CORRECTION / Unemployment up again / Here come the Feds / more

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CORRECTION I summarized an article from AP and the Pioneer Press regarding a 14-state federal prosecution for “modern-day slavery” of immigrant workers. The article, and my summary, erroneously said that a Mankato roofer was implicated in the case. Here is the correction from the Pioneer Press:
A headline in Thursday’s Pioneer Press should not have said that a Mankato roofer was implicated in a labor scheme involving immigrant workers. In fact, Kato Roofing was a client of a labor-leasing company that has been indicted in relation with the scheme. But Kato Roofing has not been implicated or associated in any way with the federal investigation and Kato Roofing officials emphasize that they have done nothing wrong. Continue Reading

Shredding Strike Force docs / T-Paw: “Quit whining” / Ending “Season of Fear” / more

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Shredded documents at Gang Strike Force led to Strike Force commander Capt. Chris Omodt’s decision to padlock the doors ahead of schedule yesterday, reports the Strib.Officers in the Metro Gang Strike Force shredded documents at its headquarters late Wednesday night, hours after the state Commissioner of Public Safety announced plans for an internal investigation after a government audit found that the Strike Force couldn’t account for $18,000 in seized cash and at least 13 vehicles. After the shredded documents were found in dumpsters and garbage cans at the Strike Force’s Brooklyn Center headquarters, Omodt ordered an immediate closing. In an email obtained by the Strib, Omodt also reported that “someone apparently shut off a computer that records when someone enters the building with a security card,” and that Strike Force members had removed documents and personal property from the building.Adding insult to injury, Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed the tax bill and told cities and local governments that their concern over cuts to local government aid were “hogwash” and that, “Instead of just whining and complaining, they need to figure out how they can reduce their spending by a few percent.” “Nothing short of insane” That’s Congressional Representative Betty McCollum’s characterization of the NRA/Republican success in tacking a concealed-guns-in-national-parks rider onto the credit card reform bill, reports the Minnesota Independent. This is a shameful example of the failure of the legislative process and I would urge President Obama to veto the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights and send it back to Congress to take the guns out. Continue Reading

Beating death has shaken Rochester’s Somali community

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Contrary to previous reports, murder victim Muhdin Yahye Mumin was a well-respected member of his community in Rochester, Minnesota. The 42-year-old Mumin was found dead in an alley near a Rochester nightclub last October 1. Joshua Dean Lee and Adam Ross Brandrup, both 25 years old, have been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, accused of beating Mumin but not intending to kill him. According to initial reports by the Rochester Police Department, Mumin was listed without a permanent address. As a result, the city’s newspaper inferred that the victim, who worked as a care provider for the elderly, was homeless. Continue Reading

Veto forecast / Charter school in trouble / New car rules / more

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Even without the legislature in session, the forecast for Minnesota is high winds and lots of heat today.T-Paw QOTD “The legislators are gone away and they are not coming back.”Health care, bullying, transportation More end-of-session news: Pawlenty plan is recipe for massive job losses from Workday Minnesota, and Pawlenty talks unallotment, veto plans from Session Daily. Getting down to specifics:Health care The governor’s cuts come amid a “hellish week for hospitals,” says MnIndy, reporting on staffing cuts across the state in large and small, public and private hospitals. The Strib reports that many people are cutting back on health care, waiting until they are very sick before seeing doctors, leaving prescriptions unfilled, and skipping routine screenings, such as Pap smears. Transportation In the single bright spot, MN 2020 reports that Minnesota moved forward on transportation in this session. Elections bill Although the legislature watered down the elections bill, leaving out provisions sought by both DFL and GOP legislators, the governor will still veto it, reports MinnPost. Continue Reading

Closing the door to college / Five days, a billion dollars / No blood on the gun / more

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I’m on the road, so this blog post is short and late — I hope tomorrow will be earlier and longer. Closing the door to college Minnesota has had a proud tradition of higher education and of making higher education available to its residents. That may be ending, reports MinnPost:Tuition is rising faster in Minnesota than in most other states. It has doubled since 1999 at the U of M. .. Meanwhile, state spending for higher education has stuck flat for years in some areas and dropped by double digits in others. Continue Reading

Fishing season and veto season open / Franken v. Coleman / Someting rotten / Aung San Suu Kyi ill / War news / more

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GOOD NEWS And that’s worth going to the top of the report – Roxana Saberi is due to be freed and flown home today, after an Iranian court suspended the eight-year sentence previously imposed on the North Dakota journalist. Fishing season and veto season From cocoa bean mulch canine health warnings to the billion dollar tax plan, T-Paw wielded the veto pen before heading off to the fishing opener Saturday morning. As the PiPress succinctly notes:
Pawlenty and the Legislature have eight days to balance the budget by the May 18 constitutional deadline. If they fail to get done on time, he could call them back into special session. And if they don’t finish by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the nonessential parts of state government will shut down. Continue Reading

“Galab wanagsan”

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April 16 was “open mosque” night at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center at 504 Cedar Ave., the former home of Bedlam Theatre in the building that houses, at the other end, Palmer’s Bar.At around 5:30 p.m., there was lots of activity around the center as both Somali Muslims and others from the neighborhood filed in for this, the second of two April open houses. The first order of business: remove your shoes and put them on a large rack inside the entrance. To the right of the entryway was a tiled ablution room, an area for ritual foot washing used by those who came for evening prayer. Men and women have separate first-floor prayers rooms. (Prayer, or salat, is one of the five pillars of Islam.) Most open-house visitors continued through the prayer room and up the staircase to the special events space on the second floor. The open houses held at Dar Al Hirjah were co-sponsored by the West Bank Community Coalition. Continue Reading

MN VOICES | Idil Abdull: Somali mother and autism activist

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Idil Abdull has been making headlines in the past few months for her role in bringing awareness to the issue of autism in the Somali community. One of the founders of the Somali American Autism Foundation, Abdull has been sounding the alarm about the large numbers of Somali American children struggling with autism. Last week, the MN Department of Health issued a report confirming the high numbers, though they say the link between ethnicity and the disease is inconclusive. Abdull is searching for answers, and building awareness in her community. But Abdull is not unused to struggle. Continue Reading

“Missing youth” story rattles local Somali community

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The story of Somali youth who vanished from the Twin Cities, possibly to fight alongside jihadists in their home country, is transforming the normally passionate and sometimes pugilistic debates at Minneapolis coffee shops into quieter introspection. Now a recurring topic of conversation among Somalis is “reconstructing the community’s tainted image,” said Dahir Awaleh, a 47-year-old small-business owner who frequents the popular Starbucks on Minneapolis’s Riverside Avenue. “In Minnesota, Somalis are increasingly associated with terrorists,” he lamented, sipping his coffee. “Businesses are raided. Friends and family members are being interrogated by law enforcement agencies. Continue Reading

Wearing faith on their sleeves

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A few years ago, Twin Cities resident AbdulAziz Al-Salim was looking for a witty, Muslim-themed t-shirt but all he could find were fairly unimaginative creations. So the 23-year-old started his own company to design and sell shirts with a Muslim point of view. Thus began his first business venture, Muslim Tees, a small company with a big message. Full Transcript:
A few years ago, Twin Cities resident AbdulAziz Al-Salim was looking for a witty, Muslim-themed t-shirt but all he could find were fairly unimaginative creations. So the 23-year-old started his own company to design and sell shirts with a Muslim point of view. Continue Reading