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City Cast Twin Cities

Sean McPherson

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

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

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

Twin City Guides

; 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

Irene Fernando for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

 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.

It sounds odd, but the county — Hennepin County specifically — has planted so many trees for our tree canopy, which has a cascading effect. So I'd say: for those who are vulnerable, and how to improve systems for those individuals, and then as we think of generational effects, those systemic decisions matter. I was fortunate to be raised through a matriarchal leadership framing, and I see counties through that lens — counties are the caregivers of government, and we're also kind of the chores of government. Both of those mean we're not as visible as other levels, and yet we are the vital infrastructure and essential services that ensure our community is able to proceed. Hennepin is unique because we're 22% of the state's population — the largest of the 87 counties. Take, for example, decisions that were before me: we have a Hennepin County library system in part because many moons ago there wasn't a decentralized system, and Minneapolis libraries at the time weren't on solid footing. So some of what I'm answering is a county answer, and some of what I'm expressing is also my belief around Hennepin County's unique responsibility, given our size and volume.

 When you talk about the statewide impact of Hennepin County, the first thing that comes to mind is HCMC, which is a very unique hospital — one you could end up in if you're injured in Duluth, or Brainerd, or St. Paul. But it's been on shaky ground, very shaky ground financially, for quite some time. What role do you see Hennepin County and the rest of Minnesota playing in securing HCMC's continued operations?

 Absolutely. The county's role so far has been that HCMC is only here because of Hennepin. There's no requirement by law to have a county hospital or a public hospital, but the commissioners before me and the commissioners at present believe a public safety net hospital should exist in our geography. I happen to agree with that very passionately, and I'm proud that we were able to, alongside so many partners — really the people — save the public hospital. We're the last public safety net hospital in the upper Midwest.

What's our role moving forward? We need a durable, sustainable financial source. Federal changes have completely upended our entire social safety net and the longstanding practice of how healthcare is financed and delivered in this country. So it's been on shaky ground in some ways, but so has everything — there's a decade-plus of a really compressed financial model in healthcare, and then COVID, and then this past year. In some ways, moving forward, we should ask ourselves what Minnesotans believe in. I was so inspired this past winter, because Minnesotans demonstrated that no one — not even the feds — gets to tell Minnesotans how we care for our neighbor. Do Minnesotans believe healthcare should be accessible and affordable? Do Minnesotans believe that, in addition to trauma care, routine preventative healthcare and mental healthcare are essential — especially when we think about domestic, intimate partner, and gun violence? I've heard over and over that Minnesotans believe in those things.

I'll take it a step further: social determinants of health are old news at this point. We know an individual's access to housing, food, clean air, and clean water directly impacts their health outcomes. So how might we, as Minnesotans, structure a system that encompasses the compassionate, practical, and imaginative caregiving we already express in our homes and neighborhoods? I'm very proud that Hennepin County gets to be part of that, because of our unique county infrastructure.

 One of the most divisive issues in Hennepin County right now is the future of the HERC, the garbage burner in downtown Minneapolis — which I think is technically just outside your district. There are activists who say it's toxic and poisoning the air, but Hennepin County, the city, and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reviewers have all said the health risk is low, and that trucking garbage to landfills instead would likely create more CO2 emissions and health risks. Where do you stand, as you're arguing for another term, on the timeline for closing the HERC, and what can the county actually do to either make that happen faster or make it better while it's still open?

 Sure. I define closing the incinerator as closing the HERC, so there's a distinct policy position between the county and the city of Minneapolis. That's meaningful because the city is the land use authority — an authority outside of the county — so what occurs on that land is up to the city. The second reason the city matters here is that 75% of the waste comes from the Minneapolis geography: 53% from commercial sources within Minneapolis, and 22% from organized collection — the cans outside residences with the City of Minneapolis logo on the side.

