The Wedge Times-Picayune

The percentage of people of color and renters serving on the boards of Minneapolis neighborhood organizations has remained flat since 2014, far below their share of the city’s population as a whole. This is according to a demographic survey conducted by the city’s Neighborhood and Community Relations department. The results were presented to the City Council’s Public Health, Environment, Civil Rights, and Engagement Committee on Monday.

People of color make up 36% of the city’s population, but are only 18% of neighborhood boards. Renters are 50% of the city’s population, but make up only 17% of neighborhood boards.

March 3, 2019March 18, 2019

Wedge LIVE! News Brief – March 3, 2019

This post will help you catch up on all the neighborhood news you missed in the first two months of 2019 while you were focused on Amy Klobuchar eating airplane salad with a comb.

Thanks to Wedge LIVE premium members on Patreon who make 100% of our content possible!

February 12, 2019March 31, 2019

City Council to consider the future of Minneapolis neighborhood organizations

The Neighborhood and Community Relations department has put together recommendations for the future of neighborhood organizations in Minneapolis. These recommendations have come out of a process called Neighborhoods 2020 that began in 2017. I’ll get to a summary of NCR’s recommendations further down in this post, but first, you’re probably asking…

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019

After history of anti-basketball racism, sport could make comeback at Mueller Park

In 1998 Mueller Park’s basketball court was cut in half after decades of racist complaints about basketball in the park. Over the years, neighbors made connections between basketball and crime; basketball and drug dealing; basketball and discomfort with strangers in the neighborhood. Concerned residents were quoted in the neighborhood newspaper saying things like: “ruffians”… “many of whom I do not recognize”… “descending on our park by the carload”… “music on full blast.”

A Park Board representative in the early 1980s admitted the obvious: “I do think some racism is involved.”

February 6, 2019February 7, 2019

Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association votes to divert $225k from affordable housing to a fountain

On a cold and snowy Tuesday night, the Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association held a community vote to reallocate $225,000 in affordable housing money to rebuild a fountain in Thomas Lowry Park. The vote was 27-2 in favor.

The organization’s tentative plan is to spend a total of $300,000 on the fountain. Funding remains uncertain for the other half of the $600,000 total expected cost. The hope is that it would be covered by a combination of donations, local government funding, or contributions from nearby neighborhood organizations.

January 4, 2019January 5, 2019

It’s St. Paul’s turn in the 2040 spotlight

It’s St. Paul’s time in the spotlight. The St. Paul 2040 plan [read and comment on the plan here] heads to the Planning Commission next Friday, January 11, and is on the road for adoption by the City Council in June. A group of pro-housing St. Paul residents is starting a Neighbors for More Neighbors chapter.

Even though significant portions of our two cities are separated by a big famous river, people underestimate the degree to which both Minneapolis and St. Paul share the same global climate — and will continue to do so as late as the year 2040.

December 21, 2018December 21, 2018

Worst of Wedge LIVE 2018: A Year of “Disarray”

We saw a noticeable uptick in local gaffes in 2018. Some would attribute this disarray to the fact Minneapolis elected five new members to the City Council in 2017. Personally, I happen to subscribe to the old adage: “to bloop is human.” These bloopers served as the basis for Wedge LIVE’s least popular new segment in 2018.

December 16, 2018December 16, 2018

2018: A Look Back at the Year that Was

2018 was a big year. The year of Minneapolis 2040. The year of the Red Yard Sign. The year Wedge LIVE was declared “Best Website in the Twin Cities.” The year that an elected official tried to shut down this website by attempting to trademark the name “Wedge Live.” The year that same elected official couldn’t stop barking “Balls!” during meetings at city hall.

Let’s take a look back at some of 2018’s top local moments.

December 13, 2018March 17, 2019

The Whole Story on Minneapolis 2040

We’re being flooded with national takes about what happened in our city last week. Esquire magazine is writing about zoning in Minneapolis. The New York Times says the city has taken a “bold move to address its affordable-housing crisis and confront a history of racist housing practices.” Coastal elites are saying we’ve made “zoning history,” becoming the first major American city to abolish single-family zoning — and the third major US city to eliminate minimum parking requirements. Or, maybe we haven’t done anything very radical at all: Minneapolis is just “welcoming back historic, modest housing types: duplexes and triplexes.”

The truth about what happened last week is that it was six years in the making. How did we get here? Who is responsible? Where will we park? Like nearly all stories worth telling, this one begins in the Wedge neighborhood of Minneapolis.

December 12, 2018March 17, 2019

Wedge LIVE prevails in legal action

The legal effort to defend Wedge LIVE from Carol Becker has ended in victory. In a settlement reached late Monday, and fully executed yesterday, Becker has acknowledged my ownership of the name “Wedge LIVE.” Additionally, Becker has agreed that she will “never assert any claim to these marks in the future.” Other details of the settlement agreement must be kept confidential.

As a result, I have dismissed my lawsuit against Becker that was previously pending in Hennepin County District Court.