S T U DE N T RU N N E WS SI NC E 1926
TUESDAY • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 Minnesota House Pulls $35M Security Fund for Officer Trials
MAVS SWEEP PEACOCKS Women’s basketball dominated their opponents in the home series
ASSOCIATED PRESS A proposal by Gov. Tim Walz to create a $35 million fund to bolster security during the murder trial of a former Minneapolis officer charged with killing George Floyd stalled out in the Democratic-controlled Minnesota House on Monday when leaders pulled the bill, acknowledging that they lacked enough votes to pass it. With just three weeks left before the trial, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, of Golden Valley, abruptly moved to postpone the debate indefinitely after accusing the Republican-controlled Senate of “a cynical and amoral political game, playing with people’s lives.” Legislative leaders and the governor must now scramble to find an alternative or make do with existing resources. Instead of providing state money, the Senate voted 35-32 to pass a very different proposal that would allow the state to garnish money that Minneapolis gets from the state’s Local Government Aid program to ensure that other law enforcement agencies are reimbursed for their costs of contributing officers for what’s expected to be a massive security effort. Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, acknowledged at a news conference that House Democrats, who hold just a 70-64 majority, weren’t united. She said they needed “a few Republican votes” to pass the bill but were told they weren’t getting any. Winkler said before cutting off the debate that it was impossible to meet the Senate halfway.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Biden Faces Questions About Commitment to Minimum Wage Hike ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter Senior forward Rachel Shumski (45) was among the top performers for the Mavs page 8 as they swept the Upper Iowa Peacocks at home over the weekend.
MAVS
Black History Month Talk Overt Racism By JULIA BARTON Staff Writer
Minnesota State University, Mankato continues to honor Black History Month while on Monday the “Amplifying Black Voices Project” hosted their third short film series discussing “Overt Racism”. This series consists of sharing the experiences of current and former Mankato residents that are being premiered at MNSU via Zoom every Monday throughout the month of February. Their past two weekly topics have talked about “Growing Up Black” and “Microaggressions”. Monday’s dissuasion about overt racism, which is the international and/or obvious harmful attitudes or behaviors towards another minority individual or group because of the color of his/her skin, had discussed their truths and experiences in the workplace and the personal effects that racism has on them that lead to many great conversations regarding their stories. Laura Riness talked about how she experienced several
“SENSE AND SENSIBILITY”
PAGE
2
MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter Bukata Hayes, Executive Director of the Greater Mankato Diversity Council, spoke about racism and social justice issues at the event. (File)
forms of racism throughout her life,“I didn’t even know this was an issue until it kept happening to me over and over and over. I started to think ‘something doesn’t feel right here’, and I was taught to not say anything about something being racist or that not everything that happens to me has racial undertones, so a lot of it I internalized and started to blame myself.” Riness continued by stating, “Then later in life hearing that my employment application
EDITORIAL: SUPPORT THEATRE
was not making it to the decision-maker’s desk while being well-qualified was disheartening. There have been many incidents where there is a joke in the workplace that I am the only person of color. Although it is not obvious it’s racism, it’s a form of it that still makes me very angry and that’s one of the areas I hope to affect change.” Knowing that racism can have different forms and sever-
HISTORY page 3 PAGE
4
Union activist Terrence Wise recalls being laughed at when he began pushing for a national $15 per hour minimum wage almost a decade ago. Nearly a year into the pandemic, the idea isn’t so funny. The coronavirus has renewed focus on challenges facing hourly employees who have continued working in grocery stores, gas stations and other in-person locations even as much of the workforce has shifted to virtual environments. President Joe Biden has responded by including a provision in the massive pandemic relief bill that would more than double the minimum wage from the current $7.25 to $15 per hour. But the effort is facing an unexpected roadblock: Biden himself. The president has seemingly undermined the push to raise the minimum wage by acknowledging its dim prospects in Congress, where it faces political opposition and procedural hurdles. That’s frustrating to activists like Wise, who worry their victory is being snatched away at the last minute despite an administration that’s otherwise an outspoken ally. “To have it this close on the doorstep, they need to get it done,” said Wise, a 41-year-old department manager at a McDonald’s in Kansas City and a national leader of Fight for 15, an organized labor movement. “They need to feel the pressure.” The minimum wage debate highlights one of the central tensions emerging in the early days of Biden’s presidency. He won the White House with pledges to respond to the pandemic with policy proposals.
MEN’S HOCKEY BEATS ‘BAMA
PAGE
9