Twenty people graduated from the Minneapolis Fire Department’s EMS Pathways Academy on May 22, with 16 of the 20 graduates being people of color, reflecting the program’s commitment to diversifying the department’s ranks.
Minnesota
Posted inAnother View
Royce and Kaelen: Working their way back to the show
Royce Lewis is working to rediscover his game after a demotion to the St. Paul Saints, while top prospect Kaelen Culpepper is making a case for a promotion, and the two Black teammates are leaning on each other along the way.
Posted inLocal & State
Twin Cities honored with JFK Profile in Courage Award for resisting Metro Surge
The people of the Twin Cities received the 2026 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on May 31, honored for risking their lives to protect neighbors and immigrant community members during Operation Metro Surge.
Posted inLocal & State
“Modern-day slavery:” How Minnesota’s prison labor pipeline begins before conviction
Over 40% of Minnesota’s pre-trial jail population is Black, and once convicted, many are funneled into prison work programs paying as little as 50 cents an hour. The End Slavery Minnesota Coalition says it is not rehabilitation. It is exploitation.
Posted inLocal & State
Rest in Power: Larry Fitzgerald Sr., MSR Sportswriter and Champion of Black Athletes, Dead at 71
Larry Fitzgerald Sr., beloved Minnesota sportswriter and longtime Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder columnist who spent more than 45 years advocating for Black athletes and coaches, has died at age 71.
Posted inBest of Black Businesses
Nominations Are Now Open for the 2026 Best of Black Business Awards
Nominations are now open for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder’s Second Annual Best of Black Business Awards. Submit your favorites across five categories through June 30, 2026, with winners celebrated at a live ceremony on Nov. 7.
Posted inSports
From Rondo to Cooperstown: St. Paul Honors David Winfield With Bronze
A bronze statue of Baseball Hall of Famer David Winfield now stands at Toni Stone Field in St. Paul, honoring the Rondo native and 22-year MLB veteran who credits his upbringing in the heart of St. Paul’s Black community as the foundation for everything that followed.
Posted inPolitics
Kendall Qualls wins GOP endorsement for governor
Minnesota Republican convention delegates held a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin, the officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, on the sixth anniversary of Floyd’s death, as Army veteran Kendall Qualls won the GOP endorsement for governor.
Posted inLocal & State
DOJ Announces $90 Million Medicaid Fraud Indictment in Minneapolis as Acting AG No-Shows
Federal prosecutors announced indictments against 15 people accused of defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of $90 million, as RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz joined DOJ officials at a Minneapolis press conference while the acting attorney general was in Washington defending a fund for Trump allies.
Posted inEducation
Professors reflect on Black progress, and what the next decade demands
Black academics Dr. Walter Greason and Dr. Artika Tyner offer a sobering, nuanced and at times hopeful assessment of where Black communities in Minnesota and across the country stand today and where they are headed over the next decade.
Posted inMSR In the News
Perry Talks 2026 Brought Together Powerful Voices at George Floyd Square
The 2026 Perry Talks symposium brought together Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, MSR CEO Tracey Williams-Dillard and other distinguished voices near George Floyd Square for a timely conversation on racial justice and First Amendment rights during the Rise & Remember Festival.
Posted inOn the Radar
iLLism: The South Minneapolis Duo Building a Creative Legacy
Twin Cities hip-hop duo iLLism, consisting of husband-and-wife creators Fancy and Emmanuel Duncan, have evolved from a successful musical act into powerful community builders. Through CRWN Media, the Legacy Building, and the Soul of the Southside festival, they are actively rewriting the narrative for local creatives.
Posted inDigital Editions
MSR Digital Edition 43 for May 28 – June 3, 2026
The MSR Digital Edition 43 for May 28 – June 3, 2026 is now live. Explore community news, sports, arts, and events. Edition 43, Volume 92.
Posted inGeorge Floyd Square
Six years later, George Floyd’s memory stands strong at 38th and Chicago
Six years after George Floyd’s murder, family members, activists and community leaders gathered at 38th and Chicago to remember, invest in the next generation and refuse to let the world forget what happened here.
Posted inOdds and Ends
Rachel Banham delivers for Chicago Sky in Minneapolis return
Rachel Banham returned to Minneapolis and delivered 13 points off the bench to help the Chicago Sky past the Minnesota Lynx 86-79, continuing a decade-long WNBA career built on delivering buckets when her team needs them most.
Posted inOpinion
Why “foster” is our lifelong claim
Foster Advocates Executive Director Osahon Akpata-Tanious writes that Black communities have always understood the power of naming themselves, and calls on Black Minnesotans to see the Foster identity for what it is: a stigma being dismantled, not preserved.
Posted inBlack Business Spotlight
Unique Fashion and Accessories brings affordable style and resilience to Crystal
Black Business Spotlight: Unique Fashion and Accessories owner Betty Sanders built a decade-long boutique business rooted in survivorship, affordable style and community empowerment after two battles with breast cancer changed the direction of her life.
Posted inLocal & State
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara Resigns After Interfering With Investigation
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara resigned Tuesday, May 26, after an investigation found he had interfered with a probe into his own conduct by deleting a contact from his city-issued phone to shield evidence from investigators.
Posted inEducation
Rising to the Bar: Minnesota’s Next Generation of Black Lawyers Won’t Back Down
Seven Black law graduates from the University of Minnesota, Mitchell Hamline and St. Thomas are entering the legal profession with purpose, carrying lived experience and a commitment to representing communities that have historically gone without.
Posted inOpinion
Policy shifts are reshaping Black and immigrant business economy
Procurement expert R. Lynn Pingol argues that Minnesota’s small businesses are facing a perfect storm of federal shocks, from DEI restrictions to DBE rollbacks and SBA delays, landing hardest on Black, immigrant and BIPOC-owned firms with the least margin for disruption.