4/8/2024 -- Officers Reprimanded After George Floyd

Policing

Officers Punished For Misconduct in Aftermath of George Floyd’s Murder 🚨

The Summary: Newly released disciplinary files reveal misconduct by Minneapolis police officers during the city's riot response following George Floyd's murder in 2020.

Incident Summaries:

- Use of Force Against Journalists: A sergeant was terminated for pepper-spraying a Vice reporter displaying press credentials. 

- Excessive Force Against Protesters: Eight officers were suspended for using excessive force, failing to de-escalate encounters, or neglecting to activate body-worn cameras during protests.

- Another officer was fired for beating Jaleel Stallings, an Army veteran, during curfew enforcement.

Post-George Floyd: The new report comes on the heals of city leaders announcing the completion of its emergency management goals set in the wake of Floyd's murder.

Transportation

9+ Companies Plan to Replace Uber/Lyft — Meanwhile, Lyft Is Now Open To Negotiations 🚗

The Summary: According to MPR, Lyft has recently communicated to the Minneapolis City Council a willingness to comply with a state-recommended pay increase for drivers.

Proposal: Lyft’s chief policy officer, Jeremy Bird, proposed a pay increase aligned with state suggestions — a rate that is lower than the proposed ordinance put forward by the Mpls city council. The state rate comes from a recent labor department report.

Council Response: Council Member Robin Wonsley emphasized the city's commitment to its minimum wage policy, stating that exemptions for large corporations are unwarranted. Other council members, including Andrea Jenkins, are open to reconsidering the ordinance to ensure drivers earn at least the minimum wage.

Entry of Alternatives: 9+ companies have expressed a desire to enter the Twin Cities market as replacements for Uber and Lyft should they leave on May 1st. Read all about these different companies in this Minnesota Reformer article.

Business

❯ Sea Salt Expansion: Accoridng to Axios, Sea Salt is set to open a new sandwich shop called The Sandwich Room at Minnehaha Falls in May, offering cold sandwiches and other grab-and-go options to park visitors. Sea Salt is set to open on April 19th.

❯ Open Streets Uncertainty: Open Streets Minneapolis is facing uncertainty as only three out of five planned street festivals have organizers confirmed, with events scheduled for Lyndale, Nicollet, and West Broadway avenues. The city's decision to end its partnership with Our Streets Minneapolis has led to challenges in finding new organizers.

❯ Newspaper Closures: Southwest News Media will cease publishing newspapers by the end of the month due to revenue challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The closures include publications such as the Chaska Herald, Chanhassen Villager, Jordan Independent, Shakopee Valley News, Prior Lake American, Savage Pacer, and Southwest Saturday.

Sports

📈 Women’s College BBall: The final four game featuring Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and UConn’s Paige Bueckers (Hopkins native) broke all sorts of television records with 14.2 million viewers tuning in to watch the Hawkeyes win.

🎙 Broadcast Legend Retires: A familiar voice is stepping down from the Gopher Hockey broadcast booth. After 35+ years calling games, Frank Mazzocco has retired.

🏀 The Dance Has Ended: The Gopher Women’s Basketball post season run finally came to an end with a 69-50 loss to St. Louis in the WNIT championship.

Quick hits

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities ✔

❯ A bomb threat forced an evacuation of a St. Paul Cub Foods late last week (Bring Me The News)

❯ Minneapois was ranked as the third best city for first-time home buyers in a recent report from Zillow (Fox9)

❯ St. Paul schools are weighing cuts amid a $107.5 million budget gap (Star Tribune)

❯ A recycling truck dumped a load on Summit Avenue after catching fire (Bring Me The News)

❯ Workers at Indeed Brewing have formed a union (Racket)

Beyond the Twin Cities

Headlines From Greater Minnesota ✔

❯ Get ready for construction — MNDOT has 193 projects on tap for 2024 throughout Minnesota (MPR)

❯ A former Duluth ski coach has been indicted on child pornography charges (Northern News Now)

❯ Minnesota Republicans have introduced legislation inspired by the chemtrails conspiracy theory (MN Reformer)

❯ Rochester has been selected as a finalist for an arena football expansion team in 2025 (ABC6)

The Final Word: That’s Fashion Baby

I was fortunate to have this tweet grace my timeline this past week of a man and a dog wearing matching hats on Lyndale Avenue.

-Patrick