PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
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Inside this Edition... Read about Purple Rain at the Target Center on page 5.
Counting down to our 90th Anniversary
July 18 - 24, 2024
Vol. 90
Phone: 612-827-4021 www.spokesman-recorder.com
No. 51
St. Paul is ready for Rondo Days’ return Hip hop legends MC Lyte and Rakim to join the festivities
Saria Abubaker in her living room
Photo by Chris Juhn
Sudanese Minnesotans share their stories as war rages in Sudan By Binta Kanteh Contributing Writer
Rapid Support Services (RSF). Since then, the latest data from the International Orgaver the past 14 nization for Migration (IOM) months, all sense of says that nearly 10 million normalcy, peace and people have been displaced, stability has been under a and the World Food Program brutal siege in Sudan. To the reports that around 26 million world’s dismay, including Su- are now acutely food insecure. Rakim and MC Lyte Courtesy of Rondo Days danese people living within The death toll is staggering in By Al Brown tions showcased the best that history and identity. tion of the economically vi- and outside of the country, both what we can confirm and Although the festival was brant Black community called the current war in Sudan was what is yet to be known due Assignment Editor the Rondo community, the Black community, had to of- co-founded in 1983 by Mar- Rondo, which was home to launched on April 15, 2023, to varying reports coming out t’s been five years since fer—music, marching bands, vin Anderson and the late many Black businesses, homes, when seriously rising tensions of the country. As late as June the last Rondo Days healthcare tents, arts and Floyd G. Smaller, older St. and landmarks such as Hallie erupted in the streets of Khar- 18 of this year, the reported celebration in 2018. crafts, and great food. They Paulites remember the origin Q. Brown Community Center, toum between the Sudanese number of people killed is well Those jubilant celebra- hold a significant place in our of the festival—the decima■ See SUDAN on page 4 ■ See RONDO on page 4 Armed Forces (SAF) and the
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From 1986 to Now: St. Paul’s Ongoing Police Reform Journey Publication Date: April 3, 1986 s to rica l Capsul Hi
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n this week’s MSR 90th struggle and complexities Anniversary countdown surrounding police reform Historic Time Capsule we efforts in St Paul, highlightrevisit the April 3, 1986 ing the historical context front page article of which and the continued releMSR explored the ongoingcalvance oflethe issue today. C a ps u
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MSR Newspaper Archives To read more about this historic event and others, visit our website www.spokesman-recorder.com”
Mpls park workers’ strike extended indefinitely
By Cole Miska Contributing Writer
he Minneapolis Park workers union, Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 363, announced on July 10 that an ongoing strike would continue indefinitely. A.J. Lange, Local 363’s business manager, said workers were polled and approved to continue the strike past the original July 11 end date. Negotiations between the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) and the union have been ongoing for over seven months. The strike was originally slated to last a week, but with no deal in sight, local 363 decided the strike would continue until they got a “fair contract.” “I was hopeful it wouldn’t come to this; I was hopeful that a week [-long strike] would be a day because they would see the necessity of bringing this group of workers back, hear our message, value us,” Lange said. His words reflect the op-
A.J. Lange announces strike extension on July 10. timism and positive outlook of the union members despite the ongoing strike. “But we’re gonna be here. We’re gonna do whatever it takes.” On Friday, July 12, MPRB Superintendent Al Bangoura requested that Local 363 send a counteroffer, saying they would return to negotiations once the offer was received. Liz Xiong, communications director and political coordinator for the Minnesota chapter of LI-
UNA, said Bangoura’s request is believed to be in good faith, highlighting the union’s trust in the negotiation process. “To break this stalemate, resolve this contract, and work toward providing relief to workers and the community, the MPRB requests that Local 363 provide a substantial and meaningful counteroffer to the MPRB’s last, best, and final offer by noon Monday, July 15 to the [Bureau of Mediation Services],” Ban-
Courtesy of imgur goura said in an email. “Once received, the MPRB is happy to resume mediated negotiations with local 363 at the [Bureau of Mediation Services].” Local 363 members originally voted 94% to authorize the strike. The park board claims around 40% of the union’s 300 workers went on strike. Still, Lange and other union members claim that MPRB is downplaying the number of striking ■ See STRIKE on page 4
Safeguarding elections in the age of AI By League of Women Voters Minneapolis
This new technology will affect over 60 elections worldwide in 2024. This article exn the evolving landscape amines the enormous impact of democracy, elections of these AI transformations on have long stood as the campaigns and elections and cornerstone of citizen par- what can be done about it. ticipation and political representation. But with the rise of What is Artificial Intelligence data-driven campaigning pow- (AI)? ered by artificial intelligence Artificial Intelligence (AI) is (AI) technology, the electoral an advanced computer techprocess is rapidly being revo- nology that uses smart, hulutionized in unprecedented man-like cognitive abilities to and unpredictable ways. analyze enormous amounts of While AI represents clear data and perform tasks such progress in campaign outreach, as making predictions, recmessaging, and fundraising, all ommendations, and problemof which benefit the electoral solving. process, it also threatens the Many AI applications have foundational principles of become part of our daily lives, democratic systems by en- including virtual assistants abling the widespread dissemi- like Siri and Alexa, personalnation of disinformation. ized content suggestions on
Spotify and Netflix, Face ID on smartphones, and online search engines like Google and Amazon. While AI has been around for decades, its potential and influence increased significantly when ChatGPT, a powerful language processing technology that generates human-like text responses to user prompts, was introduced in November 2022. ChatGPT has been fine-tuned to engage in dialogue and simulate conversations so effectively that it is now widely used in chatbots. Its emergence has vastly expanded the possibilities and accessibility of generative AI to millions of users worldwide through apps and consumer software. It has quickly become the fastest-growing con-
sumer application in history. Benefits and dangers of AI Data-driven campaigning has greatly benefited communications and messaging in elections. Political parties and candidates can leverage AI-powered tools, including ChatGPT, to identify key issues and understand voter sentiment. This results in improved personalized voter outreach, reduced administrative costs, potentially higher voter turnout, and a better-informed electorate. Its powerful ability to supercharge disinformation by spreading deceptive and misleading content on a large scale with the intent to harm poses a significant threat. One ■ See ELECTIONS on page 4
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