Wedge LIVE!

Rep. Frank Hornstein is retiring after 20 years representing District 61A in the Minnesota House. So far there are four publicly announced candidates seeking the DFL endorsement. We're having conversations with all of them ahead of the DFL Senate District 61 Convention on Saturday, March 23. This episode features candidate Katie Jones (katiejones.org)

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive

Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

Rep. Frank Hornstein is retiring after 20 years representing District 61A in the Minnesota House. So far there are four publicly announced candidates seeking the DFL endorsement. We're having conversations with all of them ahead of the DFL Senate District 61 Convention on Saturday, March 23. This episode features candidate Isabel Rolfes (isabelforhouse.com).

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive

Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

Rep. Frank Hornstein is retiring after 20 years representing District 61A in the Minnesota House. So far there are four publicly announced candidates seeking the DFL endorsement. We're having conversations with all of them ahead of the DFL Senate District 61 Convention on Saturday, March 23. This episode features candidate Dylan McMahon (dylanmcmahon.com).

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive

Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

Rep. Frank Hornstein is retiring after 20 years representing District 61A in the Minnesota House. So far there are four publicly announced candidates seeking the DFL endorsement. We're having conversations with all of them ahead of the DFL Senate District 61 Convention on Saturday, March 23. This episode features candidate Will Stancil (willstancil.org).

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive

Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee

Can a community garden an ADA-compliant access ramp to the Midtown Greenway coexist? This week's guest is Jordan Leick, who has looked into Hennepin County's plans to replace a mulch trail with a paved trail that makes accessing the city's world renowned bike trail easy for everyone. The problem? While the chosen location is public land, it's been occupied for decades by a community garden (Soo Line Garden) between Harriet and Garfield Aves in the Whittier neighborhood. We talk about the dubious claims from opponents of the plan; how the county came to acquire the land before transferring it to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board; the current 1.27 mile gap between Uptown and I-35 without access that meets ADA standards; why MPRB exempts the garden from adhering to policies related to ADA access and equity; the problems with an alternative ramp proposal; and how you can get involved to make sure years of planning and more than a million dollars in federal funding aren't flushed away.

Read Jordan's article: https://streets.mn/2023/12/07/soo-line-garden-fight/

Read what the leaders of the Soo Line Garden are saying: https://soolinecommunitygarden.com/stopthedestruction/

Contact MPRB Commissioners who will ultimately decide whether the ramp gets built: https://www.ourstreetsmpls.org/make_the_midtown_greenway_accessible_for_all

I'm joined by Chris Meyer, legislative assistant for Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh, to talk about a slew of ambitious zoning reforms to be considered during the 2024 legislative session. You're really going to want to contact your state senators and representatives about these. Eliminating parking minimums, allowing fourplexes by right, requiring cities to allow apartments near high frequency transit, allowing cities to experiment with a land value tax -- and closing the loophole that's allowed rich folks masquerading as environmentalists to spend the last five years trying to have the state courts undo the Minneapolis 2040 Plan. Because Chris is also a member of the Minneapolis Planning Commission, we also talk about a series of reforms he'd like to see taken up in Minneapolis this year: allowing corner stores; making sure triplexes aren't just legal, they're viable; density bonuses for affordable housing; incentivizing more family sized housing units near schools; and more.

***Please listen until the end to participate in the Wedge LIVE podcast's first ever prize giveaway. You must email Chris Meyer -- [email protected] -- using the special code phrase played during this episode.***

A conversation with José Antonio Zayas Cabán about Our Streets Minneapolis' new 2024 event series "Imagine," block parties that ask residents to envision better neighborhood streets.

More information: https://ourstreetsmpls.org/imagine_series

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

The restructuring of of power at Minneapolis City Hall in 2021 turned out to be a bigger deal than people realized at the time. Now the unelected (judicially appointed) Minneapolis Charter Commission seems ready to give voters another ballot question that would concentrate power in the mayor's office: reducing the number of city department heads subject to a confirmation vote. Potentially affected departments include directors of Public Works, Planning, Civil Rights, Health, Regulatory Services. Josh Martin joins me to talk about why certain members of the Charter Commission feel this change is necessary. We also talk about why we think it's a terrible idea that voters should be giving attention to early, before it sneaks up as a question on your 2024 ballot.

Sinkholes, parking lot puddles, and urban cougars may have dominated headlines of traditional Minneapolis outlets this year, but edgy alternative newspersons Melody Hoffmann and John Edwards have ranked even bigger stories among their collective top 10 of 2023. Hard to believe that 40% of Melody's list are stories about structure fires. John ranked one dumpster fire (the tenure of Cedric Alexander). But 2023 wasn't just a year of burning down - it was a year that set the stage for renewal. We also talk about the stories that portend good things for the years ahead.

You can find Melody's work at https://southwestvoices.news

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive