State Legislators Team up to Give Mayor Frey Whatever the Opposite of an Endorsement Is

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily noontime(ish) digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.

State Legislators: Vote No on Frey

Seven Minnesota state legislators/Minneapolis city residents have teamed up to give Mayor Jacob Frey a sort of non-endorsement. (Merriam-Webster suggests "refusal," "rejection," "repudiation," and "disapprobation," though none of those seem quite right... we need a new word. Candidon't? Endorsemeh?) Though they never actually say Jacob Frey, the legislators—Senators Scott Dibble and Omar Fateh, along with Representatives Esther Agbaje, Jim Davnie, Aisha Gomez, Emma Greenman, and Hodan Hassan—do say they believe the city needs new leadership, citing a lack of action from the mayor's office after the unrest last year. "We represent different communities within Minneapolis and we support different candidates for mayor," their joint statement reads. "But we are coming together today to say that our city needs a new direction and that begins with electing a new mayor on November 2." You can read their statement here:

Speaking of Non-Endorsements...

At this point, what purpose does the Star Tribune Editorial Board serve other than making life hard for its harder-working colleagues who actually report the news? The Ed Board nearly snapped its spine bending over backwards to avoid endorsing a progressive candidate Thursday, instead opting to endorse pro-cop oddball/former Legal Marijuana Now Party member Mickey Moore. “His business experience, in particular, would be an asset to the council,” the Strib says of the 9th Ward candidate who’s rumored to live in Anoka County. Jason Chavez, Moore’s DFL- and DSA-endorsed rival, “is passionate about working on affordable housing, social and racial justice and other issues that impact communities of color,” the Ed Board notes, though his stance on the three ballot questions Minneapolis voters face—no; yes; yes—is diametrically opposed to the Strib’s endorsements. Glen Taylor wasn't wrong!

Long-Term Care from the National Guard

The Minnesota National Guard! You know them from rolling around the metro in big trucks whenever police shoot a civilian, but it turns out they do more than that. Gov. Tim Walz just announced a new program that will activate the Guard to assist short-staffed long-term care facilities, which are struggling to hire people like lots of other industries. Perhaps they could also be activated to help fix the state's trucker problem?

Name That Team! 

Similar to the Washington Football Team, our state's new, community-owned women's soccer team is simply called Minnesota Women's Soccer. Unlike WFT, that's not due to ditching a horrifically racist name and not having a replacement—they're still choosing their first-ever name. As of this week, we're down to seven candidates: Arctic Minnesota; Iron Minnesota; Minnesota Aurora; Minnesota Dark Sky; Minnesota FoxFire; Minnesota Red Pines; and Minnesota Vortex. If you're an owner, you get a vote. Minnesota Women's Soccer will kick off its inaugural season with the USL W League next year.