News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Monday December 29th 2025
Random alley news August ’22
By Lindsey Fenner
MN State Senator Omar Fateh’s Ethics Hearing Continued Through July: Sen. Fateh represents Senate District 62, which includes all of Phillips. The ethics investigation, led by the Republican-controlled Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct, has raised questions about whether Fateh sought $500,000 in state funding for Somali TV of Minnesota after Somali TV ran campaign ads for Fateh for free. As a non-profit, Somali TV cannot endorse candidates. The other ethics concern involves Fateh’s connection to Muse Mohamed Mohamed. Mohamed, who is Fateh’s brother-in-law and volunteered with Fateh’s campaign and was convicted of lying to a grand jury during an investigation of voter fraud in the 2020 DFL primary race between Fateh and longtime incumbent Jeff Hayden. Fateh is now facing a DFL primary challenge in the August 9 Primary election from Shaun Laden, a Minneapolis Public Schools Education Support Specialist and union leader.
According to reporting by Deena Winter in the MN Reformer, two witnesses called to a July 7 hearing didn’t show up. They are expected to be subpoenaed for a hearing scheduled for July 27, after the alley goes to press. Check the MN Reformer https://minnesotareformer.com/ for updated coverage.
Little Earth Urban Farm Proposes Greenhouse on Empty Lot: The Little Earth Residents Association (LERA), which runs the Little Earth Urban Farm, is proposing to build a 20,000 square foot greenhouse on the vacant lot LERA owns at the northwest of Hiawatha Avenue and E 26th Street.… Read the rest “Random alley news August ’22”
IDENTITY THEFT: WHERE TO START
By MARY ELLEN KALUZA
Identity theft is one of the most frequent complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission. If you haven’t been a victim, you likely know someone who has.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was created in 1914 to protect the public against unfair commerce practices, and was later charged with much broader consumer protection duties. Side note: It is important for the public to file consumer complaints with the FTC. Not only do they publish an annual report of consumer issues, the more complaint data the FTC has, the more resources Congress allocates for them to address problems.
Here’s how you can protect yourself from identity theft.
IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION
Preventing identity theft is, of course, Step #1. Some tips:
- Don’t carry every credit card or medical card with you. (Medical ID theft is a real thing.)
- Leave your social security card at home in a secure location.
- Do you use the same password for everything? Well, stop.
- Long passwords that include capital letters, special characters, and numbers are best.
- Set up alerts for transactions with your financial institution and credit cards.
- If available, use two-step verification with your online accounts. (You get a text, phone call, or email with a code you must enter after your password to get into the account.)
East Phillips is not a Sacrificial Zone- EPNI continues to Negotiate with Minneapolis
By EPNI BOARD
On June 30th the City Council of Minneapolis approved 13-0 to move forward with its negotiations with East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) on Mayor Frey’s proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) offer regarding the City’s “Hiawatha Expansion Project” proposal from the City Council to the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office. We are aware of the confusing messaging that has been released by the City that conveys a “finalized deal” and we affirm EPNI’s ongoing commitment to transparency and to health and safety for our low-income, majority BIPOC neighborhood. In pursuance of the City’s proposed Hiawatha Expansion Project, which they would locate in East Phillips across the street from Little Earth of United Tribes Housing, a day-care and numerous family residences, the city has offered EPNI: 3 acres of land and 24 months of exclusive development rights along with vague commitments of financial assistance and social programming. This offer comes at a serious legal and health cost to the neighborhood and to all taxpayers. EPNI would need to end its current environmental justice lawsuits against the City of Minneapolis and to forgo any legal action against the city in the future. Their current proposed MOU offer would also allow the city to go forward to build its project by demolishing the huge 230,000 sq.… Read the rest “East Phillips is not a Sacrificial Zone- EPNI continues to Negotiate with Minneapolis”
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