The Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais has gutted the federal Voting Rights Act. Minnesota advocates and Attorney General Keith Ellison say the state’s own Voting Rights Act is now a critical line of defense.
Local & State
A space for original local news with an emphasis on stories pertaining to African Americans
Posted inPolitics
Bipartisan bill to create independent inspector general moves toward final vote
A bipartisan bill creating a new, independent Minnesota Office of Inspector General has passed the Senate and cleared the House Ways and Means Committee, awaiting a floor vote.
Posted inLocal & State
Turning Point USA Contributor Savanah Hernandez Has a Pattern. The Ostroushko Indictments Are the Latest Result.
A federal grand jury has indicted three members of the Ostroushko family following a physical altercation at a Fort Snelling protest, with Turning Point USA contributor Savanah Hernandez at the center of the confrontation.
Posted inPolitics
Housing advocates push to extend bipartisan state tax credit program beyond 2028
Minnesota State Housing Tax Credit Program extension is being pushed at the Capitol as advocates and legislators say the bipartisan affordable housing program has drawn 1,100-plus contributors and consistently outpaced its funding supply.
Posted inPolitics
Boundary Waters mining ban overturned in narrow Senate vote
Boundary Waters copper mining ban has been lifted after the Senate passed H.J.Res.140 50-49, revoking a 20-year moratorium on copper sulfide mining in the Rainy River Watershed despite opposition from Sen. Tina Smith and a broad coalition of Minnesotans.
Posted inLocal & State
Bill targets cash bail’s racial disparity
Minnesota cash bail reform legislation would eliminate wealth-based detention in favor of an intentional release and detain approach as advocates say Black Minnesotans make up 36 percent of the pretrial jail population.
Posted inLocal & State
From the farm to the neighborhood: Michael Chaney’s lifelong harvest
Project Sweetie Pie founder Michael Chaney has spent more than 30 years weaving together climate justice, urban farming and community organizing in North Minneapolis rooted in a tradition of community-led, community-fed change.
Posted inLocal & State
Building tables, breaking barriers: Honorees of color shine at 40 Under 40 awards
Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal 40 Under 40 honorees of color brought stories of immigration, community building and entrepreneurship to the annual celebration at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Wayzata.
Posted inLocal & State
Legacy and Laughter fundraiser celebrates community influencers
Irreducible Grace Foundation’s Legacy and Laughter fundraiser honored community leaders and named rooms at the Black Youth Healing Arts Center in St. Paul after those whose work has shaped countless lives.
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Hunger Strikers Confront Hennepin County Board Over HERC Closure, Sending Commissioners Into Recess
Zero Burn Coalition hunger strikers disrupted the Hennepin County Board meeting on day 12 of their strike demanding a vote to close HERC by December 2027 before ending the strike the following day.
Posted inLocal & State
Minneapolis Police Chief’s Public Statements on Domestic Violence Cases Under Scrutiny After City Auditor Report
A Minneapolis city auditor report found MPD made serious missteps investigating the Allison Lussier case and recommended a formal written apology to her family for public misstatements by Police Chief Brian O’Hara about the medical examiner’s findings.
Posted inHealth + Wellness
Air and water disparities, and the fight to shut down HERC
HERC trash incinerator residents describe living next to a facility that sounds like an airport tarmac, causes respiratory illness and sits in a majority-Black community absorbing pollution from across Hennepin County.
Posted inPolitics
A new poll tax? How the SAVE Act impacts Black, unhoused and female voters
The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, and advocates say it would disproportionately harm Black elders, unhoused residents and millions of eligible voters who lack required documents.
Posted inLocal & State
St. Paul residents hope Midway development brings needed resources back to neighborhoods
The Midway neighborhood in St. Paul is in transition as United Village development rises near Allianz Field while a neighboring block sits largely vacant after the closure of major grocery and retail stores.
Posted inCommunity Voices
20 years of answering the call
Power of People Leadership Institute celebrates 20 years of community impact, having reached more than 7,000 girls, 1,500 boys and 6,000 formerly incarcerated community members through Girls in Action, Boys of Hope and the RePlanting Program.
Posted inBusiness
Why people are opting out of hustle culture, choosing lifestyle over work
Hustle culture and Black burnout explored by two therapists who say opting out is not failure but a necessary corrective to a system built on extraction and overwork.
Posted inLocal & State
Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Office steps into the light
Missing Murdered Black Women Girls Minnesota Day on the Hill 2026 brings impacted families to the State Capitol as Amarie Alowonle’s mother speaks out for justice.
Posted inLocal & State
Rest in Power: Minnesota Loses a True Warrior in Yusef Mgeni
Yusef Mgeni obituary honors the Black Minnesota historian, community organizer and St. Paul NAACP leader whose generational legacy will echo for decades to come.
Posted inLocal & State
Tenant union wins more than $49,500 in court fines from building landlord
Brentwood Tenants Union wins more than $49,500 in Hennepin County court fines from Quadrel Realty in one of the largest tenant union victories in Housing Court history.
Posted inLocal & State
Black Man Allegedly Denied Entry at Cities Church; Activists Raise Pattern of Discrimination at Press Conference
Cities Church allegedly denied a Black man entry to worship in St. Paul as civil rights activists allege discrimination and retaliation tied to the Righteous 39 protest arrests.