Wedge LIVE!

DJ and transportation activist Eric Moran takes John on a bicycle tour of North Minneapolis. We talk about the status of Northside streets and transit advocacy. We wonder why Ward 4 Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw (a former board chair of the Bicycle Coalition/Our Streets) is the Minneapolis City Council's biggest opponent of bike infrastructure. We talk about why Eric advocates for safer street...

A conversation with Michelle Phelps, author of The Minneapolis Reckoning, a book that puts the murder of George Floyd in the context of generations of Minneapolis police violence and abuse -- and activist efforts at both reform and abolition. We talk about why she felt compelled to write the book; how this project that began at the height of the BLM movement, and activism in response to police kil...

A conversation with Aurin Chowdhury, who represents Ward 12 on the Minneapolis City Council. We talk about MPD's continued use of coaching as a way to hide misconduct; what she hopes to see from a new union contract; why she isn't sold on the idea of moving the city's election office into the old MPD 3rd Precinct; how budget conversations are proceeding with a $21 million budget gap lo...

A conversation about the chaotic end to the 2024 Minnesota state legislative session with Dan Thomas-Commins, the self-styled parliamentary rules nerd who you might have seen running your local DFL convention. We talk about GOP obstruction; what might explain the DFL's seeming lack of urgency; how literal last minute procedural mistakes cost tens of millions in vital public investments; how th...

It's the world's first half bike/half scooter mobile podcast episode, with Taylor Dahlin. We are patrolling the streets of Loring Park and downtown Minneapolis on the lookout for scooter scofflaws. We talk about the alleged connection between scooter ridership and crime; Taylor's transportation habits as a year-round, all-seasons scooter commuter; the state of bike and scooter infrastr...

John is joined by Josh Martin to talk about three proposals to amend the Minneapolis City Charter, including a plan to move from odd to even year city elections. Plus: Ilhan Omar's DFL convention win over an underwhelming Don Samuels; and how despite the city's 2040 Plan appeals court victory, only the legislature can save us from endless further litigation. Watch: https://youtube.com/wedg...

There's a linear park in Uptown called "the Mall" that functions more like a parking lot. In 2020, after two years of community engagement, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board adopted a long-range plan that transforms some of the Mall's parking area into actual "forested and green space" and includes additional amenities like a community garden. But now that the p...

Today, we're talking about people who think Roberts Rules is an acceptable form of bullying. It turns out, shouting "Point of order! Point of order!" over and over again is not an excuse to get up in a parliamentarian's personal space. Our conversation is inspired by Deborah Copperud's recent experience at the Minneapolis DFL City Convention. We talk about what's wrong wi...

This is part of a series of conversations with 2024 candidates for MN House district 62B to be published ahead of the DFL Convention on Sunday, April 14. This episode features candidate Anquam Mahamoud (https://www.anquam62b.com). Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthon...

This is part of a series of conversations with 2024 candidates for MN House district 62B to be published ahead of the DFL Convention on Sunday, April 14. This episode features candidate Londel French (londelfrench.org). Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x...

This is part of a series of conversations with 2024 candidates for MN House district 62B to be published ahead of the DFL Convention on Sunday, April 14. This episode features candidate Bill Emory (billemory.org). Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFont...

John is joined by PeggySue Imihy Bean (President of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Planning Association) and Alex Schieferdecker (also a planner). We're talking about the effort at the state legislature to protect municipal comprehensive plans from bad-faith environmental lawsuits (contact your state legislators!). The group of wealthy pretend environmentalists currently holding up the...

Melody Hoffman (southwestvoices.news) joins us for a conversation about serious allegations made against a US mail carrier in southwest Minneapolis. Witnesses recount a series of assaults that ultimately ended a beloved neighborhood turkey's life. First, an attack with a shovel. Then a brutal hit-and-run attack with a mail truck. We also talk about: Uber and Lyft threatening to leave Minneapol...

Rep. Frank Hornstein is retiring after 20 years representing District 61A in the Minnesota House. So far there are four publicly announced candidates seeking the DFL endorsement. We're having conversations with all of them ahead of the DFL Senate District 61 Convention on Saturday, March 23. This episode features candidate Katie Jones (katiejones.org) Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive Join...

Rep. Frank Hornstein is retiring after 20 years representing District 61A in the Minnesota House. So far there are four publicly announced candidates seeking the DFL endorsement. We're having conversations with all of them ahead of the DFL Senate District 61 Convention on Saturday, March 23. This episode features candidate Isabel Rolfes (isabelforhouse.com). Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgeliv...

Rep. Frank Hornstein is retiring after 20 years representing District 61A in the Minnesota House. So far there are four publicly announced candidates seeking the DFL endorsement. We're having conversations with all of them ahead of the DFL Senate District 61 Convention on Saturday, March 23. This episode features candidate Dylan McMahon (dylanmcmahon.com). Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive...

Rep. Frank Hornstein is retiring after 20 years representing District 61A in the Minnesota House. So far there are four publicly announced candidates seeking the DFL endorsement. We're having conversations with all of them ahead of the DFL Senate District 61 Convention on Saturday, March 23. This episode features candidate Will Stancil (willstancil.org). Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive Jo...

Can a community garden an ADA-compliant access ramp to the Midtown Greenway coexist? This week's guest is Jordan Leick, who has looked into Hennepin County's plans to replace a mulch trail with a paved trail that makes accessing the city's world renowned bike trail easy for everyone. The problem? While the chosen location is public land, it's been occupied for decades by a communit...

John is joined by Julie Johnson and Katie Jones to talk about the "Livable Lyndale" campaign to fix a terrible, no good, super fast, dangerous, hostile to humans, neighborhood street. Right now in 2024 is our once in a lifetime chance to fix a street that hasn't had a full reconstruction since the 1930s. Hennepin County, who controls this street, is scheduled to publish design option...

I'm joined by Chris Meyer, legislative assistant for Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh, to talk about a slew of ambitious zoning reforms to be considered during the 2024 legislative session. You're really going to want to contact your state senators and representatives about these. Eliminating parking minimums, allowing fourplexes by right, requiring cities to allow apartments near high freq...

A conversation with José Antonio Zayas Cabán about Our Streets Minneapolis' new 2024 event series "Imagine," block parties that ask residents to envision better neighborhood streets. More information: https://ourstreetsmpls.org/imagine_series Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive Wedge...

The restructuring of of power at Minneapolis City Hall in 2021 turned out to be a bigger deal than people realized at the time. Now the unelected (judicially appointed) Minneapolis Charter Commission seems ready to give voters another ballot question that would concentrate power in the mayor's office: reducing the number of city department heads subject to a confirmation vote. Potentially affe...

Sinkholes, parking lot puddles, and urban cougars may have dominated headlines of traditional Minneapolis outlets this year, but edgy alternative newspersons Melody Hoffmann and John Edwards have ranked even bigger stories among their collective top 10 of 2023. Hard to believe that 40% of Melody's list are stories about structure fires. John ranked one dumpster fire (the tenure of Cedric Alexa...

John and co-host Jason Garcia speak with Nicole Mason and Christin Crabtree, who are helping to organize a homeless encampment on city owned land, made up mostly of indigenous people, called Camp Nenookaasi. The City of Minneapolis has notified the camp that they will be evicted on December 14, which Nicole and Christin say will make it harder to deliver services and housing to camp residents. We...

This week we're talking about the earth-shaking results of St. Paul's 2023 election with "longtime political insider" Matt Privratsky. It's a progressive sweep: the first all woman city council in the nation; 6 of 7 members are people of color; and a newly approved 1% sales tax could do more than just fill potholes -- it could completely transform the city's streetscape,...