Insight News ::: 11.11.13

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Singer, songwriter Janey Neal bares all MORE ON PAGE 5

November 11 - November 17, 2013

Betsy Hodges

Vol. 40 No. 46 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Abdi Warsame

Alondra Cano

Blong Yang

Chris Coleman

Coleman wins in St. Paul, Hodges presumptive Mayor of Minneapolis

Warsame, Yang, and Cano make City Council history

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Writer FRIDAY, NOV. 8 -- Nov. 5, 2013 will be remembered as a day of history and infamy in Minnesota elections – Minneapolis in particular. For the first time in a

major election, voters took to the polls faced with a ranked choice voting ballot and an absurd number of candidates – 35 to be exact – vying to become Minneapolis’ next mayor. The combination meant a 17-inch long ballot for voters and days of tabulations for city elections officials. At

Opportunity:

the time of press, while it is presumed that Betsy Hodges will be named the city’s mayor elect, the results were not yet official after a staggering 15 rounds of ballot counting and Hodges was about 10,000 votes shy of being named the victor even though her closest challenger, Mark Andrew

already conceded. As a first choice, Hodges received more than 36 percent of the vote with Andrew garnering just under 25 percent of the vote. According to the Minneapolis City Clerk Casey Carl, tabulation will continue until either one candidate has 50 percent of the total vote or

the field has been narrowed to the top two vote getters, in which case there would be a special run-off election. Following the madness with tabulation, the Minneapolis Charter Commission voted to raise the candidate filing fee from $20 to $500 – the fee that is in place in neighboring

St. Paul. Carl said while some may feel the fee would disenfranchise some from the political process, most voters would welcome the change. “With 108 candidates total on the ballot and 35 for mayor, that’s a long ballot,” said Carl.

ELECTION TURN TO 12

FOX Searchlight

12 Years a Slave

Using our growing diversity as our biggest strength Gateway to excellence By Scott Gray MUL President/CEO

Inside H. Jackson Brown’s Life’s Little Instruction Book, he says that “nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.” These little words of wisdom can help us understand the compounding negative impact of poverty, discrimination, institutional bias, and lack of opportunity that exists among communities of color. We now understand that the “achievement gap,” “wealth gap,” “income gap,” and “housing gap” may stem from a foundational “opportunity gap.” I was encouraged by several of our new leaders’ platforms as they professed a recognition and interest in closing the stark opportunity gaps that exist in Minneapolis. As Minneapolis becomes more diverse it is more important than ever to narrow these gaps and make Minneapolis a great city for all. Taking on this challenge is sometimes a lonely road, but I say to our political leaders, it

REACTIONS | 12 Years a Slave Email correspondence compiled by Al McFarlane, Editor-In- Chief

Commentary by Eric Mahmoud Last week I had the opportunity to attend the screening of the most brutal, gut wrenching, and emotionally overwhelming film I’ve ever seen in my 53 years.

MAHMOUD TURN TO 9

Laysha Ward, President Community Relations for Target, invited a small group

of community leaders to a prerelease screening of the film, 12 Years a Slave at Walker Art Center. The group included me, Scott Gray, President and CEO of Minneapolis Urban League, Louis King, CEO of Summit Academy OIC, Ella and Eric Mahmoud, founders and leaders of Harvest Prep and Best Academies in North

Minneapolis, and Sarah Bellamy, Associate Artistic Director of Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul. Like most in the audience, we all sat silent, transfixed by the enigmatic contradictions laid bare by this powerful story and cinematic masterpiece.

FILM TURN TO 11

GRAY TURN TO 11

Health

Business

Community

Lowering blood pressure: There’s more to it than the pills

Speech: The retro communication tool that still works

Asian American and Pacific Islander community holds summit in Minneapolis

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