Catching Up With Greg Bovino: Still a Contemptible Little Fascist

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories. 

Bovino: Federal Government's "Light Touch" During Operation Metro Surge Allowed Minneapolis to Slip Into "Lawlessness"

We're a full spring and summer removed from the federal government's assault on Minnesota, but at least one sociopath who perpetrated Operation Metro Surge is still out there bragging about it. Last week in New York City, retired U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino spoke at a New York Young Republicans event where he came off "alternately braggadocious and defensive," Josh Kovensky of Talking Points Memo reports.

The bloodthirsty pipsqueak struck both chords Thursday when he said OMS was “an ICE mission, not Border Patrol... We never got to engage those anarchists and rioters as we did in Chicago or Los Angeles.” When Kovensky asked Bovino whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection tactics led to the killing of Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti, Bovino bemoaned the "light touch" that allowed "lawlessness" to "fester." He blamed the “liberal, fringe-left lemmings” of the media and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, in particular.

“You’re done, you’re done,” Bovino told Kovensky after the reporter asked if he stood by claims that Pretti was poised to commit a massacre moments before CBP and Border Patrol agents killed him.

Talking Points Memo notes that Bovino became "a folk hero on the extreme far right" after mounting his city-to-city terror campaign this year. He winkingly acknowledged his infamous, Nazi-ish coat to the Young Republicans.

May we never speak of Greg Bovino again.

Mayor Watch: Frey Losing Council Allies; Her Deemed "Bizarre and Uncomfortable"

We're used to stories about Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey butting heads with the progressive faction of the City Council. On Friday, the Star Tribune's Deena Winter reported on a new development (gift link): Frey's centrist allies on the council are beginning to tire of his shit.

Last week, council members of all ideological stripes were "stunned" by the mayor's office when it refused to send police reps to a meeting where they'd be questioned over skyrocketing overtime costs, Winter reports. That ordeal comes in the wake of a letter Frey sent to the council earlier this month, in which he stated that city department heads and staffers were no longer expected to answer their questions.

The strong mayor is feeling himself, it seems, and even his buddies are pushing back. Per the Strib: Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw says she's “extremely disappointed" by MPD not showing up; Council Member Linea Palmisano says the City Council no longer trusts MPD (geez Palmisano, this is the straw that broke the camel's back?); Council Member Pearll Warren expresses frustration over the absence of “clear answers" around the budget-busting police department.

“We are going to give them whatever information that they need, under the law,” Frey counters, sounding like real visionary bridge-builder.

Hopping across the river...

Released Friday, a human resources investigation found that while St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her could be "offensive" and "inappropriate," none of her actions constituted sexual harassment, which is exactly what Police Chief Axel Henry formally accused her of earlier this year.

The report's release coincides with a trio of Strib reporters publishing an exhaustive look (gift link) into Her's style and personality. Her "bawdy sense of humor" and physical touchiness can apparently cross over into the realm of "bizarre and uncomfortable." You could—and should!—read the deeply reported accounts of ass-grabbing and "weinering" memes, but a photo allegedly doctored by Her to depict SPD leaders (including Chief Henry, center) as jacked hunks kinda distills her whole approach to humor:

Another, similar photo shows the same three cops as the Backstreet Boys. One has to wonder: why?

Seward Cafe in "Dire Financial Straits"

Just over three years ago, Racket published an account of Seward Cafe emerging from a three-year hiatus. Launched in 1974, the collectively owned Minneapolis institution came back with a message to white customers that "it's not your space anymore" and a promise that “being a cafe is just one petal of what is actually going on.” Translation: more mutual aid, more community outreach, more diverse events and concerts.

Fast-forward to this past weekend, and the vegetarian/vegan restaurant sat unopened yet again.

"To be honest, we are in pretty dire financial straits and are all absolutely exhausted," reads a Seward Cafe social media post from Friday. "Restaurants in general have been hit hard this year, and we are feeling that strain with sales dropping dramatically and costs/taxes increasing."

Wanna help out? You can stop by 2129 E. Franklin Ave. Thursdays through Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to get yourself an Earth Breakfast. Or you can pitch in via this crowdfunding campaign, which seeks to boost Seward Cafe's finances by $30,000.

Typo-Addled Strib Management Reaping, Sowing

This past June, when the Star Tribune Media Co. announced the elimination of 24 union jobs, copy editors (aka the people who make the product coherent and accurate) were among the casualties. On Sunday, their absence was felt on the first word of the A1 story's headline:

Woof.

A "flabbergasted" ex-Stribber emailed Racket late Sunday to flag "polarazing," but also drew attention to a rash of recent embarrassing typos, including "Gallop" poll and "nudeify" apps. "I don't think it's a lack of competence by the remaining people but rather a lack of bodies, time, and the missing redundancy that used to be baked into the process," our tipster writes.

Racket, meanwhile, has never published a typo—we deify you two find a single exxampel on our site.