Another officer involved shooting. Another tragedy. More media coverage of excessive force by police. This time it’s Minneapolis on the hot seat. We’ll talk about it in Minneapolis Police Shooting Exposes Training Questions-Podcast 650.
Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk Saturday Night July 15th, 2017. The 40 year old South Minneapolis woman had called 911 to report a disturbance in the alley behind her home.
Details are sketchy so far, since the officer isn’t talking. Speculation is running rampant. Rogers asks some questions about the level of training for officer Noor and police as a whole in Minneapolis Police Shooting Exposes Training Questions-Podcast 650.
Despite assertions that Minnesota ranks high in standards for police training, Rogers says the standard may not be high enough. He questions whether officers are getting enough training in dealing with the difficult situations they encounter, and thus revert to their firearms. In Minneapolis Police Shooting Exposes Training Questions-Podcast 650.
Have you been to downtown Minneapolis lately? These days some don’t feel safe there. In Friday Night On Mean Street Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis-Podcast 648 we run the gauntlet on Hennepin Avenue.
After Billions Spent, New Questions About Safety Downtown
The Crisis in American Cities has been grabbing headlines for a hundred years. From The Gateway District to Mayo Square it’s the same formula. Use taxpayer dollars to Demolish. Rebuild. Repeat. Has it been worth it?
Robert Moses and Richard Daley Would Be Proud
Light rail and mixed use condos. Expensive restaurants and Hipster art districts. Bike paths. Safe spaces. Higher Minimum Wages. Political fights about redevelopment and economic inequality. Tax Increment Financing to bring in big retail and big companies.
When these efforts produce mixed results, the process starts all over again. More money. Newer stadiums. More buildings. More condos that are sold as ‘affordable’ but cost at least two hundred thousand dollars. Higher rents. Traffic Jams. Crime.
Downtown Minneapolis was never a ‘thing’
The neighborhoods and retail business were located in North Minneapolis and North East, Uptown, Lake Street in South Minneapolis and Saint Paul’s ‘Midway’. Sure, Hennepin Avenue always featured bars and hotels, places to eat and entertainment. But downtown was for warehouses, light industry, office buildings, city and county government. And drunks.
Want to start a business downtown? Want to buy a condo downtown? Better be juiced into the money or have a lot of money. No wonder people are concerned about the nitty gritty nature of Hennepin Avenue. Walking down this street you’re mixing with the great unwashed. Unruly, scantily clad, vulgar, of different races and often from the poor side of the cities. And it’s really, really fun.
Is the solution really more cops downtown. Another Light Rail line? Subsidized office space? Another redevelopment of Nicollet Mall? More incremental taxes added to the bills at the Smack Shack? Who lives down here? Not the servers. Nor the kids hanging out at the LRT station.
Spend Daddy’s Money Downtown
Downtown Minneapolis is a place for trust fund babies, lawyers and corporates relocating. People who are used to having things their way. No wonder they think it’s unsafe. Sadly, they’re making everyone else pay for their own personal Epcot Center. It’s a con.
When you think about how much of the taxpayer’s hard earned dollars they’ve spent, one wonders when the Downtown Council and the real shadow power in Minneapolis will be held accountable.
Minnesota 2nd District Congressman Jason Lewis joins Bob Davis during the Pan-O-Prog (Panorama Of Progress) parade in Lakeville Minnesota.
High Stakes
Coming back from the recess, republican majorities in the House and Senate have a lot on their plate. Stakes are high. The Senate has to take up the question of ObamaCare. The House prepares to move onto Tax Reform and a big bombshell when it comes to the budget. For the first time in a long time the house will tackle so called mandatory spending.
Subscribers sometimes wonder why I do not debate sitting legislators and executives when I interview them. Every now and then our conversations get heated, but I don’t feel it is the role of the podcaster or interviewer to ‘debate’. We ask the questions, you draw your own conclusions.
Fasten Your Seat Belts For This Parade
Minnesota 2nd District Congressman Jason Lewis-Podcast 647 is a slice of life, interviewing the congressman on a gorgeous summer evening in Mobile Podcast Command as we roll through the parade. We talk about his concerns and challenges as a first term congressman. Two talk radio guys can cover a lot of ground, so fasten your seat belts for this parade.
Devil’s In The Details
New Congressmen are inundated with detail when it comes to legislation pending, and bills they’ve voted on. Especially interesting and relevant to me is the higher level of detail in Congressman Lewis’ answers versus Jason Lewis the candidate.
2018 Depends On This Congress Acting
One point the congressman makes is very important. He feels strongly for republicans, of which he is one, that this congress has to act. Lewis is looking to actions candidates in the 2018 cycle can point to as essential to a successful ‘re-elect’. We’ll see. Thanks again to the congressman and the people of Lakeville, Minnesota