Somali-American Minnesotans, in Their Own Words

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Somali-American Minnesotans, in Their Own Words

The ruling class, the politicians that serve it, and the media that it owns have a neat trick where, instead of allowing you to focus your anger on hoarded wealth and power, they dupe you into hating your minority and/or poor neighbors. The most recent example? The president, who for some reason doesn't want you looking too deeply into his own misdeeds, stoking anti-Somali racism in Minnesota as federal agents raid the home of Somali-American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

Kudos to humane Strib reporters Laura Yuen and Rachel Hutton for quickly turning around this piece (gift link), in which we hear from six everyday Somali-Americans living in Minnesota. The big takeaway shouldn't surprise anyone: Blanket hatred of an entire group because of the actions of a few is wrong. (You learned this shit in grade school, but here we are...) Read a few choice snippets below:

Yusra Mohamud, community engagement leader, on accountability...

We can talk about violence and accountability, but we shouldn’t mix that with collective blame. I want people to understand that I can love my community enough to challenge it, while also refusing people outside of my community to define it by its worst moments.

Ifrah Ali, mother of six from Minneapolis, on fairness...

When a white person takes a gun and goes to school and shoots children, do we condemn the entire white [community]? We don’t even call it domestic terrorism. With others, it’s John did this. David did that. They don’t say any other ethnicity. The media needs to be fair.

Guled Hussein, barista from Minneapolis, on scapegoating...

Today, it’s the Somali people. Next election will be someone else. Once the election is done, nobody’s gonna say Somali anything.

Nimo Hussein Farah, poet and storyteller from Minneapolis, on Somalis and Minnesota...

This is creating what could be a mental health problem for the whole community. Everybody’s just in shock. You’re forced to go to work, mind your business, go to the grocery store, and people are giving you the side-eye. Ninety-nine percent of people are just trying to wake up in the morning and figure out what to have for lunch. I can’t imagine what it is like to be a hijabi mom with your kids, trailing behind you like little ducklings, and people looking at you like you’re going to grow up to be in a gang or blow up the mall.

Seven Years in, How is the Minneapolis 2040 Plan Panning Out?

When the city of Minneapolis rolled out its 2040 Comprehensive Plan in 2019, YIMBYs celebrated the zoning reform initiative as a way to supercharge density and, thus, curtail rising rents. Last week the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis released its study on how the plan is panning out: not great, its trio of authors found.

Per the study, rents are creeping upward and new multi-family housing construction has "slowed more than in our national comparison group." Just 106 new duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes sprang up between 2020 to 2025, and only 47 of those utilized changes enacted by the 2024 Plan; since 2022, permits for multifamily housing have plummeted by over 90%.

Don't blame the 2040 Plan, however. Its bundle of reforms is apparently no match for the dreaded "headwinds" blowing up against developers. Costs related to taxes, insurance, labor, materials, and borrowing have skyrocketed by as much as 30%, according to the report, and slowing population growth is making the city less attractive to builders.

Still, at least one developer heaped praise on the 2040 Plan. “The 2040 Plan makes Minneapolis one of the most developer-friendly cities in the country," they told the Fed.

But because we're dealing with developers here, some braying about regulatory burdens pops up, with one stating, "[Minneapolis is] one of the hardest places to operate because of regulatory requirements, however well-intentioned they may be.”

Should MN's AG Be "Deeply Invested" in Companies Trying to Build Data Centers?

A KSTP/SurveyUSA poll from July found that 60% of Minnesotans strongly or somewhat oppose data center construction, while only 7% of those polled strongly support it. The issue might be a political liability for scarecrow-resembling GOP attorney general candidate Ron Schutz, especially after the Minnesota Reformer's Max Nesterak unearthed 174 potential conflicts of interest among his stock portfolio.

Over at MinnPost, Brian Arola reports that Schutz is "deeply invested" in Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, and over a dozen other companies in the hyperscale data center sector. A candidate as compromised as Schutz is "exactly what’s going to stir up a lot of populist anger about data centers,” U of M law prof Richard Painter tells MinnPost. FWIW, Keith Ellison's AG rival vowed to put his many stocks in a blind trust.

“The Attorney General of Minnesota is supposed to be the people’s lawyer, and the people should never have to wonder whether their lawyer is actually just in it for himself," Ellison, who lists no securities in his financial disclosure, says of his opponent.

Arola uses the Schutz case as an excuse to explore how Minnesota political candidates are navigating the data center issue this campaign season. It's worth checking out, as is this recent Strib piece (gift link) on how data centers are causing a rift between DFLers and unions.

Wanna Buy the EP Double-Dome Home?

From the North Shore to Duluth to Minneapolis, we've covered plenty of standard dome homes that've hit the market in recent years. But what if we told you that a double dome home just became available in Eden Prairie for $1 million? Well, we wouldn't be lying: 6525 Rowland Rd. takes everything you know and possibly love about geodesic living and doubles it across 8,050 (!) square feet.

"WELCOME TO THE DOUBLE DOMES OF EDEN PRAIRIE! A truly one-of-a-kind property featuring iconic dual geodesic dome architecture, incredible amenities, and a private setting near popular Bryant Lake Park," screams the listing from Tom Laing at JPW Realty. Built in 1977 on a 1.2-acre lot, the mammilliform structure includes an indoor slide, gym, movie theater, and putting green.

The popularity of geodesic structures boomed throughout the '70s and '80s. Future-minded owners balanced the pros (structural strength, energy efficiency) against the cons (costly made-to-order updates, tricky interior design), according to this geodesic deep-dive from Popular Science, which notes nothing about indoor slides.