Minneapolis

Community Calls On Governor/AG To ‘Stay Out Of County Prosecutions’

March 25, 2024 Niko Georgiades, Unicorn Riot. Resist! Governor, Legal System, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police, police brutality, Prosdecutions

Minneapolis, Minnesota – Police associations and pro-police members of Congress are pressuring Minnesota’s governor to wrest prosecuting power away from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty over her decision to charge State Trooper Ryan Londregan with murder for the July 2023 fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II. Minneapolis community groups and leaders have since crafted statements and an op-ed, published below, in support of Moriarty, formerly a public defender whom residents elected in 2022 after her campaign focused on police accountability.

Solar Nonprofit Shows Patience Brings Results To Lower-Income Residents

February 15, 2024 Frank Jossi, Next City. Create! Energy, Minneapolis, Poor people, Solar, Worker Rights and Jobs

One installation at a time, a solar nonprofit that matches socially conscious investors’ cash with lower-income homeowners is spreading the benefits of solar in North Minneapolis. Solstar was formed three years ago by solar entrepreneur Ralph Jacobson following his retirement from IPS Solar, the pioneering Twin Cities’ solar company he founded three decades ago earlier. In his entire career, “I hardly ever had Black customers or Black subcontractors,” Jacobson recalled. Solstar is a collective effort for clean energy leaders in North Minneapolis to address those racial disparities. Jacobson, 71, works his network to persuade wealthy individuals to invest in residential solar installations.

How Target Funded A ‘Tough On Crime’ Prosecutor’s Office

February 14, 2024 Marjaan Sirdar, Unicorn Riot. Educate! Black America, Class Struggle, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Mass Incarceration, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police, Target

Target Corp. pioneered the Community Prosecution Program in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) more than two decades ago during the era of mass incarceration. As part of a broad anti-crime campaign that employed new advanced technology and reshaped the criminal justice system in Minneapolis, the program had particularly devastating effects on Black residents. In 2004, a public-private partnership consisting of Target, the Downtown Council, Hennepin County, and the City of Minneapolis launched a sweeping surveillance collaborative in downtown Minneapolis called the SafeZone, as illustrated throughout Unicorn Riot’s years-long investigative series.

Ex-EPA Scientist Calls Pollution Regulations A ‘Smokescreen’

January 27, 2024 Akičita Šunka-Wakaŋ Ska, Unicorn Riot. Resist! EPA, health, Industry, Minneapolis, pollution, Regulations

Minneapolis, MN — On January 11, 2024, community members gathered to discuss the future of the Smith Foundry in Minneapolis’ East Phillips neighborhood. The iron-casting facility has been found to violate health regulations, thereby likely threatening the well-being of people living nearby. In November, residents had called for the closure of the foundry after discovering records from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicating that the company had been exceeding Minnesota emission limits of particulate matter since 2018 — without notifying the state. Despite the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) pledging to meet regularly with the community, MPCA authorities were absent from the meeting, citing a “conflict of interest” and a lack of staff.

Marvin Haynes Exonerated And Released From Prison After 19 Years

January 10, 2024 Niko Georgiades, Unicorn Riot. Organize! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Marvin Haynes, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police, Police abuse, Victory

Minneapolis, MN — In a historic ruling, Hennepin County Judge William Koch vacated Marvin Haynes’ murder conviction, dismissed his charges with prejudice, and ordered his release from prison where he was sentenced to serve life. Haynes walked out of MCF-Stillwater as an exonerated man into the loving arms of his family and supporters on Dec. 11, 2023. Marvin Haynes was 16 years old when he was framed for murder by the Minneapolis Police and Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. Haynes’ wrongful conviction was supervised by former Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar and upheld by the Minnesota Supreme Court years later in an appeal.

Palestinian-Black Solidarity Teach-In

January 7, 2024 Loretta VanPelt, Fight Back News!. Organize! Black Liberation, Minneapolis, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Teach-in

Minneapolis, MN – 150 people gathered at Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis on January 4 to listen to an in-depth discussion about the link of the Black liberation struggle and the struggle for liberation in Palestine. Jae Yates, an organizer with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J) and Sabry Wazwaz, a Palestinian organizer, spoke about the connections between U.S. police violence and the violence the Israeli occupying forces are inflicting on the Palestinian people. Yates gave the history of Palestine and how groups like the Black Panthers and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee were supporters of Palestine in the 1960s and 70s.

From Demolition Plans To Neighborhood Ownership

December 30, 2023 Ellie Zimmerman, Unicorn Riot. Create! Community Control, Community Garden, Environmental racism, Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota — It’s been a long road to ownership of the hotly contested Roof Depot site for the residents of the East Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis, and they recently cleared one more hurdle in their way. On November 8, the City of Minneapolis accepted a guarantee from East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) of their contribution of $3.7 million, effectively sealing EPNI’s end of the deal to purchase the Roof Depot from the city and launch next steps toward their vision for the site. The battle over the Roof Depot began nearly eight years ago in the Minneapolis city government as residents and activists fought to stop the city from demolishing the existing building to construct a new water distribution facility.

Minneapolis City Councilors Reject Recruitment Deal With Cops

November 26, 2023 Marjaan Sirdar, Unicorn Riot. Resist! Accountability, City Council, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police

On Friday, Nov. 17, Mayor Frey called a special council meeting where they voted down a tentative deal struck by the mayor and police to attempt to increase staffing of the MPD with cash bonus incentives after “critically low staffing levels” have plagued the department, bogging down 911 response times. One week before the council voted down the proposal, Mayor Frey and the police union signed the agreement to pay $18,000 in bonuses to current officers over a two and a half year period, and $15,000 to new recruits over a three year period. The money for the agreement was to be taken from a $19 million fund that was allocated by the Democratic-controlled state legislature for the City of Minneapolis, following the murder of Floyd by MPD, but still needed city council approval.

