The Minneapolis NAACP is calling for the immediate resignation or termination of Minneapolis Public Housing Authority Executive Director Abdi Warsame after revelations of widespread mold, water damage and neglect at Heritage Park Apartments, where half of the 440 units are empty or unsafe.
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Posted inBusiness
Fractional CFO services are unlocking capital for Black businesses
Black Press USA contributing writer Amy Kang explains how fractional CFO services can help Black-owned businesses access capital, build investor-grade financial documentation and close the funding gap without the cost of a full-time executive.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Justice reform bills stall again at the Capitol, the fight continues
The Pretrial Data Transparency Act failed to pass for the second year in a row in Minnesota, but the Minnesota Justice for All Coalition is not deterred, continuing to push for reforms in a system where 63% of Hennepin County’s jail population is Black.
Posted inLocal & State
 Legal Rights Center Launches Hotline to Close Gap in Legal Defense for Low-Income Minnesotans
The Legal Rights Center has launched the First Defense Hotline, a 24/7 resource connecting Minneapolis arrestees with free legal counsel in the first hours after arrest, addressing the wealth gap in a legal system that too often leaves Black and brown Minnesotans without adequate representation.
Posted inFood
Patience is a form of power
Food columnist Lachelle Cunningham writes about chasing her great-grandmother’s fried green tomatoes, giving a Juneteenth keynote at Carleton College and finally claiming her voice as a writer, a healer and a social justice thought leader, with recipes for fried green tomatoes and potlikker mocktails.
Posted inJames on Jazz
100 years of Davis and Coltrane, and the loss of Sonny Rollins
MSR jazz columnist Robin James recaps the Twin Cities Jazz Festival at Mears Park, remembers the late great Sonny Rollins, and marks the 100th anniversary of Miles Davis and John Coltrane in a column celebrating Black Music Month.
Posted inLocal & State
Coalition calls on Twin Cities Pride to cut corporate tiesÂ
The Taking Back Pride Coalition held a press conference calling for Twin Cities Pride to drop corporate sponsors including Delta, United Health Group and 3M and remove police presence, marking the coalition’s tenth year organizing around anti-corporate, anti-police Pride demands.
Posted inLocal & State
Construction at George Floyd Square strains businesses, reshapes community landmarks
Construction has begun at 38th and Chicago Avenue, the site of George Floyd’s murder, and businesses and residents are already feeling the impact, with one Black business owner saying the first day left her shop completely inaccessible and questioning whether she will make it to the end of the month.
Posted inAnother View
Cost of college sports, follow the money
In the second of his two-part series on the cost of college sports, Charles Hallman follows the money from the SAFE Act’s Senate floor advance to Big Ten media distributions, NCAA revenue sharing and the stark financial gap between Power Four schools and HBCUs.
Posted inLocal & State
Charges dropped: Protester’s federal case ends with $25 fee
Federal charges against Isabel Lopez, an Aztec dancer and poet arrested during a June 2025 protest in south Minneapolis, were reduced to a misdemeanor after four felony counts collapsed, with Judge John Tunheim rejecting probation and ordering only a $25 court fee.
Posted inOpinion
A Federal Rule Change Threatens Minnesota’s Small Businesses. Especially the Ones Our Communities Depend On
R. Lynn Pingol writes that a proposed OMB rule change would strip away the supplier diversity programs, technical assistance and SBA 8(a) pathways that small Black, immigrant and women-owned businesses depend on to access federal contracts, threatening the corridors communities rebuilt after years of crisis.
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Your home is an investment. How to create generational wealth
Sponsored by JPMorganChase. Chase’s home lending team breaks down how homeownership builds generational wealth, from building equity and tax deductions to what happens when you sell and how to borrow against what you own.
Posted inBlack Business Spotlight
Carol’s African Restaurant brings Liberian cuisine and community to Brooklyn Park
Carol’s African Restaurant, a new family-owned West African restaurant in Brooklyn Park named in honor of Jamecar Killen’s mother, held its grand opening May 9, drawing more than 200 people after nearly a decade of catering and community building across the Twin Cities.
Posted in4UR HEALTH
4UR Health: NC A&T Researcher Dr. Angelo Moore on Men’s Health, Fatherhood, and AI’s Role in Closing Health Disparities
On the MSR 4UR Health podcast, hosts Dr. Ronda Marie Chakolis-Hassan and Clarence Jones of Hueman Partnership welcome Dr. Angelo Moore, inaugural executive director of the Center of Excellence for Integrated Health Disparities at North Carolina A&T, for a wide-ranging conversation on men’s health, community trust and AI in health care.
Posted inBlacklight On Sports
A Father, a Son, and a Golf Club: Jamison and Trey Rusthoven on Legacy, Sacrifice, and Chasing a Dream
On Blacklight on Sports, hosts Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald and Charles Hallman welcome father-and-son duo Jamison and Trey Rusthoven, a Twin Cities coaching legend and a 22-year-old professional golfer pursuing his dream on the APGA Tour.
Posted inSports
Back where he belongs: Ve Shawn “Magic” Owens’ road back to the ring
Minneapolis boxer Ve Shawn “Magic” Owens is making his comeback on June 27 at Battle on the Waterfront in St. Paul after an eye injury forced him away from the sport, driven by faith, family and a hunger for a world title that never dimmed.
Posted inArts + Culture
Soul of the Southside continues to grow as a Juneteenth tradition
Soul of the Southside returned to the Lake Street and Minnehaha corridor on June 19 for its fifth year, drawing thousands of residents, businesses, artists and families to one of the Twin Cities’ largest Juneteenth celebrations, with founders Emmanuel and Fancy Duncan reflecting on what it has become.
Posted inThe Prep Scene
North graduates return to host free camp
Three North High School alumni now in the NFL, Omar Brown, Bobby Jamison-Travis and Tyler Johnson, returned to Minneapolis on Juneteenth to host a free Sports Performance Camp for local youth, with plans to make it an annual tradition.
Posted inFinance
Partnering with the Right Property Management Firm Can Be a Game-Changer for Black Investors
Black Press USA contributing writer Dax Janel Valencia explains how the right property management firm can help Black investors build generational wealth by transforming landlordship into passive income and freeing up time to expand their portfolio.
Posted inOpinion
When Black communities lose their vote, schools pay the price
EdTrust president Denise Forte argues that the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais is not only a voting rights threat but a direct attack on educational equity, warning that reduced Black political representation weakens communities’ influence over school funding, curriculum and opportunity.