I’ve had a couple of DFLs claim I, among other GOPs, “want Minneapolis to fail“. They cite a couple of online polls taken by my friend (and one of about six actual journalists in the Twin Cities) Bill Glahn showing lots of conservatives don’t think the city can be saved.
Speaking for myself? It’s not true.
37 years ago this past Saturday, just out of college, I moved to Minneapolis (and, a few years later, Saint Paul – because it was a place with huge opportunity, that a recent college grad with almost no money and without a tech degree and a really nice entry level salary (I didn’t get one of those for another 8 years) could afford to live in.
A friend of mine got an apartment, back then. Nice, brand new one-bedroom place – $400 a month. After inflation, probably $1,000 today. So tell me what a 1 bedroom in a brand new building in a neighborhood where a single 22 year old woman can live without a full time escort costs today?
In 1986, when I was working as a producer on the Don Vogel show, I booked a writer from the Fodor travel guide on the show. He’d just written an article calling Minneapolis and St. Paul “the Athens of the modern era“ – and he was not alone. Other publications shared the consesus – the Twin Cities were “the next big thing”, economically and culturally.
It was an amazing time to be here. And that was the place I wanted my kids to have, when the time came.
Something sure screwed up along the way, didn’t it?
The place is economically plateaued, *at best*. People respond “But look at all the Fortune 1000 companies!”, to which I respond “Sure – it can still be a good place to live and work, if you frequent the Guthrie and the club level at Target Center”.
But if you’re that kid getting out of school today? Usually economic stagnation comes with deflation. But thanks to the Met Council’s meddling, Minneapolis and Saint Paul housing stock is harder to find, AND hideously expensive, AND increasingly cheap (to build, not to rent) ticky-tack stick and frame apartments with the build quality of an IKEA dresser.
As to crime? Crime was bad in the ’80s, and got worse in the ’90s. But there was a general sense that those responsible thought it was a *bad* thing, and gave the appearance (outside the month before a “red wave” election) they wanted to do something about it. If the President of the Minneapolis City Council had called public safety a “privilege” in 1985, Walt Dziedzic would have led a mob of union pipefitters down from Northeast – back when Northeast was a blue collar neighborhood, not an “urban life” theme park for hipsters – and tarred and feathered her. If Attorney General Humphrey would have written an op-ed supporting defunding the MPD, someone would have checked him in for a 72 hour hold.
The Twin Cities are *not* better; they have not “moved forward“, they haven’t become “more vibrant,“ it’s just more dangerous, more expensive – and more segregated, especially by class.
I would love to see a rebirth of what the Twin Cities were – a hotbed of economic and scientific and artistic creativity and opportunity, and a place where young people of all backgrounds can afford to get established. A place where “vibrancy“ isn’t a punchline.
Can anybody possibly be delusional enough to think the current regime can bring that about?
As to the “polls” – should Minneapolis be saved? Sure.
Can it be, without a 180° political turn around? I’m afraid not.
Is it worth it? That’s its own people to decide.
30 ideas ago, New Yorkers decided New York City was worth saving. And they did it – they elected Rudy Giuliani (and other cities in the NYC metro area followed suit; Jersey City elected Brett Schundler, one of my personal political heroes). And a few years of hard work paid off; NYC went from being a high-crime toilet with a First Class section, to being one of the safest cities in America; a second Golden Age of New York followed closely.
NYC is in the middle of squandering that legacy – and there’s no way they’re electing another Giuliani, since the “Great Sort” has driven the Giuliani voters upstate or waaaay out onto Long Island.
As to Minneapolis? As long as the white, upper-middle-class, ultra-“progressive” laptop-class members continue to control everything about Minneapolis, there really is no hope.
And that’s a shame. The city used to have so much to offer, not just to them, but to *everyone*.
It’s a good post but you’re letting big city proggies frame the discussion. Whether you or any other GOPers want Minneapolis to fail is utterly irrelevant because you have no political power to change a thing.
Proggies run everything and everything is just like they want, if not deserve it. And they want, like every other big city they control, Minneapolis to fail.
The tell, the dead giveaway was when that stupid, selfish bitch wrote that public safety is white privilege. Since white privilege is The Worst, why would they change anything? Other than resign and move to Wayzata.
fail thats such a judgmental word
i moved to the twin cities same time as you mitch the accepted cultural norms were stay in school get a job show up on time work hard save invest keep your nose clean avoid crime and drugs delay children until marriage stay married for the kids
it was a homogeneous culture based on traditional values of western civilization and crime rates were low
the boat people from vietnam brought a different culture but similar values
they rescued university avenue with hard work and family values they arent the cause of the crime wave
more recently somalis brought a different culture which accepts a higher level of lawlessness so they are behind two major theiving scandals daycare and lunches but those are white collar crimes defrauding the government not violent crime stealing cars shooting guns killing people somalis are not the cause of the crime wave
mexicans have lived across the river and black people have lived in frogtown for ages and mostly get along fine heck the mayors dad was a cop and his mom a nurse those are normal middle class jobs mexicans and normal blacks are not the cause of the crime wave
what changed was democrats throwing out the rules of civilized behavior because of a video of a drug addict dying in police custody and a certain class of young people taking advantage to create anarchy democrats are responsible for the crime wave only they can end it by cracking down on the very people they let off the leash
but those are democrat core constituencies which is why it wont happen and why we predict the twin cities are going to fail even harder until sensible people flee leaving only the decaying husk of civilization overrun by savages
Big, I beg to differ. The change came not with St. Fentanyl but long before, when MN nice dogooders expanded social nets to welcome criminal elements from Chicago. They imported the crime to make the MSP more vibrant.
