News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Tuesday December 16th 2025
MY VOTE. WHAT DOES IT MATTER?
Article #6 in a series of articles about the 2022 midterm elections, brought to you by the League of Women Voters Minneapolis.
MY VOTE. WHAT DOES IT MATTER?
We’re often encouraged to vote. “It’s important. It’s our duty. It makes a difference.” But really what does it matter? How does my vote affect me? Actually, our one vote affects an outcome directly only when we’re voting on amendments, like the three on last year’s ballot. Instead, what our vote really does is elect a PERSON to represent us, a person whose vote in Congress or the Legislature reflects our wishes. That’s why we have to examine candidates thoroughly beforehand to see that their views correspond to what we need and want.
For example, if we’re interested in public safety, we’ll want to know a congressional candidate’s attitude toward gun violence and qualified immunity. How they vote on our behalf may give us better (or sometimes worse) protection.
How do prospective state legislators feel about training for police? Are they willing to help fund it adequately?
Where do the sheriff and county attorney stand on law enforcement? Will strict enforcement — or more lax enforcement — make us feel safe? What is their attitude toward justice?… Read the rest “MY VOTE. WHAT DOES IT MATTER?”
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Open in new tab Urban Farm, Not Toxic Harm! City Taking Steps to Demolish the Historic Roof Depot Building
By THE EAST PHILLIPS NEIGHBORHOOD INSTITUTE
Negotiations with the city of Minneapolis have failed, and now the city is proceeding with its planned demolition of the historic Roof Depot building at 1860 East 28th Street after walking out of negotiations with East Phillips residents. Now our families, our community and our environment face 888 diesel trucks and toxic arsenic that will further pollute our already overburdened neighborhood. East Phillips is being treated as an industrial wasteland, and it’s making our community members sick! The City Council was scheduled to take a vote on demolishing the Roof Depot building in late September. We can stop this if the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) can raise $200,000 to post bond for a legal injunction.
The old Roof Depot site in the East Phillips neighborhood sits atop an arsenic plume where arsenic-based pesticides were produced and stored by a company that once occupied it. The building’s continued presence helps keep the arsenic in the ground. This arsenic previously caused the Environmental Protection Agency to designate the area a “Superfund Site,” prompting immediate soil removal from over 600 homes.
The city of Minneapolis bought the site to expand its public works yard, a project strongly opposed by East Phillips, one of the city’s poorest and most polluted neighborhoods, with one of the highest concentrations of BIPOC residents.… Read the rest “Urban Farm, Not Toxic Harm! City Taking Steps to Demolish the Historic Roof Depot Building”
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