10:58BriefRep. Steve Green has some thoughts.Rep. Mohamud Noor, DFL-Minneapolis, said rather than talk about things that inflame people and create division, Minnesota needs to address the challenge before it.“Minnesota is awake,” he said. “They understand the challenges; they have been hearing the challenges for far too long. And we can’t wait any longer.”Minnesota townships and cities outside the metro with fewer than 400 registered voters are allowed to offer mail-in balloting.This post has been updated to clarify which jurisdictions use mail-in balloting. The original was incorrect, due...…10:58BriefRep. Steve Green has some thoughts.Rep. Mohamud Noor, DFL-Minneapolis, said rather than talk about things that inflame people and create division, Minnesota needs to address the challenge before it.“Minnesota is awake,” he said. “They understand the challenges; they have been hearing the challenges for far too long. And we can’t wait any longer.”Minnesota townships and cities outside the metro with fewer than 400 registered voters are allowed to offer mail-in balloting.This post has been updated to clarify which jurisdictions use mail-in balloting. The original was incorrect, due...WW…

8:30News StoryTracy Gomez said she’s a drug user and prostitute who prefers to live in the camp, even though there are “a lot of weirdos” and some fights, but people look out for each other, too. Photo by Will Jacott/Minnesota Reformer.In the face of a pressing shortage of affordable housing and shelter space, this isn’t the first time in recent history that government has watched as an encampment sprawled. Mayor Jacob Frey said in 2018 that he wouldn’t make people move from the Franklin-Hiawatha encampment dubbed “the Wall of Forgotten Natives” unless they had a better place to go. The...…8:30News StoryTracy Gomez said she’s a drug user and prostitute who prefers to live in the camp, even though there are “a lot of weirdos” and some fights, but people look out for each other, too. Photo by Will Jacott/Minnesota Reformer.In the face of a pressing shortage of affordable housing and shelter space, this isn’t the first time in recent history that government has watched as an encampment sprawled. Mayor Jacob Frey said in 2018 that he wouldn’t make people move from the Franklin-Hiawatha encampment dubbed “the Wall of Forgotten Natives” unless they had a better place to go. The...WW…

6:00News StoryA worker ties barbed wire to the top of a fence fortification around the Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Government Center on Feb. 24, 2021, in preparation for the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, charged with the death of George Floyd. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.* This story was updated to reflect council action Friday.Xby Deena Winter, February 26, 2021by Deena Winter, February 26, 2021The area around the downtown Minneapolis courthouse where Derek Chauvin will soon go on trial for the murder of George Floyd is gradually taking on the...…6:00News StoryA worker ties barbed wire to the top of a fence fortification around the Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Government Center on Feb. 24, 2021, in preparation for the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, charged with the death of George Floyd. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.* This story was updated to reflect council action Friday.Xby Deena Winter, February 26, 2021by Deena Winter, February 26, 2021The area around the downtown Minneapolis courthouse where Derek Chauvin will soon go on trial for the murder of George Floyd is gradually taking on the...WW…

6:00News StoryThe colorful mural, painted soon after George Floyd was killed, became the backdrop to Floyd’s memorial service, nearly daily rallies and countless social media posts. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.This story has been updated.* This story has been corrected. Contrary to an earlier version, the judge barred Chauvin’s attorney from presenting evidence from a 2019 arrest of Floyd.Xby Deena Winter, February 22, 2021by Deena Winter, February 22, 2021This story has been updated.Minnesota is bracing itself for the March trial of Derek Chauvin, when 12 jurors will decide...…6:00News StoryThe colorful mural, painted soon after George Floyd was killed, became the backdrop to Floyd’s memorial service, nearly daily rallies and countless social media posts. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.This story has been updated.* This story has been corrected. Contrary to an earlier version, the judge barred Chauvin’s attorney from presenting evidence from a 2019 arrest of Floyd.Xby Deena Winter, February 22, 2021by Deena Winter, February 22, 2021This story has been updated.Minnesota is bracing itself for the March trial of Derek Chauvin, when 12 jurors will decide...WW…

14:24BriefRicardo Baldazo is out on bail after being charged in September with attempted murder of Burnsville police after a standoff at his mother’s house.This post has been updated. Video of the Jimmy John’s incident:— Deena Winter (@deenafaywinter)Although Dahlstrom didn’t identify the woman in the video, Zarza posted on Facebook Saturday that the Jimmy John’s employee asked if she had a mask, and she told him she had a health condition that prevents her from wearing one. Zarza said the worker told her to leave. She responded that it was her constitutional right to be there, but he...…14:24BriefRicardo Baldazo is out on bail after being charged in September with attempted murder of Burnsville police after a standoff at his mother’s house.This post has been updated. Video of the Jimmy John’s incident:— Deena Winter (@deenafaywinter)Although Dahlstrom didn’t identify the woman in the video, Zarza posted on Facebook Saturday that the Jimmy John’s employee asked if she had a mask, and she told him she had a health condition that prevents her from wearing one. Zarza said the worker told her to leave. She responded that it was her constitutional right to be there, but he...WW…

