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T2P2: Hennepin County Attorney Candidate Debate

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra w/ Wynton Marsalis

Ink Rhythms on the Breeze: The Art of Chinese Fan Paintings

Sean McPherson

We requested interviews from most candidates running in the major Twin Cities races ahead of the August 11 primary and November general election. Below, you'll find their answers in their own words on the issues facing the Twin Cities, their priorities if elected, and why they're running. We'll keep updating this page as more interviews come in throughout the fall, so keep checking back.

Cedrick Frazier for Hennepin County Attorney

María Isa Pérez-Vega for Ramsey County Commissioner, District 5

Rebecca Noecker for Ramsey County Commissioner, District 5

Sharon El-Amin for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

Irene Fernando for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

Some interviews might be edited for length/clarity.

We requested interviews from most candidates running in the major Twin Cities races ahead of the August 11 primary and November general election.

Meet Your Candidates: City Cast Twin Cities' 2026 Election Interviews

Twin City Guides

There’s a lot happening in Minnesota news and you should brag about how much you know!

There’s a lot happening in Minnesota news and you should brag about how much you know! Take this week's quiz to test your knowledge.

Have you been keeping track of Minnesota news?

Have you been keeping track of the news?

Local News

Roseanne Pereira

As the weather cools, it may be time for new breakfast options. Check out this roundup of savory breakfast options from local restaurants.

In much of the world, breakfast is some kind of savory porridge. In East, Southeast, and South Asia, you’ll find people eating congee, which is made by cooking rice in water or broth to achieve a creamy texture. 

 in St. Paul’s Lowertown offers pork or chicken congee with toppings like green onion, soft-boiled eggs, and fried shallots, plus chili oil to mix in. The combination of creamy, crunchy, chewy, and fresh/raw textures makes for a satisfying bite.

If you are looking for a gateway breakfast item before diving into congee head-on, might I suggest the congee hash browns with ginger scallion dipping sauce at 

Saturday Dumpling Co. (available only at the South Minneapolis location

). They also sell Szechuan cinnamon French toast sticks.

Fried potato-and-cheese patties known as llapingachos (pronounced “yah-peen-GAH-chos”) get their bright orange color from achiote (annatto in English). You’ve seen this color before — think Goldfish crackers, Velveeta, and Mimolette cheese.

, they’re served with a peanut sauce and can be purchased individually or as part of other large plates, such as the Llapingachos Breakfast that comes with toast and eggs and a choice of roast pork, chorizo, or bacon, or the Saltado Breakfast with avocado and a beef tenderloin stir-fry. Other dishes on their weekend morning menu include humitas, corn husks filled with Ecuadorian corn mixed with cheese and onion, and beef empanadas served with the spicy condiment, aji criollo.

. Both restaurants serve another traditional Ecuadorian dish, mote pillo, made with hominy corn scrambled together with eggs and onion.

 cooking up tacos and selling packages of their “handmade from scratch” tortillas. In addition to flour tortillas, they also sell rotating heirloom corn tortillas in a variety of colors — blue, red, yellow, white, purple hibiscus, and red chile, each with “its unique properties, from vibrant blues packed with antioxidants to earthy yellows bursting with flavor.” I was most struck by their green tortillas made with nopales, which is Spanish for cactus.

The breakfast tacos feature ingredients sourced from Minnesota farms, such as 

 for the chorizo and egg taco and pork from 

. The tortilleria goodies are also available year-round at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market indoor store, Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

Spicy can also be a part of breakfast. Try fuul (or ful), a stewed fava bean and Ethiopian breakfast staple made with tomato, onion, and spices, at the Franklin Avenue location of 

 also includes porridges like kinche (made of cracked wheat), bula (made of enset flour), or genfo (made of wheat flour) and served with vegan butter and berbere dressing. Firfir and 

 (kita firfir) are also available and are made with torn-up injera and spices.

Where To Find Savory Breakfasts in the Twin Cities

Savory Breakfasts Around Town

Where To Eat in the Twin Cities

Where to Eat

✏️ Find past crossword puzzles below: 

September 24, 2026 - How About Them Apples

Try out this Twin Cities crossword on delicious fall flavors, and put your knowledge to the test!

