Minnesota Independent

Journalists on RNC policing: ‘Dark days for press freedom in the U.S.’

By Anna Pratt | 09.06.08 | 9:05 am

As crews picked up after the RNC in downtown St. Paul Friday morning, a handful of local and national journalists went to City Hall and delivered 50,000 signatures pressuring St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and the…

A somber display about torture

By Anna Pratt | 09.04.08 | 9:08 am

Members of a committee of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) brought a striking yet silent protest to the plaza outside St. Paul’s Ecolab on Wednesday.
Group members stood vigilantly on the steps, wearing bright orange bodysuits with black…

MnIndy Interview: Iraq War vet speaks out against the war

By Anna Pratt | 09.01.08 | 12:45 am

Jeff Patersen, founder of the California-based organization Courage to Resist, was the first US soldier to refuse to return to duty in Iraq during the Gulf War. Here he speaks out on behalf of veterans who have resisted…

Police searches turn up weapons and devices to disrupt traffic

By Anna Pratt | 08.30.08 | 2:56 pm

Between the four property searches conducted by authorities in prep for the RNC in Minneapolis and St. Paul this morning and last night, some members of the anarchist group called the RNC Welcoming Committee were found to be in possession…

Independent media artists/journalists detained by Minneapolis police

By Anna Pratt | 08.26.08 | 3:24 pm

[Updated with Video] Three New York media professionals in town to cover the Republican National Convention were detained by Minneapolis police officers in Northeast Minneapolis early Tuesday morning. Police confiscated their equipment, which the trio calls a deliberate attack on their right to free speech.

‘To project and present’: One artist’s RNC project is — literally — a vehicle for political commentary

By Anna Pratt | 08.26.08 | 10:44 am

As a part of the UnConvention, a sideshow to the Republican National Convention, next week Miami artist Steven Gagnon will drive his sculptural contraption to the Twin Cities and park it in a public spot near Intermedia Arts, a sponsor of the festivities. Gagnon’s “border cruiser” calls attention to the experience of undocumented people in the U.S.

Minneapolis hires high-powered Patton Boggs to lobby for the city in Washington

By Anna Pratt | 08.21.08 | 6:41 pm

Patton Boggs will lobby on behalf of Minneapolis in Washington, D.C.

Recently, the Minneapolis City Council opted to hire the international lobbying giant Patton Boggs to…

Neighborhood Revitalization Plan: To be continued…or not?

By Anna Pratt | 08.15.08 | 3:19 pm

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak recently announced an $80 million, decade-long plan for community engagement that’s supposed to pick up where the Neighborhood Revitalization Program leaves off after it ends next year. NRP, originally set up to last 20 years, has afforded all kinds of neighborhood improvements, from streetscape enhancements to extra cops, and some proponents say its overhauling is unwarranted. Calling the plan a power grab, a coalition of some 30 neighborhood groups developed a counter proposal that would keep NRP as a buffer from the city

Report: State has hired fewer minorities in Pawlenty era

By Anna Pratt | 08.11.08 | 10:11 am

Minnesota state agencies barely employ more minorities now than they did in 1997 and a number of departments are showing a decline despite the steady growth of populations of color statewide, according to…

MPD cop lawsuits: Will bad info in a police personnel file cost the city still more $$?

By Anna Pratt | 08.08.08 | 4:14 pm

While the discrimination lawsuit filed against the city of Minneapolis and Police Chief Timothy Dolan by five black MPD officers has received quite a bit of attention lately [1] [2] [3], a separate but…