Crime in the ‘hood?

BY ED FELIEN Cierra Hoffman reported on Nextdoor that while she was in the Speedway at 44th and Lake, “I was standing at the register checking out when the gas station clerk ran outside abruptly and confronted a young woman (in her 20s) with a large black & white patterned…

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Respect the homeless

BY MARGARET HASTINGS Editor’s note: On Monday night, Aug. 3, Margaret Hastings, Carin Peterson and Janet Nye, on behalf of the Decriminalization of Homelessness Working Group, pitched tents in the U.S. Bank Plaza across the street from the Government Center and City Hall. We were frustrated. Frustrated by the horrific…

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The death of Floyd

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…

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Shrinking encampment at Powderhorn Park

BY KAY SCHROVEN Significant concerns about health and safety continue at Powderhorn Park and have led to eviction of the west camp (the east camp having already been evicted between July 22 and 27) per the Park Board Superintendent Alfred Bangoura. Notices of Transition were served July 31, and an…

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Important to see strengths of unsheltered people

I am responding to the article “The Dream Deferred” that was published in the July Riverside edition of Southside Pride. I oppose the negative rhetoric used to describe the lives of people who are unsheltered. The description of homeless people given was only half of the story. The untold story…

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Cargill could save the day

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…

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Go be poor somewhere else!

BY ELINA KOLSTAD Homeless encampments are popping up in more and more Minneapolis Parks. One of these sites was just bulldozed by the city in Powderhorn Park, where the phenomenon began over a month ago. To be clear, the city left one of the two encampments in the park in…

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Study the Portland blueprint

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…

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Sanctuary denied

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…

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The Dream Deferred

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…

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Highland Park and St. Paul in COVID times

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…

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