Taming the Torrent of News
The torrent of news has been relentless, and much of it discouraging.
In our South Minneapolis neighborhood, trees are wrapped in blue and green ribbons to honor the victims of the Annunciation shooting. Our home is about a mile from the church, and several neighbors sent their children to the school. While the rest of the country will move on, this tragedy will remain close to home for a long time.
The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul have announced they want authority to strengthen gun laws at the city level. It’s a reasonable idea. Yet even if the legislature grants their request, there is little reason to believe it would stop the cycle of mass shootings.
It was only June 14 when Melissa and Mark Hortman were killed and members of the Hoffman family were wounded in Brooklyn Park. The killer drove from Champlin that night. On July 29, another man traveled from Las Vegas to Midtown Manhattan, wearing body armor as he murdered four people. Even cities with the strictest laws, such as New York and Chicago, have not been spared. Over Labor Day weekend alone, 54 people were shot in Chicago.
The Annunciation killer was living in Richfield when he legally purchased his weapons. For Minneapolis and St. Paul to gain authority over gun laws, the state legislature would have to approve it. That seems unlikely with Republicans holding a one-vote majority in the House—a majority created by Hortman’s death.
Republicans are instead focused on rolling back laws protecting gender-affirming care. A special session, if called by Governor Walz, is unlikely to produce meaningful progress on gun control. The grim irony is that gun violence shifted the political balance in the legislature, and that new balance now blocks reform.
Distractions large and small in Minneapolis politics
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are engaged, and social media is overflowing with posts about it. To many Americans, this is the most important news in the world. The wedding could be bigger than Jeff Bezos’s. As a culture, we are easily distracted—by celebrity rings, by the latest outrage—while municipal policy struggles to get any attention.
Even those of us who follow local politics closely find it challenging to distinguish between sincere efforts and publicity stunts. The latest example is the Minneapolis DFL’s appeal of the state party’s decision to revoke Senator Omar Fateh’s endorsement.
The city party argues that convention delegates had the authority to overlook irregularities and still endorse him. In their view, if enough people ignore the rules, that act becomes the new rule. Whether this argument will persuade the state DFL executive committee is unclear. It may simply be an attempt to keep their chosen candidate in the headlines while claiming that powerful elites are silencing the will of the “people.”
For most residents, this kind of infighting is irrelevant. When I try to explain the details, our editor raises her hand for silence. Our infrastructure needs repair. People want institutions that function at a basic level. Schools must be safe and capable of teaching students to read and do math at grade level. Travel across the city needs to be reasonable. Streetlights ought to stay lit instead of being stripped for copper. And carjackings at 8 a.m. on Lake Street cannot end with two young women dead and a child badly hurt.
The engagement of celebrities and the maneuvering of political insiders are not the same. But both feed into what Steve Bannon calls “flooding the zone”—a constant stream of spectacle, distraction, and outrage that leaves little energy for the fundamentals of governance. Minneapolis does not need more distractions. It needs leaders who will focus on the basics of safety, affordability, and infrastructure.
Ward 5 City Council – Where’s Jeremiah?
We spent Wednesday evening watching the Ward 5 city council forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters. It was the first time we had seen or heard most of the candidates speak. Five of the six DFL candidates participated: Pearll Warren, Anndrea Young, Maurice Ward, Miles Wilson, and Ethrophic Burnett. Jovan Northington is also running, though absent from the forum. None of the six has received the Minneapolis DFL endorsement.
The Ward 5 race, like Ward 2, has received far less attention than Wards 7 and 10. Yet its importance is no less. The Northside deserves a qualified representative, and every council vote carries equal weight in determining the city’s future. On Wednesday, we will feature an interview with Anndrea Young.
Meanwhile, the current council member, Jeremiah Ellison—son of Attorney General Keith Ellison and often recognized for his trademark knit hats—has accepted a Harvard fellowship and moved to Cambridge. He has said he will return to Minneapolis for council meetings, funded by his $109,000 council salary.
Ward 5 deserves more. The Northside needs a council member who will be fully present, bringing attention and resources to the ward. Whoever replaces Ellison should define “full-time” as more than an occasional flight home.
Pounding the Pavement
We’d like to hear from you. Send us a short video on what you believe should be priorities in this election. We’ll compile them into a video podcast. The deadline is Sunday, September 21. If you’d like to share your ward number and candidate choice, feel free.
The schedule of League of Women Voters forums can be found here—if you see us at one, please introduce yourself.
We also enjoy meeting readers for coffee. This week, we visited The Get Down Coffee Co. What we often find during these trips is how many residents remain uninformed about local issues. Many don’t know their ward or council member, and ranked choice voting still confuses them. The Minneapolis DFL could strengthen its reputation by helping voters understand these basics instead of focusing its energy on controlling endorsements.
There are many ways to contribute to the city’s future. Canvassing door-to-door is a terrific way to meet neighbors and shape Minneapolis’s direction, even for candidates outside your own ward. Ward 5, with six candidates, is a strategic piece of the next council and could benefit from that kind of support.
Volunteering for a candidate is one of the most direct ways to make a positive contribution. It’s also a way to feel empowered. Instead of getting stuck in frustration over national politics, we can take steps locally to improve life in Minneapolis—and campaign work is one of them. The headlines and distractions will still be waiting when you get home. Pick a candidate, knock on doors, and meet your neighbors.
