Star Tribune
St. Paul Lowry Apartments residents who endured shoddy living conditions were easy to ignore
“I feel like a lot of the people were dehumanized or the people just weren’t seen,” she said. “I use a mobility scooter, so when they would shut down all but one of the elevators, or if something happened to that elevator or something happened in the building, I would be screwed. And there are other wheelchair and mobility device users. It’s a majority Black building. Every marginalized community you can think of, almost everyone was in that building.”
I’m concerned about the people who had to endure these conditions before local officials intervened. Every criticism of Madison Equities is warranted, but it’s also fair to ask if the system and the process attached to it are sufficient in St. Paul to address these matters in a timely manner.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter has called the conditions “disgusting” as the city works to assist residents, some of whom have questioned why the help didn’t arrive earlier. When I asked to speak with someone in Ramsey County this week, a representative sent a statement.
“Ramsey County learned of the issue facing the residents of The Lowry on Thursday, Aug. 15,” county officials said in a statement, adding another meeting for residents to offer support. “Since we received notification, we have been working closely with the City of Saint Paul on a response plan to provide resources. Together with the City of Saint Paul, we hosted an informational meeting for the residents of the Lowry at the Ramsey County Courthouse/Saint Paul City Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 21, where we provided resources, support and answered questions with the information we had available on the situation.”
Kelly Hadac, a lawyer for Madison Equities, countered the city’s and county’s claims, however, by citing “crime,” “rampant homelessness and drug use” and a struggling business environment in downtown St. Paul for the building’s challenges, per a Star Tribune article.
But Thomas also said a property manager at the apartments made her feel as if the complaints — many of which had been made months before the city’s and county’s involvement — were insignificant to Madison Equities because of the makeup of the residents in the building, residents whom Thomas said he called “dummies and morons” who weren’t worthy of attention.
The Minneapolis school board on Tuesday night appointed Lucie Skjefte, chair of the district’s American Indian Parent Advisory Committee, to fill the vacant District 3 board seat in the city’s center.
Her selection ultimately came down to chance.
Skjefte emerged from earlier ranked-choice voting in a tie with Fatimah Hussein, and the two then deadlocked, 4 to 4, in a live board vote before a coin was flipped in Skjefte’s favor.
They were among four finalists to succeed Faheema Feerayarre, who resigned in September, too late for the seat to be placed on the November ballot.
The move throws two new members into the mix as the school board works to erase an anticipated budget deficit and dig into a “transformation process” that could include closing and merging schools.
Greta Callahan, a former president of the teachers chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, won election last week to the District 6 seat.
During an appearance before board members last Thursday, Skjefte, who is a Red Lake tribal member, spoke of her work as an Indigenous graphics designer and as director of operations for the Mni Sota Fund, a community development group that seeks to empower Native people.
She said she’d aim to “reach out and create spaces for every voice, especially for those from historically marginalized communities.”
Star Tribune
What to know about Forest Lake’s Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to serve as defense secretary
In picking Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, President-elect Donald Trump has selected a military veteran and popular conservative media personality with a large following of his own.
Hegseth, 44, has developed a close rapport with Trump, who also reportedly considered him for a post in his first administration. Hegseth has lobbied Trump to release service members accused of war crimes.
Here are a few things to know about Hegseth.
He’s a Fox News personality and author
Co-host of Fox News Channel’s ”Fox & Friends Weekend,” Hegseth has been a contributor to the network for a decade. He developed a friendship with Trump through the president-elect’s regular appearances on the show. In a statement, a Fox News spokesperson complimented Hegseth’s military knowledge, saying his ”insights and analysis especially about the military resonated deeply with our viewers.”
He’s also written a number of books, several for the network’s publishing imprint, including ”The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.” In announcing Hegseth’s nomination, Trump complimented that book, noting its ”nine weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE.”
Hegseth has served in the military, although he lacks senior military or national security experience.
Election offices in more than half of Minnesota’s counties have been targeted with emailed bomb threats since Nov. 8, the office of the Secretary of State said Tuesday.
The threats come as election workers are still in the process of verifying the results of the 2024 election.
In a statement, Secretary of State Steve Simon said his office is coordinating with local, state and federal partners to “ensure that our election officials can complete this important work and that those responsible for these threats are held accountable.”
“Threats of violence against election workers, aimed at disrupting our democracy, are absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
Turnout was high in Minnesota in 2024, but it was lower compared to the 2020 presidential election.
Unofficial 2024 results show about 76% of registered voters cast a ballot, down from the record-breaking 79.96% turnout in 2020, the office of the Secretary of State said last week.
The unofficial results, however, are higher than the 74.72% turnout recorded in 2016.
