Minneapolis / St. Paul News Blog

Tomorrow morning, the Minneapolis City Council will decide whether to criminalize those citizens who like to roam the alleys. Under the proposed ordinance--conceived as a crime fighting measure--alley-walkers would be subjected to a ticket or, in some cases, arrest if spotted by police in alley not adjacent to the block where they live.

Naturally, there are some exceptions. "Invitees"--defined as someone who is visiting a resident or on their way to a garage sale--would not be deemed in violation of the rule, nor would police, emergency personnel or garbage haulers.

The GLBT magazine Lavender has endorsed Ember Reichgott Junge for congress in the 5th District, according to a press release issued today by the Junge campaign.

In its edition due out tomorrow, Lavender cites Junge as "the most experienced, qualified, and progressive-thinking candidate...Unlike other candidates for the Fifth District seat, Reichgott Junge's stand on issues protecting those without a voice is not tokenism, but a real and concerned call to action from the mountaintops."

The press release also notes that Minneapolis has the third-largest concentration of gay and lesbian couples in the nation, according to the 2000 census.

Otto trumps Anderson in statewide money sweepstakes

While the gubernatorial and state attorney general races have grabbed headlines in this campaign season, the race for state auditor is still worth noting. Rebecca Otto is the former state rep. who is running as the DFL challenger to GOP incumbent Pat Anderson, who first entered politics as the mayor of Eagan.

The two have done a PR dance over Anderson's record as state auditor, a post she's held since she was elected in 2002. Then, Anderson was part of the statewide regime change, when the Republicans ushered in a new era of dominance in Minnesota politics. The bottom line in this race might just be the bottom line.

THESE DAYS

The Rev. Donald Wildmon's American Family Association has urged members to protest against CBS's decision to air an updated version of its 9/11 documentary in which firemen and other emergency workers are heard swearing.

Fuel expands in the heat, throwing off its measurement at the gas pumps. Hawaii, with an 86-degree fuel temperature, is the hottest. The state with the lowest gas temperature is Minnesota (53 degrees), and we pay $37 million less annually because of it.

A lack of federal money has triggered the shutdown of a coordinated effort to locate 135 people still listed as missing as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Track Tracy Eberly's numerous issues with Minnesota's newspaper of record at Anti-Strib.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Some guy wearing 121 t-shirts

Photos of celebrities with regular folks equals non-stop entertainment at CelebSafari. (Send in your own pix)

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I was watching TV and saw the trucks that said 'UN' on them and said, 'Man, you are so uncool, ineffective, anything.'"

-- Megadeth singer/guitarist Dave Mustaine, discussing the metal band's new album United Abominations, its title prompted by Mustaine's disdain for the United Nations

Anyone remember the rotten old days of chain letters, when you'd have to copy them by hand and send them by post? (Back then, kiddies, candy bars cost five cents and oral gratification was something you had to pay for in Tijuana and Bangkok.)

Yet there's bountiful pleasure (if not oral pleasure) to be found in these modern days of email mischief, myths, and scams. I dare say that our children will one day remember the Nigerian Era as a golden age of flim flammery.

To wit, a friend in Atlanta forwards me the following:

Read carefully,

THIS TOOK TWO PAGES OF THE TUESDAY USA TODAY - IT IS FOR REAL

To all of my friends, I do not usually forward messages, but this is from my friend Pearlas Sandborn and she really is an attorney.

If she says that this will work, it will work. After all, what have you got to lose?

SORRY EVERYBODY. JUST HAD TO TAKE THE CHANCE!!! I'm an attorney, And I know the law. This thing is for real. Rest assured AOL and Intel will follow through with their promises for fear of facing a multimillion-dollar class action suit similar to the one filed by PepsiCo against General Electric not too long ago.

Michael K. Browne and the future of the CRA

In this season of high-profile candidacies, it's not likely that you've heard of Michael K. Browne, the acting director of the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights. But Browne, who took over for Jayne Khalifa after she was appointed Deputy City Coordinator in May, has already appeared relatively proactive in what has in recent history been a moribund city department.

Most notably, before his appointment, Browne authored a study that raised serious questions about the state of the city's Civilian Review Authority, the citizen board that investigates complaints against the Minneapolis Police Department. The CRA has been flogged to death repeatedly since its inception in 1991, and skeptics could read Browne's report as another case of the city applying more window dressing to an entity they'd rather see disappear once and for all.

THESE DAYS

This morning, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona will play host to a contingent of politicians and business types from Luxembourg, so, if you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say "hi."

Responding to numerous "reports of unpleasant meetings" from Alpine trail hikers, the Swiss Hiking Federation is advising against hugging the cows.

Some commercial sex workers in Kenya who apparently are immune to HIV might be carrying a gene that protects them from contracting the virus, according to a study presented at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto. [via Digg]

A company called Baby Rock Records has created lullaby versions of songs by Metallica, Tool, and the Pixies.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Political and social commentary not for the faint of heart at Big Daddy Malcontent.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Robin Williams plays a Jon Stewart-like political comedian that runs for the presidency in Barry Levinson's Man of the Year, with Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, and Lewis Black.

A politically incorrect Jell-O commerical from the 1950s

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I didn't even know what school he was from. Then I decided to Google him and found all this information about how awesome he was in college. I guess I should have done that before the draft. I also should have Googled Donte Whitner, because apparently he isn't very good."

-- 80-year-old Buffalo Bills GM Marv Levy, regretting passing on Denver's rookie QB Jay Cutler, and drafting Ohio State safety Donte Whitner instead

Perhaps the biggest surprise among the recent campaign finance data that has been reported thus far is the strong showing of the current solicitor general, Lori Swanson, in her campaign to succeed her boss, Mike Hatch, as Minnesota Attorney General. Swanson is going up against Steve Kelley in the September 12 primary. Kelley enjoys far better name recognition, having finished a strong second this summer in a bid to capture the DFL endorsement for governor. When the DFL endorsee for AG, Matt Entenza, dropped out of the race last month, Kelley hopped in and was endorsed by the party in early August.

The Duluth News Tribune reports today that 12 marijuana plants were discovered growing in a municipal garden in front of the West Duluth police substation. Reporter Janna Goerdt noticed the plants while covering a press conference highlighting a crackdown on illegal use of all-terrain vehicles. The cops claimed ignorance regarding the plants' origins.

[Lt. John] Beyer pointed out that he, his police officers and the public use the backdoor entrance to the police station. The front door just off busy Grand Avenue is usually locked and not used.

"The only thing I can say is somebody has a sense of humor," Beyer said. "Now they'll read about it in the paper and say, 'Yeah, that was me.' "

As I was doing a media clip search in the course of reporting the story on Keith Ellison that will be published tomorrow, the June 8 column from Strib writer Katherine Kersten stood out. I won't go into the entire thing, but do want to address her last point, which was quoted in at least one other national story.

"Imagine that a Republican seeks his party's endorsement for the U.S. House of Representatives, despite having been allied with a white supremacist organization just a decade earlier," Kersten smugly wrote. "You're right. That man wouldn't get his party's endorsement."