[Mpls] This Week in The Minneapolis Observer

[Craig Cox]

T H E M I N N E A P O L I S O B S E R V E R
A Weekly Digest of All Things Minneapolitan
www.mplsobserver.com
Vol. 2, No. 47
July 14, 2003

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THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* Group Working to Patch Cop-Indian Relations
* Venerable Community Garden Gets a Helping Hand
* School District Cuts Teachers, Class Sizes to Increase
* U Of M Anti-Riot Policy Challenged
* Affirmative-Action in Grocery Shopping
Plus: Beer to go, literate Minneapolis, stinky water, the Target surveillance vote that wasn't, finding the herb garden, and debating the future of Lake Street

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GROUP WORKING TO PATCH COP-INDIAN RELATIONS
An ad hoc group of Indians and police officers are working together to create a new relationship between Native Americans and the Police Department.

The American Indian Safety Council has been meeting twice monthly since January to develop programs and strategies to mend Indian-cop relations that have been severely strained by several high-profile cases of alleged police misconduct, reports Jon Lurie in The Circle (http://www.thecirclenews.com). The group, which includes two Minneapolis police officers and a dozen-or-so people from the Indian Community, was created by elders of the Little Earth housing project to change the way cops perceive Indians. "Our goal is to make the police see we're not just a bunch of drugged-out, poor alcoholics," said one elder. "We're good people and we want them to know that."

The group has worked with the Police Department to get cops on horseback to come to community events (they're more approachable than other officers) and has sponsored free summer movie-and-discussion nights at the East Franklin Avenue Community Safety Center, which have drawn both youth and elders. The council also plans self-defense classes taught by police, a citizens' patrol, and a public safety communications network.

"Anytime you get to know people as individuals, you can begin to develop a relationship, see them as family," said Lt. Kris Arneson, one of the two police officers on the council. "These folks have become my friends, and I appreciate them letting me into their lives."

VENERABLE COMMUNITY GARDEN GETS A HELPING HAND
The Como Corner Garden, a fixture at 22nd and Como in Southeast Minneapolis for a dozen years, recently received a contribution from an unlikely source--a neighboring chemical company.

SCHOOL DISTRICT CUTS TEACHERS, CLASS SIZES TO INCREASE
Less than three years after city voters agreed to renew a special tax levy that generates some $40 million a year to reduce class sizes in Minneapolis schools, the district is laying off 465 teachers and forecasting increased class sizes in most schools next year.

U OF M ANTI-RIOT POLICY CHALLENGED
A new University of Minnesota policy designed to prevent student riots of the sort that have rocked Dinkytown the past two years may be unconstitutional, say local legal experts.

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The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. �2003 Independent Media, 4152 Snelling Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55406; www.mplsobserver.com. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Independent Media. Subscriptions: $12/yr. To unsubscribe, send us an e-mail ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and we'll get you off the list and refund the unused portion of your subscription.
Editor: Craig Cox
Senior Executive Editor: Sharon Parker
Contributing writers: Chris Dodge, Leo Mezzrow
Equine consultant: Nora Cox
Perspective: Martin Cox

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