Wedge LIVE!

John is joined by Melody Hoffmann from https://SouthwestVoices.news, who is finally off podcast probation, for our regular "Monthly with Melody" conversation. Topics include: a a very brief farmers market update from an unprepared Melody; Mayor Frey's choice for Community Safety Commissioner, Cedric Alexander; the burgeoning movement against 5G towers in the Kingfield neighborhood; and we dissect...

John and co-host/producer Paula Chesley climb down a 90-year-old staircase to visit Longfellow Beach, an unsanctioned beach on the Mississippi River. Experts will advise you not to swim in it. It's full of agricultural runoff and bacteria -- and the currents might carry you off. Paula gets out the pH test strips to see how the river water compares to kimchi, a substance that is apparently safer to...

The first in our Beachcast series of episodes. John and co-host/producer Paula Chesley are joined by Minneapolis Parks Commissioner Tom Olsen at his favorite beach: Hidden Beach on Cedar Lake. We discuss planned  improvements (including an amphitheater) and past changes to Hidden Beach -- and beach politics in the Kenwood neighborhood. We talk about  park issues, including bathroom avail...

What if instead of a dog grooming station or a cable TV subscription, your landlord or condo association provided you with free transportation? John's guest is Molly Burns-Hansen from Move Minnesota, who is seeking out tenants, landlords, condo associations, and neighborhood groups in order to sign buildings up for Metro Transit's residential transit pass program. It's just $14 per month to provid...

Following the City of Minneapolis' recent loss in Hennepin County District Court, John is joined by Matthew Melewski -- a lawyer with experience in Minnesota land use and environmental law -- for a conversation about the ongoing four year legal battle over the Minneapolis 2040 Plan. We review the arguments, the law, the fake environmentalists behind this lawsuit, and anticipate the next 18 months...

On the series finale of the Pedal Pod: There's an empty seat in the pod-mobile. John faces the prospect of podcasting without a partner in conversation. Increasingly desperate, he picks up Mike Norton, logistics tycoon and Lakewood cemetery tour guide. As we pedal up and down Lyndale Avenue, we talk about the disgruntled reaction to Mike taking on his new role as vice chair of the Minneapolis DFL,...

"Pedal-Powered Podcast Week" does something we never intended: stretch into a second and final week (we promise). That's what happens when you record six hours of conversations at Open Streets on Lyndale Avenue. Today's guest is Commissioner Marion Green, who represents district 3 (which includes the Wedge, Southwest Minneapolis, Downtown, and St. Louis Park) on the Hennepin County Board. Some of...

The pedal-pod rolls on. Before we have a chance to really get to know our first guest Brian Mitchell (@BrianMitchL), John decides he's found a better guest in J.D. Duggan (@JDugganMN). J.D. is a journalist with Finance & Commerce who bears a striking resemblance to Bill Lindeke. We talk about the state of local journalism, why it seems that the only jobs remaining are with local business magaz...

We continue the Pedal-Pod series, recorded on location at Open Streets  on Lyndale Avenue -- everyone's favorite summer street festival in  Minneapolis. John boots failed Ward 13 candidate Mike Norton out of the  pod-mobile so he can pick up a winner: Aisha Chughtai, who represents  Ward 10 on the City Council. We talk about bike earrings, Aisha's status  as "the bus lady,...

The first installment of a many part series recorded during the Lyndale Avenue edition of Open Streets Minneapolis on June 5, 2022. We haven't Open Streets on Lyndale in June since 2019. To mark the occasion, John has borrowed a four-wheeled recumbent bicycle with side-by-side seating, and transformed it into what he's calling "the world's first pedal-powered podcast." Our first two guests are Ash...

John is joined by Melody Hoffman (@MelodySWV) for the first in a series of monthly appearances called "Monthly with Melody" (note: the monthly nature of Melody's appearances is currently probationary). Melody gets John up to speed on all the news he missed while away. John spent last week visiting Chicago, enjoying their transit system and sampling the original Uptown. John explains why commemorat...

A conversation about the struggle for reproductive justice in Minnesota with Shayla Walker, executive director of Our Justice, an organization providing support and resources to people seeking access to abortion. With the US Supreme Court indicating their intention to overturn the right to an abortion, Shayla says the demand for those services in Minnesota is going to increase several times over....

