The Minneapolis City Council voted June 11 to deny special assessments for homeowners and businesses near George Floyd Square, reject exclusive development rights for Agape Movement at People’s Way and request a report on the 38th Street THRIVE Plan.
News
Timely national, state, and local articles, including profile stories from an African American perspective.
Posted inLocal & State
Elders reflect on struggle, survival and hope at Juneteenth brunch
Black Lives Matter Minnesota gathered elders, advocates and community members for a Juneteenth morning brunch honoring Valerie Castile, Jeweliean Jackson and others who have carried the movement, with MSR CEO and Publisher Tracey Williams-Dillard also recognized with a Celebrating Revolutionary Sistas award.
Posted inLocal & State
Hundreds Gather at Rondo Juneteenth Celebration for Ceremony of Joy, Tribute, and Resistance
Hundreds gathered at the sixth annual Rondo Juneteenth Celebration in St. Paul for a ceremony that was equal parts celebration, tribute and rallying cry, with Gov. Walz, Lt. Gov. Flanagan, Sen. Klobuchar and Sen. Smith all speaking on voting rights, DEI and the fight for Black freedom.
Posted inLocal & State
Rebound Inc. creates pathways for Black youth beyond the justice system
Rebound Inc. is working to help Black youth in the Twin Cities move beyond systems involvement through prevention programs, transitional housing, group homes and youth advocacy, serving young people at every stage of their journey toward stability and independence.
Posted inLocal & State
Human Rights Watch Report Accuses Federal Agents of Killings, Racial Profiling During Minnesota Immigration Crackdown
A 180-page Human Rights Watch report calls Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota a manufactured crisis, names nine DHS officials for investigation and documents how federal agents killed two Minneapolis residents, racially profiled thousands and dismantled the oversight apparatus designed to investigate such abuses.
Posted inLocal & State
Miss Juneteenth Minnesota royalty speak to continued power of the pageant
At 54, Zina Alston Fizer was crowned First Lady Juneteenth Minnesota at the third annual Miss Juneteenth Minnesota State Pageant, fulfilling a lifelong dream for a woman who grew up watching beauty pageants and never seeing herself reflected in them.
Posted inMusic
Known MPLS youth choir drops Father’s Day single celebrating Black men
Known MPLS, a Twin Cities youth choir founded by Courtland Pickens, is releasing a new single this Father’s Day weekend celebrating Black men, with an upcoming five-song EP and appearances alongside Josh Groban and Jennifer Hudson on June 28.
Posted inLocal & State
Federal Government Charges 15 People Tied to Minneapolis Anti-Fascist Organizations
The Justice Department charged 15 people allegedly tied to two Minneapolis-based anti-fascist organizations in a 94-page indictment that revealed an extensive federal surveillance operation, quoting verbatim from encrypted Signal chats as U.S. Marshals deployed tear gas outside the St. Paul arraignment.
Posted inLocal & State
Minnesota Families and Child Care Providers Demand Structural Reform as Costs Spiral
Contributing writer Clint Combs reports on Minnesota’s growing child care crisis, where 87% of day care centers say the industry is in crisis and families like Annel Velasco’s have spent $120,000 on child care, as advocates call for structural reform and universal child care.
Posted inLocal & State
Minnesota Makes History: Two Incarcerated Students Become First in the Nation to Graduate from ABA-Accredited Law School
Maureen Onyelobi and Jeffery Young made history on June 8 at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Shakopee, becoming the first incarcerated people in the United States to earn juris doctor degrees from an ABA-accredited law school while incarcerated.
Posted inBusiness
After the Ruling: How Trump’s Struck-Down Tariffs Impact Black-Owned Businesses
A Supreme Court ruling struck down Trump’s IEEPA tariffs, triggering an estimated $130 to $175 billion in potential refunds, while Black-owned businesses absorbed disproportionate damage with 52% reporting a decline in sales.
Posted inLocal & State
IWMF Honors Minneapolis Journalist Georgia Fort with Courage in Journalism Award
Minneapolis independent journalist Georgia Fort, founder of BLCK Press and facing federal felony charges for her coverage of a St. Paul protest, has been named a 2026 Courage in Journalism Award recipient by the International Women’s Media Foundation.
Posted inNews
Stolen Lives: The Karmelo Anthony case and the families left behind
MSR editor Jasmine McBride connects the 35-year sentence handed to Karmelo Anthony in Texas, the continued trauma of Diamond Reynolds a decade after Philando Castile’s murder and the fight for the Marvina Haynes Act at the Minnesota Capitol, tracing a through line of racial injustice that demands repair.
Posted inLocal & State
Operation Metro Surge Left Nearly $700 Million in Damage. For Some, the Cost Was Everything.
A sweeping new report estimates Operation Metro Surge inflicted nearly $700 million in economic damage on Minneapolis, with businesses losing $445 million in revenue, workers losing $152 million in wages and three people dead, as Daniel Hernandez prepares to close his third Colonial Market.
Posted inLocal & State
St. Paul Unveils Statue Honoring William Godette, the City’s First African American Firefighter
St. Paul unveiled a new statue honoring William and Alfred Godette, the city’s pioneering Black firefighters, inside the William and Alfred Godette Memorial Building, with artist Seitu Jones creating a piece designed to ensure every person who walks through the doors stands in their shadows.
Posted inPolitics
Federal bill could gut state protections for kids on social media
Contributing writer Anya Armentrout examines how social media harms Black youth disproportionately, why Minnesota’s new Stop the Harms Act matters and why advocates fear the federal KIDS Act would gut state-level protections that actually have teeth.
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Turning Point celebrates 50 years of culturally specific care
Turning Point, Inc. MN, a North Minneapolis substance abuse treatment center serving the African American community with a culturally specific approach, celebrated its 50th anniversary this week, having served more than 25,000 clients since 1976.
Posted inLocal & State
118 Men at Rush City Prison Launch Canteen Strike, Demand Meeting With DOC Central Office
One hundred and eighteen men incarcerated at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Rush City have launched a peaceful canteen strike and are calling on Department of Corrections officials to come to the prison directly to address what they describe as extreme and violent conditions of confinement.
Posted inProfiles In Power
Nico Woods is building Black political infrastructure from the ground up
At 36, South Minneapolis native Nico Woods is building a sustainable political infrastructure for Black communities through Victory of the People, connecting more than 200 young people to political opportunities and developing a pipeline of future leaders.
Posted inLocal & State
Fitz was my best friend in Minnesota
Contributing writer Ray Richardson shares a deeply personal tribute to Larry Fitzgerald Sr., his best friend in Minnesota for more than 30 years, tracing their connection from a Williams Arena media room in 1990 to Super Bowl press boxes and a lifetime of shared memories.