April 9, 2003 - A couple of hundred demonstrators are on the Lake Street Bridge in Minneapolis this evening (WEDS), continuing their protest against the war in Iraq. The protesters say the war is not over and people will continue to die as a result. Opinion polls show many more African Americans oppose the war in Iraq than white Americans. But fewer African Americans actually take part in public demonstrations against the war. Minnesota Public Radio's Brandt Williams prepared this report.
April 7, 2003 - MPR’ Brandt Williams reports on a Sunday evening worship service held in the State Theater in Minneapolis, where Black leaders told the crowd of nearly 500 that African Americans still face high rates of unemployment, poverty and health problems. They expressed hope that through church and community collaboration, those problems can be solved.
March 25, 2003 -
March 13, 2003 - Mika Anderson-Coates is the kind of citizen police officials count on to help them in the fight against crime. A resident of the Seward neighborhood in south Minneapolis, Anderson-Coates helps organize citizen patrols, she connects neighbors through a community newsletter and she has been a block club leader. Anderson-Coates says she and her neighbors have worked closely with the police department's Community Crime Prevention Safe program.
February 25, 2003 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on Minneapolis budget cuts. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak says proposed cuts in Local Government Aid will cost the city nearly forty-five million dollars over the next two years. Rybak offered a preliminary estimate of how much each department will have to cut from in order to balance the city's budget. The cuts will be deepest in the city departments with the largest budgets: police, fire and public works. Some city officials say they fear these cuts will make it harder for police and fire departments to protect the people of Minneapolis.
February 24, 2003 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on local storyteller Nothando Zulu, and her work during Black History Month. February is the month when all Americans are encouraged to learn more about the culture and history of African Americans. Schools, libraries and other organizations ask African American scholars, artists and professionals to be part of their Black History Month events. Nothando Zulu, hasn't had a day off all month.
December 3, 2002 -
October 4, 2002 -
September 25, 2002 - MPR’s Art Hughes and Brandt Williams report on the tenth anniversary Jerry Haaf murder. The thirty-year police veteran died on the floor of the Pizza Shack restaurant in south Minneapolis after being shot in the back during his morning coffee break. The execution-style shooting remains one of the most shocking acts of violence against an officer in Minneapolis history.
August 28, 2002 -