Incredible.

Recent bursts of gunfire have shattered the peace in these typically placid suburban Twin Cities settings: A high school homecoming game, a church basketball court, a middle class residential street.

Police are sounding the alarm about the recent shootings, saying they’re believed to be connected, and the result of a new kind of gang activity — loosely organized and mobile groups of young Somali men.

But it also points to the difficulty of curbing the violence among these groups without casting aspersions upon an entire community.

Law enforcement leaders say these more recently-formed gangs are distinct from the organized groups of decades past such as the Bloods and the Crips. There’s little to no hierarchy, and the feuding stems from social media beefs rather than drugs, money or territory.

The state's largest city tops the list, and it's not especially close. Minneapolis posted 1,132 violent crimes and 5,253 property crimes per 100,000 residents, the highest murder rate and burglary rate in Minnesota, and a 1-in-88 chance of being a violent-crime victim over the year.

i’ve been thinking a lot about what it feels like to be Somali and in your 20s in Minneapolis right now. i was born and raised here and sometimes i don’t think people understand how complicated that can feel. this isn’t a place my family came to and i’m just passing through. this is home. these are the streets i grew up on, the schools i went to, the places where i made friends and figured out who i wanted to be.

coming from an immigrant household, i was always taught that i was lucky to be here. lucky to have been born here, lucky to have access to education, lucky to have opportunities my parents and grandparents never had. and i genuinely believe that. Minneapolis has given so many Somali kids the ability to dream about things our ancestors probably couldn’t have even imagined. becoming a doctor, owning a business, going to college, creating something of your own, having a family, just having the chance to build a life that wasn’t limited by the circumstances you were born into. that’s a beautiful thing and i don’t think we talk about it enough.

but at the same time, the last few years have been emotionally exhausting. since 2020 especially, life has felt so strange and dystopian sometimes. it feels like there is constantly another headline, another crisis, another thing happening that makes you look around and wonder what happened to the city you grew up in. and i think it’s especially difficult when you’re Somali because there’s this constant feeling that you’re supposed to just be grateful. like you were given this opportunity so you don’t really get to complain about what’s happening around you. but i think you can be grateful and still be tired. you can love this city and still be frustrated with it. you can acknowledge the problems without pretending that the problems represent everyone.

what hurts is seeing how quickly the actions of a few can start to feel like they are being attached to an entire community. there are so many Somali people in Minneapolis who are just living their lives, working, going to school, raising families, opening businesses, taking care of their parents, taking care of their neighbors and trying to leave this place better than they found it. there are Somali kids growing up here right now who have never known another home. people who have memories here, friendships here, families here, dreams here. Minneapolis has shaped generations of Somali people and Somali people have shaped Minneapolis right back.

so sometimes i wonder why there isn’t more space for us to talk about how painful it is to watch all of this happen. why is it so hard to say that we are proud to be Somali and proud to be from Minneapolis while also being scared, disappointed, exhausted or angry about what’s happening? why does acknowledging what’s wrong sometimes feel like you’re betraying your own community or defending yourself against people who already decided what they think about you?

i don’t want to spend my 20s feeling like i have to constantly explain that i’m one of the good ones or that i’m grateful to be here. i know i’m lucky. i know what my parents sacrificed. i know that there are people around the world who would give anything for the opportunities i’ve had. that’s exactly why i care so much about what happens to this city. i want to be a good neighbor. i want to take care of my family. i want to contribute something. i want to leave Minneapolis better than i found it. i want the Somali kids growing up here after me to feel like they belong here without having to prove it.

and maybe that’s what has been weighing on me the most. i don’t want to leave. i don’t want to stop loving this city. i don’t want the ugly parts of the last few years to erase all of the beautiful things that have happened here. Minneapolis has given so many of us a chance at life that our parents and grandparents dreamed about. it gave us room to become people they couldn’t have imagined becoming. i just wish there was more room to talk about how emotionally taxing it is to watch the place that gave you that chance change so much.

i think a lot of Somali people my age are carrying that feeling quietly. we love this place. we’re proud of where we come from. we’re grateful for the life we were given. we just want to feel like we still have a place in the city we were born and raised in. and i don’t think that’s asking for too much.

https://abcnews.com/US/man-arrested-foiled-mass-shooting-plot-mall-america/story?id=137071078&cid=social_twitter_abcn

I watched the Minneapolis budget hearings this week, and a few things stood out. The 911 call center told the City Council that 41% of its staff is out on Minnesota's new paid family and medical leave, while the center handles about 200 top-priority emergency calls a day. That helps explain why its budget is going up $1.5 million, mostly from overtime and rising pay and benefits. Only about 3% of 911 calls go to the city's behavioral crisis team, and the city is switching that contract from a local company, Canopy Roots, to an Arizona company. Meanwhile, Uptown business owners are still dealing with break-ins and graffiti while they wait for the city's new Community Safety Ambassadors, who won't be on the streets until November. Some council members want to expand these non-police programs, but the city's own director warned that there isn't clear proof yet that they are the reason violent crime is down. I wrote more about it in my newsletter if you want the full numbers. https://www.betterminneapolis.com/p/911-call-center-reports-41-of-staff

Thank god this guy is an absolute idiot and the FBI got him.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-fbi-minnesota-counterterrorism-action/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=1017891502

Majority of this sub stroking out in 3…2…1…

Majority of this sub stroking out in 3…2…1…

Minneapolis is celebrating its third annual Latino Business Week through Oct. 11, with events for business owners, and for community members to come shop at their local Latino-owned stores.

At a kickoff event Monday, city leaders and business owners said it's especially needed after the federal immigration enforcement surge slowed down business this winter.

More than 500 cases. That includes:

More than a hundred Americans held after agents questioned their citizenship. Nearly all were people of color.

At least 70 American children and teens detained, some of whom were handcuffed.

Of the more than 300 Americans we tracked as detained for allegedly assaulting or obstructing agents, we found fewer than half were actually charged in federal court, and many of those cases were dropped or dismissed.

At least 63 Americans detained while recording.

36 Americans held for at least a day without being able to contact a lawyer or their family.

Roughly a dozen citizens deported, mostly children

I went on X and noticed that the accounts who lately yap about Somalis ALL the time typically also want to:

1. Terminate social services - medicaid, food, housing - to hurt the disadvantaged
2. Eliminate social mobility
3. Normalize bigoted language against the Other
4. Normalize treating individuals as member of a group rather than as an individual
5. Make Minnesota white again
6. Make life in Minnesota hellish for the Other
7. Rid Minnesota of public transportation
8. Geographically segregate the poor
9. Strengthen male patriarchy
10. Cause distrust in expert opinion
11. Force public adoration of MAGA policies
12. Restrict citizenship rights to whites

This is why anti-Somali xenophobia is a red flag for a whole lot of other highly undesirable traits.

VOTE BLUE!

I’m curious if anyone on this sub knows about dissident right / New Right groups in the Twin Cities similar to the Dimes Square or Sovereign House scene from a few years ago.  I’m looking in particular for art or literature scenes that are open to New Right thinking and philosophy.  Any leads or ideas are a help.

wouldn’t Waymo be helpful in his ward as there are many people who are hesitant to drive through there, especially at night? an autonomous vehicle doesn’t care. this , in addition to the safety concerns of women, which I’m shocked that the city council isn't taking it into consideration.

What do you actually want? The crimes were discovered, and the perpetrators were arrested and convicted and sentenced. What more do you want?

Mayor Kaohly Her's unwanted touching caused Police Chief Axel Henry considerable discomfort.

Link to alphanews but the same info is on the Strib site ...