Hear what went on in the Yanez jury deliberations. MPR’s Tom Weber reports: “The jury in the trial of St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez was deadlocked for almost a week before acquitting him on all charges for the shooting death of Philando Castile. … Nearly a week after a jury found Yanez not guilty on second-degree manslaughter and felony weapons charges, one of the jurors has given MPR News the first detailed account of what took place during deliberations. … The juror spoke with MPR News host Tom Weber on the condition that he remain anonymous, because he said he is afraid of retribution. During deliberations, the jury was deadlocked for days before reaching its unanimous verdict to acquit Yanez on all counts.”
Is this the behavior of a man who’s not running for anything? The Star Tribune’s Tim Harlow reports: “Flanked by Somali women in their Hijab, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan by eating his first Iftar dinner. … Zuckerberg posted a photo on his Facebook page of the Thursday night dinner with Somali refugees in Minneapolis. He thanked his hosts for their hospitality and for sharing their stories of triumph and struggles with relocating to their new land.”
Cops can march in Pride parade after all. The Star Tribune’s Liz Sawyer reports: “Following backlash, Twin Cities Pride officials on Friday reversed course on its decision to bar uniformed police officers from its annual unity parade and apologized to local law enforcement for failing to foster discussions before making the call. … The decision came just hours after meeting with Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau, who had openly criticized the move as ‘divisive’ during a time when the community should ‘be lifting each other up.’ ”
Another misstep by the Walker? MPR’s Euan Kerr reports: “Native American artists from around the country are criticizing a new show opening at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. … “Jimmie Durham: At the Center of the World” features work from the 40-year career of an internationally lauded American sculptor. He identifies as Cherokee. But his critics say he is not Native, and is hurting artists who are. ”
In other news…
Talk about ships that have already sailed: “Fear of a yuppie invasion in northeast Minneapolis” [City Pages]
For that matter, what about restaurant patios? “Why are there so few performances on the Mississippi River?” [Pioneer Press]
Minneapolis is #5 in, uh, “art”: “The Economic Footprint of Arts and Culture in Cities” [CityLab]
Small oopsie: “Minnesota counties could owe Enbridge millions” [Grand Forks Herald]
Duluth, and the nation: “40 years later, Glensheen murders still grip Duluth” [MPR]
Ship that sailed
Indeed. When I was looking for housing upon moving to Minneapolis 8 years ago, I very much wanted to live in NE because that’s where the grandkids were, and I’d have liked to have been within walking distance instead of having to drive to babysit. Alas, the only places I could afford in NE were essentially either “crack houses” that had been abandoned for years, and were wrecks requiring a couple hundred thousand to make livable, or foreclosures with major issues (no working furnace, 30-year-old roof, falling-down garage, etc.) that would likewise have cost me a fortune I did not (and do not) have. Anything that had recently been updated was starting at about a year’s income more than I thought I could afford, and they went up from there.
So, I ended up in the far northwest corner of the city, in a tidy, working-class neighborhood next to Brooklyn Center. No status among the upwardly-mobile, but easy and convenient access to every part of the metro from the most culturally-diverse neighborhood I’ve ever lived in, with a lovely natural area a couple hundred yards from my house.