“There is no rehabilitation in prison”: Ex-cons and their advocates call for reform

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It’s been over a month since David Lindsey was released from prison and returned to his Minneapolis home. After serving a 19-year sentence for felony assault, Lindsey was overwhelmed upon reentering a community he had not been a part of since 1990. Completely unprepared by the justice system for life outside of prison, Lindsey now relies on his own determination and the fellowship of ex-cons for support and guidance. “There is no rehabilitation in prison any more,” says Lindsey. “It’s a business, and men like myself are the product.”
Lindsey spoke alongside three panelists at the April 24th “Breakfast with Gary” meeting facilitated by Minneapolis alderman Gary Schiff (Ward 9). Continue Reading

MUSIC | Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! Give Sarah Oberland lots of space

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Though ultra-clean good-girl pop music may have had its heyday in the 90s, one local songstress is still carrying that G-rated torch. Living up to its title, Sarah Oberland’s debut disc addresses familiar pop song topics such as needing a boy, loving a boy, needing space from a boy, breaking up with a boy, and getting over a boy, and following a dream. Although the album is reminiscent of music by Mandy Moore and Jessica Simpson, its awkward production and lack of memorable tunes will disappoint even those listeners who still want “Candy.”A Girl Needs Space features 13 songs co-written by Oberland (a Hastings native) and produced by Ben Obi. According to the press release that accompanied the album in its glistening golden padded envelope, Oberland was tired of being a “perfect little Daddy’s girl.” A Girl Needs Space, we learn, was born from “several gut wrenching sessions with a counselor and transforming her most intimate journal entries into her truth.”The focus of the album is on Oberland’s powerful voice, which swoons through forgettable choruses. It’s just as well that Oberland’s voice is front and center, since the backing tracks are generic and undistinguished—from the competition, and from one another. Continue Reading