Local & State

Supporters say that the new Seward Co-Op Friendship Store soon to open at 38th Street and 3rd Avenue South can help solve the “food desert” problem in the Central and Bryant neighborhoods. However, it appears a “rift” has developed between the store and the Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization (CANDO) over a proposed agreement.
CANDO officials had hoped for a community benefits agreement (CBA) with Seward Co-Op that, among other things, called for 70 percent of the store jobs go to Blacks and Latinos by December 31, 2016.

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) annual convention turned Minneapolis into a “chocolate journalism city” for at least a week, with over a thousand-plus Black folk seen on the downtown streets.

Faatemah Ampey is an award-winning hairstylist and educator on beauty who spent her childhood in Maplewood and St. Paul. Ampey, who currently resides in St. Paul, is writing a book with the intent of empowering young Black women and girls by encouraging them to wear their natural hair.

This intergenerational child care center opened July 20 and is currently seeking participants heading into the 2015-2016 school year. Olu’s Center provides care for children six weeks to three years of age, preschool for children ages three to six, and before and after school care for children age six to 12.

On August 6, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) taped a broadcast on West Broadway in North Minneapolis at Neighborhoods Organizing for Change’s (NOC) temporary offices to speak on the approaching one-year anniversary of the Michael Brown and other police-related killings that led to the Black Lives Matter national movement. NOC Executive Director Anthony Newby told the MSR that those deaths are “our generation’s Emmitt Till.”

Boom Island in Minneapolis marked the spot for Senior Citizen Safety Pride Day on August 7. Live music, grilled burgers, games and dancing from both senior and youth groups were this year’s highlights. MAD DADS of Minneapolis and other community organizations sponsored the event to show appreciation and support for seniors in the Twin Cities.

By the mid-’70s, NABJ founder Sam Ford worked at CBS affiliate WCCO-TV, where he did enterprising and heart-wrenching reporting. Walter Middlebrook, another young journalist, began long and rewarding career at both city newspapers. And Michael Days learned valuable lessons as an intern the climbed the industry ranks to editor of a metropolitan daily. Here are their stories.

The winds of change have taken an interesting turn at the online publication Twin Cities Daily Planet. TCDP began with a mission to cover culture diversity and, increasingly over the years, to do so by the pens of minority writers. It was the first such entity hereabouts since the magazine Colors: A Journal of Opinion by Writers of Color folded in the late ’90s.

Wallace Collier, born June 25, 1923 in Minneapolis, was “a giant” on Minneapolis’ North Side, say his family and friends. He passed away July 24 at age 92. His funeral was at Ascension Church on July 31, and he is now buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

Will Minneapolis take the top spot for hosting the most National Night Out events across the nation for the fourth straight year? Last year the city once again placed first for city’s with a 300,000+ population.

From Wednesday through Sunday, Aug. 5-9, members of the National Association of Black Journalists will convene their first convention in Minneapolis. This Twin City — sibling St. Paul is next door — has a special relationship with Black journalists.