Miigwech
On May 10, I attended the DFL endorsement meeting for the first time as a first alternate. I sat all day but was never called, because the 30-plus people ahead of me committed themselves to staying throughout.
As a Turtle Mountain Ojibwe tribal member, I appreciated the land acknowledgment by Craig “Kaʻaukai” Wilson, editor of the Hill & Lake Press, who convened the meeting with a personalized reflection and a traditional Hawaiian chant, “E Hō Mai,” which roughly translates to “give us knowledge.”
He learned the art form from his father and from his time as a young person in Kamehameha cultural schools. He was not a delegate to the convention and made a special appearance at the request of the committee.
Minnesota is a better place when people give of themselves and share their culture.
Miigwech, Kaʻaukai, for carrying the traditions of your homeland and sharing your truly beautiful and resonant voice.
Angela Erdrich | Kenwood
Save Our Soil
I can force myself to be patient with the frequent noise from leaf blowers in my neighborhood, but I can’t ignore or accept the blowing off of precious soil.
Leaf mulch can be left to decompose around plants. If you must remove it (for planting or fertilizing etc.), it can be gently removed with a narrow rake away from boulevard plants or gardens. If raked onto sidewalks or lawns it could be blown from there into piles to remove.
Soil is a valuable sequester of carbon! It is full of necessary microorganisms and holds water. (Lunar soil is practically worthless because it lacks biology.)
We have such wonderful soil in Minnesota. Much of our earth can’t claim having good or any soil. Please speak to your yard crew (if you employ them) to not blow soil off your boulevard or other gardens.
I often wish we still hung laundry outside on clotheslines, but I wouldn’t want any drying near a yard crew with leaf blowers.
Nancy Rand | Lowry Hill
Uptown Renaissance
I live just a few blocks from the corner of Hennepin and Lake and, for the first time in many years, I am feeling optimistic about Uptown. I attended both meetings described in Terry White’s article. In addition, I met with Andrea Corbin to learn more about the Uptown Business Association’s strategies for continued revitalization of the neighborhood. I cannot be more impressed with Andrea.
As an owner of a small and unique flower shop on Lyndale, Andrea, who previously had little interest or involvement in politics, became alarmed when she learned of talk that Lyndale Avenue might be “Hennepinised” with a new design that would greatly contribute, as it has on Hennepin Avenue, to the decimation of the local businesses.
Andrea took it upon herself to learn everything she could about how city government works, how elections work and what businesses need to survive. She has remarkable energy, an eye for what is needed, and an ability to garner the resources needed to revive this area.
As president of the Uptown Business Association, she has connected with residents, business owners, workers, landlords, bankers and investors to implement the excellent strategies outlined in White’s article. In addition, she started We Love Minneapolis, which has done ward-by-ward grassroots organizing to inform people about the importance of attending their precinct caucuses, no doubt playing a role in this year’s big turnout, the highest in 10 years.
She is a true leader. She is brilliant in her ability to grasp the complexities of how the city works, including the machinations of the political process and what businesses — both owners and workers — need to succeed. Her vision, her relentless positive energy, her willingness to put her shoulder to the wheel and her commitment to collaborating with others who share her concerns and want to contribute their time and other resources to help implement her vision all make her a true gift to our local neighborhoods and to the city at large.
Tamara Kaiser | East Bde Maka Ska
The “L” in DFL
The “fractious road to November” Marty Carlson calls out in “Rough Caucus Night for Cashman” is due in part to the abandonment of the Hill & Lakes Press itself to any critical reporting on the presence of outside interests rather than local interests on caucus night and the convention process. It is the normalization of it that surprises me.
We Love Mpls was created in 2024 by Andrea Corbin, a onetime donor to the GOP and recent supporter of local moderate Democratic candidates like May- or Jacob Frey and Council Member Michael Rainville.
The photo adjacent to the article — showing cheerful, engaged workers at the We Love Mpls table during the Ward 7 DFL Caucus — appears without caption or context, omitting any mention of the organization’s influence or financial backing. To me, it feels like yet another attack on labor.
To be clear, Katie Cashman is the only DFL candidate in Ward 7 to secure labor’s endorsement. Katie has admirably stuck her neck out in a hostile labor environment and served the entire ward and its working constituents, as well as businesses.
During the Park Board’s historic 2024 labor strike, Cashman and Mayor Frey were needed to urge Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board back to the table to bring an end to the strike. Labor felt and has endorsed Cashman’s support.
It is our duty as a party to sup- port labor and its candidates. If the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chooses to endorse a candidate whom local labor unions have not as well as fails to affirm labor’s chosen candidate, I declare it will have abandoned not only workers, but itself.
Mary Longfellow | Lowry Hill