I believe in concluding incineration on the fastest possible timeline, and that can happen by converting the existing facility so we can still receive waste from everyone delivering it to us. I want to be clear about a distinction here: is closing about ending incineration, or is it about not having a building there — not having a place within Minneapolis to receive waste? I believe Minneapolis must have a place to receive waste, from a climate perspective — waste should be processed closer to where it's generated, and Minneapolis is about 10% of the state's population. On the closure side, there's nuance in how we get there: zero-waste activity, reducing consumption, increasing recycling, and the policy, funding, and outcomes related to that is what we should be paying attention to. Hennepin has been putting a lot more money into those efforts with favorable outcomes. It would be meaningful for the city of Minneapolis to match or exceed that funding and accelerate those outcomes — that's not the data I've seen from that entity to date. So realistically, I won't conclude a service until there's an operational plan to replace it. I've seen trash pile up in other areas of the country without an operational plan, and that has its own public health risks. In short, I look forward to ending waste incineration inside this decade. I want to do so with a concrete plan, and we have to really reduce overall consumption and increase zero waste.

 Inside this decade — by 2030, you're saying?

 That's been my reference since I started my first term. Commissioner Conley and I brought forward a number of measures that didn't prevail in shifting the county's policy position. The state legislature's defining legislation has initiated this discussion differently, because by 2040 this waste incinerator will no longer be considered renewable energy. That's another reason I say by the end of the decade: in order for a service to proceed, you have to put money into it, and if it's not going to be considered renewable by 2040, every year we put more money into that service is money that could be spent converting it to a different service — because by 2040, we won't be considered renewable anyway.

 Commissioner Irene Fernando, you've been very generous with your time and definitely shared your passion for the work you're already doing as commissioner for District 2, and for running for reelection this November for the same position. We appreciate you joining us today, and we appreciate the opportunity to connect with all the candidates in these upcoming elections. Thank you so much.

Meet Your Candidates: Irene Fernando for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

Sharon El-Amin for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

 We'd like to welcome on Sharon El-Amin, Minneapolis School Board Director for District 2. She also formerly served as chair of the Minneapolis School Board. Now she's running for Hennepin County Commissioner for District 2, and we're interviewing as many candidates as we can before November 3rd. Thank you so much for joining us, Sharon.

 Absolutely. Thank you, Tiffany. It's an honor to be with you guys today, so thank you.

 As was mentioned, you're currently serving as a school board director. Why do you want to move from that to this run for Hennepin County Commissioner?

 Just a couple different reasons. I've sat on the Minneapolis School Board for six years — I'm currently in the role, as you stated — but I've been in my community for over 30 years. Being in the community and serving on the school board, I've seen the makeup of our community, I've seen where the absence is, and I understand the need within our community. Sitting on the school board, I've always fought for academics, for safer schools, for community to be a part of what takes place within the school. But I believe the role of county commissioner gives a bigger opportunity for me to help shape our community.

I live in this community, and I see the children on the street, and I hear from families about everything they want to see — safe schools, after-school programs — and having the opportunity to build up our community is what the county commissioner role allows for. So it's moving from one side to the other, but being able to bring more resources into our community.

 As a follow-up — I think a lot of people don't know exactly what a county commissioner does. What do you think it is about being county commissioner that would uniquely let you deliver on what you're seeing is missing right now as a school board member?

 You're correct, a lot of people don't know exactly the critical role the county commissioner plays. The county commissioner's responsibility is to make sure the human services people need are there and that they're accessible. As a county commissioner, you're overseeing health and mental care, child daycare subsidies, housing stability — the property taxes, all of that is the role of the county commissioner. So the role is to make sure those things are accessible, and that the community knows about the services our county provides and has an easy, accessible way to reach them.

 Can I push on that — you're challenging an incumbent. What are some of the things that, if elected, you'd like to see happen differently — that you'd propose doing differently as a county commissioner?

 Thank you. So, again, District 2 — north Minneapolis has been home for me. I'm a small business owner, I've served on the school board, I'm a homeowner, and I've been a recipient of SNAP benefits when I first moved into the Minneapolis area. Why am I running, and what don't I see? There's an absence of leadership within District 2. I've tried on a number of occasions to reach out to my county commissioner to understand what's happening with the light rail, what's happening with the HERC — as a business owner, as a homeowner, trying to understand the things we can't get answers for.

As I've been on the ground, I thought it was just north Minneapolis, but it encompasses more than that — District 2, from a county level, is Golden Valley, southeast Plymouth, northeast Minneapolis, Medicine Lake, and St. Anthony Village. On the ground, I'm hearing the same thing: I don't know who my county commissioner is, she doesn't return phone calls, we have a hard time reaching the offices, people can't get in contact with their county commissioner. That role is too critical to be absent. The county commissioner should be at the schools, in the community spaces, providing updated information about where the dollars are going, what's happening with critical projects like the HERC or Hennepin County Medical Center or road construction in our community. Business owners I've talked to say there's just no response.

