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Twin Cities Indymedia 2009 in Review (So Far)

Submitted by haloka on Sat, 07/04/2009 - 10:37
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Twin Cities Indymedia has grown a lot since last year's coverage of the 2008 RNC.  After helping produce Terrorizing Dissent, we've begun to expand our editorial collective and coverage of various struggles in and around the occupied land called Minnesota.  As we move through the summer, we hope to expand our reach even further - and, since any Independent Media Center is what you make of it, need your help to do so! 

Start below by checking out a selection of featured stories from 2009 so far -- dozens stories from at least 16 authors (via the editorial collective and open publishing) on immigrant rights, the foreclosure crisis, resistance to occupation at home and abroad, and much more -- only a fraction of the content posted on TCIMC in the last 5 months.  Catch up on what you missed!

Twin Cities Indymedia: open publishing movement media for Minneapolis, Saint Paul and beyond.  Be the media - and tell a friend! TCIMC Feature Archive | All news tagged "RNC" | Indymedia.US | TCIMC Editorial Policy | About Indymedia | On twitter | Contact the Collective to Volunteer |

Update: Elk River City Council Tables Coal Decision, Big Stone II Goes Back to Utilities Commission July 8

Submitted by H. Stone on Thu, 07/02/2009 - 08:52
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At a June 29, special meeting of the Elk River Municipal Utility (ERMU) and the City Council to discuss alternatives for their energy supply in 2018, the Council moved to table discussion of investment the Big Stone II coal project until  July 13. 

One of the options presented was investing in 30 megawatts of the Big Stone II coal plant expansion for $90 million.  

The Utilites board will meet July 8 to discuss the proposal and have requested more detailed information from the proposers.

When asked about the liklihood of ERMU's approval Troy Adams, Director of Operations for ERMU, said "To tell you the truth, I don't know. We're waiting for more information about the finances and the risk of the project."

ACTION TIME! Save Rosemary’s home!

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 15:41
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Update:  An extenstion until July 10 has been granted and changes have been made to the financial conditions involved.  More details to follow.   Solidarity actions may still be needed, so stand by.

By Linden Gawboy, MN Coalition for a People’s Bailout

On Thursday, June 25, friends and supporters gathered at the home of Rosemary Williams to plan for action after getting devastating news. That morning, in a conference call, Judge Lloyd Zimmerman sided with finance giant GMAC and against Ms. Williams, who has been engaged in an epic battle to save her home. We were trying to appeal the judge’s earlier ruling which had denied us a trial. Turns out we could appeal, if we came up with a $49,000 ‘bond’ in two days.

$49,000 is clearly an impossible amount for anyone to come up with. We should not have to pay almost as much as the house is worth to get heard in the ‘halls of justice.’ Since we don’t have that kind of money, we will have to act.

Elk River Municipal Power to Decide: Invest in Big Stone II Coal Burner?

Submitted by H. Stone on Wed, 06/24/2009 - 11:34
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The Elk River Municipal Utility is considering buying into the Big Stone II coal-fired power plant proposed to be built near Milbank, South Dakota. While other utilities and other states across the Midwest and the nation are abandoning plans for building new coal plants, the Big Stone II proposers continue down this path, which critics call "uneconomic and environmentally irresponsible."

"Out of control!": As Summer Heats Up, Testimony Describes MPD as Brutal, Lawless

Submitted by haloka on Thu, 06/18/2009 - 11:32
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50-60 Minneapolis residents gathered at the Urban League on the north side's Plymouth Avenue Monday night to give testimony about brutality and harassment at the hands (and batons, tasers, guns, etc.) of the Minneapolis Police Department. Their stories showed that police misconduct against people of color and the homeless is not isolated, and nearly all present were in agreement that, as one speaker proclaimed, "they've got to be accountable. Minneapolis has one of the most brutal police departments in the U.S."

The primary aim of this public hearing and an upcoming hearing to be scheduled on the south side was to gather testimony, to be shared with federal officials, with the goal of putting the Minneapolis Police Department under federal receivership. With a decree of receivership from the Department of Justice, the MPD would be under official supervision from the federal government until it became in compliance with the law. This new strategy is being used, say its proponents, since a decade of organizing around civilian review boards, individual lawsuits, a class action suit, and federal mediation has not succeeded in stopping MPD violence and harassment.

With lawyers, activists, a representative of Keith Ellison's office, and many survivors present, the testimonies were mixed with calls for communal action. "The people receiving these brutalities," said one audience member after telling his story, "outnumber the people who are doing it."

Related: Cop Culture Series on KFAI Radio | MPLS Civil Rights Department on Chopping Block | Community Members Rally in Reponse to Fong Lee Verdict | Ofiong Sanders Imprisoned for Lurking |  July 11: Hastings Rally One Year After Police Killing | CUAPB 

Drop Dead, Minnesota: Pawlenty nixes education, health & public safety today

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 06/16/2009 - 01:26
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Since the Legislature and Governor Tim Pawlenty failed to reach a deal for the next two fiscal years (fiscal 2010 starts July 1st, 2009), as it turns out, the governor has the arbitrary power to cancel whatever planned spending his mulleted head desires, within some rules. This is called unallotment, and it's about to happen, ten times bigger than has ever happened in the state's history. This happens Tuesday at 2 PM, an attempt to pack the bad news into one day, as TC-IMC noted earlier. [It will be live on TheUptake.]

