Chief Arradondo a central figure in Minneapolis municipal elections

In the eye of the hurricane. The Star Tribune’s Liz Navratil and Libor Jany report: “Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo isn’t on the ballot, but he’s become a central figure in the first municipal elections since George Floyd’s killing by police. His photo appears in ads and fliers. His name comes up in almost every debate. Arguments over the ballot question to replace the Police Department often bring in the fate of the popular police chief whose term expires soon. … “It would be dishonest to exclude him from the conversation,” said Mayor Jacob Frey, whose own re-election campaign has highlighted some of the chief’s work.”

The year Minneapolis elected the Minneapolis Police Federation president the mayor. FOX 9’s Tom Lyden reports: “At the time, the police force was overwhelmingly white and had rejected efforts to reform the department both internally and externally, [Augsburg history professor Michael Lansing] said. … ‘They (the public) saw their world collapsing, and they responded by electing a “strong man” in [Det. Charles] Stenvig whom they believed could bring back law and order,’ said Yohuru Williams, an historian and director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas. ‘I think we’re at the precipice of a very similar moment today, as Minneapolitans turn on their televisions to protests, with the memory of the rebellion from last summer, and the flames that engulfed this community. They have a choice. We’re at a crossroads,’ Williams said.”

Yes or no. NBC News’ Janelle Griffith reports: “Three weeks before Election Day in the city’s municipal races, Candis McKelvy attended a debate about a ballot initiative to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Safety. She listened intently for 90 minutes as a representative from Yes 4 Minneapolis, the coalition that petitioned to put the item on the ballot, and a supporter of All of Mpls, which opposes the measure, tried to pull residents to their respective sides. By the night’s end, McKelvy was stuck in the middle. ‘I’m on both sides,’ said McKelvy, a North Minneapolis resident in her 60s who was among the roughly 250 people at North High School, where the debate was held.”

St. Benedict nuns apologize. MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports: “There were at least 16 Indian boarding schools in Minnesota, most operated by religious orders. Many children were deeply traumatized by physical and sexual abuse, punished for speaking their language and stripped of their culture.‘There was a lot lost at that time — loss of culture, loss of identity,’ said Joe LaGarde, a White Earth tribal elder. ‘And that’s all a part of how you take a person’s land. You take away their identity. Once they lose that, it’s a lot easier to deal with them.’ … Many in Indian Country believe the boarding school trauma that happened decades ago is still evident today in broken families, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental illness. Earlier this year, Susan Rudolph, prioress of St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn., acknowledged that connection when she sent a two-page letter to the White Earth Nation, apologizing for the religious order’s role in the boarding school located there for decades.”

Alas, the Minnesota connection. WCCO’s David Schuman reports: “Dave Halls, the assistant director on the movie ‘Rust,’ lived and worked in Minnesota for many years. Court records say that Halls handed the actor Alec Baldwin a prop gun after shouting ‘cold gun’ — a phrase on sets that means no live rounds. Baldwin fired the gun during a rehearsal, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and injuring director Joel Souza. … Halls has credits on several Minnesota films, including ‘Fargo,’ and was on the board of directors of the nonprofit Minnesota Film and Television in 2009.”