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 ED FELIEN They’ve pretty clearly laid out their battle plan for the next months leading to the election. A sympathetic police force will say it can’t keep order and protect federal buildings and monuments, and we’ll have to rely on federal assistance. Erik Prince is coordinating the operations. He’s the one recruiting…
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 DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Compared to the parts of South Minneapolis I usually frequent, the area around Lake Nokomis and southward into Richfield looks placid and untouched. I’m sure there is trauma there too, but at least there weren’t as many fires or as much looting. If you get to…
The memories and questions of history The title of the book is provocative: “To End All Wars,” and the accolades found on the book’s cover from other writers convinced me I should read it. I didn’t read it all in one day, but I tried. I thought it might be…
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 DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I encountered the above description of this time of this year and I … couldn’t really do better, so I’m “borrowing” it. Actually, things look a lot more normal on Cedar Avenue than most places in South Minneapolis, although nowhere is immune to the changes. Which…
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 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 ED FELIEN I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, but there are some concrete things you can do to help end homelessness and take some of the pressure off the encampment at the Powderhorn Sanctuary. Hennepin County is buying hotels for the homeless. You can do that,…
BY ED FELIEN Last week I sent the following email to Commissioners Angela Conley and Marion Greene, with a copy to David Hewitt, Office to End Homelessness, Director: Thank you for the extraordinary work you are doing in finding homes for the homeless in our community. Purchasing hotels for the…
