‘Cover Stories’ Archives
Relaunch of Ballot Petition for All-Elected Police Accountability Commission
Earlier successful petition rejected by the city on technicalities By MINNEAPOLIS FOR COMMUNITY CONTROL OF POLICE COALITION On Thursday, September 12th, 2024 at 5pm in front of the charred remains of the former 3rd Police Precinct, Minneapolis for Community Control of Police (M4CCP) and Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) organizers held a rally announcing the relaunch of a petition effort to establish an all-elected Civilian Police Accountability Commission (CPAC). The previous petition for CPAC was launched in 2021, and over the last 3 years community organizers collected thousands of signatures from Minneapolis residents who believe the people in Minneapolis deserve self-determination and substantial police accountability. In May of 2024, M4CCP organizers turned in 10,208 signatures to the Minneapolis City Clerk’s office, exceeding the minimum requirement of 8,943 signatures needed to get CPAC on the November, 2024 ballot. Close to 5,000 signatures were rejected by [...]
Full Circle for May Day Cafe
By MARY ELLEN KALUZA Powderhorn Food Community Co-op, c.1975 Early days of the May Day Cafe, c.1996 The Mala yearsSign painted by Phil Vandervaart The Andy YearsSign painted by Forrest Wozniak I have to disclose that I have a familial connection to May Day Cafe’s early years, before the doors were even open. I babysat my young niece while her mother spent long days at the old Powderhorn Food Co-op deep cleaning, reconfiguring the interior, developing business plans, menus, finding kitchen equipment, tables, seating… It was a huge amount of work transforming 3440 Bloomington into the beloved community treasure that May Day Cafe became after opening in February 1996. Mala, my sister, was one of three original partners in the enterprise; within a couple of years she was the only partner left. Mala really set the tone for the Cafe’s personality. She was very generous with the space, letting community groups use it in the evenings for fundraisers or meetings, or [...]
Register Now for Free Community Journalism Training Series This Fall!
Certificate and Honorarium for registered 5 to 8 participants By CIRIEN SAADEH Community journalism is an accessible tool each and every one of us can use to tell stories that matter to our communities. Community journalism is stories about us, for us, with us - reported stories that help us make deeper meaning of the issues impacting our communities and give us the chance to celebrate and/or contextualize events. This fall, folks will have the opportunity to participate in a community journalism workshop series. The training series - brought to you by Alley Communications, publisher of the alley, Phillips West Neighborhood Organization, and the Journalism of Color Training Center, with funds provided by the City of Minneapolis - will culminate in a certificate in anti-racist community journalism, an honorarium, and a published article for each participant this November. Registration and attendance at all 6 workshops is required. WEEKLY SCHEDULEWeek 1: Introduction to [...]
