George Floyd

50 years after its TIME cover story, does Minnesota still work?

Metro Transit’s 40-point plan to deter the violent crime and vagrancy plaguing the Twin Cities’ light rail and bus lines continues to flounder a year into the highly publicized security…

Where did the $18 billion surplus go?

I review the memoir Mosaic Republic by the 21-year-old candidate for Minneapolis city council Ward 6. Tiger Worku celebrated his 21st birthday just yesterday, as he continues his campaign. The…

Last year, I wrote about how Minneapolis and St. Paul lost residents in 2021. Census Bureau data show that Minneapolis lost 6,049 residents from 2020 to 2021 and St. Paul…

You need a program to keep up with the intramural warfare in the Minneapolis Democratic (DFL) party these days. The official party logo: All thirteen seats (representing individual wards) on…

There is no better way to combat crime than through swift and sure apprehension of offenders, timely prosecution of defendants, and the incapacitation of those awaiting trial or convicted of…

We are coming up on the third anniversary of George Floyd’s death. This morning, my colleague David Zimmer and I returned to Floyd’s namesake square in south Minneapolis. We last…

In November 2021, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis released two reports — each analyzing the impact of minimum wage hikes in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul between…

It was only a few weeks ago that I wrote about the terrible trend in shootings and murders of our area’s peace officers — read that piece here. Sadly, the…

The Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd Precinct was overrun and set afire on Thursday, May 28, 2020, during the civil unrest that followed the death of George Floyd while in police…

The controversial Hennepin County Attorney is much in the news. Just three months into her first term as the county’s prosecutor, Moriarty has been removed from a high-profile murder case…

The suits at Meet Minneapolis, the group in charge of promoting the place as a destination, know they have a big image problem. The city’s reputation took a serious hit…

On Monday 4/3/23, University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel announced she had accepted an offer from the University of Pittsburg to become its president effective July 2023.  Gabel’s announced departure…

A new player has entered the game of the Democratic Party’s search for an alternative to President Biden for 2024’s presidential election: none other than our own Governor, Tim Walz:…

In what some are taking as a sign of revival for the beleaguered Minneapolis neighborhood, the Uptown Theatre on Lake and Lagoon is reopening. Alas, not as a movie palace,…

While most of their peers were in algebra or English class Monday morning, a group of students gathered in the Capitol rotunda to listen to speeches in favor of a…

In the follow-up to the recent murder inside St. Paul Harding High School, we are learning from students, teachers, and parents how a focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)…

The county’s effective use of resources for the mentally ill and chemical dependent is a cause for celebration.

Increased crime in Minnesota in recent years is the direct result of the defund the police movement. Those inclined to commit crime and create chaos saw an open door and walked…

On Thursday, 11/3/22, the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission (MSGC) met for its November meeting. Learn more about the MSGC here. The MSGC, being largely a gubernatorially appointed body, has significant influence…

Dane Smith, a progressive Senior Policy Fellow and President Emeritus of Growth & Justice, wrote a commentary that was recently published in the Star Tribune editorial pages.  His commentary attempted…

Monday 10/24/22 marked the end of criminal prosecution of the former police officers involved in George Floyd’s death. As jury selection was about to begin in the state trial of…

The breakdown of Minnesota’s law enforcement institutions isn’t new, neither are the solutions.