6:00News Story“I’m a deep believer in Jesus Christ and a God who cares about the marginalized and oppressed,” said Jeanelle Austin, who is a caretaker of the George Floyd Memorial. Photo by Will Jacott/Minnesota Reformer.Updated 7:34 p.m. Jan. 17.Xby Deena Winter, January 11, 2021by Deena Winter, January 11, 2021Since George Floyd’s death under the knee of Derek Chauvin, a group of volunteers called “Meet on the Street” gather twice daily. They work to preserve, patrol and protect the four-block zone around where he died, while protesting the systemic racism that they say led to Floyd’s...…6:00News Story“I’m a deep believer in Jesus Christ and a God who cares about the marginalized and oppressed,” said Jeanelle Austin, who is a caretaker of the George Floyd Memorial. Photo by Will Jacott/Minnesota Reformer.Updated 7:34 p.m. Jan. 17.Xby Deena Winter, January 11, 2021by Deena Winter, January 11, 2021Since George Floyd’s death under the knee of Derek Chauvin, a group of volunteers called “Meet on the Street” gather twice daily. They work to preserve, patrol and protect the four-block zone around where he died, while protesting the systemic racism that they say led to Floyd’s...WW…

4:21News StoryMinneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks at an event about housing at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in January 2020. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.*A previous version of this story incorrectly reported an attempt to reduce the number of Minneapolis wards and replace them with at-large seats. The proposal was made by a citizen. The Charter Commission declined to move it to public hearing, thus killing it.Xby Deena Winter, December 15, 2020by Deena Winter, December 15, 2020The Minneapolis Charter Commission is considering sending a city charter amendment to the...…4:21News StoryMinneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks at an event about housing at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in January 2020. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.*A previous version of this story incorrectly reported an attempt to reduce the number of Minneapolis wards and replace them with at-large seats. The proposal was made by a citizen. The Charter Commission declined to move it to public hearing, thus killing it.Xby Deena Winter, December 15, 2020by Deena Winter, December 15, 2020The Minneapolis Charter Commission is considering sending a city charter amendment to the...WW…

10:48News StoryRyan Martin poses in front of a yard sign outside his and his mother’s home in Shakopee. Courtesy photo.The sudden emergence of Rep.-elect Erik Mortensen, R-Shakopee, this week when he the attorney general and governor to a pandemic-defying party has drawn new scrutiny of the suburban election he narrowly won over Democratic-Farmer-Labor Rep. Brad Tabke.A potential spoiler in the race: Ryan Martin, a 23-year-old pot party candidate who 1,706 votes, or 7.4%, in a race decided by 554 votes.Despite running under the Legal Marijuana Now party banner, Martin has ties to the head...…10:48News StoryRyan Martin poses in front of a yard sign outside his and his mother’s home in Shakopee. Courtesy photo.The sudden emergence of Rep.-elect Erik Mortensen, R-Shakopee, this week when he the attorney general and governor to a pandemic-defying party has drawn new scrutiny of the suburban election he narrowly won over Democratic-Farmer-Labor Rep. Brad Tabke.A potential spoiler in the race: Ryan Martin, a 23-year-old pot party candidate who 1,706 votes, or 7.4%, in a race decided by 554 votes.Despite running under the Legal Marijuana Now party banner, Martin has ties to the head...WW…

Every weekday morning, J. Patrick Coolican delivers hot political news out of the Minnesota Capitol and Washington, along with fresh insights on what’s really happening and why it matters to Minnesotans.XRepublishing Guidelines ▪ You must give Minnesota Reformer credit, including https://www.minnesotareformer.com/ and author.▪ If you publish online, include the links from the story, and a link to Minnesota Reformer.▪ Stories may be edited for in-house style or to shorten. More substantial changes should be noted as additional and conducted by your publication.▪ You can publish our graphics...…Every weekday morning, J. Patrick Coolican delivers hot political news out of the Minnesota Capitol and Washington, along with fresh insights on what’s really happening and why it matters to Minnesotans.XRepublishing Guidelines ▪ You must give Minnesota Reformer credit, including https://www.minnesotareformer.com/ and author.▪ If you publish online, include the links from the story, and a link to Minnesota Reformer.▪ Stories may be edited for in-house style or to shorten. More substantial changes should be noted as additional and conducted by your publication.▪ You can publish our graphics...WW…

16:44News StoryPhoto courtesy of Mike Lindell.Xby Deena Winter, November 23, 2020by Deena Winter, November 23, 2020MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who is considering a 2022 run for governor of Minnesota, says he didn’t mean to contribute $50,000 to the bail fund of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old Illinois boy charged with fatally shooting two men and wounding another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin.Rittenhouse has since become a hero of white supremacists and the far right and was bonded out of jail Friday with donations solicited by his lawyer. His lawyer, Lin Wood, that Rittenhouse...…16:44News StoryPhoto courtesy of Mike Lindell.Xby Deena Winter, November 23, 2020by Deena Winter, November 23, 2020MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who is considering a 2022 run for governor of Minnesota, says he didn’t mean to contribute $50,000 to the bail fund of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old Illinois boy charged with fatally shooting two men and wounding another during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin.Rittenhouse has since become a hero of white supremacists and the far right and was bonded out of jail Friday with donations solicited by his lawyer. His lawyer, Lin Wood, that Rittenhouse...WW…