Can You Solve This Twin Cities Crossword?

Keep It Local

Sign up for Keep It Local from City Cast Twin Cities

 For a number of months, I was wondering when Minneapolis Public Schools would drop an announcement that would truly transform the school district. MPS's financial woes, and its mishandling of said financial woes, have been big news in the Twin Cities for almost half a decade. Though there's been some really severe belt-tightening from the district, there hadn't been the kind of belt-tightening I thought would be needed to move the needle on these financial problems.

Then September 15 comes around, and the MPS school board announces an 

 to shut down a double-digit number of schools. I should say that the “Transformation” web post from Minneapolis Public Schools states that these cuts are going to create a school system where everybody thrives “academically, socially, and emotionally through a holistic, culturally sustaining education that engages and prepares contributing citizens”.

But this caused a lot of distress. Part of that is the school closures themselves, and part of it is that this isn't really belt-tightening, because these closures would not save a significant amount of money. The community response has been largely negative, and anti-transformation groups have been mounting protests, including one that happened on September 29 at the Davis Center.

 The announcement of 16 schools potentially closing is jarring enough, but it's still numerical. It isn't personal. So we connected with parents of students at Kenny and Cityview. Both schools are proposed to be closed and merged in some of the scenarios presented by MPS.

 We want to welcome on Shakiya Carter, who has children at Cityview. Thank you for being here, Shakiya.

 And we'd also like to welcome on Alyssa Olson, who has children at Kenny. Alyssa, thank you for being here.

 Have the two of you talked to your children about the potential for their schools to close? And how do you explain that?

 I had a conversation with my children. I actually have two who attend Cityview. One of them is kind of a veteran kid at this point, because she's been there since kindergarten, and then I have a new incoming kindergartner this year. When I had the conversation, my son, the kindergartner, didn't really understand. But my fourth grader was like, "Well, Mom, what does that mean for me and my friends? I won't be able to see my friends next year, and I won't be able to see my teachers next year. Where's everybody gonna go?"

 Yeah, I spoke to mine too. I actually have two Kenny kids: a fifth grader and a third grader. I think the initial reaction was, "Well, why?" She sees all the amazing things that are happening at her school, and she feels such a deep connection to her teachers and her principal and her friends. So the immediate reaction was just, "But why? It's so great. I love it here. Why would they want to close it?" Those were tough conversations, and I probably didn't have answers, because the district hasn't really provided any answers. So, yeah, tough conversations for sure.

 These tough conversations involve communicating really adult issues to children, which is a struggle in and of itself. There are also the decisions you'll have to make as parents. There's transportation. Are we switching school districts? Are we looking for a different school? There's a lot to manage, especially because there are multiple scenarios.

Shakiya, I want to start with a question about Cityview. There are a couple of different scenarios for what might happen there. In one, Cityview students would join Lucy Laney. In another, students from Hmong International Academy would come to Cityview. Independent of the conversations you're having with your kids, have you thought about what you're going to do if Cityview closes? Are you going to move districts, or move to a different school, or are you still trying to figure out the decision?

 I'm at a place where I'm still trying to figure out the decision. I'm so deeply vested in my community that I feel like if the schools are going to close, it's going to be a disinvestment, right? We're going to see people disinvest. We're going to see people leave.

Personally, I still haven't made a decision, but here's what I can tell you. It sounds nice that if they close the school, we can realistically move children to other schools. However, that's not what families want. What the district fails to realize is that Cityview is a gateway for families who want to come into the district and build a home here. It's also a school where families who are already in the district choose to stay. And Cityview isn't the only school I'd consider an entry school or a gateway into the district. There are many other schools on that list that could be considered the same or similar. If we lose these schools, we are inherently going to lose families in the community.

 Alyssa, did you have a sense that Kenny was on the verge of closing, or was this a total shock?

