ALPRs and Minneapolis’ Growing Discriminatory Surveillance Dragnet
Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), an extremely invasive form of public surveillance, have been around for decades, but lately they have been becoming more prevalent.
Tag: south minneapolis
ICE in Minnesota – Days 57-62: Masses Protest ICE While Violence Continues and Feds Indict Journalists
Minneapolis, MN – In the week after the third shooting, and second killing, by federal law enforcement in the Twin Cities, the landscape has somewhat shifted while the federal occupation under Operation Metro Surge has continued its violent ways; tens of thousands of community members…
IPG-Owned MPLS Apartment Properties Rack Up 104 Major Safety Violations, Leaves Residents in Disarray
Minneapolis, MN — If a tenant comes knocking to pay rent, that’s usually a door worth opening. But when Mike Brown approached the office of property manager Tina Johnson, she didn’t answer. Instead, three maintenance workers showed up at his door demanding rent.
“Anytime you…
🦄 Police
Plainclothes Feds Arrest Poet After Interview With Press, Unseal Conflated Complaint
Saint Paul, MN — Plainclothes federal agents arrested 27-year-old Isabel Lopez on Monday after she left an interview with the press about being assaulted by feds during a protest against what many thought was an immigration raid on Minneapolis’ Lake Street a week prior. On…
Camp Nenookaasi Pushes Debates in Minneapolis Around Encampments [Video]
Minneapolis, MN — Camp Nenookaasi, an encampment of unhoused peoples with grassroots Indigenous leadership, is pushing debates in Minneapolis around encampments, evictions, and solutions for the unhoused. Started in late August 2023, the camp successfully delayed two eviction threats from the city in December, before…
🦄 Eco
Protests Against Smith Foundry, Ex-EPA Scientist Calls Pollution Regulations a ‘Smokescreen’
Minneapolis, MN -- On January 11, 2024, community members gathered to discuss the future of the Smith Foundry in Minneapolis’ East Phillips neighborhood. The iron-casting facility has been found to violate health regulations, thereby likely threatening the well-being of people living nearby. In November, residents had called for the closure of the foundry after discovering records from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicating that the company had been exceeding Minnesota emission limits of particulate matter since 2018 — without notifying the state.
From Demolition Plans to Neighborhood Ownership: East Phillips Begins Transformation of Roof Depot into a Community Haven
Minneapolis, MN — It’s been a long road to ownership of the hotly contested Roof Depot site for the residents of the East Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis, and they recently cleared one more hurdle in their way.
On November 8, the City of Minneapolis accepted…
‘We Won the Move!’ Minneapolis Council Member Celebrates After Community Thwarts Plans For Old 3rd Precinct Site
Minneapolis, MN — Results from the recent listening sessions hosted by the the City of Minneapolis and a consulting firm about the future location of the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct that was torched after George Floyd was murdered by former 3rd Precinct officer Derek Chauvin…
🦄 Police
Exclusive: Tekle Sundberg’s Parents Recall the Moments Snipers from the Minneapolis Police ‘Executed’ Their Son
“‘They’re in place on the roof.’ When I heard that I was pretty sure how the night was going to end. I was beginning to panic.” – Mark Sundberg, Tekle’s father
Cindy and Mark Sundberg arrived at their 20-year-old son Tekle’s apartment building late on…
‘The Neighborhood’s Communication Department’ — Confluence Studio’s Print Shop
Minneapolis, MN — “We’re trying to be the neighborhood’s communication department” said Duaba, Confluence Studio’s co-founder, while standing inside a shipping container-turned print shop in South Minneapolis. “We worked with neighbors,” said Confluence’s other co-founder Sam, “to collaboratively construct this idea of what a newsroom…
MayDay Festivities Return to Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN — After three years on hiatus, the MayDay parade and ceremony returned to South Minneapolis. On Sunday, May 7, 2023, thousands of people filled Bloomington Avenue to watch the Southside Battletrain lead the parade into Powderhorn Park where a ceremony occurred.
Unicorn Riot…
Indigenous-Led Occupation Begins at Roof Depot Site Demanding City Call Off Demolition
Minneapolis, MN – East Phillips residents and members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) started an occupation of the Roof Depot site in the early hours of Tuesday morning in resistance to the city’s plan to demolish the site which sits atop decades of arsenic…
Minneapolis March Connects Roof Depot Demolition Resistance to the Atlanta Forest
Minneapolis, MN – Two weeks before a planned national week of action in Atlanta against ‘Cop City’ and a week before slated construction is about to begin in the demolition of the Roof Depot EPA Superfund site in Minneapolis, a protest in East Phillips brought…
Beyond the Barricades: A Look At George Floyd Square [Mini-Doc]
Minneapolis, MN – Since the police killing of 46-year-old George Floyd, the area where Floyd took his last breath has turned into an international sacred space controlled by community caretakers. The autonomous zone called George Floyd Square (GFS) consists of four city blocks around 38th…
🦄 Police
Minneapolis Police Kill Man Blocks From George Floyd Square
Minneapolis, MN – An evening before New Year’s Eve 2021, police fatally shot a man while in a South Minneapolis gas station parking lot, reportedly during a traffic stop.
In a somewhat contentious press conference near the scene of the killing outside the Holiday gas…
Minneapolis Police Violently Assault Man Yards From George Floyd Memorial
Minneapolis, MN – An advocate for the homeless was brutally arrested just yards from George Floyd’s memorial on December 4, 2020. The advocate, a young Black man named JoJo, said that Minneapolis Police officer Kyle Mader dislocated his shoulder when he violently slammed him to…
Peavey Park Sanctuary Homeless Camp Evicted in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN – A long-dreaded eviction of the sanctuary camp at Peavey Park took place today just after 6:00 a.m., an hour before sunrise. Minneapolis Park Police, Minneapolis Police, and sheriff’s officers were all documented as having taken part in this morning’s sweep.
An emergency…
🦄 Police
Minneapolis Police Sweep West Powderhorn Encampment, Pepper Spray Defenders
Minneapolis, MN – On August 14, 2020, Minneapolis Police along with the Park Police pepper sprayed houseless advocates while doing a sweep of the West Powderhorn Sanctuary tent encampment. Tents were bulldozed in scenes reminiscent of July 20 clearing of East Powderhorn.
Hours before severe…
Minnesota African American Museum Showcases Black History
Minneapolis, MN – Unicorn Riot honors Black History Month by taking you to Minnesota’s only Black History Museum, which brings a year-round gallery and free community space.
Since September 2018, the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery (MAAHMG) has been an educational space dedicated…
In The Heart of the Beast Prepares for MayDay Parade
04/21/15
We spent a night at the Heart of the Beast Theater in South Minneapolis to walk through a public workshop where volunteers helped create this years Minneapolis May Day parade.…