Clearly a threat to your precious Second Amendment rights … Paul Walsh of the Strib writes: “[A] touring national gun-control campaign endorsed by the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul stops Wednesday in downtown Minneapolis for a rally outside the federal courthouse. Gun rights advocates are spreading the word and reviewing the legalities of showing up with their firearms. The ‘No More Names’ rally gets underway at 10 a.m. at the courthouse plaza at 300 S. 4th St. … A Twin Cities gun-ownership group is advising any of its members who might attend the rally to “be peaceful and respectful” but to also ‘be recognizable as opposing Bloomberg’s rights-stripping, criminal mayors’ organization with clothing, hats, and/or signage.’ On its Facebook page, the Twin Cities Gun Owners & Carry Forum cautions its supporters to ‘watch for agitators and don’t take the bait.’ ” And to stand their ground …
Prior to the next vote on that big Dinkytown project, Lindsey Seavert of KARE-TV writes: “The proposed development next to the University of Minnesota campus has sparked a heated campaign to ‘Save Dinkytown’. ‘Dinkytown is really about the canary in the coal mine. It's really about the rezoning of an area that's been part of the fabric of University of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis. It's been a very robust commercial area for the last 100 years,’ said Minneapolis City Council Member Diane Hofstede, who represents Dinkytown in Ward 3. Last Thursday, a Minneapolis zoning and planning committee rejected rezoning for the Opus Development Company's proposal in a 3-2 vote … In response to the project, Book House employees started the ‘Save Dinkytown’ campaign from the new store location. On the counter sits a petition with 3,200 signatures of people protesting the rezoning of the neighborhood. ‘It's never changed in a way so rapid and so radical as what will happen if this project goes through,’ said Matt Hawbaker, manager of the Book House.”
How often do you hear that companies can’t find the skilled workers they need?Adam Belz of the Strib reports:“All sorts of industries are shifting in ways that suddenly require tech expertise. Businesses in manufacturing, banking and marketing, not traditionally hotbeds of software innovation, have found themselves trying to hire information technology managers and build teams of software developers as they try to adjust in the digital age. The transition has exposed the much-discussed high-tech skills gap within pockets of the U.S. workforce, but it also has shown that firms are slow to learn how to hire and manage the tech workers they need.”
MPR has someuseful financial advice for gay couples preparing to tie the knot.“[Darla Kashian, an advisor at RBC Wealth Management] and her partner have their individual assets to protect, just as any other couple considering marriage does. ‘I said to my partner, 'If you were my client'— which she is, because she's required to be — 'I would advise you to consult with an attorney about a pre-nup agreement.’ Not that a pre-nup will answer all the questions at hand. ‘There are lots of things that we don't know quite yet,’ Kashian explained. ‘For example, if you have earned income in a state that doesn't recognize your marriage, and you're married in one state but you're not married in another state, you're still going to have to file multiple different sets of taxes ... I think it's very complicated.’ One thing that is not so complicated, [Outfront Minnesota’s Monica] Meyer said, is the obligation of Minnesota employers under the new law. Starting Thursday, she said, ‘employers that offer spousal benefits of any kind will offer spousal benefits for same-sex couples as well. I think it is going to take a little bit of time for us to get our heads around it, but really, a marriage is a marriage.'"
Interesting “Now and Then” photoson the MPR site. Wow … Powderhorn Park 1925 was pretty much a prairie. The photos are attached to a Curtis Gilbert story about this fall’s cleanup of the Minneapolis charter. He writes, “The "plain language charter revision" aims to simplify the document that serves as the Minneapolis constitution without changing the way city government works. But some city officials predict that getting rid of the old charter will cause legal headaches. Adopted in 1920, the Minneapolis city charter regulates the discharge of steam by locomotives, the cleaning of stables, and the size and weight of bread. … City Attorney Susan Segal admires the commission's aim for simplicity, but she said a bare-bones document has its drawbacks. ‘My primary job ... is to try to minimize risk to the city,’ she said. ‘And, in my mind, I see more risk than benefit.’ Although Segal agrees that the current charter is overly long and complicated, she said that complexity hasn't caused any problems. On the contrary, she said, thanks to 93 years of legal opinions and precedents, there is no confusion about what the document means.” Put another way, there’s no confusion because everyone is confused by it.
A national prostitution sweep nabbed four alleged perps in Minnesota. Randy Furst of the Strib says: “Four alleged pimps have been arrested in the Twin Cities on prostitution charges as part of a three-day nationwide effort, initiated by the FBI, to fight child exploitation. The national sweep led to the arrest of 150 alleged pimps in 76 cities, the FBI said Monday. St. Paul police arrested two of the suspects on Thursday, Minneapolis police arrested one person on Friday, and the Anoka County sheriff’s department arrested one on Saturday, said Kyle Lovens, chief counsel for the FBI office in Minneapolis.”
City Pages loves that Mille Lacs County attorney story. In its latest coverage, Olivia LaVecchia writes:“Mille Lacs County Attorney Jan Jude will not face criminal charges after a party at her house resulted in one teenage boy drinking himself into the hospital. … But this time around, Andover City Prosecutor Scott Baumgartner -- who reviewed the case so that Jude wouldn't have to decide whether to prosecute herself -- determined that "there just wasn't enough" to charge Jude with either providing alcohol to a minor or misconduct of a public official. The evidence Baumgartner reviewed included 19 witness statements from people at the party. None of them said that the Judes had provided any of the drinks.”
Did you catch the Wall Street Journal’s story wherein a brave reporter ventured to a distant province full of strange people with exotic customs and … ate lunch? Matthew Kronsberg writes:“This Midwestern city may bring to mind parkas before parks, and Vikings before biking, but Minneapolis is as sweet in summer as it is frigid in winter. … whatever your sensibility — Prince or prints, lamb tartare or lutefisk — a packed few days in Minneapolis is bound to satisfy, you betcha. … 11 p.m. For an unusual sweet treat, wander a block down Nicollet Avenue to Glam Doll Donuts (2605 Nicollet Ave., glamdolldonuts.com). ... Don't forget to get your picture taken in the photo booth. … 11 a.m. After breakfast, check out of the hotel and head to Lake Street, which runs east-west through the city. This is where Minneapolis's remarkable ethnic diversity can be found. Take the intersection of East Lake Street and 16th Avenue South. On the southeast corner is the shop Ingebretsen's (1601 E. Lake St., ingebretsens.com ), part of local Scandinavian life for more than 90 years. If you have ever had lutefisk — lye-cured salt fish eaten around Christmas — it likely came from here.” There ought to be reward money for any New York writer who can come here and not mention lutefisk.