 They've been trying to close Kenny for years. This has been a rumor in our community for years and years, and they've tried in the past, and the community was able to step in and stop it. So was I surprised? Not entirely. But I'm surprised they would think this is a positive step for the district as a whole. I'm surprised they haven't thought about the ripple effect. This isn't just about Kenny or Kenny kids. From Kenny to Cityview, the ripple effect through this district will be catastrophic. So am I surprised? I'm not surprised, but I am surprised at the lack of transparency and the lack of thoughtfulness that went into this plan.

 I'll ask you the same question we asked Shakiya. Does your family have a plan? Do you know what you'll do if these closures go through?

 I'm kind of in the same boat as Shakiya. Do I want to leave MPS? No, I do not want to leave MPS. We are a proud Minneapolis family. We're proud to be raising our girls in Minneapolis, and we were so proud to send them to Kenny. So the thought of Kenny closing is devastating. I don't know what we'll do, and I know we're not alone in that. A lot of people are contemplating what they would do, and I'm not sure the district has put any thought into that.

You're asking us, "Would you leave?" But that's not a question the district has ever asked. That's the most interesting part to me. It would be the first question I'd ask as a district official and a district leader. So it feels like a huge misstep.

 I just want to agree with everything Alyssa said about being vested in our schools and our communities. It's not just about one school in particular. It's about all of the schools.

 I really appreciate you using the word "vested," and I know you mean it in a community sense, too. But if y'all walk and take your children with you, that's truly a loss of money for Minneapolis Public Schools. Suppose what happens from these closures is a bunch of people going, "I can't deal with MPS anymore," or "This is not what I signed up for," or "My student who has been learning one language won't be able to continue on that path." Then the district might lose a bunch of its student body, which ultimately impacts the bottom line.

I think I could have more understanding of this very drastic school closure plan, though not full understanding, if they said, "This is going to put us on really strong financial footing for years to come. We're just trying to right-size based on our enrollment and the amount of square footage we currently have per student." That square footage, I should add, is way above most public school systems. MPS has 315 square feet per pupil, and you'll find many districts with approximately 150 to 200 square feet. There might be reasons to close schools, but not if it isn't for cost savings.

What I want to ask y'all is this. As difficult as it is to face the idea of your own school closing, a school you're so connected to, do you see something in this proposal that might enable more academic, social, and emotional thriving? Is there something in these statements where you go, "I'm not happy, but I get where the district is coming from"?

 I think that's what's missing. This is a conversation we've been having a lot in our community. It would have been one thing for the district to come out and say, "We have to close Kenny Community School, and because we're closing Kenny, the district as a whole is going to be in a much better spot." I think that would be an easier pill to swallow.

But they've come with so little evidence, such a lack of data, and such a lack of thoughtfulness. That's the part where I'm like, "So you're going to come in and do this really hard thing and destroy communities without any facts to back up how it will actually benefit children across this district?" I don't think anyone disagrees that change and transformation are necessary, but we need change and transformation done in the right way. The lack of evidence is astounding to me. Their plans leave us with a lot more questions than answers.

 To add on to what Alyssa said, here's my personal perspective. There are three options for building closures, and none of them is a good option. When the board addressed the team that put these proposals together, they asked, "What is this based on, if it's not based on financial savings?" And the team said it's based on the MPS guaranteed student experience.

Well, here's the thing. If you don't know what experience students and families are already having, how can you guarantee them a different experience? You can't. Families are asking, and even board members are asking, "Well, what is it?" We understand they have a chart showing that social-emotional learning and academics will be at the core of this experience. It sounds good, but realistically, that's not an experience you can guarantee. Children come from different homes and different cultural backgrounds, and they speak different languages. So it's good to have this as a goal, but you cannot confidently say it's something you're going to achieve.

Just to give a little history: during the 

, I was a new family in the district. My oldest had just started pre-K when COVID happened and we had e-learning. Then came the CDD and the boundary changes, and my child was also part of the back-to-school pilot. She switched schools three times between pre-K and first grade until we finally landed at Cityview, where she found her school home. That's a lot of transition for a new family to go through, constantly having to switch their child's school every year. And not because they want to, but because they have to.

