PHOTOS: Thousands protest Washington football game at U of M

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Thousands of protesters gathered at TCF Stadium at the University of Minnesota on Nov. 2 to protest the Washington football team name, which they call offensive.Native leaders, artists and community members were joined by a host of politicians- including former Governor Jesse Ventura, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, Congressman Keith Ellison, Winona LaDuke and many more in what some are calling the largest protest over a sports team name ever.While numerous sports teams have been targeted over the years for showing images of American Indians as mascots, The Washington football team has born a particular amount of criticism in the last year due to the racial slur of the team’s name.Rhonda Reese, who walked with protesters from the American Indian Opportunities Industrialization Center (AIOIC), said she was there because “Redskins” is a racial slur. “It’s a bounty they put on the Native people for their scalps,” she said. “It’s negative and it’s derogatory.”The gathering that started at AIOIC was organized by 14 different local groups including AIM of the Twin Cities, Save the Kids, OccupyMN, Protect Our Manoomin and the Minnesota Two Spirit Society. Besides speakers, hip hop artists Mic Jordan and Tall Paul performed.“I’m a modern day warrior,” Mic Jordan rapped. Continue Reading

Follow the money: Jourdain calls out dark money in Minneapolis school board race

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What do John Kline, Tom Emmer, Mitt Romney, and Minneapolis school board candidates Iris Altamirano and Don Samuels have in common?They have all received campaign donations from Minneapolis attorney Douglas Seaton, who was one of the lead attorneys working against the recent drive to unionize home-based childcare workers in Minnesota. Altamirano is a former organizer for the Service Employees Internation Union (SEIU), which helped lead the fight to organize home childcare workers.Seaton, who has given thousands of dollars to Republican candidates and committees, according to the website opensecrets.org, also  contributed $5,000 to the 2012 Minnesota Voter ID Amendment campaign, which was defeated by voters in the 2012 election.According to recent campaign finance reports, Seaton has given $250 donations to both Samuels and Altamirano.Another donor to both Samuels and Altamirano is the Hubbard family. The Hubbards, who run Minnesota media company Hubbard Broadcasting, gave $2600 to each candidate in September 2014. Hubbard Broadcasting, the corporation, is a very politically active one: the company recently gave $200,000 to the Freedom Partners Action Fund, which is the Koch Brothers’ new super PAC.Other prominent supporters of Samuels and Altamirano include former Minnesota Republican party chair Rob Eibensteiner, who gave $1,000 to Samuels, and local attorney and MinnCAN board member Mike Ciresi, who gave $1,000 to each candidate, individually, and contributed $10,000 to the recently controversial group the Minneapolis Progressive Education Fund, which has been campaigning for Samuels and Altamirano.Benson Whitney, who is the board chair of MinnCAN and a prominent funder of Republican campaigns, also gave $1,000 to both Samuels and Altamirano.These names on Altamirano and Samuels’ campaign reports prompted fellow at-large candidate Ira Jourdain to hold a press conference on Nov. 1. Continue Reading

Warm welcome for Open Mic at The Nicollet

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Taking the stage to share a song, poem, joke or story with a room full of strangers can be quite intimidating. But there has been no shortage of willing participants at The Nicollet’s Open Mic Nights that I’ve attended. The talent has been plentiful, colorful, and as eclectic as the art adorning the café’s walls.  Open Mic kicked off in August after a series of developments, including The Nicollet obtaining a liquor license and adding nightly entertainment. Since then, the spot has established new vitality and a new identity. Continue Reading

Minneapolis midterm election study guide

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Tomorrow is Election Day — have you done your homework?Midterm elections are never as popular as presidential elections, but that doesn’t make them any less important. We want to make your decision process as easy as possible, so we’ve lined up every election this midterm year that will affect Minneapolis residents.Following are candidates for U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Minnesota State Representative, Minneapolis School Board, and Minnesota 4th Judicial District (which essentially covers Hennepin County) candidates, as they will appear on Minneapolis ballots for the Nov. 4 General Election.Also on the ballot will appear two measures for voters to consider for inclusion in the Minneapolis City Charter. The first question pertains to increasing the filing fees candidates pay to run for city offices — mayor, city council, and other city of Minneapolis offices. The current $20 fee was set in 1967 and has remained unchanged. Continue Reading