Over 40% of Minnesota’s pre-trial jail population is Black, and once convicted, many are funneled into prison work programs paying as little as 50 cents an hour. The End Slavery Minnesota Coalition says it is not rehabilitation. It is exploitation.
Minneapolis
Posted inLocal & State
Rest in Power: Larry Fitzgerald Sr., MSR Sportswriter and Champion of Black Athletes, Dead at 71
Larry Fitzgerald Sr., beloved Minnesota sportswriter and longtime Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder columnist who spent more than 45 years advocating for Black athletes and coaches, has died at age 71.
Posted inBest of Black Businesses
Nominations Are Now Open for the 2026 Best of Black Business Awards
Nominations are now open for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder’s Second Annual Best of Black Business Awards. Submit your favorites across five categories through June 30, 2026, with winners celebrated at a live ceremony on Nov. 7.
Posted inSports
From Rondo to Cooperstown: St. Paul Honors David Winfield With Bronze
A bronze statue of Baseball Hall of Famer David Winfield now stands at Toni Stone Field in St. Paul, honoring the Rondo native and 22-year MLB veteran who credits his upbringing in the heart of St. Paul’s Black community as the foundation for everything that followed.
Posted inLocal & State
DOJ Announces $90 Million Medicaid Fraud Indictment in Minneapolis as Acting AG No-Shows
Federal prosecutors announced indictments against 15 people accused of defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of $90 million, as RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz joined DOJ officials at a Minneapolis press conference while the acting attorney general was in Washington defending a fund for Trump allies.
Posted inEducation
Professors reflect on Black progress, and what the next decade demands
Black academics Dr. Walter Greason and Dr. Artika Tyner offer a sobering, nuanced and at times hopeful assessment of where Black communities in Minnesota and across the country stand today and where they are headed over the next decade.
Posted inMSR In the News
Perry Talks 2026 Brought Together Powerful Voices at George Floyd Square
The 2026 Perry Talks symposium brought together Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, MSR CEO Tracey Williams-Dillard and other distinguished voices near George Floyd Square for a timely conversation on racial justice and First Amendment rights during the Rise & Remember Festival.
Posted inOn the Radar
iLLism: The South Minneapolis Duo Building a Creative Legacy
Twin Cities hip-hop duo iLLism, consisting of husband-and-wife creators Fancy and Emmanuel Duncan, have evolved from a successful musical act into powerful community builders. Through CRWN Media, the Legacy Building, and the Soul of the Southside festival, they are actively rewriting the narrative for local creatives.
Posted inOn the Radar
Curator, Artivist and Practitioner of Joy Esther Callahan Is Building a Black Art Economy in Minnesota
On the Radar host Damenica Ellis sits down with Minneapolis artivist and curator Esther Callahan, who built the BLK Collectors to ensure Black artists are seen, supported and paid, and who distributed handmade art kits to families during Operation Metro Surge.
Posted inDigital Editions
MSR Digital Edition 43 for May 28 – June 3, 2026
The MSR Digital Edition 43 for May 28 – June 3, 2026 is now live. Explore community news, sports, arts, and events. Edition 43, Volume 92.
Posted inGeorge Floyd Square
Six years later, George Floyd’s memory stands strong at 38th and Chicago
Six years after George Floyd’s murder, family members, activists and community leaders gathered at 38th and Chicago to remember, invest in the next generation and refuse to let the world forget what happened here.
Posted inLocal & State
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara Resigns After Interfering With Investigation
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara resigned Tuesday, May 26, after an investigation found he had interfered with a probe into his own conduct by deleting a contact from his city-issued phone to shield evidence from investigators.
Posted inEducation
Rising to the Bar: Minnesota’s Next Generation of Black Lawyers Won’t Back Down
Seven Black law graduates from the University of Minnesota, Mitchell Hamline and St. Thomas are entering the legal profession with purpose, carrying lived experience and a commitment to representing communities that have historically gone without.
Posted inOpinion
Policy shifts are reshaping Black and immigrant business economy
Procurement expert R. Lynn Pingol argues that Minnesota’s small businesses are facing a perfect storm of federal shocks, from DEI restrictions to DBE rollbacks and SBA delays, landing hardest on Black, immigrant and BIPOC-owned firms with the least margin for disruption.
Posted inLocal & State
100 Years of Service and Legacy: Honoring Dr. John M. Warren Sr.
Dr. John M. Warren Sr., one of the first African American podiatrists in Minnesota and a WWII Navy veteran, celebrated his 100th birthday on May 2, 2026, surrounded by family and friends in New Hope.
Posted inNews
Lynx home opener
The Minnesota Lynx dropped their 91-90 home opener to the Atlanta Dream on May 9 at Target Center, as guards Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride lead a 3-2 squad averaging big numbers early in the 2026 WNBA season.
Posted inHealth + Wellness
New South Minneapolis Clinic Promises to Make Healthcare More Accessible to Residents Regardless of Insurance
Southside Community Health Services has opened a new $30 million East Lake Street Clinic in South Minneapolis, offering medical, dental, vision and behavioral health services for residents with and without insurance in one of the city’s most underserved corridors.
Posted inBusiness
NEON Launches $22 Million Collective Kitchens Hub, Giving Food Entrepreneurs Room to Grow
The Northside Economic Opportunity Network celebrated the grand opening of NEON Collective Kitchens, a 25,000-square-foot commercial kitchen and food business incubator on West Broadway designed to help North Minneapolis food entrepreneurs scale their businesses.
Posted inFood
What the potlikker broth holds
Chef Lachelle Cunningham writes about potlikker, her Uncle Moe Burton’s legacy as a community organizer and cooperative grocer, and the unbroken line between feeding people, organizing people and building community power.
Posted inEvents
Monsters on Vacation Open at Minnesota Children’s Museum
Monsters on Vacation, an all-new world premiere exhibit at the Minnesota Children’s Museum, opened May 23 in St. Paul and runs through Jan. 10, 2027, using friendly monster characters and interactive activities to build social and emotional learning skills in young children.