Unfortunately, his moves will be designed to please national Republican primary voters, a sadistic bunch that want to see lesser classes and identities crushed for grim reasons of the authoritarian psyche. On the block are Minnesota's local governments, higher education and health care - the very things which, over decades, made Minnesota a relevant and formerly prosperous state (due to its socially progressive history).

All this civic investment goes up in smoke as billions of dollars are going to get slashed Tuesday; Minneapolis and St. Paul stand to lose, in particular, because as economic centers, they generate much of the state's jobs and culture -- in the GOP view, this is all from the "subsidy" of Local Government Aid and County Program Aid.

Local governments will also get payments slashed, and property taxes will get hiked (within certain levy limits). This plan benefits rich suburbanites, who may not have to suffer much in property tax hikes, at the expense of the long-term economy, which gets hollowed out from the center. It's the people who need county services, mental health help (as well, as, say, firefighters) who will lose out. As always it'll be a short-term pandering to the upper class, followed by further economic disaster. The challenge for activists is to step in and help the people that are getting screwed.

More links to unallotment news & research below - please add more!

March on Banks Demands: Stop Foreclosures and Evictions

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 06/13/2009 - 20:41
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By Linden Gawboy

“You got bailed out, we got sold out! Stop foreclosures now!” was the rallying call during a protest here June 13 as a crowd of 75 people surged to the doors of a US Bank branch on Lake Street. Minneapolis police officers blocked the doors of the bank building, calling in more squad cars, which arrived with sirens blaring.

The protest and march was organized by the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout. It called on banks and mortgage companies to stop forecloses and the displacement of homeowners and to stop evicting tenants from rental properties that have been foreclosed upon.

WAMM Walk Against Weapons Goes On Despite the Rain

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 06/10/2009 - 14:50
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90 people walked raising awareness "drop by drop".

The rains came... and so did the walkers! After gathering in the parking lot at Bakers Square and registering, we had a short rally and about ninety walkers set off on the three miles to Alliant Techsystems. The rain was relatively heavy, but our spirits were high and we received many friendly honks and waves. We had a big WAMM Walk Against Weapons sign leading and many individuals wore Walk Against Weapons signs on their backs or around their necks; it was quite an impressive sight... in the rain.

Woman Against Military Madness and AlliantACTION organized the fundraising walk for WAMM from Bakers Square, around the Eden Prairie Shopping Center, to ATK's corporate headquarters. Thousands of suburbanites witnessed this year's WALK AGAINST WEAPONS.
Check out WAMM online - WorldWideWAMM.org - More photos below...

Unprovoked Police Riot at Bash Back! Convergence May 30

Submitted by haloka on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 12:29
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UDPATE: account from anarchoqueer reposted below.

Hundreds of people from across the Midwest and beyond attended the Bash Back! Convergence in Chicago May 28-31. Although reactions to the convergence vary greatly, agreement can be reached on one thing: Saturday night ended in what can only be characterized as an anti-queer police riot. After exiting a dance party at the Belmont el station, the crowd of over 100 soon came under attack from charging police cruisers. No dispersal order was given, but officers soon charged the crowd with batons and fists flailing. When it was over, four people were arrested and several hospitalized. With an international reputation of homophobia and brutality directed at queer and transfolk, the Chicago Police Department may be now be looking at yet another civil suit in the near future.

TCIMC is looking for more accounts from the convergence in Chicago. If you have something to share, please publish it (and we'll post a link here), or contact us. Thanks!

Read Below: Two accounts from Chicago Indymedia, Article from the Windy City Times, and more...

Ofiong Sanders Imprisoned for Lurking

Submitted by Spudnik84 on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 18:50
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On May 7, Ofiong Sanders finished mowing the lawn for his parents. While that same evening, when he was finished with the yard work, he decided to go on a trip around the block exercising. Since living in a quiet neighborhood and a block a way from his home, thinking no one would notice. While starting his 20 paces, 20 sit-ups, going up and down the block, the Saint Paul Police Department approached him with on foot with flashlights. While asking why was he being detained, they said "We'll think of something".

The police got a call for suspicious activity that night, but no one can admit anything on the incident. Then finally after an half an hour in a squad car went by, he was arrested for lurking. Then at 3 AM was bailed out, only costing him $100 for that incident. Then went back home, slept for an hour, cleaned up to go to work around 6:30 am. A few days later, May 13, six police officers went to his work to arrest Mr. Sanders unannounced. He is now being held for the lurking charge with his parole officer.

Unsure on the case, Mr. Sanders was going to seek a lawyer for legal advice before calling his parole officer. And to make matters worse, his aunt died and her funeral was on May 18, and he worried that he'd miss saying his final goodbye to his aunt he loved.

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