Big, I beg to differ. The change came not with St. Fentanyl but long before, when MN nice d0gooders expanded social nets to welcome criminal elements from Chicago. They imported the crime to make the MSP more vibrant.
jpa;
It’s worth noting that the unaccountable DemoCommie controlled government stooges, with their irresponsible spending of taxpayer dollars on welfare programs, also led to bringing the mostly black grifters and criminals from Chicago. Moneyapolis is the name the thugs used. Lax requirements and lazy (read no) enforcement of abusers and fraud, has made us the laughing stock of the Midwest.
Just wait til we get that high speed bullet train that everybody was touting that would run between Chitcago and Moneyapolis. We’ll be extra vibrant then.
Regarding John’s comments about the demographics changing, the thought comes that few cities have more challenging demographics than does New York City, but they’ve managed to get things in line. NYC also had bankruptcy and more before they put Giuliani in charge.
And having grown up near Gary, with the kids of guys who left Gary because of what was going on, count me as one who definitely doesn’t want to end up with these cities hollowed out. The impact on a whole region is just too darned great when dozens of square miles is in effect a no go zone except for U.S. Steel and the interstates that go through it.
Surely, since the death spiral of the Twin cities is the topic, it is time to revisit the story of “Umbrella Man.”
This Powerline post reminded me of the bizarre times we live in: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/10/in-search-of-umbrella-man.php
Umbrella Man was supposed to be a white nationalist who triggered the Minneapolis riots that followed the death of George Floyd in late may 2020. Umbrella Man did this by breaking the windows of an auto parts retailer while carrying an umbrella. Said “Umbrella Man” was supposedly ID’d in July 2020 by a rabidly liberal female cop on the Mpls police force (Erika Christensen), who was informed by an anonymous tip in July 2020 of the name of Umbrella Man. The suspected Umbrella Man was served with a search warrant, but was never charged. His name remains forever a mystery because, since he was not charged, the MSM refuses to publish his name.
Now check out this story: https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/hate-is-not-welcome-here-stillwater-community-rallies-to-support-muslim-woman-harassed-by-white-supremacist-motorcycle-gang/
An SITD commenter (I won’t mention his moniker) wrote that the evil white supremacist mentioned in the story of the Stillwater giver of stinkeye to hijab wearing Muslim lady was the same person tipped off to LE as being Umbrella Man! Supposedly, the Sherlock Holmes who made the connection between Umbrella Man and the biker dude delivered the anonymous tip to the rabidly liberal female Minneapolis cop named above, Erika Christensen. The anonymous tipster was said to have been a Somali.
Make of it what you will. I make of it a sign of the utter ridiculousness of the Twin Cities.
But I will note That I have seen more HA’s lately along the Saint Croix between Prescott and Saint Croix Falls.
“few cities have more challenging demographics than does New York City, but they’ve managed to get things in line.”
Jfc…
Yeah, I guess its swell, except for the people being tossed in front of subway trains, beaten senseless on the streets, robbed and killed.
I suppose none if that makes it on the the hot sheets at WIKIPEDIA though.
For reference, since Blade can’t seem to be bothered to review historical numbers, last year, NYC had about 500 murders. Around 1990, it was nearly five times higher.
^ the wall of incomprehension speaks. But then what are a few people thrown onto the path of an incoming train or beaten to death on the street to a homicidal, warmongering, nuclear war craving wikibot?
^ speaking of the wall of incomprehension.
Hard as it may be to believe, one can stand against the policies that have generated the shifts of the past five years or so without ignoring the huge improvements that New York City had until about five years back.
Pro tip; when you’re insulting someone, you are merely proving that you are unable or unwilling to make a real argument.
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Since ‘saint floyd’ I have literally spent perhaps 6hrs in total over in MPLS. Literally. I used to go all the time. I live in STP, now in the W 7TH area (which I do like quite a bit). I used to bike over the Mpls almost daily in the summer. Not once this year or last. I just tool around all the newly paved side-street neighborhoods, south of I94 and mostly west of the core of DT STP and then perhaps elsewhere south of the river over into Mendota/Eagan. But never to Mpls anymore. Perhaps next year again. I would bike all the way in to Uptown and have a Gyro at Soho Cafe, then bike back. A nice 3-4hr day of riding, enjoying. The LEFTIST-MARXIST-DFL has effed it ALL up. EFF YOU DFL. EFF YOU you loathsome creeps.