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Advocacy groups urge Minnesotans to vote in school board races
Nearly 200 school board candidates are running for more than 100 seats statewide.
ST PAUL, Minn. — In an odd-numbered year like 2023, there aren’t many statewide or national elections happening. Still, 49 of Minnesota’s approximately 331 public school districts have school board elections this November.
According to the Minnesota School Boards Association, nearly 200 candidates are running for more than 100 open school board seats statewide. While some are holding special elections to fill just one seat, others have multiple candidates vying to fill several seats.
At the state capitol Thursday, advocacy groups including Jewish Community Action, OutFront Minnesota, Gender Justice and others held a press conference to urge Minnesotans to vote in their local school board races.
“School boards set policy. They approve curriculum. They hire and fire staff,” said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota, the state’s largest teachers union.
A growing number of the candidates have sprouted from heated school board debates on LGBTQ+ issues, book bans, critical race theory and other topics involving historically marginalized communities. Specht urged voters to research all candidates in these five-and-a-half weeks left before Election Day.
“It’s easy to dismiss this movement as a Florida thing, as an Oklahoma thing, as a Texas thing but that would be a mistake because it is here,” she said. “In the Bloomington Public Schools, there are more than 50 challenges to 30 titles in the school libraries already this year.”
“We know that in Minnesota, inclusion is not only the law, it is the right thing to do,” added Christy Hall, a senior staff attorney with Gender Justice.
MSBA Executive Director Kirk Schneidawind says the nearly 200 candidates running this fall are part of a rising trend.
“We are seeing more and more of our districts who have not just the bare minimum but multiple candidates for school board seats,” he said.
Schneidawind says such districts include Duluth, Hastings, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, and South Washington Co. Schools, among others. South Washington Co. Schools, for example, has a dozen candidates competing for four seats.
Schneidawind says financial interest has also grown.
“In general, we have seen over the last couple of years greater campaign contributions for our school board seats,” he said. “As a result, people are spending more money whether it’s ads, print ads, TV ads.”
He says candidates spending more than $750 on a campaign are required to disclose that information and then school districts publish it on their websites. However, final campaign spending reports won’t be ready until after the election.
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Donald Edmondson suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest at his north-side apartment building on Nov. 24, 2023.
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis man who pleaded guilty to entering another man’s apartment and shooting him to death last year was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office released a statement saying 59-year-old Walter Hill was sentenced on second-degree intentional murder charges in 60-year-old Donald Edmondson’s November 2023 killing.
Prosecutors said Hill was given 337 days of credit for time already served.
“Mr. Edmondson should still be alive,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. “A violent act committed with such disregard by Mr. Hill has taken him from his family. This sentence delivers accountability and protects our community, and I hope it brings some measure of peace to Mr. Edmondson’s loved ones as they attempt to move forward with their lives.”
According to police, Edmondson suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest at his north-side apartment building on Nov. 24, 2023.
The attorney’s office said Hill entered his guilty plea Monday.
Turns out, Twin Cities realtor and billboard personality Kris Lindahl is in on the joke.
MINNEAPOLIS — The makers of the video game “Call of Duty” launched a new, locally inspired campaign Friday, coinciding with the release of the franchise’s newest installment, “Black Ops 6.”
Motorists might notice real estate agent Kris Lindahl, famously seen with his arms out over every interstate in town, was replaced by *ahem* “The Replacer,” an Activision character played by actor Peter Stormare.
For the next few weeks, The Replacer will step in for Lindahl not only on billboards but also on advertisements across television, streaming and social media platforms.
But why does Lindahl need The Replacer’s help, you might ask?
So he’s free to play “Black Ops 6,” of course.
The Replacer isn’t new to Minnesota. He also once stepped into the shoes of Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
Reverend Shawn Morrison, founder and executive director of Good in the ‘Hood, shares his project to connect humanity through stories.
MINNEAPOLIS — In the busy intersections of life, some moments are often overlooked, while others are ignored.
Reverend Shawn Morrison, founder and executive director of Good in the ‘Hood, sees these intersections as opportunities for connecting and understanding.
“Three years ago, I just got a heart for this,” Morrison said, explaining that overlooking these moments was never an option. “Some might say it’s a calling that I was just compelled,” he shared, describing his deep motivation.
This project, “Will You See Me?” shares stories of people who are often unseen, aiming to create connections and build empathy. With each story, photograph and encounter, the team hopes to bring dignity and significance to every life they touch.
Ultimately, they plan to compile these stories and images into a book to serve as a powerful testament to the human experience.
“How can we not make it just an excursion but an encounter? How can we give dignity and significance a listening ear of understanding?” Morrison asked, hoping the project fosters empathy through shared narratives.
One participant, Wade Smith, reflected on the range of life experiences among the project’s subjects.
“I went to radio and television broadcasting school, yeah, and then I went to the service,” Smith shared.
Morrison’s approach includes photographing and recording participants’ words, preserving their voices authentically.
After initial challenges finding collaborators, Shawn Nielsen, owner of Nielsen Studios, and Elizabeth Korth, owner of Narrative Nuance, joined Morrison in his mission. Together, they approach individuals directly, offering respect, gift cards and a chance to be truly seen.
“People don’t even look at me,” Smith said. “It’s a problem for all Americans.”
Through each encounter, Morrison hopes to leave lasting impressions.
“I’m hoping that the people of our community start to see things differently, and they might ask this question, ‘What can I do?’” Morrison said.
Dre Woods, another participant, spoke about his family and dreams. Woods asked for help to take care of his four-legged companion, Oreo.
“I’m trying to feed her, right? That’s my baby,” Woods shared, revealing the motivations that guide him.
Dozens of stories and plenty of surprises, all things that give an often unshared perspective.
“I be asking God what it is why I’m still here. A lot of my friends not hear no more and I think about that,” Woods said.
Each interaction serves as a reminder of humanity’s shared connections.
“I think that it would encourage someone to do just something once. Each person could do something one day at a time, to be profound,” Nielsen said.
For Morrison, these stories are part of a larger mission.
“Boy, has there been a rest of the story for some of these beautiful people,” he said, hoping to inspire others to view their communities with fresh eyes.
Each moment and interaction serves as a call to action: look closer; adjust the community’s vision; and see the intersection they pass by more clearly — as part of their own destination.
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