Minnesota

Congress: 10,000 Hours a Week Raising Money

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Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips (CD3) held one of his frequent townhalls on March 8 at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minnesota. He opened by stating that members of Congress spend 10,000 an average week. “in their relentless pursuit of money for their campaigns…To be elected to Congress takes millions and millions of dollars, and I want to find a way where we don’t have a Congress populated by people of means or people who are connected to great means, or people who have to sacrifice and sell their souls to raise money all the time.” Two Wayzata High School students raised the issue of being forced to respond to loud noises for fear of gunshots in the school. Phillips responded, “In spite of great efforts in behalf of a lot of us in this Congress to at least offer some solutions…

Homepage Featured

The Future of Minneapolis Neighborhood Organizations

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Minneapolis League of Women Voters, Civic Buzz, Feb., 4, 2020, had an overflow crowd, the largest audience in a long time, of citizens concerned about neighborhood organization. Since 2015, Minneapolis Neighborhood Organizations and the City of Minneapolis have been preparing for funding changes expected in 2020. The City is in the final stages of many years of discussions, reports, outreach, and feedback. They recently passed the Neighborhoods 2020 Framework and in September 2019, contracted with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) for the final phase of Neighborhoods 2020. CURA is completing a report that will soon be entering a 45 day public comment period before going to the City Council.

CD3

Optimistic Dean Phillips speaks at Brooklyn Park Town Hall

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When Dean Phillips announced his candidacy for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District, he promised, if elected, to host frequent town halls in the district. Phillips held his fifth town hall meeting on Nov. 23, 2019, at the Brooklyn Park Technical College. About 200 people joined him in the auditorium. The first question was on impeachment and subsequent questions covered a range of constituents concerns.

Environment

10 Minute Walk to a Park

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Story and Video by Bill Sorem
A 10 minute walk to a park for 97% of the Minneapolis population was one of the metrics that has traditionally kept Minneapolis on the top of the listing of cities park systems by The Trust For Public Land. The 2019 listing had Minneapolis in 3rd place, behind St.Paul which was in second. First place went to Washington D.C. In 2018, Minneapolis was in first place for the 6th consecutive year, with St. Paul 2nd. Christensen noted that this was a nice honor, but only one of the considerations in park system planning.

Energy

Minnesota loses one dairy farmer every day

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On May 7, the Civc Buzz of the Minneapolis League of Women Voters had two speakers discussing, “The Urban/Rural Struggle for a Sustainable Future.” Both speakers, Meg Moynihan and Amanda Babcock, discussed the challenges of running a farm, whether it be in rural Minnesota or an urban landscape. Watch the livestreamed discussion here. Story and video by Bill Sorem.

Free Speech

Peace Lovers Celebrate 20 Years on the Peace Bridge

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Peace Lovers Celebrate 20 Years on the Peace Bridge from The UpTake on Vimeo. For 20 years peace advocates have gathered on the Peace Bridge, the Lake Street Marshall Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the two cities. Every Wednesday for 20 years, rain snow or shine, they have gathered on this bridge. On June 25, 1991, the Twin Cities designated this site as the, “Sri Chinmoy Peace Bridge.” April 1999 saw a small group of peace advocates starting the Wednesday tradition with flags and banners and 20 years of quiet pleas for peace continued. April 24, 2019 about 200 activists, many of them aging, took to the bridge to continue the quest for peace.

Minnesota

Reversing the Legacy of Racial Inequity

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Reversing the Legacy of Racial Inequity from The UpTake on Vimeo. Minneapolis holds a reputation for being one of the most progressive cities in the Midwest with implementation of new policies and programs to improve the lives of its residents. Unfortunately, these policies have long overlooked and ignored the thriving legacy of racial inequity in the city. This should come as no surprise as a 2017 news report found that Minnesota was ranked the second worst state in the country for racial equality. So what exactly is racial inequity and what is Minneapolis doing about it?