🗳️ Two candidates, one county seat

Election Season: Ramsey County Commissioners

On today's episode of the podcast, we interviewed both candidates for Ramsey County Commissioner for District 5: state Rep. Maria Isa Pérez-Vega and St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker. District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Downtown, Highland Park, Macalester Groveland, West Seventh, the West Side and Dayton's Bluff in St. Paul. [Ramsey County / City Cast Twin Cities]

• What do commissioners do? The Ramsey County Board of commissioners oversees the county's budget and operations and establishes county policies. [Ramsey County]
• Why run for this office? Both candidates already hold political office, but are seeking to work at a different level of government in Ramsey County. Noecker said her time on the St. Paul City Council made her realize that there are a lot of problems the city can't solve on its own, and she wants to strengthen the relationship between St. Paul and Ramsey County. Pérez-Vega said she believes she can lead better and deliver more for her constituents at the county level than as a state legislator. [🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]
• Helping our neighbors: After St. Paul's clearing of the homeless encampment at Pig's Eye Park, advocates have pointed out that Ramsey County and the state bear significant responsibility in funding resources for unhoused folks. Pérez-Vega said that she thinks county leadership should be listening to our unhoused neighbors and frontline workers when coming up with solutions. Noecker stressed the importance of providing apartments where people can move in with their pets and loved ones, providing wraparound services, and using county funding to do so. [🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]

Nevermind: Virginia-based data center developer Legacy Investing backed out of its plans to purchase the former Star Tribune printing facility in North Loop in Minneapolis after facing fierce opposition from neighbors. [Star Tribune]

Crime is still falling: A new report from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on 2025's crime statistics shows that crime continued to fall in Minnesota last year. Property crimes reached a new multi-decade low, with a rate that hasn't been seen since the 1960s. Violent crime also continued to decrease, but it hasn't yet dropped below pre-pandemic levels. [Minnesota Reformer]

Familiar housing fight: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against two home sellers, accusing them of discriminating against Muslim home buyers and selling them houses at an inflated cost. The case is very similar to a separate lawsuit that the Attorney General's office recently won against local developer Chad Banken. [Sahan Journal]

• Hear from journalist Joey Peters about the intricacies of the previous lawsuit against Banken on a recent episode of the City Cast Twin Cities podcast (segment starts at 16:02).

Mahjong mania: Mahjong is exploding in popularity in the United States, our Keep it Local writer Roseanne Pereira recently pointed out a few of the clubs and ways to learn around the Twin Cities in her latest edition. Moona Moono hosts mahjong nights every other Tuesday in Uptown, Saint City Mahjong Club hosts learning sessions and league nights across St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Minneapolis Mah Jongg Club offers classes and open play time out of their storefront in Edina. [City Cast Twin Cities]

The BWCA is healing: The U.S. Forest Service declared that the wildfires that have burned over 100 square miles of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area have been fully contained. Fires are a part of the forest's natural life cycle though, and new greenery is already poking up through the ashes. [MPR News]

Meet someone new: Loring Park resident Hailey Sprinkel is creating community spaces for women who love women at her Sapphic Speed Dating and Sapphic Speed Friending events in Minneapolis. If you're a girlie who wants to meet other girlies, check out her Risky Connections page for upcoming events. [🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]

• Psychiatric Supervisor — Mental Health Center at Hennepin County | $209,576.40–$314,364.60 per year
• Master Electrician at Nordic Ware | $45–$54 per hour
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• Packaging Lead at Fair State Brewing Cooperative | $22–$25 per hour
• Assistant Gardener – Seasonal at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory (City of Saint Paul) | $44,033.60–$50,897.60 per year