Dive deep with our reporters on an intense week covering public safety

Plus: Who gets to claim the American flag? [Plus: Who gets to claim the American flag?] View this email as a [web page]( [Star Tribune]( [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! Today we're speaking with two reporters about an eventful week on the public safety beat. It's another long read, so get that coffee brewin' ☕ On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [As Feeding Our Future jury deliberates, FBI raids one defendant's home]( - [With all this rain, mosquitos are back in the Twin Cities with a vengeance]( - [Turn off those darn backyard lights if you wanna save the fireflies]( - [Amid office urban flight, some companies trade suburbs for downtown Minneapolis]( - [Minnesota's e-bike rebate site crashed immediately after launch](   Behind the Star Tribune: Andy Mannix and Dave Orrick on policing in Minneapolis Mark Van Cleave/Associated Press It's been a busy week on the public safety beat. Last week, we recounted the vast team effort it took to report on the horrific killing of a Minneapolis police officer in the city's Whittier neighborhood. Days later, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty unexpectedly dropped murder and manslaughter charges against a state trooper in the fatal shooting of a motorist. Both stories broke in the days following the four-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. What does the current moment tell us about the politics and state of policing in the period following Minnesota's move to the center of a national debate over law enforcement's role in a community? We spoke with public safety reporter Andy Mannix and Minneapolis City Hall reporter Dave Orrick for a bit of context and to take you behind the scenes of two dominant Minnesota stories of the past week. “The fact that this all came at the four-year anniversary of Floyd’s killing was apropos because it’s all tangled up in this," Andy told me. "There were a lot of conversations in 2020 about what Minneapolis was going to be and what it wasn’t going to be.” In the wake of Floyd's death, activists saw a chance to divert city resources away from police departments and toward mental health programs and alternative responses to low-level offenses and people in crisis. In Minneapolis, the City Council's efforts to establish a department of public safety failed in a public citywide vote, thanks in part to spikes in crime. But Moriarty's election in 2022 came on a promise of holding police accountable. “We’ve almost become this microcosm of the conversation about policing in America," Andy said. Both journalists noted the politics of the moment. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz joined law enforcement leaders for a joint news conference about police officer Jamal Mitchell's shooting death. That was in contrast to the jabs they publicly traded over the state's and city's response to the 2020 riots. Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar led the state's congressional delegation in a moment of silence on the House floor shortly after the killing. “I can’t recall the last time the four Republicans and four Democrats stood together on such a somber thing and there was so much unity,” Dave said. Orrick and Mannix say it's important to cover these seismic events with an eye back to 2020, because it serves as a crucial mile marker for the campaign promises and pledges for reform that seated state and city leaders. “There’s a moment when the national press is here and everyone’s paying attention and there’s a lot of promises being made,” Andy said. “I think that it’s important to follow that beyond that moment." Is there a Star Tribune reporter or coverage area you'd like us to go in-depth with? Send suggestions to essential@startribune.com. And follow our behind-the-scenes account on Instagram: [@btstartribune](. Catch up on our public safety coverage: - [Despite years of denial, Minneapolis police used secretive process for serious misconduct]( - [Minneapolis police union votes to approve tentative contract agreement for 21.7% pay raise over three years]( - [Police officer, civilian and shooter dead, and responders wounded in Minneapolis shooting]( - [Gov. Tim Walz signs law banning "excited delirium" for police](     GOING OUT - [One of country music's best singers will play one of the Twin Cities' worst venues]( - [Review: "Star Wars" shows like "The Acolyte" need to take a hiatus from the TV galaxy]( Depressed after the loss of his wife, this Minneapolis man turned to psychedelics Former Star Tribune columnist Jon Tevlin tried therapy and medication after his wife's death but neither treatment helped. He recalls completing a mental health questionnaire that asked what gave him hope. His answer: "Nothing. My wife is dead." Then a friend told him about treatments that use psilocybin mushrooms under supervision and he found a local clinic that uses ketamine for similar results. The regimen isn't for everyone, experts say, but it worked for Tevlin. Read [the full account of how ketamine has helped Tevlin treat his depression here](. Shari Gross/Star Tribune Get the best of Minnesota sent to you each weekday [Subscribe now]( MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - [St. Cloud sees largest City Council candidate pool in decades]( - [Evictions and an alleged bounced check: New Wuollet, Grandma's Bakery owner in financial straits]( Who gets to claim the American flag? Leila Navidi/Star Tribune As Minnesotans are well aware at this point, flags are a big deal. The debate over the redesign of the state's official banner inspired some residents to come together for a communal brainstorming session while simultaneously drawing fierce opposition from others. Today, columnist Laura Yuen takes a look at the debate over the American flag, who gets to claim it and the nationalist position some of its most loyal carriers profess. Yuen writes that "patriotism should not be equated with an unquestioning faith in country. It can mean criticism that comes from a place of love." Read [her full column here](. IN OTHER NEWS - [Minneapolis coalition seeks other methods to get police accountability on ballot after falling short of signatures]( - MinnPost - [Minnesota optometrists get thumb in the eye from big donors, House speaker]( - Minnesota Reformer - [Small in numbers, Cameroonian community is beginning to make a mark on Minnesota]( - Sahan Journal     THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE For the past year, I've been obsessed with this Instagram account that produces book covers that riff on the kids' horror series "Goosebumps." The creator behind @fakegoosebumps uses artificial intelligence to create the art and slaps a fake title and flavor text on it. If you've ever read any of R.L. Stine's entry-level tales of terror, you'll appreciate the various homages to the series. I figured y'all would enjoy this loon-themed cover. And as long as we're talking about the state bird, [check out this Vox video]( that explains why Hollywood loves using its call as ambient background noise for scenes set in the wilderness, even if it's nowhere near the loon's territory. Thanks for reading Eder Campuzano, reporter Patrick Condon, editor [Email]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]([Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Manage]( your preferences | [Opt Out]( using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? [Sign up]( to receive our future emails. View this email [online](. 650 3rd Ave. S. Suite 1300 | Minneapolis, MN 55488 US This email was sent to {EMAIL}. To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.