Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily 1 p.m.(ish) digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Carjackings and robberies aren’t cool, guys
Minneapolis’s Strong Mayor Jacob Frey took a bold stance against crime at a Tuesday press conference introducing interim Chief of Police Amelia Huffman. “Let me be exceedingly clear: the violent and criminal conduct that we have seen in Minneapolis and surrounding cities throughout the last several months is garbage.” Frey also called for police that are "paid more and fired more" while Huffman mentioned that the applicant pool is down 50%. According to the Star Tribune, MPD has lost around 300 officers since 2020, which has led to major staffing shortages. And not only are those that remain not that into their job, these days some are openly mocking how much they suck at it. Frey explained that these conferences will be a regular thing to answer questions and give updates on this type of garbage. But is it also going to be a recycling program?
Jim Davnie is out
Speaking of job openings, State Rep. Jim Davnie announced Wednesday afternoon that after over two decades in office he won't be running for reelection in 2022. The DFL-affiliated politician currently reps District 63 A--which includes parts of Bancroft, Corcoran, Longfellow, Seward, and Standish neighborhoods--at the Minnesota House of Representatives. “I thank the residents and families of south Minneapolis for entrusting me with their voices over the past 21 years at the State Capitol,” he said via MN House's website. “Despite the unquestionable challenges our community has faced since then--locally and nationally--we continue to emerge stronger and more resilient because our neighbors recognize that when work together, we can all thrive moving forward.” He's one of 10 legislators who have announced retirement this year, which should make the next election even more precarious. Great!
Pillow guy Mike Lindell subpoenaed
What’s Minnesota’s nutty pillowman up to these days? Getting subpoenaed by the House Jan. 6 Committee and filing a lawsuit against them (and Nancy Pelosi and his phone provider) in Minnesota. The House wants Verizon to hand over Lindell’s phone records from Nov. 1, 2020, through Jan. 31, 2021. Why are they interested in the shenanigans of Trump’s #1 buddy? Maybe it’s because a witness says he met with the Prez’s son Donald Jr. in DC on January 5 to discuss how Trump will “RETAIN THE PRESIDENCY!!!” (Lindell denies this), maybe it’s the $25 million he spent pushing election fraud narratives, or maybe it’s that he was photographed entering the White House a week later clutching a sheet of paper with things like “trigger emergency powers” and “Martial Law” on it. Lindell’s lawyers have been floating a defense turd that Lindell’s actions "are motivated, in part, by his strongly held religious beliefs" and that there is "scriptural basis for" his claims of voter fraud and continued support of Trump. That religious freedom defense should make for some good fodder when Lindell goes up against Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.3 billion lawsuit against him.
RIP Mel Reeves, longtime Spokesman-Recorder editor and activist
Twin Cities journalist and activist Mel Reeves died today from COVID-19 complications following a long hospitalization, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder reports via Facebook. Reeves was “a true champion for the underdog with a heart for social justice,” MSR says, having racked up bylines as recently as December 30–well into his hospital stay. “I sit in this hospital bed today absolutely OVERWHELMED because the community I embraced and fought so hard for, saved my life,” Reeves wrote in a new year celebration post January 1 that concluded with the message: “I am everything I am because you loved me!” As MSR’s community editor, Reeves focused on racial justice, labor rights, and history. His headlines didn’t fuck around. Look for remembrances of Reeves in the upcoming issue of the Spokesman-Recorder. In the meantime, read this heartfelt Twitter thread from reporter Jon Collins.