 Shakiya, I'm going to interrupt you real quick. CDD is the redistricting that happened around 2020 and 2021. Is that about the era?

 Yes, it was the Comprehensive District Design. I call it the district redesign. What we do know from that data is that 18% of families who were in the district during that time did leave. That's a large percentage of our district.

I also want to mention that the district has to understand that engagement looks different for different groups of people. Something I've been hearing lately is that our families who are homeless and highly mobile haven't been involved in the conversation. Nobody's asking them how it's going to affect them, or stepping in to say, "Hey, here are the plans. How can we help you prepare?"

We have Somali families, Hmong families, and Hispanic families where a lot of the time the adults don't speak English. They're not being properly communicated with, and that's a barrier the district has yet to dissolve. So there are a lot of people being left out of this conversation, and still a lot of Black families who don't know.

 I won't give them an A-plus for communication. When there are really hard things to break down, the least they could do is make sure it's well presented and soundly researched. Personally, I share your frustration and your feeling that it's been neither.

I will say that y'all seem very well researched and very capable communicators, and you've shown real courage during a time of crisis for your own families. I can't imagine all the stuff you're managing right now, so taking time out to chat with us means a lot. Hopefully your stories and the things you've shared today will reach more ears, and people will get a sense of what's happening with this transformation at Minneapolis Public Schools.

That was Shakiya Carter and Alyssa Olson, parents of children at Cityview and Kenny. I sincerely thank you for your time today, and I'm sending my love out to you as a fellow parent for what you're facing in the coming months.

MPS's financial woes, and its mishandling of said financial woes, have been big news in the Twin Cities for almost half a decade.

Minneapolis Parents React to Proposed School Closures

Pumpkin spice lattes are all about combining nostalgia with the warming spices of fall — but don’t just stop there! Below is a sampling of the flavors local coffee shops are offering this time of year.

Nearly every Saturday last fall, I treated myself to a hot oat milk chai (or sometimes a chai and chapati!) from 

 at the Mill City Farmers Market. Red Wolf, named for the 

 from the Bale Highlands of Oromia, Ethiopia, brews its chai for hours and uses Kenyan black tea as its base. At the farmers market, there’s no extra charge for oat milk (yesss!). The four friends who run the business describe themselves as “

 who have set their sights on building community one cup at a time.

, a Nepali and Indian restaurant in Uptown. (If you look at the restaurant menu, you can see how seriously they take their chai, with a variety of 

.) I typically order this chai at the cafe inside 

, where I can sip and read a good book (or write these newsletters!).

We’re lucky to have some Scandinavian spots that use warming cardamom to great effect. These include 

 at the American Swedish Institute, where you can order a Hot Swede — their house-brewed coffee with cardamom syrup and cardamom whipped cream. In St. Paul’s Como neighborhood, 

 sells a pulla latte, inspired by the pulla rolls they sell, with almond, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom mixed with espresso and steamed milk. And 

, with multiple metro locations, offers a Nordic latte with cardamom, vanilla, and cinnamon syrup.

The fall menu at New Zealand-inspired cafe 

 includes a Cookie Butter Latte (made with Biscoff cookies), a Cinnamon Roll Latte, and a Carrot Cake Latte with cream cheese cold foam. The Northeast Minneapolis cafe also offers seasonal drink flights, so patrons can try four mini-drinks in one sitting. (P.S. Silver Fern is also 

, which are served with seasonal spreads such as maple butter and housemade apple butter.)

 and witnessed the same fall drink ordered by multiple patrons one after the other, 

, a drink made with miso-maple-brown sugar syrup and topped with a brown butter whipped cream and toasted brown sugar. The friend I was meeting ordered it as well, and while we didn’t taste the miso, we both loved the brown-sugar creaminess.

Fruits and Vegetables (That Aren’t Pumpkin!)

When I first tasted the sweet potato chai (also available as a latte) at 

 last year, it was so smooth and balanced that it made me question my previous pumpkin spice commitment. Sweet potato lattes are also available at 

, made with sweet potato syrup, nutmeg, espresso, milk, and topped with mini marshmallows.