So coming in as county commissioner: I will communicate, I will be accessible, I will respond. I will keep my community informed of the challenges before us, and also the successes. I will not wait until a crisis happens before we communicate, before community is made aware, and before we have to pivot to other emergency situations — which we've recently seen.

 Let's talk about those two topics you just mentioned — the HERC and HCMC. Let's start with the HERC. I think opposition to it continuing to stay open without a set date to close has made Hennepin County commissioners very visible, at least in the press. Sharon, where do you stand on the timetable for closing the incinerator?

 The HERC has to close — there's no question about that. It's about how we get there. How do we make sure our community is educated, that we're educating people about waste reduction and recycling? Those things have to happen. The timeline from 2028 to 2040 is too big of a gap — it should be closer to 2028, 2029. We have to be able to reach it. To stretch it out that far is just kicking the can down the road.

North Minneapolis is an area with some of the highest levels of asthma and upper respiratory illness. I live in north Minneapolis, and I recently lost my daughter to upper respiratory illness. So I will push for the HERC to close immediately. But I do understand there's a process — we have to educate our community, we have to get to a point of understanding waste management and what the options are on the other side. Community should be part of the conversation. I'd like to see a board made up of community members, commissioners, and county workers who understand the path that can be taken — and clearly bring the community along with us to understand the options. Meetings should be open and public, and community should be part of it. We should be able to champion the change we need together. That 2028-to-2040 timeline — we've already been talking about this for ten, twelve years, if not longer. Put that on top of the existing plan, and it's just too long. Our families deserve better. They deserve direct answers, and we deserve to work together for the county and the city we want.

 First of all, I'm very sorry about your daughter. But I do want to push on this question, because it's obviously important to voters. You said "immediately" — both the MPCA and city and county officials have said that closing the HERC would actually lead to trucking more garbage out, and that those trucks would add to air quality problems and potentially make the situation worse. So what can voters point to — if they elect you — that would be different in terms of that timeline and those options? What can you tell them now: elect me, and we will do this differently?

 I'm stating it here, out loud, that closing the HERC will be a priority for me. I'm also stating that community will go along the path with me — that board of community members will help educate the community and sit with the county commissioners and county workers to hear what the options are and how fast we can move toward closure. So when I say immediately, it may not literally be 2027 or 2028, but we will immediately know what the options are, and the community will immediately feel like it's part of it, having real-time conversations backed by facts about what needs to happen. We don't want big garbage trucks causing more harm — that's not what the community is asking for. But we are asking for answers, and for a pathway that shows we're headed toward closing the HERC, and that's what I would do.

 Let's talk about HCMC. Sharon, as you know, it almost closed this year, and suddenly everyone was talking about how important it is and how crucial it is to the state. For the future of HCMC, what do you think the role of the county and the rest of Minnesota should be in securing its operations?

 That would've been devastating — losing our number one safety net hospital. As a county commissioner, as a leader, you're expected to bring facts to the community and be very open and direct. This didn't happen overnight. There was a recent article in the Star Tribune about 2023, when these conversations began — the medical board at the time brought forward different options and resources on what could be done, and those red flags were ignored and not shared with the community. The community wasn't aware of where the county was as far as the deficit it was facing. That's information that should be shared with the community — we have to have both the hard conversations and the win, the success stories. We have to bring community along with us.

The medical board was dissolved in 2023, and the county commissioners took over — I think that was a mistake. I believe Hennepin County Medical Center should have a board made up of medical professionals, county commissioners, and community members — the people affected by it. These meetings shouldn't be happening behind closed doors. There was a meeting in 2023 — that video should be public today, and there's no trace of it. Where's the video? Why is the public being kept in the dark about what happened in 2023, and why should we trust the same things won't happen again in 2026 and beyond if we don't elect new leadership? That county board should be made up of county commissioners, county residents, and professionals in the field — they should be the ones considering how the county should operate, with the county commissioner overseeing that budget, not behind closed doors, but with the public and the medical professionals who know the work.

