Minnesota Independent

Activists push for greater gun control with new radio ads

By Anna Pratt | 06.25.08 | 11:46 am

Gun violence is the target of two new radio ads launched by Protect Minnesota during a press conference Monday.
Protect Minnesota, a consortium of gun-safety advocates, is lobbying for background checks to be required for all gun sales and transfers…

The ordeal of Blake Officer: A not so ‘juvenile’ justice system

By Anna Pratt | 06.23.08 | 1:39 pm

Last Dec. 29 Blake Shamar Officer, a 17-year-old African-American, was on his way home from work at a local sandwich shop when he stumbled onto a crime scene in South Minneapolis. A middle-aged Latino man had been shot nonfatally during…

Truth-seeking: Historic Liberia hearings in St. Paul reveal horrors

By Anna Pratt | 06.19.08 | 10:07 am

Describing the events that unfolded in July 1990 still brings tears to the eyes of Liberian native Jane Allison Samukai. After civil war broke out in her homeland, rebel soldiers attacked her home. Those who didn’t heed the soldiers’ demands…

Minneapolis police officer’s status remains unclear

By Anna Pratt | 06.18.08 | 5:29 pm

What’s the status of Minneapolis police Lt. Lee Edwards, who was put on paid administrative leave in April pending an undisclosed federal investigation into alleged misconduct? Depends on who you ask. A source close to the situation told the Minnesota…

U of M Journalism students blog about young people who don

By Anna Pratt | 06.12.08 | 4:42 pm

Many young people are barely scraping by and can’t afford health insurance, a problem that four University of Minnesota students highlight in a multimedia blog called "The Uninsured." (Check it out at theuninsured.blogspot.com/.) Journalism majors Kelly Gulbrandson, Randi Niklekaj,…

Dakota County to look in to Minneapolis police chief case

By Anna Pratt | 06.12.08 | 9:46 am

To avoid a conflict of interest, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has referred allegations against Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan to Dakota County officials to investigate, the Star Tribune reports.

The police union and…

Lack of access to health care an ongoing problem for Latinos

By Anna Pratt | 06.12.08 | 9:27 am

In keeping with national trends, many Latinos and other minorities living in Minnesota don’t have adequate access to health care, which some medical professionals and others say is the result of language barriers, poverty and anti-immigration sentiment, among other issues.…

What happens to guns seized by Minneapolis police?

By Anna Pratt | 06.05.08 | 6:00 am

Thousands of guns seized by New York City cops are destroyed and recycled as pipes, fences or appliances, among other purposes, reports the New York Times. It turns out that guns taken into…

DC firm to review MPD internal affairs process

By Anna Pratt | 06.04.08 | 1:57 pm

The Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based group, is conducting a comprehensive assessment of the Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD) internal affairs procedures. It’ll evaluate the department’s process for investigating police misconduct and complaints;…

Highway 41: Future expansion to wipe out manufactured home parks

By Anna Pratt | 06.04.08 | 1:36 pm

Five out of six options the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is considering for expanding Highway 41 in the southwestern Twin Cities metro area would wipe out a handful of manufactured home parks.…