasn’t been much of an issue since the restaurant’s kitchen is visible to customers, Kahin said.

“We do a lot of self-inspection, because this is what we’re selling,” he said. “We’re selling confidence.”

By: Cody Nelson

The Minnesota Student Association is leading a possibly late attempt to put a bike path along Washington Avenue Southeast from Stadium Village to downtown Minneapolis.

While Metro Transit intends to make parts of Stadium Village bikeable when the Central Corridor light rail is complete in 2014, city officials say the area may not have space for a bike lane.

MSA voted in support of a resolution at its forum Tuesday to partner with the University of Minnesota and City of Minneapolis to create the bike lane.

Haila Maze, a Minneapolis city planner, said the potential for bike capacity was  heavily discussed  during the Central Corridor planning process, but there wasn’t room in some areas — including Stadium Village’s business district, she said.

It may be too late in the construction process to propose anything new along the Central Corridor line, Maze said.

“The engineers need to be talked to early on just to make sure that we’re not proposing something they say is not possible,” she said.

But Phil Kelly, co-director of MSA’s facilities, housing and transit committee, said there’s legally enough space for a bike lane on the Washington Avenue Bridge.

Minneapolis bike lanes are typically at least 5-feet wide, according to the city’s website.

He also said the University’s Parking and Transportation Services told him the bike lane was “feasible,” he said.

The University and City of Minneapolis are responsible for areas across the Mississippi River, said Central Corridor spokeswoman Laura Baenen. Currently, bikers can only go on the upper deck of the Washington Avenue Bridge.

The proposed bike lane, MSA’s resolution said, will provide a safe, efficient way for University students to explore the areas around campus.

But MSA voting member Kyle Kroll said he doesn’t think there’s room for a bikeway on the lower level of the Washington Avenue Bridge and voted against the resolution.

“I don’t think this is a safe measure,” he said.

Construction on a bike lane that would connect the University campus to downtown Minneapolis is already underway but on a different route.

This path would begin near TCF Bank Stadium and continue under Dinkytown along a gravel road until it reaches the Mississippi River, connecting it with Northern Pacific Bridge No. 9, located near the 10th Avenue Bridge and downtown Minneapolis bikeways.

This project is slated to be complete by July 2013.

By: Megan Ryan

This weekend’s Musco Twilight in Iowa City, Iowa, may seem like a typical meet, but Jeri Johnson-Chambers views it as an opportunity.

The senior has a fairly singular goal for her final season with the Gophers — to break the school record in the hammer throw.

“I’m what, 16 feet away?” Johnson-Chambers said. “And it seems like a big jump, but if everything goes right in hammer … it can happen.”

This weekend, Johnson-Chambers said she’s aiming to best her personal record. She threw 184 feet, six inches, at the Alabama Invitational two weeks ago, which moved her to No. 7 on Minnesota’s all-time list.

The school record, set by Liz Alabi in 2007, stands at 199 feet, eight inches. Johnson-Chambers said she’s been eyeing the top spot for a while.

“There is no timeline — I just want to get it done before I graduate,” Johnson-Chambers said. “Or at least make it up there. I want to be in the record books for as long as I can.”

But Johnson-Chambers may have some competition. Sophomore thrower Devin Stanford ranks No. 8 all-time. She threw 181 feet, seven inches at the Arkansas Invitational three weeks ago.

“[The record’s] just been sitting there for years, and I’m like, ‘I want to beat it because I know Devin’s going to do it,’” Johnson-Chambers said. “So I’m like, ‘I’ve got to get it first.’”

Stanford said while she and Johnson-Chambers push each other to throw farther, she still considers Johnson-Chambers a role model.

“She’s somebody who I can, like, model my throw after,” Stanford said. “She’s really good at leading.”

Johnson-Chambers said it fuels the friendly rivalry whenever Stanford throws farther than her during meets.

“If Devin can do it and she’s younger than me, then I can do it,” Johnson-Chambers said. “For me it’s a healthy competition. I don’t think Devin sees it that way, but I do.”

Assistant coach Lynne Anderson said while Johnson-Chambers’ record-breaking goal is “way out there,” she doesn’t doubt her athlete’s ability.

