Star Tribune
A $100K gift jump-starts efforts for new public arts program in Fridley
Officials in Fridley have long contemplated starting a public arts program. A $100,000 donation from a resident is now pushing that idea forward.
“We want to elevate our community,” said Mayor Scott Lund. “And elevate public comment about Fridley.”
On Monday, the City Council will hear the first reading of an ordinance that would create the north metro suburb’s first arts commission. Work to form a nonprofit to oversee it is underway. The city also is in talks with the Rice Creek Watershed District and an artist to create a water-themed installation to go up in Moore Lake Park, where the city will finish a $6 million renovation this year.
“Art has such a value to the image of a city,” said Scott Hickok, Fridley’s community development director.
The idea for an arts program first surfaced in 2018 when the city opened its civic campus housing City Hall, police and fire, and other city services in a splashy building on the site of the former Columbia Arena. The city used some of the rebates it received from Xcel Energy to create a sculpture in the building’s atrium. The 26-foot sculpture sitting atop a large hockey puck features letters from the former ice center’s sign used to spell the word “incomparable.” It was the first effort to bring art to the city.
Momentum stalled until an anonymous Fridley resident gave the city money and rekindled the effort.
Last fall, Fridley asked the public to place dots on an interactive map on the city’s website to share ideas of where they’d like to see art and what kind. City leaders reached out to other communities with similar arts programs for advice. A task force was assembled to compile a report for the City Council, set up a structure for planning, reviewing and accepting art, and form a nonprofit called the Fridley Creative Arts Foundation to oversee donations and partner with other organizations.
No city money has been allocated for the arts initiative, but the idea is gaining interest.
An artist has told the city that she believes Moore Lake Park would be an ideal spot for one of her creations. The city is set to meet with her April 12 and the artist will likely be commissioned in June to officially kick off the Fridley’s art program, Hickok said.
Beyond that, there is no timetable for the build-out, the mayor said.
“We plan to take it slow,” Lund said, “We are laying the groundwork and doing it right.”
But the the long-range plan envisions artwork throughout the city of about 31,000.
“We have world-class Medtronic, a first-rate hospital and a 128-acre nature center,” Lund said. “It will be nice to have public art throughout the community.”
Star Tribune
Winona-area House seat — one of the last DFL rural holdouts — could be key to legislative control
Rep. Gene Pelowski retired from the Legislature earlier this year, creating a must-win seat for DFLer Sarah Kruger and Republican Aaron Repinski.
Read the original article
Saroya has had a turbulent term on the council, representing the 1st Ward in southern Blaine since the beginning of last year. And now she faces a tough contest from retired Rochester fire Captain Chris Ford.
Earlier this month, the council censured Saroya for violating the city’s code of conduct regarding working with city staff. That came after two employees filed formal complaints, substantiated by an outside investigator.
One complaint stemmed from Saroya speaking during public comments at an April planning commission meeting about an apartment proposal. At the meeting, she echoed resident concerns, and also accused officials and staff of “rubber stamping” such items and ignoring neighbors. City rules advise council members not to attend commission meetings, or only do so as an observer, due to concerns about using their position to influence decisions.
At a later meeting, some on the council disagreed with the way she addressed staff. Saroya defended herself, arguing she has been repeatedly retaliated against for voicing concerns. She called on residents from the dais to vote out the council unless they want more “apartments, car washes and all this junk in our city.”
Saroya’s supporters appreciate that she has been a vocal critic of council actions and frequently raised questions about transparency, conflicts of interest and spending. But others argue her approach is harming relationships and could lead to turnover at City Hall.
Saroya, the council’s first Muslim member, views the censure as a “badge of honor.”
WASHINGTON — Groups in Russia created and helped spread viral disinformation targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday.
The content, which includes baseless accusations about the Minnesota governor’s time as a teacher, contains several indications that it was manipulated, said the official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Analysts identified clues that linked the content to Russian disinformation operations, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the office of the director.
Digital researchers had already linked the video to Russia, but Tuesday’s announcement is the first time federal authorities have confirmed the connection.
The disinformation targeting Walz is consistent with Russian disinformation seeking to undermine the Democratic campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz, her running mate. Russia also has spread disinformation aimed at stoking discord and division ahead of voting, officials said, and may seek to encourage violent protests after Election Day.
Last month, analysts at Microsoft revealed that a viral video that baselessly claimed Harris left a woman paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident 13 years ago was Russian disinformation. More recently, a video surfaced featuring a man claiming to be a former student of Walz’s who accused the candidate of sexual misconduct years ago. Private researchers at firms that track disinformation, including NewsGuard, already have concluded the video was fake and that the man in the footage isn’t who he claimed to be.
Some researchers have also suggested the video may contain evidence that it was created using artificial intelligence, but federal officials stopped short of the same conclusion, saying only that the video contained multiple indications of manipulation.
China and Iran also have sought to influence the U.S. election using online disinformation. While Russia has targeted the Democratic campaign, Iran has gone after Republican Donald Trump with disinformation as well as hacking into the former president’s campaign. China, meanwhile, has focused its influence efforts on down-ballot races, and on general efforts to sow distrust and democratic dissatisfaction.
Winona-area House seat — one of the last DFL rural holdouts — could be key to legislative control
State Department on classified document leak, Israel’s objectives in Lebanon
Law enforcement officer turned in his own daughter for murder
Winona-area House seat — one of the last DFL rural holdouts — could be key to legislative control
State Department on classified document leak, Israel’s objectives in Lebanon