MinnPost Picks: on housing policy, burning garbage, and Minnesota sex crimes laws

“Why Housing Policy Feels Like Generational Warfare,” The Atlantic There are lots of stories about why millennials are having a hard time buying homes, and it has very little to do with avocado toast. This piece, by Alexis Madrigal, puts the feeling many millennials have (about how we have it harder than ya'll — because we do), in simple terms. In 1975, it took someone making the median salary nine years to save for a downpayment. Today, it takes 14. Even longer in Minneapolis. — Greta Kaul, data reporter “The Chilling Story of Three Women Haunted by the Same Rapist—And How the Law Failed Them,” Mother Jones Victims of most sex crimes in Minnesota have just seven years to press charges against their offenders, per the state's statute of limitations. This story by Mother Jones highlights how that 1991 law (which is actually an extension from a previous three-year prosecution window) precludes many victims from receiving justice via the state's legal system. By sharing the stories of three victims in Minneapolis — one of whom was murdered — the piece explains how the FBI and Minneapolis police caught serial offender Darrell Rea by using evidence of alleged rapes, though the statute of limitations prohibits prosecutors from charging him for those sex crimes. — Jessica Lee, local government reporter “Is burning trash a good way to handle it? Waste incineration in 5 charts,” The Conversation There are a few things that some Twin Cities residents will defend to the death, regardless of the quality and quantity of the arguments on the other sides. Skyways, the social benefits of high taxes and the HERC are three of them. The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center burns garbage just north of downtown Minneapolis and is one of just 72 such facilities in the U.S. In this piece, Ana Baptista, an assistant professor of environmental policy and sustainability management at The New School, makes the case that most are reaching their expected time span and resistance to them is increasing. — Peter Callaghan, state government reporter “Who gets to own the West?” The New York Times Two brothers who made a fortune in the fracking business own about 700,000 acres of land in the country, and have ruffled feathers by shutting people out of their vast property in Idaho. The New York Times tries to tackle a quintessential question of the West: Who gets to use land, and why? — Walker Orenstein, environment and workforce reporter

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MinnPost Picks: on housing policy, burning garbage, and Minnesota sex crimes laws

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MinnPost Picks: on housing policy, burning garbage, and Minnesota sex crimes laws