 One of the conflicts between the medical board and the county board was over staff reductions — reducing HCMC's workforce, which medical leaders said needed to happen to rightsize the organization, and there was conflict over whether county commissioners approved of that. If the medical side of the organization said "we need to rightsize this organization, and that will lead to layoffs at HCMC," would you support that, based on their recommendation, as a county commissioner?

 I think we have to look at other ways to right-size that budget — where are the community partners? What we don't want is for people on the ground to lose the services they need — that's a priority for me. We need to make sure we can provide that. That looks like partnerships, that looks like building more relationships with the state. I'm thankful for the $705 million the state legislature did bring to this space, but we need stability. So we need to be looking at partnerships. We do not want to eliminate jobs, but we do want to make sure we can provide the services that the people who come through those doors — who depend on what the county has always offered — can still count on. That's partnership.

 Sharon El-Amin, thank you so much for joining City Cast Twin Cities today and doing some educating on the importance of the commissioner role. We appreciate you sharing your time with us today.

 Thank you, thank you. If there's any other questions, please feel free to reach out — my website, sharonelamin.org, is where you can find more information about me. Let's just get out and do what's needed for our community, and vote on November 3rd. Thank you.

Meet Your Candidates: Sharon El-Amin for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

Discover your fall equinox ritual with these wellness-oriented shops.

 has been in business for over 40 years. It was founded by Bob Gallagher, a pioneer in the world of herbalism. He passed away in 2018, but the shop is still in the family. With herbs, loose-leaf teas, books, tarot decks, stones, and incense, 

 has so much to explore. I was particularly wowed by the range of crystals, including ones from Australia, Indonesia, and Brazil. I also looked at a section of the store that included braided sweetgrass and hand-rolled bundles of cedar. As the signage explained, these can be used for smudging, the process of burning herbs to allow the smoke to purify what it touches and clear negative energy. People smudge rooms, objects, pets, and themselves. A store employee told me the bundles are antibacterial as well as ceremonial.

Founded by certified naturopath and master herbalist Eva Nyrie Garrett, 

 in North Minneapolis brings together herbal medicine, wellness education, and community care. Here you’ll find products like immune-boosting 

, but also an ethos of learning together. 

 are offered the last Thursday of every month from 6 to 8 p.m., each focusing on a different local herb. During these hands-on workshops, participants make herbal medicines such as syrups, tonics, tinctures, and teas. Subjects for this year include holy basil (tulsi), raspberry leaf, red clover, lemon balm, marshmallow root, and more.

Cultivate Consciousness Wellness Boutique

 opened this year and offers a variety of services including wellness consultations and intuitive readings (tarot oracle, crystal ball, and more). But if you walk by, you may be most drawn to all those mesmerizing crystals and stones — perfect for holding onto during tense meetings, or as a retired therapist friend told me, as a stress-relieving fidget. Each month, a theme is woven throughout 

; September’s is “The Power of Slowing Down: Creating Space to Notice What Matters Most.” To sample what the boutique offers, stop by the 

 festival at Father Hennepin Bluff Park on Sept. 19.

This autumn, how about some aromatherapy? 

 in Gaviidae Common includes handmade soaps, body oils, and perfumes. Owner and founder Ana Castillo Jiménez, who has a background in molecular biology, makes many of the products in-store where customers can choose which scents they want. Castillo Jiménez says popular scents include Love, a floral scent, and Tranquility, a scent with prominent notes of cedarwood, lavender, and chamomile. A fall special called The Slow Down Bundle includes a full-size soap bar, roll-on perfume (scented with essential oils), and a pillow/linen/room spray in the scent of your choice. Castillo Jiménez says she’s planning the shop’s first anniversary celebration for October.

, it felt like its own island, a much-needed grounding spot in a traffic-hectic part of the city. I went to pick up ingredients for a warming spice herbal mix for winter that included ashwagandha, dandelion root, licorice, ginger, and cardamom. The shop sells herbs by weight as well as stones, books, teas, and more. On Super Saturdays, which occur on the first Saturday of the month, everything in the shop is 20% off. The herbery is connected to a 

 that sells potions and elixirs in addition to healthy grain bowls and salads. (I consider both healing spaces.) 

Looking for the best shops to create your fall equinox ritual? Check out this roundup of shops around the Twin Cities for your crystals, herbs, and aromatherapy fixes.

Twin Cities Wellness Shops to Shift Your Energy this Fall

Shops to Shift Your Energy this Fall

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