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Roseanne Pereira

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September 24, 2026 - How About Them Apples

As the weather cools, it may be time for new breakfast options. Check out this roundup of savory breakfast options from local restaurants.

In much of the world, breakfast is some kind of savory porridge. In East, Southeast, and South Asia, you’ll find people eating congee, which is made by cooking rice in water or broth to achieve a creamy texture. 

 in St. Paul’s Lowertown offers pork or chicken congee with toppings like green onion, soft-boiled eggs, and fried shallots, plus chili oil to mix in. The combination of creamy, crunchy, chewy, and fresh/raw textures makes for a satisfying bite.

If you are looking for a gateway breakfast item before diving into congee head-on, might I suggest the congee hash browns with ginger scallion dipping sauce at 

Saturday Dumpling Co. (available only at the South Minneapolis location

). They also sell Szechuan cinnamon French toast sticks.

Fried potato-and-cheese patties known as llapingachos (pronounced “yah-peen-GAH-chos”) get their bright orange color from achiote (annatto in English). You’ve seen this color before — think Goldfish crackers, Velveeta, and Mimolette cheese.

, they’re served with a peanut sauce and can be purchased individually or as part of other large plates, such as the Llapingachos Breakfast that comes with toast and eggs and a choice of roast pork, chorizo, or bacon, or the Saltado Breakfast with avocado and a beef tenderloin stir-fry. Other dishes on their weekend morning menu include humitas, corn husks filled with Ecuadorian corn mixed with cheese and onion, and beef empanadas served with the spicy condiment, aji criollo.

. Both restaurants serve another traditional Ecuadorian dish, mote pillo, made with hominy corn scrambled together with eggs and onion.

 cooking up tacos and selling packages of their “handmade from scratch” tortillas. In addition to flour tortillas, they also sell rotating heirloom corn tortillas in a variety of colors — blue, red, yellow, white, purple hibiscus, and red chile, each with “its unique properties, from vibrant blues packed with antioxidants to earthy yellows bursting with flavor.” I was most struck by their green tortillas made with nopales, which is Spanish for cactus.

The breakfast tacos feature ingredients sourced from Minnesota farms, such as 

 for the chorizo and egg taco and pork from 

. The tortilleria goodies are also available year-round at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market indoor store, Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

Spicy can also be a part of breakfast. Try fuul (or ful), a stewed fava bean and Ethiopian breakfast staple made with tomato, onion, and spices, at the Franklin Avenue location of 

 also includes porridges like kinche (made of cracked wheat), bula (made of enset flour), or genfo (made of wheat flour) and served with vegan butter and berbere dressing. Firfir and 

 (kita firfir) are also available and are made with torn-up injera and spices.

Where To Find Savory Breakfasts in the Twin Cities

Savory Breakfasts Around Town

Where To Eat in the Twin Cities

Where to Eat

Sean McPherson

 For a number of months, I was wondering when Minneapolis Public Schools would drop an announcement that would truly transform the school district. MPS's financial woes, and its mishandling of said financial woes, have been big news in the Twin Cities for almost half a decade. Though there's been some really severe belt-tightening from the district, there hadn't been the kind of belt-tightening I thought would be needed to move the needle on these financial problems.

Then September 15 comes around, and the MPS school board announces an 

 to shut down a double-digit number of schools. I should say that the “Transformation” web post from Minneapolis Public Schools states that these cuts are going to create a school system where everybody thrives “academically, socially, and emotionally through a holistic, culturally sustaining education that engages and prepares contributing citizens”.

But this caused a lot of distress. Part of that is the school closures themselves, and part of it is that this isn't really belt-tightening, because these closures would not save a significant amount of money. The community response has been largely negative, and anti-transformation groups have been mounting protests, including one that happened on September 29 at the Davis Center.

 The announcement of 16 schools potentially closing is jarring enough, but it's still numerical. It isn't personal. So we connected with parents of students at Kenny and Cityview. Both schools are proposed to be closed and merged in some of the scenarios presented by MPS.

 We want to welcome on Shakiya Carter, who has children at Cityview. Thank you for being here, Shakiya.

 And we'd also like to welcome on Alyssa Olson, who has children at Kenny. Alyssa, thank you for being here.

 Have the two of you talked to your children about the potential for their schools to close? And how do you explain that?

 I had a conversation with my children. I actually have two who attend Cityview. One of them is kind of a veteran kid at this point, because she's been there since kindergarten, and then I have a new incoming kindergartner this year. When I had the conversation, my son, the kindergartner, didn't really understand. But my fourth grader was like, "Well, Mom, what does that mean for me and my friends? I won't be able to see my friends next year, and I won't be able to see my teachers next year. Where's everybody gonna go?"

 Yeah, I spoke to mine too. I actually have two Kenny kids: a fifth grader and a third grader. I think the initial reaction was, "Well, why?" She sees all the amazing things that are happening at her school, and she feels such a deep connection to her teachers and her principal and her friends. So the immediate reaction was just, "But why? It's so great. I love it here. Why would they want to close it?" Those were tough conversations, and I probably didn't have answers, because the district hasn't really provided any answers. So, yeah, tough conversations for sure.