John is joined by Melody Hoffmann (@MelodySWV) for an episode recorded smack in the middle of four lanes of traffic on Lyndale Avenue (27th Street intersection) in south Minneapolis. Did we capture any usable audio? Listen to find out. This episode is best experienced on YouTube. Special thanks to Conrad Zbikowski (@ConradZbikowski) for his behind the camera work. This episode would not have been...

John is joined by Peter Wagenius, legislative director for the Sierra Club Northstar Chapter, for a conversation about the history of dedicated transit space on Minneapolis streets and similarities with today's debate over bus lanes on Hennepin Avenue. We talk about what makes our transportation planning decisions so key to combating climate change. Peter recalls his experience, while policy direc...

John has a conversation with reproductive health researcher Asha Hassan, MPH, about the public health and equity impacts of eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion, as a draft opinion has signaled is the intention of the US Supreme Court. What is Minnesota's role in restricting or expanding access? Does this open the floodgates to further attacks on bodily autonomy? With the potential...

John is joined by Jason Garcia for the first ever Ask Us Anything episode. We take calls from Melody ( https://SouthwestVoices.news ) regarding Lyndale Avenue safety improvements, and Christin regarding the US Supreme Court's intention to overturn abortion rights. John puts his foot down after superfan Conrad Z makes repeated calls into the show. We talk about the results of the state's investigat...

On this episode, John is joined by his dear friends Ryan Brown, Elissa Schufman, and PeggySue Imihy Bean to explore the importance of friendship. We explore questions such as how to go about trying to make friends as an adult?; is it possible for an outsider to make friends in Minneapolis?; how has your outlook on friendship been transformed during the pandemic?; can you maintain a friendship with...

John has a conversation with Kathleen Cole, an organizer with People Over Prosecution, whose mission is "transforming prosecution in Hennepin County" by electing a prosecutor "whose practices deliver justice, not just punishment." Kathleen explains what's wrong with longtime Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. We delve into questions like: Why are prosecutors, and this office, so important? Wha...

John is joined by Elliott Payne, Minneapolis City Council member in Ward 1. We talk about his plans for a new public safety charter amendment, which he is careful to say isn't a rehash of last year's election; the police killing of Amir Locke, and whether Mayor Frey can start getting MPD policies right after some big failures during his four-plus years on the job; and after hearing big promises fo...

John is joined by PeggySue and Chris Meyer for a conversation about attempts to resolve longstanding environmental issues at a south Minneapolis public golf course, its historical significance to Black golfers, the flooding and trash that plague the adjacent lake and its neighbors, and a longshot plan to replace the course with a sex forest. See the Hiawatha Golf Course master plan, which Chris re...

After 60 episodes the Wedge LIVE podcast is taking it to the next level, and we're extending an opportunity to bring your product or service along for the ride. Whether you're a realtor, a local bar/restaurant, or a cat owner looking to have your cat's birthday announced on the air -- we're here to meet your advertising needs. Contact newsroom@wedgelive.com.

John is joined by Jason Garcia (@jasoncomix) and Josh Martin (@JoshMartinMpls) for a conversation about the recent history of the Minneapolis Charter Commission, why this volunteer body is important, and our opportunity to fill 11 of the 15 seats with new appointments in 2022 -- APPLY TODAY! Apply for an open seat on the Minneapolis Charter Commission:  https://www.minneapolismn.gov/governmen...

John and co-host PeggySue Imihy have a conversation with Alex Burns and José Antonio Zayas Cabán -- both from Our Streets Minneapolis -- about their new endeavor to replace a 7-mile stretch of I-94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul with a Twin Cities Boulevard. We go over the environmental and economic harms of an interstate, and the opportunity to heal them. We talk about strategies to overcome th...

John's guests are Melissa Whitler and Sara Spafford Freeman (and Sara's large dog). We talk about the Minneapolis Public Schools, racism and segregation, unfunded mandates for special education and English learners, white parents who don't send their kids to the neighborhood school, why you should "defund your PTA," and how to fill an oncoming budget hole once the federal covid relief money dries...

With Minneapolis teachers and support staff set to strike if an agreement isn't reached with the school district by March 8, John has a conversation with Shaun Laden, the president of the Educational Support Professionals chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. We talk about the state of Minneapolis schools, what the union is asking for, and what Shaun sees as an existential threat to t...