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Counting down to our 90th Anniversary
June 6 - 12, 2024
Vol. 90
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No. 45
Samuels readies for round two Shares vision and opinions in a visit with MSR
By Al Brown Assignment Editor
served on the Minneapolis City Council from 2003 to 2014.
MSR: Let’s start with the on Samuels, a contender for the 5th 2022 primary, which was very Congressional District, close. How confident are you sat down in a pivotal discus- that you can overcome that sion with the MSR on May 16, razor-thin margin? DS: Well, last time around sharing his perspectives on lowe started in late March for an cal, national and global issues. August primary. A poll we did This dialogue sets the stage for at that time showed I had 28% another highly anticipated priname recognition, she had 98%. mary clash in August 2024 with This time around, we started in incumbent Ilhan Omar. November. We did the same In 2022, Samuels and Omar poll this year and I had 75% engaged in a fierce battle, with name recognition, pretty much Omar emerging victorious by a slim margin of 50.3 percent where I ended in the August to 48.2 percent. Samuels, a primary, while she has a 100% prominent community activist, name recognition.
H i s to r i
ca l Capsule
So, as name recognition grows, people get to know who I am, and my favorability grows. When August came, I was within two percent of her—even though I was recognized 25% less than her.
that means—I have real connections to the community. And so those who don’t know about me will learn that I have an authentic public life and will be persuaded that I will be a better alternative.
MSR: Given that this is expected to be an extremely close race, is this all about who can turn out their base? DS: To some degree. But it’s more about getting my name out there and people getting to know me. Also, I’m a very different kind of candidate from Congresswoman Omar. I have a very different background; when people get to know what
MSR: Please tell us how you would approach these issues if you were to win the seat. For starters, what are your plans to stimulate economic growth and job creation in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District? DS: Small businesses are the energy for the American marketplace as well as innovation, and Don Samuels, Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District candidate ■ See SAMUELS on page 5 Photo by Chris Juhn
Whittier Tragedy: Community reels after mass shooting
By H. Jiahong Pan & Abdi Mohamed
Scene at Fire Which Destroyed Church
hree people, including a Minneapolis police officer, are dead, and four more Editor’s Note: This historic photo was published in the MSR on suffered serious injuries after a Friday, November 25, 1960. mass shooting in the Whittier neighborhood on May 30. The shooting occurred on H is to r ica l Capsul e a one-block stretch of Blaisdell Avenue, roughly between Franklin Avenue and 24th Street. Two people were found shot in an apartment, while the remainder were shot a s p u a le i ca l C block away. H i s to r The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) In this photo shot by Bob Schranck, Sabathani Baptist Church, investigators say Minneapolis 829 13th Avenue South, Minneapolis, is shown being de- Police Officer Jamal Mitchell voured by flames of an early morning fire Saturday, Nov. 19, was the first to arrive at the which practically destroyed the structure. scene. The BCA says Mitchell, who has served for 15 months, To read more about this historical event ande others, visit www. saw two people who appeared su l MS spokesman-recorder.com. injured on Blaisdell between R H i s t o r i ca l C a p
Franklin Avenue and 22nd Street. One of them was later identified as 35-year-old Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed. The BCA says as Officer Mitchell was tending to an injured person, Mohamed pulled out a gun and repeatedly shot him, even after he fell to the ground. They recovered a handgun with an extended magazine, as well as “numerous” cartridge casings. The BCA adds that as Mohamed assaulted Mitchell, Officers Nick Kapinos and Luke Kittock arrived at the scene and fired at Mohamed. Mohamed died of multiple gunshot wounds at the scene. His body remained at the scene, covered by a tarp, for over five hours. Officers then found two people injured in an apartment at 2221 Blaisdell Avenue, where the first 911 call about the incident reportedly took
Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell was among the deceased in the May 30 Whittier shooting. Courtesy of Facebook/MPD place. Officers found 32-yearold Osman Said Jimale of Minneapolis deceased. The other victim was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and was in critical
condition as of Thursday. The BCA, who was asked by the Minneapolis Police Department to investigate how Jimale and another person were ■ See WHITTIER on page 5
The future of ‘forever’ chemicals in Minnesota By Cole Miska Contributing Writer
sites, such as four such sites in the east metro area, were the subject of a $10.3 billion er- and Polyfluorinat- lawsuit settled against 3M last ed Substances (PFAS), year. However, Minnesota is man-made chemicals commonly known as “forever looking to go a new route chemicals” because of how and largely curb PFAS use at slowly they break down, have the start of 2025, when the bipartisan-backed Amara’s a long history in Minnesota. 3M, a corporation based in Law takes effect. Amara’s Law Maplewood, was one of the (named for Amara Strande, first and largest manufacturers a 20-year-old woman who of the chemicals. Detrimental died of cancer and lived in health effects and increased Woodbury, which has PFAScancer rates caused by PFAS contaminated drinking water) contamination at dumping will prohibit the sale of 11
categories of consumer goods at the beginning of 2025. These include cookware, menstrual products, and children’s
safety reasons and there are products. So far, the only exempno alternatives for using PFAS. Andria Kurbondsk, the Minne- tions already determined are sota Pollution Control Agency medical devices and medicines covered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Avonna “Maybe their CEOs who are making Starck, the director of the Min$20 million a year, maybe they’ll only have nesota chapter of Clean Water Action, said it was “one of the to make $19 million a year to implement this unfortunate things we cannot properly. They get no sympathy from me if they ignore” that some products, get a little less of a bonus and we’re saving lives.” such as MRI machines, will likely still require PFAS. Starck worries that comproducts. By 2032, all prod- (MPCA) pollution prevenucts with PFAS will be banned tion program lead, said com- panies will try to apply for in Minnesota unless the prod- panies must apply to MPCA exemptions that could still uct is essential for health or for exemptions for essential harm Minnesotans. She cited
appliance companies wanting to continue using PFAS on internal parts on the grounds that consumers would not come into direct contact with them. Starck said cases like this still hurt workers, such as repairmen who come in contact with the parts, and that the parts still leech PFAS into groundwater when they are disposed of in landfills. “Industry needs to prove that they are using the safest possible option and that there are no other options, and if ■ See PFAS on page 5
Murder charges against Trooper Ryan Londregan dropped County says dismissal due to new evidence
By Adam Uren ennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has dismissed the murder case against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan in the fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II. Moriarty, who has come under ferocious criticism from law enforcement groups for bringing murder charges against the trooper over Cobb’s killing on July 31, 2023, announced she would be dropping the case “following disclosure of new evidence by
the defense.” saw Ricky Cobb II reach for Londregan and another the trooper’s firearm shortly trooper were on either side before Londregan fired the of Cobb’s vehicle when he shots that killed Mr. Cobb.” drove off during a traffic stop “Additionally, an MSP trainer on I-94, with Londregan open- provided a declaration claiming fire and striking Cobb, who ing he never instructed officrashed into the median bar- cers to refrain from shooting rier a short time later. While into a moving vehicle during a gun was found in Cobb’s ve- an extraction, even though hicle, it was behind the center that is best practice,” Moriarconsole, and bodycam footage ty’s statement added. showed he did not reach for it. Following these disclosures, Moriarty says that the new her office consulted with a evidence set to be introduced use-of-force expert and, as at trial was Londregan’s “pro- a result, believes it would be spective testimony,” which “impossible for the State to Trooper Ryan Londregan was allegedly set to claim “he Courtesy of MADD Facebook ■ See CHARGES on page 5
Ricky Cobb II
Courtesy of Facebook