Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
From Fargo to Moorhead
In a story that's made national headlines, Red River Women's Clinic—North Dakota's only abortion clinic for two decades—is planning a move to Minnesota. And they have to hurry: ND is one of the states whose trigger laws will make abortion illegal in the wake of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling last week. "The plan is to provide service as long as we legally can," clinic director Tammi Kromenaker told CNN, but they'll have just 30 days once the state's attorney general certifies North Dakota's law. Their new building in Moorhead, Minnesota is situated just across the Red River from which the clinic gets its name, roughly 15 minutes from its current location. Want to help with the move? There's a GoFundMe for their "clinic contingency plan" here. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Reformer has a story on MN clinics readying for an influx of abortion seekers crossing state lines.
David Simon Talks Cops with MN Reformer
David Simon, the former Baltimore Sun reporter who created HBO's The Wire, thinks the war on drugs has ruined policing, and he thinks only bozos chant "Back the Blue." But he also believes all cops are not bastards, and that defunding the police is a fantasy of white progressives who don't live in high-crime areas. All of that is explored in Simon's long, fascinating chat with the Minnesota Reformer. Writer Scott Winter—husband to Deena, Minnesota's Journalist of the Year—guides the conversation, which touches on George Floyd, Freddie Gray, and Simon's latest project for HBO, We Own This City, yet another dramatized look at the corruption-riddled Baltimore Police Department. You don't have to agree with everything Simon says, but the bluntly spoken TV legend is definitely worth hearing out. "Not only did it destroy neighborhoods and lives and the people being policed were over-policed brutally," he says of the war on drugs, "it destroyed law enforcement, it raised a generation of cops who can’t actually do the fucking job."
Exploding Roads are a Thing That's Happening Now
Concrete doesn’t catch fire or burn. But when it gets super hot, it can explode. And with the heatwaves we’ve been having this summer, the concrete in town has been exploding. Or swelling, cracking, buckling, and even popping. MnDOT reports that a few recent hotspots include 35 W in Lino Lakes, I-694 near Lexington Avenue in Shoreview, on Cedar Avenue near the I-35E interchange in Eagan, and on Palomino Drive in Apple Valley. Basically, when things get hot, concrete swells. But if the heat is unrelenting and the concrete runs out of room to expand, additional heat from cars and the concrete’s inability to release steam can cause it to explode. Think of them as the potholes of the summer. And much like potholes, if you see swelling or buckling, "don't drive over them," MnDOT spokesperson Ann Meyer told the Strib. As you can see from this old footage, these things can send cars airborne, and can really fuck up your undercarriage. Meanwhile, asphalt can also pop and buckle, but is less likely to do so in our climate.
When I Say “Go Home,” You Say “Jacob”
Among the many heterosexuals celebrating Pride this weekend was Minneapolis’s Very Strong Mayor Jacob Frey. Frey can be seen here at the Twin Cities Pride parade, bouncing happily through the streets as though the Blue Fairy has finally granted his wish to become a real boy, dressed appropriately in his twinkiest jorts. What’s particularly *extremely Minnesota voice* interesting is that he’s wearing what looks like the same three-quarter gray-and-blue baseball shirt he had on when he was booed and dismissed with chants of “Go home, Jacob” and “Shame” by protestors at a MPD abolition rally in late 2021. (Incidentally, Racket is very pro-booing. Boo politicians, bands, neighbors, infants, whoever. It’s good for the soul. Don’t boo us though. We’re very sensitive.) Most onlookers seemed receptive when the mayor led them in a chant of “When I say ‘Happy,’ you say ‘Pride.’” G’bless the two women up front who notably ignore the mayor’s cheerleading.
