BY CAM GORDON On Feb. 2, the City Council received a report on police department staffing that recommends steps the mayor and Council could take to improve public safety in Minneapolis. The $170,000 study grew out of a City Council directive from 2019 and its results are reminiscent of the…
BY TONY BOUZA The Greeks were the finest expression of civilization ever. Why? Because they made their citizens better humans. How? By cautioning against hubris (pride) and avoiding hamartia (the critical flaw). The antidote? Merciless introspection. Oedipus was the toughest, smartest, most admirable—yet, came a cropper, wandering blindly in the…
BY ALLISTER ROSE “We have evidence that extremist agitators were hijacking protests to pursue their own separate and violent agendas.” – William Barr, The Wall Street Journal, 7/28/20 The video In the spring of 2020 we saw the images: a tall, white man dressed in black, wearing a gas mask,…
A statement by Robin Wonsley Worlobah, Council Member from Ward 2, on the MPD killing of Amir Locke: I spent the afternoon listening to the grieving family of Amir Locke and local community leaders. I heard justified anger. Most of all, I heard the pain, frustration, and sadness that we…
BY ED FELIEN Just before sunrise on Feb. 2, the MPD SWAT team bursts into a downtown apartment: “Police!” “Search warrant!” “Get on the ground!” Amir Locke is asleep on a couch, under a blanket. They kick the couch. Amir gets up, turns to the officers. He is holding a…
BY JOHN STUART Quaker social justice values are embodied in “Testimonies,” adherence to peace, equality, community and integrity. A year ago, members of the Minneapolis Friends Meeting began to talk about the policing of our city in the light of these Testimonies. Too often, we had seen violence in policing.…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Why keep small and unusual pets? Not everyone can keep a dog or a cat in their living space. For reasons ranging from disabilities to allergies to rules for renters, sometimes if one wants an animal companion, they have to look for other alternatives. I have…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE The outlook for the third summer of COVID In 2020, virtual summer camps were born. But when we published our piece on summer camps in early March 2020, we had no idea what was to come. And neither did the organizations offering summer camps, many of…
BY STEPHANIE FOX Think of the Parkway Theater’s monthly event, “SCREAM it off SCREEN,” as a combination of the Gong Show and a night at The Rocky Horror Picture Show. But more fun. Unlike Rocky Horror, you don’t need be part of the club or know all the lines, and…
BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Resisting diet culture If you feel the alluring pull for a dietary “renewal” every January and have a vague feeling that you’re being played, you need to read this excellent piece by dietitian Christy Harrison in the Eater – “How to Avoid the shameless creep of…
On a very cold Saturday afternoon on Feb. 5, 70 people joined a Minneapolis protest to speak out to say, “No War with Russia.” A statement issued by organizers read, in part, “Following the Biden administration’s announcement that 3,000 U.S. troops are being moved to Eastern Europe, people will be…
BY DAVID TILSEN Clyde Bellecourt Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun, “Thunder Before the Storm,” left his mortal body on the evening of Jan. 11, 2022. He left behind an Indian community, a city, and a world that is changed for the better because of his work and sacrifice. A man of principle, a man…
BY DAVID TILSEN Sixteen urban Indian organizations recently announced they are seeking private and public support to construct buildings to increase the capacity of organizations dealing with education, health care, affordable housing and Native culture. The junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers was originally an important intersection of commerce…
BY CAM GORDON On Jan. 10, the new Minneapolis City Council met for the first time, elected new leadership and approved new committee assignments. It also revealed an interesting council divide. While the historic election of former vice president and Ward 8 council member Andrea Jenkins as the new council…
This letter is written in response to the statement that Walz running for governor in 2022 would be helpful to Democrats. Many Minnesotans will not vote for Walz again. I’ll first note the many voters he lost after his state police froze 640+ anti-police brutality protestors that cold November night…