, which started as a beloved coffee trailer at farmers’ markets, now has two brick-and-mortars in Linden Hills and downtown Minneapolis. (For more on their journey, 

!) My go-to is their egg coffee, but if that pale purple color is calling you, check out their popular 

. Ube, a vibrant purple yam, has a mellow, nutty, and mildly sweet profile. The latte combines a housemade ube syrup with equal parts robusta espresso and Vietnamese-grown arabica. This month, they’ll start serving their draculatte, a raspberry white mocha topped with espresso or matcha.

 over the last few years after it made multiple 

. Red beans are a highlight at this Hmong-influenced restaurant, appearing in dishes such as the 

warm sesame balls with red bean caramel sauce

, as well as some of the cafe drinks. My go-to is the red bean steamer for its comforting and earthy flavor. Try it! And for coffee drinkers, there’s also a red bean latte. The restaurant’s recent renovations include an expansion and a new grab-and-go cafe. Uptown’s 

 also serves a red bean latte and a red bean milk tea.

Fatuma Ali, a former finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year, opened

 this March along with her brothers, Ahmed and Abdulqadir. The cafe, located across from U.S. Bank Stadium, offers a Somali-inspired menu, with fall features including a 

 made with a house-crafted fig syrup, almond milk or oat milk, and served as a matcha, latte, or chai. When I visited, I was asked which sweetness level I wanted: One for lightly sweetened, two for their standard, and three for sweetest. Grab chai sugar cookies and slices of cardamom spice loaf to complement your drink.

Looking for seasonal warm beverages beyond the pumpkin spice latte? Here’s a roundup of our favorite fall drinks at local coffee shops.

The Best Fall Drinks in the Twin Cities

A Cornucopia of Fall Drinks in the Twin Cities

Adam Sage

Anna Weggel

Molly Chase

Tiffany Bui

I absolutely love spooky season but one of my very favorite October traditions is to attend the 

. This festival launched in 2012 and has horrified me year after year with plays featuring murder, blood, gore, and delicious jump scares. Picture the Fringe Festival but with audiences screaming, creepy sound design, and 100% more blood. One time I even saw a play there where there was a pool filled with blood on stage, and at the very end of the play, there had been someone with a diving mask hiding in the blood the entire show, only to spring out at the end. That, of course, came from the messed up minds of one of my favorite groups – Dangerous Productions. This year they have a show called “SHED”, and like every other year, I am so there. Are you ready for sixteen days of on-stage horror? It’s October 16-31 at The Crane Theater in Minneapolis. (p.s. if you run into me at an upcoming City Cast event, ask me about the time someone passed out next to me in the audience.) 

Are you afraid to watch horror movies alone? Enjoy a good scare with an audience. St. Paul’s fall 

 kicks off Oct. 2 with The Blair Witch Project, which is actually probably scarier seen outside than in. The Parkway is playing 

 are showing movies from seven countries focused on witchcraft. To keep the magic going, head over to 

This ain't your mom's puppet show – unless she volunteers in the community-driven performance I’m about to mention. The 

 is an annual tradition at Powderhorn Park where volunteers put on a play broadly centered around community resilience and taking care of one another. Employing massive surrealist puppets, live music, and plentiful pyrotechnics, last year's show depicted a story of forest animals being attacked by an army of pigs before they banded together to chase them out of town (it's like they predicted Operation Metro Surge!). Every year, part of the performance makes space to remember those who have lost their lives to state violence and otherwise. The performers sing, and audience members shout the names of those they want to remember. It's a family-friendly cathartic experience that makes you feel more connected to your community, and it's a damn good play. 

