Grand Avenue St. Paul in the 2020 Weirds

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Similar to Highland Park, the Grand Avenue environs of St. Paul were less affected by the property violence associated with the uprisings about Justice for George Floyd. But not totally unaffected. One of our featured businesses had their much-anticipated reopening delayed because their windows were smashed…

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Powderhorn Safety Collective on alert!!

BY NATHAN HOUSE If you live in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood, you may have recently seen people walking or biking in the streets in high resolution vests in the early morning or late night. These are volunteers of Powderhorn Safety Collective (PSC), a group of neighbors committed to alternative methods…

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Police reform?

BY ED FELIEN Council Member Phillipe Cunningham was quoted in a recent article in The New Yorker: “No one could say that we didn’t try reform. We tried every kind of reform.” I phoned his office. No one was there. I left a message: You say you’ve tried everything? How…

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Not a Happy Birthday for Travis Jordan

BY JESS SUNDIN, AS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN FIGHT BACK NEWS Hundreds of protesters rallied outside the Minneapolis police’s 4th Precinct in North Minneapolis, July 31, to demand justice for Travis Jordan, on what should have been his 38th birthday. On Nov. 9, 2018, Travis Jordan was shot and killed by…

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Lyndale Avenue South in the 2020 Weirds

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE Lyndale Avenue South seems to be doing pretty well, all things considered. Lyndale is a long avenue, stretching from Brooklyn Center to Bloomington (the city, not the avenue). We are focusing on the segment from Franklin Avenue southward to about 60th Street. I found myself being…

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Shrinking sanctuary encampment at Powderhorn Park?

BY KAY SCHROVEN What’s happening with the west encampment in the park? It’s been nearly two weeks since MAD DADS issued 65 Notices to Transition per the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s (MPRB) Resolution 2020-267 (requiring permits, limiting parks and numbers of tents in a park, etc.). There are varying…

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Republican dirty tricks

BY OLIVER STEINBERG, GRASSROOTS – LEGALIZE CANNABIS CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE Most elections only involve Republican and Democratic party candidates (in Minnesota, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, or DFL). If other parties’ candidates appear on the ballot, it’s by submitting nominating petitions signed by thousands of voters. A tough assignment! However, if…

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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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