Beneath the waves. WCCO reports: “Bde Maka Ska Thomas Beach and Lake Hiawatha Beach were closed on Tuesday, after samples indicated elevated bacteria levels. The Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board says the bacteria is likely due to Sunday’s rainfall, which brought stormwater into the lakes. At this time, MPRB says there are no reports of any illnesses from swimmers. All other public beaches in the city are open.”
Tagged, you’re it. KARE’s Jennifer Hoff reports: “Business owners have to pay to clean it up, only to sometimes find it’s been tagged again the next night. The LynHall’s Anne Spaeth says the graffiti is so constant she calls it ‘unmanageable’… ‘I would imagine it’s in the thousands of dollars that we’ve now had to spend,’ said Spaeth, who opened the restaurant on Lyndale Avenue in 2017. Spaeth says what’s more frustrating is a graffiti enforcement letter she got from the Minneapolis Public Works Department in March that gave her eight days to clean up the graffiti or it said city crews would do it and bill her. The city temporarily suspended that practice last week, but only for the specific area of 29th Street East to 31st Street East, between Hennepin Avenue and Fremont Avenue South.”
Red goes green. The Star Tribune’s Nicole Norfleet reports: “By 2040, Target has pledged to send zero waste to landfills in its U.S. operations, meaning it plans to divert the majority of waste from landfills through reuse, recycling, donation and other types of reduction strategies. At the same time, it wants to reach net zero emissions across its operations and supply chain so that the amount of emissions produced isn’t more than the amount the company removes from the atmosphere.”
Book burned. The Rochester Post Bulletin’s Sarah Seifert reports: “Dr. Steven Weiss, an internal medicine doctor who has practiced at Mayo Clinic’s Eau Claire campus for 32 years, said he was fired for writing the book and identifying himself as a Mayo Clinic physician within the manuscript. In Weiss’ formal termination letter, a Mayo Clinic administrator said the physician’s contract is officially ending ‘without cause,’ but a letter dated June 4 outlined warnings Mayo had given the physician in the past. … The clinic said it had completed an employment investigation into Weiss, saying that his book contained ‘unauthorized use of confidential business information, self-identification as a Mayo employee without appropriate approval, inappropriate use of patient identifiers, and derogatory and unprofessional commentary placing Mayo in a negative light.’”
Case closed. The Star Tribune’s Andy Mannix reports: “The Minnesota Board of Public Defense agreed to pay a $300,000 settlement to former Chief Hennepin County Defender Mary Moriarty on Tuesday, less than a year after it voted against renewing Moriarty’s position in a contentious dispute that laid bare a deep rift between the criminal defense board and its busiest office. The state board did not admit wrongdoing, but it “agreed to a complete settlement of all of the disputes” between state leadership and Moriarty, avoiding a future lawsuit, according to the out-of-court settlement.”
Lavender Community Pride Award for LGBTQ Individual. Lavender’s Kassidy Tarala reports: “For [Commissioner Jan] Malcolm, being a public figure holds extra responsibility as someone who is representing not just Minnesotans, but the LGBTQ+ community. ‘We know that LGBTQ+ people experience health disparities due to a number of factors. At the Minnesota Department of Health our mission is to “Protect, Maintain, and Improve the Health of ALL Minnesotans.” Our vision is for Minnesota to be a state of health equity, in which all people have the best chance to live healthy lives, and all communities are thriving, free of systemic barriers. This most certainly includes THIS community,’ Malcolm says. She also emphasizes the importance of appointing more LGBTQ+ folx to public positions.”
In other news…
Safety violation: “Line 3 contractor cited for serious safety lapse, fined $25,000 in worker’s death” [Star Tribune]
Goal: “After 18 Months, Allianz Field To Open Wednesday At Full Capacity” [WCCO]
“We’re not talking about scenery here. We’re talking life and death infrastructure”: “Researchers find ‘tree inequity’ for communities of color” [KMSP]
Slightly used: “New owners for Duluth’s Viking ship — and possibly soon, a new home” [MPR]
Bringing tater tots to Atlanta: “The Abby Singer brings Minnesota favorites to Pullman Yard” [Atlanta Magazine]
