BY TONY BOUZA America has been plunged into riots, pillaging, arsons and killings by the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police. The incident created an explosion whose reverberations radiate to this moment. The event goes to the heart of America’s No. 1 problem. Racism. America…
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN Our times We live in a time in which the lovers of life and the haters of life are pitted against each other and I am nervously waiting to see if the lovers will win. I am a big fan of co-existence and flexibility and nuance and…
BY TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN —Posted on 29 July 2020 Over 148 journalists were attacked by police in the United States between May 28 and June 4, 2020. Yes. I said 148. Yes, by the police. Yes, in the United States. Over 100 of those attacks happened between May 28 and…
BY DAVE TILSEN Dateline: Monday, July 20, Powderhorn Sanctuary, 14th Ave. Front loaders are removing the tents of the homeless campers. Police are forming a line. This is being streamed live by Unicorn Riot, and hundreds of supporters arrive. People are angry. They say the arrestees are Indigenous people on…
BY ED FELIEN The dream is over. The East Powderhorn Sanctuary has been cleared. The campers evacuated. Protesters were arrested and then released. It ended the way it always ends, according to longtime homeless advocates. Some criminal elements start to get violent. The camp becomes unsafe. And the authorities have…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE As we have been doing since March, this week’s focus on St. Paul’s Highland Park will be a geographical guide to services available and businesses open (or not) due to COVID-19. In addition, we will talk a bit about libraries, and a bit about homelessness in…
Michelle Obama’s school nutrition standards upheld It’s a rather fantastic idea, but then there is much fantasy about what the government does. It seems our president has rolled back legislation having to do with school nutrition. A federal court has struck down a 2018 Department of Agriculture rule that reversed…
BY KAY SCHROVEN Shopping carts, clotheslines, outdoor cooking grills, mattresses, blankets, coolers, lawn chairs, backpacks, boxes of diapers, baby strollers piled high with supplies, wheelchairs, bikes, tikes on trikes, people in swimsuits lining up to shower in the facility provided by NECHAMA (the Jewish disaster response organization) and tents of…
BY ED FELIEN Terrance Franklin Jamar Clark Thurman Blevins Travis Jordan TerranceFranklin: The city just agreed to pay $795,000 to the surviving family of Terrance Franklin rather than contest the wrongful death suit against MPD Officer Lucas Peterson. Peterson claimed in his police report that Terrance…
BY DAVID TILSEN In response to the groundswell of action, grief and political pressure, the Minneapolis City Council has finally decided that it must do something about the Minneapolis Police. The City Council has proposed two things. First, the council has committed to do a deep community engagement on what…
BY TONY BOUZA Throughout my involvement in policing—since 1953—I’ve been periodically reminded that every police department harbors a few rotten apples and, if we can only excise them, the entire barrel can be rescued. An attractive notion, but flawed. Those apples are the alpha males that set the tone and…
BY KATHRYN KELLY The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board published the results of their survey for the Hiawatha Golf Course preferred plan. The responses have been compiled to try and quantify the results. This assessment is a best effort considering the vast variety of responses. The top 11 responses were:…
BY STEPHANIE FOX A little more than two months ago, the corner of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street was a small business hub for many who lived in the Powderhorn neighborhood of South Minneapolis. But when a member of the Minneapolis Police Department kept his knee on the neck of…
BY ELINA KOLSTAD I have never appreciated having a garden more than I have this year. In 2020 my garden is a sort of destination in our new socially distant reality, therapy in turbulent times, and supplements groceries from the store, allowing me to stretch out shopping trips a little…
BY AMY BLUMENSHINE Cry, the Beloved Community. It’s really different watching breaking news when it’s your own neighborhood and your own heart that’s breaking. The Southside and my neighborhood, Powderhorn Park, in particular, have been full of heartbreak in recent weeks. We feel in the center of an erupting maelstrom…
