Live jazz echoed along the North Minneapolis riverfront as the first annual Northside Jazz & Heritage Festival united generations of Black musicians, entrepreneurs, and community members.
MSR
Posted inMSR In the News
MSR’s Tracey Williams-Dillard among inaugural inductees to Minnesota Black Business Hall of Fame
MSR Publisher Tracey Williams-Dillard is among nine visionaries inducted into the inaugural Minnesota Black Business Hall of Fame, celebrating generations of economic and cultural impact.
Posted inEvents
Empowering young minds with the joy of reading at Leaders are Readers event
A St. Paul nonprofit is tackling statewide reading gaps head-on by hosting a free community event focused on culturally rich literature, a book giveaway, and youth empowerment.
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Frogtown neighbors to host clean air meet-and-greet
Empowering Saint Paul residents with heavy-metal monitoring data, the Neighbors for Clean Air project invites local neighbors to learn, connect, and drive environmental change.
Posted inOpinion
Caitlin Clark has become a weapon against Black women, and Congress is enabling it
In the Opinion piece A.R. Shaw shares how, political figures are inserting themselves into WNBA officiating, raising urgent questions about racism, player safety, and the ongoing culture war targeting Black women in sports.
Posted inNews
Rondo Block Party returns
The 4th annual Rondo Block Party expands this weekend with a focus on community wellness, local entrepreneurs, and preserving Rondo’s rich legacy through action.
Posted inBooks
Historian revisits a pivotal moment in city history
More than 50 years after Minneapolis teachers risked their careers in a 20-day walkout, historian Dr. William D. Green reveals how the historic 1970 strike was about far more than pay.
Posted inFinance
Cashless payment systems are the boring move every Black shop needs
Customer habits are shifting rapidly toward digital payments. For Black business owners, adopting a modern checkout setup isn’t just about convenience, it’s the foundational strategy for building credit and scaling operations.
Posted inOpinion
Black women’s next breakthrough starts with one another
Deidre Johnson argues that the future of Black women’s leadership depends less on corporate promises than on women investing in one another. Through mentorship, she says, Black women can expand opportunity, challenge bias, and help transform hope into expectation.
Posted inEvents
Renaissance Gala signals a new era for Minnesota Black businesses
The Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Renaissance-inspired Gala to strengthen statewide business networks, expand entrepreneurial access, and drive lasting economic impact.
Posted inSports
Blakely opens up on race, resilience ahead of return to elite gymnastics
Fresh off titles at the U.S. Classic and an NCAA podium finish with Florida, world champion Skye Blakely shares her journey navigating identity, prejudice, and community in elite gymnastics.
Posted inEducation
Catalyst for Systems Change celebrates a year of youth-driven policy wins
Catalyst for Systems Change celebrated a year of youth-led legislative victories, from exposing state-wide PSEO compliance gaps to passing critical school health safety bills.
Posted inArts + Culture
After Operation Metro Surge, Mixed Blood Theatre turns to storytelling to heal
Following the taxing impact of Operation Metro Surge, Mixed Blood Theatre is leveraging story circles, a tool rooted in Indigenous history and Civil Rights organizing, to help Twin Cities residents reconnect, heal, and find strength in shared joy.
Posted inLocal & State
Voting is a responsibility (Part 1 of 2)
Thomas Jefferson warned that unmonitored governments naturally degenerate into corruption. As Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities face rollbacks on civil rights, active civic engagement and voting are no longer optional, they are our most powerful responsibility.
Posted inLocal & State
Medicaid disruptions are affecting healthcare providers and will disproportionately impact Black Minnesotans
State re-evaluations and IT login migrations have triggered payment delays and provider disenrollment’s across Minnesota’s Medicaid network, threatening essential care for the nearly 44% of Black Minnesotans under 65 who rely on public health coverage.
Posted inBlack Business Spotlight
Self-taught lash artist builds business one client at a time
For Shareez Foreman, becoming a lash artist started with curiosity, creativity, and the self-determination to master a new skill, one client at a time.
Posted inEvents
A soulful celebration to come at 1st annual Northside Jazz & Heritage Festival
North Minneapolis is making history with its first-ever free Jazz Festival the community-owned celebration honors the Northside’s deep musical roots, featuring live soul, R&B, local vendors, and family activities.
Posted inFrom the Publisher
Juneteenth is a day of joy, and a day of reckoning
MSR CEO and Publisher Tracey Williams-Dillard reflects on the meaning of Juneteenth in a political moment that is testing the durability of hard-won freedoms, and reaffirms the Spokesman-Recorder’s commitment to bearing witness to Black life in all of its complexity, grief and glory.
Posted inThe Prep Scene
Fitzgerald got his flowers
MSR sports columnist Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald reflects on accepting a Southside Hall of Fame award on behalf of Charles Hallman and witnessing Larry Fitzgerald Sr. receive his flowers in person, just weeks before Fitzgerald’s passing at age 71.
Posted inLocal & State
Larry Fitzgerald Sr., a trusted voice in Twin Cities sports, dies at 71
Larry Fitzgerald Sr., the beloved Minnesota sports journalist and MSR columnist who spent nearly five decades as a trusted voice for Black athletes and coaches, has died at age 71. Tributes from across the sports world honored a pioneer, trailblazer and door opener.