Best of Neighborhood News 3/12/2019: 12 years ago, the Legislature set out to end poverty in Minnesota by 2020. How’s it going?

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12 years ago, the Legislature set out to end poverty in Minnesota by 2020. How’s it going? In 2007, “The Commission To End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020” was founded by 18 Minnesota State legislators, co-chaired by incumbents Rep. Carlos Mariani and Sen. John Marty. The convening of the commission was followed by subsequent tours and public hearings held throughout Minnesota, all of which and more coalesced into the publication of a report. That report articulates the commission’s goals and mission, as well as their call for “an increase in the minimum wage; expanded working family tax credits; more child care help; and credits for small businesses,” among other things. Continue Reading

How community members in Ramsey County stopped a big-data plan from flagging students as at-risk

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On Jan. 28, 2019, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter made an announcement at St. Paul’s City Hall that caught many observers by surprise: after months of community resistance, city and county officials have decided to walk away from a controversial data-sharing initiative. The initiative – unanimously approved by the Ramsey County Attorney, the County Sheriff of St. Continue Reading

Community Voices: More cops for who?

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November’s election has brought Minneapolis’ city council an unprecedented number of progressive representatives, but the seat of the Mayor remains in the hands of a disingenuous liberal. Mayor Jacob Frey asserts, “We need to focus on unity, mending wounds, building bridges and relationship building,” but his history on the City Council says otherwise. From delaying the effective date for the $15 minimum wage until 2024 to encouraging the rapid spread of gentrification in his ward, Frey has done everything in his power to satisfy developers and business owners while willfully neglecting the poor and working-class people of Minneapolis. His perspective on policing sheds even more light on his disinterest in the safety of Black people, Indigenous people, poor people, queer people, immigrants, homeless youth and other victims of police violence. Frey acknowledges that Minneapolis has the worst community-police relations in our city’s history. Continue Reading