“She’s very capable of doing it,” Anderson said. “She’s hinted at it in warm-ups in a meet and not put it in the competition. So we’re hoping that starting this weekend [she can put it all together].”

By: Dane Mizutani

Both of Minnesota’s tennis teams will host Senior Day during the weekend, but only one has a postseason goal in sight.

The Gophers men are a virtual lock to make the NCAA tournament, but a strong showing this weekend will ensure their spot.

Minnesota’s women’s tennis team, on the other hand, has been riddled with injuries this year and doesn’t have a realistic shot at the postseason.

Both head coaches are approaching the final weekend in a similar fashion.

Men’s coach Geoff Young said he’s focusing on his opponents — Nebraska and Iowa — but is excited for the chance to celebrate the lone senior on his roster.

Rok Bonin will play his final Gophers match at Baseline Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon.

Bonin has emerged as one of the most consistent players on the squad this season and has locked down the No. 1 singles spot. He is 22-10 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten.

The senior has started to hit his stride as of late, which was evident in his 6-0, 6-2 win a week ago that lasted less than an hour. He said he feels as confident as ever on the court.

Young said it will be special to watch Bonin play his final home match.

“He’s been fantastic for us on and off the court,” Young said. “It will be sad, but I’m also excited for him to move on to the next stage in his life.”

Bonin, a native of Slovenia, said his college years melded together, but this weekend will give him a chance to take a step back and remember his entire career.

“It’s going to be more bitter than sweet,” Bonin said. “I had a great four years here, and for it to be over this weekend, it’s going to be pretty sad.”

Though the women’s tennis team doesn’t have much to play for this weekend, head coach Chuck Merzbacher seemed confident his squad will finish on a high note.

“I’ve seen it all season from these guys,” he said. “They don’t quit. It’s easy to stay motivated because we are getting better through our struggles.”

Merzbacher said the fact that Friday is Senior Day will add fuel to the roster.

“We’re excited for it,” he said. “Those two are beloved by their teammates, and the girls want to and are going to play hard for them.”

Merzbacher said this year has been a struggle because the two seniors — Doron Muravnik and Alexa Palen — have missed so much time with injuries.

Muravnik has played in only 15 singles matches this season, and Palen has played in three.

“We missed their leadership on the court a lot this year,” Merzbacher said. “I’m excited to be able to celebrate their careers over the weekend.

By: Nate Gotlieb

The unusual spring weather has been a blessing and a curse for the Gophers women’s rowing team.

Cold weather has limited snowmelt into the Mississippi River, allowing the team to practice on the river almost every day.

“Because the river has opened up and there’s no ice on it, we can do whatever we want,” head coach Wendy Davis said.

In past years, high levels of snowmelt have created unsafe rowing conditions on the Mississippi, forcing the Gophers to practice on nearby lakes, which are often windier.

Though the weather has allowed the team to practice more on the river, it cost them a chance to move into the national rankings last weekend.

The Gophers, who haven’t competed since March 24, were scheduled to race against No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 18 Louisville and unranked Iowa on Lake Macbride in Solon, Iowa. But adverse weather conditions forced race officials to the cancel the meet.

A strong showing at the Iowa meet would’ve vaulted the Gophers into the top 20, Davis said.

The team will try again this weekend against nationally ranked competition at the 19-team Clemson Invitational in Clemson, S.C.

Louisville is among the eight top-20 opponents they will face.

“I think we can beat them,” senior Cassie Drozynski said. “But we don’t have that under our belt yet, whereas before, we would have known.”

Drozynski, a member of the Gophers’ top varsity crew, said the invitational is almost as important as the Big Ten championships next month.

“The mentality and the focus that we bring to this weekend needs to be huge,” she said.

Davis said the top varsity boats are “right where they need to be” in terms of their stroke rating — the number of strokes per minute.

Davis said the team isn’t fully healthy heading into the invitational. With two meets remaining until the Big Ten championships, she said the team should be ready to persevere through minor aches and pains this weekend.

“Now is not the time to have people sitting out,” she said.