'Keep St. Paul Boring' slogan calls out neighborhood divisions with a mix of humor and pride

The slogan started as an inside joke, shared between a few dozen hyperactive Twitter users who want to see St. Paul become more walkable, bikeable and lively.

It didn’t stay that way.

Hundreds of people now proudly don “Keep St. Paul Boring” T-shirts. Bumper stickers with the satirical motto are plastered on cars across the city. And Summit Hill resident Nick Hannula — who is credited with coining the phrase — is in search of a blank wall that could sport a Keep St. Paul Boring mural.

“I don’t think St. Paul is actually boring,” Hannula said. “When we say ‘Keep St. Paul Boring’ we are saying we know what St. Paul is, and we embrace it and love it.”

The phrase created in jest has spread far beyond its origins in a city burgeoning with neighborhood debate over development and the capital city’s future identity. An ever-widening circle of social media users tag tweets and Facebook posts with #KSPB, many of them exasperated St. Paulites who use it to mock people’s distress over bicycle lanes, housing density or lively bars and restaurants.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/keep-st-paul-boring-slogan-calls-out-neighborhood-divisions-with-a-mix-of-humor-and-pride/422848833/