No to engagement—Yes to shared power

BY ARTHUR HIMMELMAN Engagement invites people to the table Shared power gets people what they want to eat A wall poster during the mass uprising in France in 1968 read, “You participate, she participates, I participate, they decide.” Malcolm X: “Just because you invite me to the table does not…

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resistance persistence: Resist even more

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE There was a flurry of interesting and useful events in December, but I was not able to squeeze a resistance persistence article into the paper to tell you of them. The one that still sticks with me was put on by an organization called No More…

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Toxic greenwashing

BY ELINA KOLSTAD The Minneapolis 2040 Plan is not just an example of government greenwashing; its supporters have also created a toxic atmosphere in our city that negatively impacts future efforts to achieve true climate justice. I don’t own a car. My husband and I sold our car three years…

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Dealing might accomplish goals of war

BY RICHARD TAYLOR In 2017, Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury.” Kim Jong-un promised to “tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire.” By June 2018, they were holding hands. What happened? Events followed Trump’s default negotiating style set down long before he became president. He tells us…

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A helping hand

AUTUMN CHMIELEWSKI, MHA, MA, SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES Geraldine Cereceda has helped thousands of people gain access to healthcare services over the past 18 years. She is passionate about connecting underserved and marginalized populations because she knows what it’s like to delay care out of fear of the high costs…

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Alondra: We thought you were on our side

BY ED FELIEN What happened? A little over three years ago, on Sept. 30, 2015, you held a big community meeting with more than a hundred people at Plaza Verde to talk about the dangers of gentrification. You told Ryan Williams-Virden from the Twin City Daily Planet, “Gentrification is a…

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The Jews

BY TONY BOUZA The very word conjures a freighted emotional frisson we barely dare acknowledge or express. Watching “Thurgood,” a biopic on the Supreme Court Justice and the NAACP, inspired me to think of the role of Jews in America. They arrived at the Lower East Side of Manhattan and…

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Statutes help address employment discrimination

BY LYNN BALFOUR Anyone who has applied for employment by a Minnesota government entity (city, county, state) has the legal right to ask the employer for personnel data on the final candidates for that job and the employer is required to respond by providing such information or citing why the…

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Job posting for the Park Board

BY ED FELIEN Brad Bourn has prepared a special welcoming gift for Al Bangoura, the new superintendent of parks due to take office on Jan. 20. Almost the first thing on his desk will be the contract to hire an intergovernmental relations administrator. Last month we noted: “Park Board President…

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Do you want slavery with that chocolate?

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE I’m going to assume you don’t. For the past two or three years, I have been on a quixotic quest to raise awareness about the incredible prevalence of child slave labor in the production of chocolate, and the enormous “conspiracy of silence” that leaves otherwise conscientious…

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Celebration of life for John Karrigan

John R. Karrigan passed away peacefully on Jan. 11, 2019, at the age of 74, after a 10-month battle with metastatic melanoma.  Preceded in death by his parents, Ellsworth and Vivien (Rasmussen) Karrigan, of Aberdeen, SD.  Survived by his longtime partner, Bonnie Rae; siblings Steve (Lynn) Karrigan and Dave Karrigan,…

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Excuse me while I’m angry … !

BY SHASA SARTIN The following piece is brought to you by the impassioned creations of Audre Lorde, Beyoncé, Kelis, Leikeli47, Megan Thee Stallion, Rico Nasty, and my mother. Have you ever encountered some upsetting information and … started seeing red? Shortly after you hear a very loud screeching sound: it’s…

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