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Minnesota Gov. Walz pledges justice for George Floyd as protests move into second day
Gov. Tim Walz condemned the death of George Floyd — a day after protests erupted at Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd Precinct Tuesday night — saying he too shared the frustration with Black Minnesotans who are once again seeking justice for one of their own. “Watching any of the video of what happened to George Floyd […]
Minneapolis Mayor calls for charges against officer who killed George Floyd
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to arrest the officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s neck, killing him and setting off protests across Minneapolis. “I’ve wrestled over the last 36 hours with one fundamental question: Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?” Frey asked during a […]
White Minneapolis man threatens to call cops on Black men in their own gym
Update: Tom Austin’s lease in the building was terminated on Wednesday. The man who tried to stop the renaming of Bde Maka Ska Park threatened to call the cops on a group of Black entrepreneurs Tuesday night for using the gym in a Minneapolis office building they share. A video posted on Twitter and Instagram […]
Minnesota State Fair canceled because of the coronavirus
For the sixth time in the fair’s 161 year history, the Minnesota State Fair is canceled. Minnesota State Fair Manager Jerry Hammer announced the decision Friday, saying the threat of COVID-19 makes it too dangerous for millions of people to congregate on the fairgrounds in August. “The science shows us that by the end of […]
Minneapolis will require face masks inside stores, schools and other public places
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced on Thursday an executive order requiring people in Minneapolis to wear cloth face masks or other face coverings when they are in places of public accommodation like retail stores, hotels, government buildings, schools and gyms. The order takes effect on Tuesday, May 26 and applies to everyone except children younger […]
Hennepin begins shopping for hotels for homeless people
The Hennepin County Board voted 6-1 on Tuesday to begin negotiating the purchase of hotels to house homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. “I think that this would be a huge asset for us,” said Commissioner Angela Conley during Tuesday’s meeting. “Doing something now that can carry over into that post-Covid world really […]
Falcon Heights bans front yard victory gardens this year
Quentin Nguyen had already dug up his more than half-acre front lawn, given away the sod and shipped in 40 cubic yards of soil for a vegetable garden, when he got a letter from the city of Falcon Heights. It said the City Council had voted the day before, on May 13, to ban growing […]
Minneapolis outreach workers rescue ducklings from storm drain
Outreach workers Jenny Bjorgo, Halie Gudmonson and Jase Roe were driving through north Minneapolis on Monday looking for a client when Roe noticed a duck standing next to a storm drain. “And I have seen videos where the ducklings fall into the grate, so I was like ‘Oh my God, I think that duck lost […]
Tenants buy properties from negligent landlord who tried to evict them
Thirty-eight families in south Minneapolis will gain ownership of their five apartment buildings after spending years battling with their landlord, Stephen Frenz, who had been trying to evict them. “This is an amazing victory. I am so happy,” Chloe Jackson said in a statement Monday. She is a resident of one of the properties and […]
Vote-by-mail applications surge in Minnesota
More than 22,000 Minnesotans signed up to vote by mail on Wednesday, the first day voters could submit applications this year, in a clear sign that people want to avoid crowded polling places during a pandemic. Compare that to 320 voters who signed up in the first month online applications opened in 2018, and 611 […]
Minnesota will be recovering from COVID-19 for years
It seems like this has been going on forever. On March 6, I wrote the following in our newsletter, Daily Reformer: With Super Tuesday over we turn our attention to the most important event happening in American politics: COVID-19. The reason I say that is because of its economic effects, which are already massive, and […]