The Minnesota Independent

Free Speech - Latest Stories

Minneapolis park board has pattern of problems with free speech

By Chris Steller | 03.26.09 | 8:08 am

Every couple of years, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board makes headlines for violating citizens’ right to free speech. The latest example? The board’s president, Tom Nordyke, and superintendent, Jon Gurban, are banning the Minneapolis Charter Commission from holding

Fox’s Gretchen Carlson invokes Minnesota roots while stoking ‘War on Christmas’

By Chris Steller | 12.11.08 | 4:00 pm

It’s that most wonderful time of the year again, the “War on Christmas” season.
Over the past day, Gretchen Carlson, a co-host of “Fox & Friends” and the last Minnesotan to become Miss America (1989), invoked her…

Republican Molnau ‘kneecaps’ free speech in vote against display of anti-war billboards

By Paul Schmelzer | 08.29.08 | 12:37 pm

Up until Wednesday, Republican National Convention delegates could expect to see video of Guantanamo detainees, scenes from the Iraq war, and movies like “Body of War” broadcast on huge Jumbotron trucks from the capitol front lawn. But thanks to Minnesota’s second-highest constitutional officer, Republican Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau, the project’s permit was denied.

That’s not the end of it, though: The digital billboard’s sponsor, True Blue Minnesota, is heading to court this afternoon in hopes of winning back the right to present the videos.

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.

Free-Speech Advocates Object to Permits for Minneapolis Protests

By Abdi Aynte | 08.09.07 | 6:16 pm

A city of Minneapolis plan to require permits for protests is drawing the ire of local free-speech groups. The local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild blasted the city for what a spokesman described as an obstacle to the exercise…

All Sides Supportive of Anti-Abortion Protest Ruling

By Jeff Fecke | 08.09.07 | 4:14 pm

The Supreme Court of Minnesota ruled unanimously last month that anti-abortion protesters cannot be cited for disrupting traffic even though their signs were, by all accounts, graphic.  And that ruling has earned support from what might seem an unlikely group.…