South Minneapolis loves the May Day Cafe, a gathering spot rooted in coffee, pastries, and community. Last year, the workers converted the coffee shop into a worker-owned co-op.

The co-op model is new to May Day but it isn’t new to Minneapolis, or even this neighborhood. Half a century ago, the very same storefront was home to the Powderhorn Food Community Cooperative. This co-op was part of the Minneapolis co-op movement of the 1970s, and one of many battlegrounds of the fabled co-op wars. KFAI's Joseph Mogul has the story of May Day and the long history of cooperatives in Minnesota.

This story was written, reported, and produced by Joseph Mogul. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.