Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/category/public-safety/page/11/)
This morning, it was very cold. The temperature was at about 22 degree F. Five Lao veterans attended the Veterans Day at the Vietnam Memorial in front of the State Capitol. I was among the attendees. I had a chance to talk about the war in Laos by expressing my thanks and I urged my fellow Brothers in Arms to do whatever they can so we will be treated as U.S. veterans. -Khao Insixiengmay Continue Reading
This morning I attended the annual Vets for Peace observance of Armistice Day at the USS Ward monument on the Minnesota State Capitol grounds. Continue Reading
The UK celebrated Armistice Day on November 11 in this 100th anniversary year of the outbreak of World War I with a display of 880,000 ceramic red poppies — one for each soldier from the British E Continue Reading
Can we all agree that driving is the worst part of snowy weather? The soft coating of white would make our city feel like a magical snow globe were it not for the havoc it wreaks on our roadways.
For bikers and motorists merging on to the new and improved West 36th Street in Minneapolis the view may be a Tale of Two Cities. For bikers, the best of times and excitement over a separate, partitioned 10 foot wide expressway; for motorists relegated to the other half of the roadway, “Wow, the new repainted traffic lanes look awfully narrow?” Minneapolis recently completed construction of the model 36th Street West Bikeway Project, which converted half of the street into a protected bikeway and pedestrian corridor.This is a Community Voices submission and is moderated but not edited. The opinions expressed by Community Voices contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the TC Daily Planet.The protected lane is comprised of a 3 foot buffer and railing separating vehicle traffic from a 10 foot wide bicycle and 7 foot wide pedestrian path. Running from Lake Calhoun to Dupont Avenue South, the $180K project was cooperatively funded by the city of Minneapolis, Hennepin County and two East Calhoun neighborhood groups. Continue Reading
As I sit here at my desk in Lino Lakes Correctional Facility, I watch the mid-afternoon traffic of Highway 35 pass my window. I’m subdued by the sound of early October rain as it hits my window sill. I can hear the sound of jangling keys as they pass my door, the ever-present presence of the correctional officer. Usually it makes me nervous, but today it does not.
Three dozen Minneapolis Police Department officers began testing the use of body-mounted cameras on Friday.
The body cameras, which are growing in popularity nationwide, will make police proceedings more open and simplify police misconduct investigations, city and department officials said at a press conference Friday.
Some heads of law enforcement agencies throughout Minnesota want body cameras. Based on public testimony at the Minnesota Legislature one head law enforcement official does not believe people have a right to privacy in one’s own home. It was very clear in testimony by Chief Ramsey, Duluth Police Department, in reaction to a question by Representative Mary Liz Holberg. Continue Reading
The KSTP story with Mayor Hodges doing stylish finger pointing has created a real buzz. But for me the underlying issues of this episode that the public or media are not asking about or may not understand need to be explored. Where did the picture come from? Was it a part of a law enforcement agency or agencies social media monitoring and surveillance activities that the picture was discovered? Or more of a direct question: Is it relevant to and interest of the public to know if an agency is engaging in cyber stalking of people, data collected for unknown purposes and then share with others? Continue Reading
Everybody’s talking about #Pointergate, the absurd KSTP story of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, where she is supposedly flashing a gang sign with a 22-year-old man from north Minneapolis who is working to get out the vote.Yes, on one level, this is a story that reeks of disgruntled police officers/ex police officers airing a vendetta against the current chief of police and mayor for their efforts to “clean house” by chipping away at the old guard and instituting new policies such as body cameras that will make the force more accountable. As others have pointed out, there seems to be no coincidence that the KSTP story came out just prior to the roll out of the new body cams.Read more TC Daily Planet coverage of this issue.But there’s another level to this story as well. Here we have Navell Gordon, a young man who has served time for a felony and is currently unable to vote because his probation period hasn’t ended. Working with the Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, Gordon was helping others in his community to vote where he could not. That’s something that should be applauded and his situation is one that offers an opportunity for reflection about the ways that people of color still are systemically disenfranchised.Earlier this fall, the ACLU released a report that took a look at the racial disparities of arrests in Minneapolis, and the numbers are quite shocking. Continue Reading