Wedge LIVE!

John and co-host Jason Garcia speak with Nicole Mason and Christin Crabtree, who are helping to organize a homeless encampment on city owned land, made up mostly of indigenous people, called Camp Nenookaasi. The City of Minneapolis has notified the camp that they will be evicted on December 14, which Nicole and Christin say will make it harder to deliver services and housing to camp residents. We talk about the city's recent history of encampment responses going back to the first Wall of Forgotten Natives back in 2018; and how the city's current practice of evictions is just pushing people from one neighborhood to the next, making it harder to provide services.

Find all the links with information about Camp Nenookaasi and how you can help at: https://linktr.ee/campnenookaasi

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

This week we're talking about the earth-shaking results of St. Paul's 2023 election with "longtime political insider" Matt Privratsky. It's a progressive sweep: the first all woman city council in the nation; 6 of 7 members are people of color; and a newly approved 1% sales tax could do more than just fill potholes -- it could completely transform the city's streetscape, providing more options for how to get around. I ask Matt to explain how St. Paul got here. We also play compare and contrast with Minneapolis.

In an episode recorded the week before Thanksgiving, we look deeper on a topic that will never get old: Katie Cashman's amazing, unbelievable, nobody-saw-it-coming progressive victory in the Minneapolis Ward 7 City Council race.

Chaz Mayo worked back to back (2021 and 2023) on the campaigns of two different progressive candidates in Ward 7. We talk about the landscape and recent political history; what made 2023 a breakthrough year; what Chaz saw in the 2022 race for Hennepin County Attorney that foreshadowed 2023; how Ward 7 almost didn't have a progressive candidate, even in a year with an open seat due to the retirement of 26-year incumbent juggernaut Lisa Goodman; how remarkable it is that in Ward 7, friendly territory for the All of Mpls/Chamber of Commerce alliance, they still couldn't field a decent candidate. We close the episode getting to know the real Chaz, who studied writing and directing in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Chaz lost touch with his art due to the covid-19 pandemic, but come 2024 will be putting on a big "dream-like" production of Hamlet.

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

It's Thanksgiving week on the Wedge LIVE podcast and that can mean only one thing: a cooking segment featuring Minneapolis Ward 7 Council Member Lisa Goodman's sweet noodle kugel. My guest and co-chef for this episode is Deborah Copperud of the DFL Senate District 61 fundraising committee, who has helped to put together a cookbook full of delicious recipes, including one from your host John Edwards.

The Taste the Trifecta DFL cookbook is available via this order form for $35. All proceeds will help elect Democrats in Minnesota.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSftfSc-8bpM_IhDpuSIdOD2GP8JhgQa16BdtuiYcsJQWh0LkA/viewform

Legalizing red light/speed camera enforcement, light rail turnstiles and safety, moderately spicy sambusas, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction, transpo policy bros, energy policy bros, the viability of a train to Duluth, connecting the Midtown Greenway to St. Paul, and incendiary remarks over how easy it is to drive and park in Minneapolis. All these topics and more in my conversation with Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura who represents Minnesota House district 63A, which overlaps with a good chunk of Minneapolis Ward 12: stretching from Minnehaha Park on the south, the Mississippi River on the east, Hiawatha Ave/Blue Line LRT to the west, and I-94 to the north.

It's "morning in Minneapolis" and we're celebrating the results of election 2023. A progressive majority is empowered, but it's not veto-proof. The city's only two open seats without an incumbent (in Wards 7 and 12) were filled by smart young, inspiring women (Katie Cashman and Aurin Chowdhury) running against older white men. We talk about what went right; why the big money interests behind the All of Mpls slate failed; why Andrea Jenkins barely holding on in Ward 8 should be seen as a rebuke of her leadership; why the Star Tribune editorial board needs to learn to feel shame; the importance of recruiting good candidates; and what this all means for the next two year council term and the 2025 mayor/council elections.

My conversation with Katie Cashman, candidate for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 7. We talk transportation, public safety, downtown tax base, office conversions, Jane Fonda and much more.

My conversation with Ward 13 candidate Kate Mortenson. We begin by talking about Bryant Avenue. Mortenson has criticized the reconstruction process and the city's larger street engineering philosophy by using the phrase "social engineering." She explains what she meant by that and what she likes about the street. We move on to other campaign issues like public safety and her case against the incumbent Linea Palmisano.