If you're a fan of haunted houses, make the trip up to Wyoming, Minnesota to give 

 a try. Take a 20-minute hayride through wonderfully produced horror sets and sketches as zombies and other creatures chase you, and then walk back through 30-45 minutes of continually connected haunted houses. Get there early to hang out by a fire pit in their massive beer garden before going in, and be prepared to be scared. –

Ready for some exquisite fall foliage? Take in the view from the 

 balcony after you tour the newly-opened 

‘Merciless’: Indigenous Lands Since 1776

, a celebration and commemoration of Indigenous resistance. Across the river in St. Paul, check out the 

 at Phalen Park. It features incredible tree views plus a Peanuts Lucy sculpture painted by Minnesota Hmong artist 

. I’m a big fan of Thao’s work, and can’t wait to see 

 at the Wheelock Parkway Project. With the help of this 

 from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, I’m making it my mission to snap pics of Thao’s work against an optimally gorgeous autumn backdrop. –

Want to get creeped out but don’t have time to watch a whole movie or play? How ‘bout you visit some of the scariest places in the Twin Cities? The 

 in the Prospect Park neighborhood is one of the highest points in Minneapolis and it is delightfully creepy. I went on a random Tuesday afternoon and the park was empty except for one goth woman staring into space while smoking a cigarette. Incredible. Also, it may sound like low-hanging fruit but any 

 is basically a creepy capitalist ghost factory. I recommend visiting the spirits still kicking around the old JoAnn Fabrics building in Roseville during the handful of months it is reanimated by Spirit Halloween. If you are looking for spooky environs on Halloween proper, I recommend a visit to Palace Ave in St. Paul between Pascal and Hamline. We’ve got 

 to confirm that it’s downright haunted. 

Are you ready for two Halloween costume ideas that will turn heads at any Twin Cities function? Get ready for these spicy numbers!

Grab some white noise generators and a huge box and make every guest sign an NDA before you talk to them … now you’re a data center!

The utterly professional Mayor Her of St. Paul sent around a 

 of a St. Paul cop swaddled up in a blanket and said it was how someone looked after a good weinering. Wear this to your work party – Mayor Her hasn’t been fired, maybe you won’t either! –

Explore Twin Cities parks, enjoy fall festivals and Oktoberfests, and shop local for school supplies at unique neighborhood stores.

Your Guide to September 2026 in the Twin Cities

Your Guide to October 2026 in the Twin Cities

; now we talk apples. SweeTango, First Kiss, and Honeycrisp are popular customer apple picks. Below are more AppleHouse goods.

judging of the University of Minnesota’s 175th anniversary ice cream flavor

 from their College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). The winning flavor is 

, a creamy vanilla ice cream with oat crumble, swirls of Minnesota-grown aronia berries, and yes, apples. It’s available at the AppleHouse the week of Oct. 5.

Other currently available CFANS flavors include Cinnamon (perfect with apple pie!), Huckleberry, Honey Lavender, Black Raspberry, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Vanilla, and Minnesota Sundae (honey ice cream with salted sunflower seeds). They’re available while supplies last! Students, staff, and faculty produce the ice cream in a state-certified dairy plant.

 is the retail store in the basement of the University of Minnesota’s “Meat Lab” (officially known as the 

. At the AppleHouse, you’ll find freezers full of meat in classic and innovative flavors. Think: beef patties, meatballs, summer sausage, bacon (smoked and apple cinnamon flavors!), snack sticks (like Hot Hawaiian Maple!), brats (jalapeño & cheddar; apple; wild rice; pickle-jack, and more), as well as ground meats like elk and pork.

If you can’t make it to the AppleHouse, Goldy’s Smokehouse 

 operates an on-site truck in front of the AppleHouse Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Oct. 30. Their apple cider mini-donuts are served hot and cost $9 for a dozen, $17 for two dozen, or $24 for three dozen. Hot cider, hot coffee, crafted cold brew, maple lemonade, and apple cider slushies are also available. I can attest to the comforting effect of North Star’s warm, cinnamon sugar-dusted donuts on a cool, crisp morning.

AppleHouse staff recommends the fresh-pressed apple cider and 

, which started with a father and son tapping maple trees on their family farm. Root beer fans can also try their maple root beer, also available at the AppleHouse. Faxon Farms hosts a 

 in Henderson through Oct. 25 that includes chickens, goats, cornhole, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, and a scarecrow contest.

 in nearby Chaska takes pride in its small-batch, slow-cooking methods. Their jams (such as strawberry, blueberry, and fig), glazes, and fudge sauces are other AppleHouse staff recommendations. If you want to try a thickly caramel-coated apple — some might say the AppleHouse’s are the clearest representation of a caramel apple — try one of theirs. Kettle Creek Kitchen makes them with caramel from 

, a fourth-generation family chocolate and candy business located in Apple Valley. The AppleHouse also sells tubs of Abdallah caramel dip, great for dipping fruit or topping ice cream.

It's apple season, and we know where to get the best varieties, ripe for picking. Check out this guide to AppleHouse.

Take a Fall Field Trip to the AppleHouse in Minnesota

Take a Fall Field Trip to the AppleHouse

Tane Danger

 We'd like to welcome on Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando, who represents District Two. Fernando is running as the incumbent in the race, and we are looking to connect with as many candidates as possible for Twin Cities elections before election day on November 3rd. Commissioner Fernando, thank you so much for joining us today.

 Now as the incumbent, I want to go back to when you first ran for this position. What prompted you to step up and decide to try to be a commissioner in Hennepin County?

 What motivates me now is to prevent structural, addressable suffering. It sounds like an odd place to begin, but as I've learned more about systems and been able to govern for eight years, the most significant systemic pain points our residents experience are addressable problems for which we have solutions. A lot of folks are feeling hopeless, and I want to express that shared humanity will absolutely prevail when we rise together in solidarity toward justice. Here in Hennepin and in Minnesota, we've demonstrated many ways where regular people are able to come together and make a difference beyond our imagining, and that's really what led me to this board.

In some ways elected office is very unique, and in other ways it's consistent with what we know. We have a board of directors that should be responsible for policy direction and financial performance and outcomes. Here in Minnesota, we appoint our executive leaders — similar to a nonprofit board hiring an executive. What originally prompted me was an interest in the issues I cared about. Like many people, in January 2017 I was seeking to get more involved, and I wanted to understand who affects transit, who affects climate action, who makes decisions on mass incarceration or youth outcomes. I kept seeing the same words: Hennepin County Commission. As a youth worker at the time, I literally thought it was an arts board — I thought, wow, Hennepin is so forward, we're asking all these meaningful questions from its arts board. It was a particular awakening to understand that this seven-person representative body is representative democracy and representative governance in action. I kept asking the next best question, and I found myself in a nearly two-year campaign. I was able to prevail, and I've been governing ever since.

 You've already hit on one of the things I get really passionate about, which is the different levels of government and how they have different roles and responsibilities in our system. I think county government is potentially the most misunderstood level of government — and you're giving me a thumbs up on that, which I appreciate. So you've been in this role for eight years, you're running for reelection — what are the ways you'd say to voters and constituents, "these are the things I have the most agency over as a county commissioner, and this is where you should be coming to me to affect change"?

 Well, in general, you should be able to approach any elected or public official, and it's my belief that we should in some way be assistive as to where and how your impact or advocacy can make a difference. Specifically, counties are the only level of government mandated by law to care for the vulnerable. For the county, that generally means foster care, SNAP — what growing up was called food stamps — and the ways in which those who are misunderstood within our systems often find themselves under county jurisdiction or county care. For those who are moved to prevent suffering, to advance justice, and are motivated against systemic injustice, I think counties are a really beautiful place to create change for areas that have systemic impact.

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Can You Solve This Twin Cities Crossword?

Minneapolis Parents React to Proposed School Closures

A Cornucopia of Fall Drinks in the Twin Cities

Your Guide to October 2026 in the Twin Cities

Events

Tuesday, Oct. 13

Meet Your Candidates: City Cast Twin Cities' 2026 Election Interviews

Have you been keeping track of the news?

The Latest

The Latest

Savory Breakfasts Around Town

Can You Solve This Twin Cities Crossword?

Minneapolis Parents React to Proposed School Closures

A Cornucopia of Fall Drinks in the Twin Cities

Your Guide to October 2026 in the Twin Cities

Events

Tuesday, Oct. 13