|
| |  | MinnPost is sending community members to local city council meetings to help report on local government. (Tim Evans / City Cast Twin Cities) |
| The Next Big Thing In News: You? | Local news sources Minnesota Women's Press and MinnPost are both taking innovative approaches to directly involve their audiences in their reporting. On today's podcast episode, we spoke with Mikki Morissette, the publisher and editor of Minnesota Women's Press, and Jackie Renzetti, the program manager for Twin Cities Documenters at MinnPost about how their organizations are co-creating with the communities they're reporting on. [🎧 City Cast Twin Cities] | - Co-owning and co-creating: Minnesota Women's Press is in the process of transitioning their business into a consumer-owned co-op, where a community-based editorial team can help shape what stories are covered and how. Morissette hopes that expanding the gatekeepers and being transparent about biases will provide deeper coverage of social justice issues and marginalized communities than is available in other outlets. [Minnesota Women's Press / 🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]
- Taking notes: MinnPost's Twin Cities Documenters program deputizes any person that wants to help gather and report information on local government to do just that. As a part of a national program, MinnPost trains and pays people to attend local government meetings and take detailed notes that can be published later. Documenters have been reporting a ton of great information on the Twin Cities already this year, and MinnPost is holding an orientation on June 30 for anyone interested in becoming a Documenter. [MinnPost / 🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]
|
|
|
|
| What the Cities Are Talking About |
| Guilty: Vance Boelter pleaded guilty to the murder of former state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, as well as the shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman. The plea agreement calls for two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years in federal prison, and means that there will be no trial. [Minnesota Reformer] | | Strange brews ahead: Five Watt Coffee co-founder Lee Carter may have cracked the code on cheap, good, and quickly available coffee at his new shop in St. Paul. At Take Care Coffee, Carter is experimenting with brewing and infusing flavors into coffee by slow-cooking it in a sealed bag submerged in water. The method results in strong flavors like banana pancake or orange, pear, and lavender without having to use expensive syrups. Carter is offering the coffee on a free or donation basis while he dials in the process. [Pioneer Press] | | Back to the drawing board: Even as the City of Minneapolis has already broken ground on the redevelopment of George Floyd Square, the city council and the Mayor's office are still debating what will be built on the People's Way site. Mayor Jacob Frey had recommended the Minnesota Agape Movement's plan for development despite community engagement surveys that showed residents preferred the plan of another organization. The city council voted to deny the recommendation, restarting the process of seeking a contractor and plan for the People's Way. [City of Minneapolis] | |  | A protester holds a sign reading "we want a future full of love" outside of Pilllar Forum in January. (Adam Sage / City Cast Twin Cities) |
| Coffee, cycling, and community: We're partnering with Pilllar Forum to give away some free coffee and go on a bike ride around Northeast Minneapolis. Come out to Pilllar on June 28 at 9 a.m. for a relaxing ride and some quality time with your neighbors. If you don't have a bike and want to borrow one, reply to this email and I'll gladly lend you my old bike for the morning. [Pilllar Forum / City Cast Twin Cities] | | Black bags and backlash: The Columbia Heights City Council has voted to end the city's contract with Flock Safety. Flock has been criticized by civil liberties advocates for creating a nationwide surveillance dragnet that has been misused by some police departments, and for sharing information with ICE. Columbia Heights has covered some of their Flock cameras with black trash bags while they wait for the company to take the cameras down. [Sahan Journal] | | Death of a dead mall: Har Mar Mall, the deadest mall I've seen in my life, could finally be put out of its misery. Documents from the realty company that owns the site and the mall's management company call for "a full scrape and rebuild." The documents include plans for housing and spaces for restaurants, with Cub Foods listed as the only current tenant to survive. Nothing has been submitted to the city yet though, so Har Mar will at least live to see tomorrow. [Axios Twin Cities] |
|
|
|
|
| | Friday, June 12 | | | Saturday, June 13 | | | Sunday, June 14 | | | |
|
|
|
|
 | It's been a long week. Rest up like these cutie pies. (Courtesy of Amber A.) |
| This week's Friday Floof is a double feature, with Loki (the tuxedo cat) and Cabbage (the black cat). From their owner Amber A.: | | "Cabbage was a feral kitten found in a coworker's vegetable garden and didn't understand how to be a cat. After 4 years of her shenanigans, I started fostering kittens to see how Cabbage would react to having a friend around and she was immediately smitten with a teeny tiny Loki. They've been inseparable ever since and Cabbage finally knows how to 'cat.' She's gone from a cat that didn't want to be touched to the most cuddly of lap cats with a motorboat purr!" | | If you'd like us to feature your furry friend on an upcoming Friday, send us a pic and something you love about them by filling out this form! | | Have a great weekend, y'all |
| — Adam Sage | Elissa Castles, Natalie Rivera, Anna Weggel, and Sean McPherson edited the City Cast Twin Cities newsletter this week. Feedback? Email twincities@citycast.fm. |
|
|
|
|
