United States
Kyiv—Zagreb based freelance writer, reporter, producer and storyteller. Contributing editor for the English edition of Chytomo, a Ukrainian outlet covering books and reading.
MINNEAPOLIS - It's approaching 2 a.m., and City Council member Jeremiah Ellison is patrolling his neighborhood in a black sedan when the smell of smoke wafts through the open driver's side window. Several black-owned businesses had been destroyed in this area - considered the heart of the city's black community - in recent fires that investigators have deemed "suspicious."
MINNEAPOLIS - A coalition of progressive groups hopes to gather enough signatures to put a question on the November ballot asking voters to replace the Minneapolis police department with a new Department of Public Safety. The ballot measure would amend the city charter.
When Minneapolis police officers Matthew Harrity and Mohamed Noor arrived at the alleyway behind the home of Justine Damond on the night of 15 July, they radioed in a "code four", which means "no assistance needed" or "situation is under control". The time was 11.39pm.
After a night of protests following the acquittal of officer Jeronimo Yanez in the shooting death of Philando Castile on Friday, black activists in the Twin Cities are struggling to balance despair at the outcome with the hope that it could turn into a catalyst as they seek a broader movement for police reform.
Could Australia's Black Lives Matter movement bring about real world change? Jared Goyette, Bridget Brennan and Allan Clarke trace how the brutal death of George Floyd has resonated with so many, from the scorched streets of Minneapolis to downtown Melbourne.
Like many people with roots in the rural parts of Montana, Drew Taylor didn't like the idea of Muslim Syrian refugees settling in Missoula. And so, when a pro-refugee group held a demonstration downtown, Taylor joined the counter-demonstration and held up a sign that said "Americans first."
The Ukrainian soldiers who come to Minnesota to be fitted with prosthetic limbs have been face a long road to recovery. In that journey, they have an unlikely source of inspiration: a blind woman from Eden Prairie who knows a thing or two about adjusting to sudden setbacks.
A new, free photo exhibit at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis captures a more personal side to Russia's invasion of Ukraine that is not always seen by U.S. audiences.
"I go back so that every person in my country, whether they be in my family or anyone else, can stop hiding in the basement," a Ukrainian soldier who received prosthetic care in Minnesota said of his decision to return to the military after losing a limb.
Jared Goyette, a content editor and digital reporter at FOX 9, is the recipient of the 2022 Peter S. Popovich Award, the most prestigious award given by the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists. This award, which was presented on Thursday night, is given to the person or organization that best exemplifies the fight for First Amendment rights.
Former residents of the Bell Lofts apartment building are calling on the City of Minneapolis not to renew their former landlord's rental license and for Attorney General Keith Ellison to open an investigation. It's been 40 days since Ikedra West woke up on a Wednesday night to see rusty, discolored water rushing in through the front door of her third-floor apartment in north Minneapolis.
Misinformation that potent forms of fentanyl and powerful synthetic opioids are completely resistant to the anti-overdose drug naloxone or require a higher dose persists among first responders, particularly law enforcement, despite studies proving otherwise.
At a time when drag shows and drag performers are increasingly being targeted by extremists, it's important to remember that they are more than a source of entertainment, but a place where a community comes together and often, people find themselves.
While the debate over Minneapolis' policy toward homeless encampments continues at the government center and on Twitter, residents at the Quarry encampment are doing what they can to prepare for winter as temperatures drop. On Tuesday night, John Reps, a 42-year-old encampment resident from St.
After another fatal shooting at the intersection where George Floyd was killed, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo promised at a news conference Wednesday to increase law enforcement's presence in the area, known as "George Floyd Square." "The current situation at 38th and Chicago is unacceptable and will not and must not be tolerated.
Like many residents of Minneapolis, the people who live off Lake Street in South Minneapolis had to learn to live without a lot of basics this summer. The pandemic and the civil unrest following the police killing of George Floyd either closed or destroyed many neighborhood stores the community had come to rely on.
The Washington Post obtained private security video that captures some events before the handcuffing of a black man in Minneapolis who died Monday after being pinned to the ground by a police officer. The video was provided by Rashad West, the owner of a nearby restaurant.
A black man was shot and killed by police officers Saturday night in north Minneapolis following a foot chase. Police say the man, since identified by relatives and the NAACP as 31-year-old Thurman Blevins, was armed with a handgun, but some witnesses dispute that account and say he was shot in the back as he was running away.
Music writing
The leader of the orchestral synth-rock band Elle PF is trying to figure out how to fit a string quartet and two backup singers into the crowded, carpeted northeast Minneapolis basement where her three bandmates and a drum kit are already vying for space with two house dogs-Ashley, a hyperactive border collie mix, and Zephyr, a big white lumbering Pyrenees.
A multi-effect box on the table has about a dozen extra metal switches on the side. Each of the three Fender Toronado guitars hanging from the wall has a long knob at the butt-floating tremolo systems-that weren't part of that model as originally manufactured.
The group's high-energy, Latin-infused, jazz-influenced neo-soul indie rock had already established them as a hot live act. Since forming in 2015, 26 BATS! have progressed from house shows to late-night sets at the Dakota, and as part of the Kremblems Collective, 26 BATS! are now taking part in a monthlong residency at Icehouse.
Essays
Over the past few weeks we've heard a lot about the "Wall of Forgotten Natives," the enormous tent encampment in south Minneapolis. Lost in all the discussion have been the smaller encampments, the ones tucked about the city's neighborhoods. Advocates I've talked to, including John Tribbett of St.
I've fallen out of touch with a lot of childhood friends, but how it happened with my Christie was different - more sudden, and at the time, inexplicable. Christie was my best friend. Her mother, Suzanne, was my mother's best friend since high school. In adulthood, they would get together for coffee once a week.
My father and I have always been close, but he has never been a person I turned to for dating advice. He was never one to talk much about emotions. That was always my mom's gig. But I could tell the end of my marriage in 2014 saddened him and that he wanted to see me settled.
Like a lot of Minnesota residents, I check the weather forecast often at this time of year, but I have better reasons than most. My rent check depends on it. I shovel snow for a living. The company I work for gives us notice a few days ahead of time via a mass text message.
I've lived in the Twin Cities for three years now, enough to establish a sense of community. And I've never hesitated about telling people where I'm from. Until now. I grew up in the Philadelphia area. Worse yet, I'm an Eagles fan.
My brother Todd died on 2 February with a syringe under his body and an empty baggie on the floor beside him. A week later, I visited the homeless shelter where he spent a few of his final nights and spoke to the friend who found his body.