Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Our Long Municipal Nightmare Is Over
For years, there have been two kinds of Minnesotans. There have been fine, upstanding, salt-of-the-earth people like you and me, and there have been monsters who turn left into the Wedge parking lot from Lyndale. It is such a "thing" that Racket explicitly instructed newcomers not to make such a criminally rude decision. Well, you monsters will have to find a new way to torment your fellow drivers, because there is now a left turn lane into the lot. This changes everything. This is like the opposite of Prince dying. What will we even complain about anymore? (I'm sure we'll find something.) How did this come about? We've got a call in to the county to get the scoop.
Leader of Alleged Cult/Actual Food Truck Sues for Defamation
Soulaire Allerai, co-owner of the local food truck Bad Rooster, is also a bad cult leader, Angela Marie Hummelgard and Kelly Ring Abedi recently alleged via Facebook. Now, as reported by the Star Tribune’s Kim Hyatt, Hummelgard and Abedi are being sued for defamation by Allerai, who's seeking $200,000 in damages. The sisters claim their mother and dozens of others have been lured in by the Bad Rooster-associated Living Faith Spiritual Community, which they allege is a cult based in Minnetonka. For over a decade, they say, Soulaire Allerai has claimed to speak directly to god, a skill she shares with her followers at a steep financial price; followers allegedly change their names and work as a “family” for the food truck. "This has been our (family's) heartbreaking journey over the course of nearly 15 years," Abedi wrote via Facebook. "Our goal remains to inform the public of the group behind the truck so they can make informed choices about where they spend their money." Soulaire Allerai’s lawyers deny any wrongdoing. I, Jay, spoke with Abedi by phone for over 30 minutes a few weeks ago, and can attest to how dark, chilling, and emotionally painful the alleged details behind her broader allegations against Soulaire Allerai are.
AG Ellison Sez: Abortions For All
Earlier this month, Ramsey County Judge Thomas Gilligan smacked down a variety of roadblocks to abortions throughout Minnesota, including: 24-hour think-it-over periods, two-parent notifications for minors, and hospitalization guidelines. On Thursday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he wouldn’t appeal that ruling, thus placing him on the right side of history. “In my view, and in the view of my co-defendants, not appealing the district court’s decision in Doe v. Minnesota is in the public interest and is the right legal decision,” Ellison said in a press release. “It is also the right choice for Minnesota taxpayers and all Minnesotans who need the finality of knowing that they can make intimate decisions about their own bodies free of undue interference by the government.” Anti-choice activists remain mad and legally active around those abortion-related issues, MPR News reports, while pro-choice ones are celebrating the non-appeal, thus cementing the inescapable real-world reality of this classic Simpsons clip. Click here and here to revisit two in-depth Racket stories on abortion rights.
Downtown Fountain Survives Harrowing Run-in With Soap
Folks in downtown Minneapolis were treated to some soapy tomfoolery this morning, as the Gateway Fountain at Hennepin and First suddenly turned into a foam party. Pedestrians report that the air currently smells like detergent, and bubbles are making their way through the area. No witnesses have come forward with additional info, and, so far, no arrests have been made. Bring Me the News reports that a city spokesperson told them they would “check on it.” Does this count as cleaning up the city?
