2013 Columns

“Through My Eyes”

Weekly column of Ron Edwards
From the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Continuing The Minneapolis Story,
Ron’s “Black Focus,” airs Sundays, 5-6 p.m.,
On Channel 17, MTN-TV

Quarter 4: October thru December

December 25, 2013 Column #52: Minneapolis NAACP on the move?

December 18, 2013 Column #51: A great injustice: the death of T.T. Franklin. Why another farce of a police report.

December 11, 2013 Column #50: Hallelujah: the project begins. Constructing the new Peoples’ Stadium.

December 04, 2013 Column #49: “To the extent practical” escape language in legislation allows steel purchase outside Iron Range.

November 27, 2013 Column #48: Is President Obama a ‘lame duck’? You be the judge.

November 20, 2013 Column #47: Chief Janeé Harteau is doing a good job. No need to replace her

November 13, 2013 Column #46: Violence Grips Downtown. One dead, three wounded, in night of terror.

November 06, 2013 Column #45: Mr. Bellecourt is right! “Redskins” Controversy Heats Up Again.

October 30, 2013 Column #44: Security reduced at Vikings games. Sheriff Richard Stanek objects: Why didn’t others?

October 23, 2013 Column #43: Minnesota Lynx: We thank you!

October 16, 2013 Column #42: The Wilfs Prevail. Vikings Owners Make Clean Sweep.

October 09, 2013 Column #41: Attack on the Teachers Federation. Why have friends become foes?

October 02, 2013 Column #40: Eighty-four million dollars levied against the Wilfs. The question of Vikings future still under discussion.

Quarter 3: July thru September

September 25, 2013 Column #39: Death warrants in Faribault. State of MN ignores deaths at State prison hospital in Fariba

September 18, 2013 Column #38: The Ghost Of Neville Chamberlain. President Barrack Obama Stands In That Shadow.

September 11, 2013 Column #37: How does the State of Minnesota pay its $50 million? Has there been a breach of contract?

September 04, 2013 Column #36: Tensions divide stadium partners. Vikings and MSFA (Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority) At Odds. Minnesota's bad treatment of the Vikings

August 28, 2013 Column #35: The Chief Reaches Out. Chief Harteau Meets With Black Officers.

August 21, 2013 Column #34: “We didn’t know about Zigy!”  Really? Everybody pretends ignorance or amnesia on Zigy’s dealings. 

August 14, 2013 Column #33: Chief Harteau announces dialogue. A public dialogue? Really?

August 07, 2013 Column #32: What it’s like to be Black in the MPD? The Chance for another Cincinnati?

July 31, 2013 Column #31: Stadium Say of Judgment: August 20, 2013. Doug Mann takes on the State of Minnesota.

July 24, 2013 Column #30: Trayvon Martin is guilty…, …of being a young, Black male in the wrong place at the wrong time.

July 17, 2013 Column #29: Stadium contract under negotiation. Minneapolis Civil Rights Department to monitor contractor and worker inclusion.

July 10, 2013 Column #28: God bless Rachel Jeantel, a courageous witness

July 03, 2013 Column #27: Snowden, Hastings and surveillance? Were they right? The “here we go again” relevance for Black America

Quarter 2: April thru June

June 26, 2013 Column #26: Equity Director Hired. Minnesota Sports Authority and Vikings Make their Selection

June 19, 2013 Column #25: Franklin Case to County Attorney and then Grand Jury. Will “all white” and “no bill” of indictment tradition continue?

June 12, 2013 Column #24: Minneapolis police killed T.T. Franklin for being Black — Racism, individual and institutional, is alive and well in our fair city

June 05, 2013 Column #23: Justice for David Cornelius Smith, In spite of obstruction of justice from the Minneapolispls. Civil Rights Department.

May 29, 2013 Column #22: Unanswered questions still cloud police shooting of T.T. Franklin

May 22, 2013 Column #21: Terrance Terrell Franklin’s police-shooting death. Many questions remain unanswered

May 15, 2013 Column #20: Changing of the guard with the T-Wolves. Flip Saunders’ good calculations will replace David Kahn’s poor ones

May 08, 2013 Column #19: Update on MPD 2012 Assault on Ames Elks Lodge. No contact with MPD for over a year.

May 01, 2013 Column #18: People’s Stadium in trouble! Can the funding really be found?

April 24, 2013 Column #17: Terror in Boston! Terror in America! How fragile is our precarious democracy in the face of senseless violence?

April 17, 2013 Column #16: Legislature caught whistling in the dark. Financial problems for Viking stadium construction projec

April 10, 2013 Column #15:: Congratulations, Tubby! Texas Tech hires Tubby Smith while U of M keeps looking

April 03, 2013 Column #14: Thank you Tubby for an excellent run! Tubby Smith: a man of principle and integrity.

Quarter 1: January thru March

March 27, 2013 Column #13: Will the Vikings stadium be a repeat of Target Field?

March 20, 2013 Column #12: White unions get $1 million to train workers of color to build stadiums? It’s time for the B.S. to end.

March 13, 2013 Column #11: When will MN’s ‘no Black workers need apply’ policy end? Who will monitor and enforce Black participation on the so-called ‘People’s Stadium’ project?

March 06, 2013 Column #10: Gentlemen of the Round Table ready to work on People’s Stadium.

February 27, 2013 Column #09: The legacy of Marvin “Corky” Taylor. Rest in peace, Black Warrior, one of the Honest Five who refused to lie.

February 20, 2013 Column #08: Will Blacks finally get a fair share of work on this stadium? Chair of stadium authority raises serious questions about past inclusion.

February 13, 2013 Column #07: President Obama’s visit to discuss gun violence

February 06, 2013 Column #06: February 06, 2012 Column #06: So much for 32 percent Black participation in stadium construction. When will the State deposit its $50M statutory requirement?

January 30, 2013 Column #05: January 30, 2012 Column #05: Let the Games Begin:  The Selection of the Construction Manager. Fraser, Davis, and Tomlin:    Quota Guys?

January 23, 2013 Column #04: Sports Authority 2013 Legislative Report on Vikings Stadium

January 16, 2013 Column #03: Decision announcement days: January 15 & 18, February 1, 2013. Sports Facility Authority and the Minnesota Vikings

January 09, 2013 Column #02: The abuse of Black children in MN’s education system. Highlighting the Minneapolis and Bloomington School Districts.

January 02, 2013 Column #01: The Vikings Stadium: a historic reckoning point in its history regarding the Equity Plan.

Ron hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays, 5-6 pm. Formerly head of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Urban League, he continues his “watchdog” role for Minneapolis.

Order his book at www.BeaconOnTheHill.com. Hear his voice, read his solution papers, and read his between columns “web log” at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.

Permission is granted to reproduce The Minneapolis Story columns, blog entires and solution papers. Please cite the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and www.TheMinneapolisStory.com for the columns. Please cite www.TheMinneapolisStory.com for blog entries and solution papers.

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