not sure if anyone is checking this sticky anymore, but i just remembered another good MINNEAPOLIS resource (caps for easy scanning), the Grease Pit.

as a caveat, I should mention that going to the Grease Pit is somewhere beteween dumpster diving and going to a "real" shop, but they have tools and workstands and they'll let you come in and wrench around and maybe find some free or cheap used platform pedals or whatever. here's the address and info:

http://home.mn.rr.com/collectivecycle/
504 cedar, west bank, minneapolis. they're in the basement of the bedlam theater, kind of set back near those ugly tall apartments that everyone has a funny name for ("crack stacks," "ghetto in the sky," etc.).

i guess the only thing is that often the help will assume you know what you're doing, so if you don't, like i often don't, it's best to tell someone right off the bat so they can help you. otherwise they'll just leave you to flounder.