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On Saturday, April 7, a group of Occupados set up tents in Peavey Plaza. The police came and told them to take the tents down. They did and marched to Loring Park. They joined other Occupados at Loring Park and then marched up the Nicollet Mall. The police broke up their march and told them to move to the sidewalk. They did, but the police grabbed 12 of the demonstrators, many from the sidewalk, slammed them to the ground and arrested them. A KSTP cameraman was assaulted and had his camera thrown to the pavement and broken. The mayor had no comment on the police actions. Photo by Occupymn
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The city and the state abolish civilian oversight of the police
BY MICHELLE GROSS, COMMUNITIES UNITED AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY
On Friday, April 6, Governor Mark Dayton signed into law SF1981, a
really terrible bill that guts community oversight of police. This law was pushed by the Minneapolis Police Federation, ever concerned
about the community’s access to complaint data and the potential that a good police chief might actually discipline some of their rogue
members. After we won our lawsuit opening up access to the data, they had to figure out another way to shut things down, and it’s a damned
shame that Dayton helped them. In a signing statement Dayton said “... serious concerns have been expressed about the Minneapolis
Civilian Review Authority, prompting the city to begin its own review.” Too bad this bill, which essentially guts the Civilian Review Authority, does absolutely nothing to improve the situation.
The city claims to have opposed the bill but did precious little to stop it.
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What is that smell from City Hall?
BY ED FELIEN
Whilst rank corruption, mining all within, infects unseen … —Hamlet
March went out like a lion for Minnesota. Not the weather. But the angry claw of a report on the potential for corruption in Minnesota politics that tore holes in the cloak of our smug satisfaction with our reputation for respectability.
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America’s police are out of control
BY TONY BOUZA
What can possibly justify so sweeping an assertion?
I will try.
I started in policing on 1/1/53 in the NYPD, rose, over 24 years, to command Bronx forces and then served three as #2 in the Transit Police. This was followed by nine years as chief in Minneapolis.
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Stadium meeting and Rybak Dancing with the Stars
There was a community meeting Tuesday, April 10, at the Nokomis Recreation Center, hosted by Mayor Rybak, to explain his proposal for Minneapolis funding of a Vikings Stadium. Charley Underwood made the following observations:
“Immediately striking was the disproportionate number of men compared to women. I counted 35 women to 94 men. The proportion was approximately three men for each woman.
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The big fat truth
BY RAINA GOLDSTEIN
BUNNAG
 Almost every day I hear people talking about how they need to cut out fat from their diet so they can lose weight. People associate the word fat with gaining weight or looking unhealthy. In reality, dietary fat keeps us healthy in many ways and is an essential for a variety of body functions. I consulted with Sharon Lehrman, a registered dietitian in Minneapolis and owner of Nutrition, Health, and Wellness, to provide you with the real deal on fats.
It’s a common belief that we gain fat by eating fattening foods. It sounds like it makes sense, but that’s not actually how it works. People gain weight by consuming more calories than they burn. So no matter where your calories are coming from, you will gain weight if you don’t burn them off.
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The hungry insurgent
BY CHARLEY UNDERWOOD
Frankly, Mayor R.T. Rybak and I could not disgree more about the economic future of Minneapolis. He apparently views a massive public subsidy of a billion-dollar football stadium as insignificant compared to the tsunami of wealth coming our way. What I see are rising taxes, underwater mortgages, increasing gas and oil prices, and continuing economic instability. I would certainly prioritize an investment in future food security over a 30-year subsidy for a New Jersey billionaire’s sports palace.
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Who can the U.S. military legally
kill when not engaged in a war?
BY POLLY MANN
In The New York Times of March 6, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. claimed that it is lawful for the government to kill American citizens if officials deem them to be operational leaders of Al Qaeda planning attacks on the United States, and if capturing them alive is not feasible.
My oh my.
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No Pie Charts! Only Pies! Annual Meeting, Pie Potluck and Director Elections
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2012 • 6:00–8:00PM
Join the Longfellow Comm-unity Council for its annual meeting and board elections! Bring a pie to share, receive updates on what’s happening in Longfellow, network at our resource fair and elect board members. Participate in a drawing and win a prize! Receive one ticket for each non-perishable food item that you bring for the Minnehaha Food Shelf. Limit 10 tickets per person, but please bring as much as you are able to donate. Childcare is available so bring the whole family! For more information write to Joanna at
joanna@longfellow-.org; or call 722-4529, ext. 2.
At the Minnehaha Academy North Campus, 3100 W. River Pkwy
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School reform covers many facets of education
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Bernadeia H. Johnson, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools |
As leaders of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), we are often surprised but pleased by the number of people who fervently follow the ebb and flow of teacher contract talks. We need more people paying attention to the critical issues pertaining to public education in our country. We commend the intelligent public discourse on these issues and we feel it is important that the commitment and enthusiasm people have for this work continue. Now is the time when the systems, the people and the passion are aligned. Knowledgeable individuals can only help us in our work to make the necessary changes to state and local policies that lead to practices that yield positive outcomes for the city’s youth.
While reading articles, blog posts and editorials, we sometimes wonder if people truly understand the complexities of our work. Education reform: what does that really mean? It is so much more than making adjustments to the teachers’ contract.
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April
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Midtown Farmers’ Market Opens
The big day is Saturday, May 5, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lake St. & 22nd Ave. S.
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April 2012 
