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After 31 Years, Lavender Calls It Quits
LGBTQ-geared magazine Lavender publishes its final issue this week, CEO Stephen Rocheford recently announced. It’s always sad to see a publication call it quits, even if 31 years is a good run.
Yet in a quite patriotic editorial (“Are there any gay rights in China, Russia, North Korea, or Cuba? No!!!”), Rocheford struck an almost fully celebratory tone. He looks at how much progress has been made since Lavender debuted, a time when “there were virtually no gay rights in the United States and in Minnesota.” But “Lavender beat the drum for equality in Minnesota… and the rights have been uniformly achieved and systematized.” (Oddly Rocheford does not look ahead to the incredible challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community.)
What comes next? Heed well this footnote: “Lavender Media, Inc. continues to explore and consider options for transitioning the brand into a new phase.”
Hennepin County Shielding Bodycam Footage From "Undercover" Cops
Cops! They’ll try to get away with anything we let them. For the Minnesota Reformer, Max Nesterak reports that the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has found a clever way to keep bodycam footage under wraps—claim that officers were “undercover.” Officials have stated that all members of two groups, the Violent Offender Task Force and the West Metro Drug Task Force, are considered undercover even when conducting regular police business.
How does that play out? Take the case of Allanzo Johnson, pulled over in a routine traffic stop. The cops asked Johnson to get out of the car; then an officer, according to bystander Henry Mulligan, “wound up and just clocked him right in the face.” But the identities of these officers are shielded by their “undercover” status. If these officers want to belong to a gang that can abuse citizens with impunity, why don’t they just join ICE?
Why Does Our Cruddy President Hate Us So?
In Slate’s latest Executive Dysfunction newsletter, Shirin Ali chronicles the legal fiascos arising from the Trump administration’s determination to whack Minnesota and its elected officials around. First, she discusses how U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz quashed subpoenas against Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Attorney General Keith Ellison. Then she looks into how the government’s cases against ordinary citizens are going—not well for the feds, which is good news for the rest of us. Through these legal matters, she writes, “the public is getting a closer look at just how feckless the Trump administration was in Minneapolis.”
Anyone Offering LaMelo Ball Tattoos?
It’s official: “Naz Reid” will no longer serve as a code word among Minnesota Timberwolves fans to communicate their otherwise ineffable love for the team. The fan-favorite big is being shipped off to Charlotte along with some draft picks in exchange for guards LaMelo Ball and Josh Green.
On paper, that’s possibly good news for the Wolves, as the 24-year-old Ball has the potential to grow into a great point guard; he was drafted two picks after Minnesota's No. 1 overall selection in 2020, Anthony Edwards. But Reid became the sentimental fave in the 2024 playoffs, with tattoo artists even offering $20 Naz Reid tattoos. To celebrate the end of an era, Falling Knife Brewery is offering $1 beers to anyone with Naz ink.
And Ball might cause some collateral damage off the court. Earlier this year, the player smashed his Hummer into another car and then skedaddled off in a Lamborghini; he settled out of court after allegedly running over a child’s foot in 2023. Upon surveying this compilation of his driving antics, our pals at Defector wondered whether Ball should even have a driver’s license. The idea of this guy on the road in January alongside Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison, another athletically gifted problematic motorist, is more’n a little scary.
