The last major hurdle to cannabis legalization was passed on Friday after the Minnesota Senate voted on a bill to legalize the selling, growing and consumption of weed for those age 21 and older. The bill passed the Senate along party lines in a 34-33 vote.  Gov. Tim Walz has already indicated his intention to sign the bill into law. Minnesota will join 22 other states who legalized cannabis for recreational use.  All criminal records associated with the possession or sale of marijuana will be removed. Co-author of the bill Sen. Lindsey Port (DFL-Burnsville) said eliminating all crim ..read more

Once again, University of Minnesota students showed up at the polls to cast their ballot on Tuesday for the 2022 midterm elections.  The University has a history of record high voter turnout, with about 8 out of every 10 students voting in the 2020 election.  While the 2020 election was a Presidential Election, which usually sees more ballots cast, the 2022 midterms in Minnesota have been making headlines this year with contentious and highly polarized races for governor, secretary of state, attorney general and a few congressional districts.  The incumbents for big name races ..read more

Since the “strong mayor” government style went into effect in December, Minneapolis officials have been working out the details within the new government form, such as how the mayor, administration and Minneapolis City Council will interact and what their specific roles will be. In November, Minneapolis residents voted to amend the city charter, changing the role of the mayor from a “weak mayor” to executive of the city, also shifting the City Council to operate more as a legislative body. The City Council will be in charge of creating policies and enacting laws for Minneapolis residents and h ..read more

About 1,250 people submitted ethics complaints against Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for how he handled the situation dealing with the police killing of Amir Locke on Feb. 2. On Feb. 11, dozens of Minneapolis residents concerned with public safety gathered at Minneapolis City Hall to file ethics complaints against the mayor and mourn Locke’s death. Complaint numbers grew to over 1,500 by Feb. 15, according to Elianna Lippold-Johnson, spokesperson for the Residents Complaint. The ethics complaints could result in sanctions against the mayor from City Council, or the mayor receiving additional ed ..read more

About 1,250 people submitted ethics complaints against Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for how he handled the situation dealing with the police killing of Amir Locke on Feb. 2. On Feb. 11, dozens of Minneapolis residents concerned with public safety gathered at Minneapolis City Hall to file ethical complaints against the mayor and mourn Locke’s death. Complaint numbers grew to over 1,500 by Feb. 15, according to Elianna Lippold-Johnson, spokesperson for the Residents Complaint. The ethics complaints could result in sanctions against the mayor from City Council, or the mayor receiving additional e ..read more

Rep. Athena Hollins introduced a bill in the legislature to restrict no-knock warrants under certain circumstances; the bill was voted through its first committee on Feb. 17. The Monday following Amir Locke’s killing by Minneapolis police officer Mark Hanneman, legislators and members of Locke’s family formally announced a legislative proposal for stricter requirements on no-knock warrants. After Locke’s death, there has been a renewed push to restrict no-knock warrants. Locke’s cousin and aunt said at the conference they wanted this bill to be passed as a stand-alone issue to ease its passage ..read more

Minneapolis voters re-elected Jacob Frey as mayor, in a tight race that took two rounds of tabulation to determine a winner.  The race came down to Frey and challenger Kate Knuth, who followed Frey by 15,000 votes once the second and third choice votes were calculated.  This is the first city election after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. After the murder of George Floyd and following protests, public safety and policing were top priorities for many candidates and voters.  Frey won over 42% of the first choice votes, but he needed over 50% to be elected mayor, so the sec ..read more

As Abdirizak Bihi, known as Bihi by his friends, walks down the streets of Cedar-Riverside, he hardly makes it 20 feet without greeting a neighbor. Nearly everyone who walks by stops to chat with him. Bihi has lived as a renter in Cedar-Riverside for the past 24 years, currently working as the Director of the Somali Education and Activist Center and host of Somali Link Radio for KFAI. He said he hopes to bring his “honesty, integrity and courage” to the Minneapolis City Council. Bihi ran for City Council against current Ward 6 Council member Jamal Osman in a Special Election in 2020. Last year ..read more

Amid rising pressure from youth groups to decrease the costs of college as well as create social programs to help them transition from secondary education to adult life, the White House shared a plan detailing ways they want to help young Americans. The White House shared an exclusive fact sheet on July 22 detailing new initiatives President Joe Biden wants to see passed into law through his Build Back Better plan (BBB). The BBB has one-third of its goals met: the first path into law was the American Rescue Plan; the remaining two packages include the American Family Plan and the American Jobs ..read more

Editor’s note: This article discusses sexual assault. If you or anyone you know has experienced sexual assault, the Aurora Center’s 24-hour helpline can be reached at (612) 626-9111. For many, a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling on March 24 that said sexual assault victims who are voluntarily intoxicated are not considered “mentally incapacitated” was a shocking announcement — but Abby Honold was not surprised. The sexual assault advocate and University of Minnesota alum said this ruling comes from an outdated statute that misunderstands the true circumstances of sexual assault. Lawmakers and com ..read more