Another Win For Union And Worker Center Collaborations

November 15, 2023 Isabela Escalona, The Real News Network. Strategize! Minneapolis, Service Workers, Unions, Victory, Worker Rights and Jobs

In the late summer of 2021, a group of workers from First Avenue, the iconic Minneapolis music venue, were fed up with low pay, last-minute scheduling, lack of parking, and safety concerns, and wanted to implement some of their own ideas in their workplace. Unsure of how to get it done, the workers decided to first contact Restaurant Opportunities Center of Minnesota (ROC-MN) to learn more about their workplace rights. Fast forward to November 2: Over 200 bartenders, event staff, and other in-house workers across seven venues affiliated with First Avenue marched on the boss and delivered a petition that included the faces and names of over 70% of staff who want to unionize with UNITE HERE Local 17.

New Report Contradicts Official Reason Behind Target Closings

November 7, 2023 Marjaan Sirdar, Unicorn Riot. Educate! Corporatism, Minneapolis, Report, Target, Worker Rights

Minneapolis, Minnesota — Data does not support Target’s claim that it’s closing stores due to theft, a new report finds — while others accuse the corporation of financial fraud, saying it is fudging its finances and falsely flagging shoplifters. Due to “organized retail theft,” Target announced in September that it was closing nine stores, along with three in Portland, Oregon that closed in October. The independent media watchdog Popular Information breaks down crime statistics at six of the nine stores Target is shuttering and found that there are other different reasons than the official one the retailer gave for the closures.

Pro-Palestine Protest Attacked In Minneapolis

October 23, 2023 Niko Georgiades, Unicorn Riot. Resist! International Solidarity, Israel, Minneapolis, Palestine

Minneapolis, MN — An older white man drove his vehicle through pro-Palestinian protesters and brandished both a box cutter and a knife on Sunday afternoon. The attack is part of a rising trend of violence on protesters and came as thousands of people held a busy Minneapolis intersection performing a “die-in” for the thousands of Palestinians being killed in the deadly Israeli bombardment of Gaza that followed the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The protest at the intersections of Hennepin Avenue and Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, near the Walker Art Center, was the second large gathering there in recent days and at least the fourth pro-Palestinian protest in the Twin Cities area that has drawn thousands of protesters in the last two weeks.

‘Wall Of Forgotten Natives’ Encampment Revived After Five Years

September 5, 2023 Ellie Zimmerman, Unicorn Riot. Resist! Homeless encampment, Indigenous Communities, Minneapolis, Police

On the morning of Thursday, August 24, Minnesota State Troopers clambered over an overturned car, piles of street lamps, and concrete barriers brought in to fortify the perimeter of a strip of land known as the Wall of Forgotten Natives as its roughly 140 residents moved their belongings out. When unhoused residents of Minneapolis moved back to the Wall a week earlier after being evicted from a nearby encampment, activists rallied around it to call attention to the city’s ongoing practice of encampment evictions and advocating for a better solution to issues of homelessness and addiction facing the city’s Native American communities.

Minneapolis Official Speaks Out About ‘Corruption’ And ‘Useless’ City Council

August 29, 2023 Marjaan Sirdar, Unicorn Riot. Educate! City Council, Corruption, Governance, Minneapolis, Public safety, Retaliation

As discussions over the newly instituted “strong mayor” system in Minneapolis are back in the news, local politicians, policy aides, activists, and pundits have been sharing their perspectives on the changeover. A month ago, Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley sat down with Unicorn Riot and discussed her thoughts on the government restructuring, corruption in the city and acts of political retaliation within the halls of power.

Helicopter Footage From Mass Arrest Reveals State Trooper Surveillance

August 17, 2023 Niko Georgiades, Unicorn Riot. Educate! Mass Arrests, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police, police brutality, Surveillance

Minneapolis, MN – High-tech surveillance video and audio communication from a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter, obtained and first published by Unicorn Riot, reveals some of the planning and tactics behind the largest mass arrest in recent Minnesota history. On Nov. 4, 2020, a multi-agency law enforcement operation kettled and arrested at least 646 people during a post-election-day protest calling for then-President Donald Trump to not ‘steal the vote.’ In an exclusive release, viewers are taken inside Minnesota State Patrol’s Bell 407 helicopter, N119SP, to see and hear the operations of authorities as around 700 peaceful protesters marched onto Interstate 94 in Minneapolis.

Cities And States Don’t Track Police Misconduct Payouts

August 10, 2023 Cinnamon Janzer, Next City. Educate! Accountability, Minneapolis, Police, Violence

Five days after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the Minneapolis Police Department’s SWAT unit drove down Lake Street, the corridor at the heart of the civil unrest that followed. “The first f***ers we see, we’re just hammering ‘em with 40s,” Sgt. Andrew Bittell ordered his team, referring to the 40mm plastic projectiles otherwise known as rubber bullets. Around 11 p.m., that’s exactly what the squad did to a group of people in a Lake Street parking lot. Some of the plastic rounds they fired hit Jaleel Stallings. Stallings, an army veteran, returned fire with a permitted pistol at the unmarked van he thought was dispensing real bullets.

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