 These tough conversations involve communicating really adult issues to children, which is a struggle in and of itself. There are also the decisions you'll have to make as parents. There's transportation. Are we switching school districts? Are we looking for a different school? There's a lot to manage, especially because there are multiple scenarios.

Shakiya, I want to start with a question about Cityview. There are a couple of different scenarios for what might happen there. In one, Cityview students would join Lucy Laney. In another, students from Hmong International Academy would come to Cityview. Independent of the conversations you're having with your kids, have you thought about what you're going to do if Cityview closes? Are you going to move districts, or move to a different school, or are you still trying to figure out the decision?

 I'm at a place where I'm still trying to figure out the decision. I'm so deeply vested in my community that I feel like if the schools are going to close, it's going to be a disinvestment, right? We're going to see people disinvest. We're going to see people leave.

Personally, I still haven't made a decision, but here's what I can tell you. It sounds nice that if they close the school, we can realistically move children to other schools. However, that's not what families want. What the district fails to realize is that Cityview is a gateway for families who want to come into the district and build a home here. It's also a school where families who are already in the district choose to stay. And Cityview isn't the only school I'd consider an entry school or a gateway into the district. There are many other schools on that list that could be considered the same or similar. If we lose these schools, we are inherently going to lose families in the community.

 Alyssa, did you have a sense that Kenny was on the verge of closing, or was this a total shock?

 They've been trying to close Kenny for years. This has been a rumor in our community for years and years, and they've tried in the past, and the community was able to step in and stop it. So was I surprised? Not entirely. But I'm surprised they would think this is a positive step for the district as a whole. I'm surprised they haven't thought about the ripple effect. This isn't just about Kenny or Kenny kids. From Kenny to Cityview, the ripple effect through this district will be catastrophic. So am I surprised? I'm not surprised, but I am surprised at the lack of transparency and the lack of thoughtfulness that went into this plan.

 I'll ask you the same question we asked Shakiya. Does your family have a plan? Do you know what you'll do if these closures go through?

 I'm kind of in the same boat as Shakiya. Do I want to leave MPS? No, I do not want to leave MPS. We are a proud Minneapolis family. We're proud to be raising our girls in Minneapolis, and we were so proud to send them to Kenny. So the thought of Kenny closing is devastating. I don't know what we'll do, and I know we're not alone in that. A lot of people are contemplating what they would do, and I'm not sure the district has put any thought into that.

You're asking us, "Would you leave?" But that's not a question the district has ever asked. That's the most interesting part to me. It would be the first question I'd ask as a district official and a district leader. So it feels like a huge misstep.

 I just want to agree with everything Alyssa said about being vested in our schools and our communities. It's not just about one school in particular. It's about all of the schools.

 I really appreciate you using the word "vested," and I know you mean it in a community sense, too. But if y'all walk and take your children with you, that's truly a loss of money for Minneapolis Public Schools. Suppose what happens from these closures is a bunch of people going, "I can't deal with MPS anymore," or "This is not what I signed up for," or "My student who has been learning one language won't be able to continue on that path." Then the district might lose a bunch of its student body, which ultimately impacts the bottom line.

I think I could have more understanding of this very drastic school closure plan, though not full understanding, if they said, "This is going to put us on really strong financial footing for years to come. We're just trying to right-size based on our enrollment and the amount of square footage we currently have per student." That square footage, I should add, is way above most public school systems. MPS has 315 square feet per pupil, and you'll find many districts with approximately 150 to 200 square feet. There might be reasons to close schools, but not if it isn't for cost savings.

What I want to ask y'all is this. As difficult as it is to face the idea of your own school closing, a school you're so connected to, do you see something in this proposal that might enable more academic, social, and emotional thriving? Is there something in these statements where you go, "I'm not happy, but I get where the district is coming from"?

 I think that's what's missing. This is a conversation we've been having a lot in our community. It would have been one thing for the district to come out and say, "We have to close Kenny Community School, and because we're closing Kenny, the district as a whole is going to be in a much better spot." I think that would be an easier pill to swallow.

But they've come with so little evidence, such a lack of data, and such a lack of thoughtfulness. That's the part where I'm like, "So you're going to come in and do this really hard thing and destroy communities without any facts to back up how it will actually benefit children across this district?" I don't think anyone disagrees that change and transformation are necessary, but we need change and transformation done in the right way. The lack of evidence is astounding to me. Their plans leave us with a lot more questions than answers.

 To add on to what Alyssa said, here's my personal perspective. There are three options for building closures, and none of them is a good option. When the board addressed the team that put these proposals together, they asked, "What is this based on, if it's not based on financial savings?" And the team said it's based on the MPS guaranteed student experience.

Well, here's the thing. If you don't know what experience students and families are already having, how can you guarantee them a different experience? You can't. Families are asking, and even board members are asking, "Well, what is it?" We understand they have a chart showing that social-emotional learning and academics will be at the core of this experience. It sounds good, but realistically, that's not an experience you can guarantee. Children come from different homes and different cultural backgrounds, and they speak different languages. So it's good to have this as a goal, but you cannot confidently say it's something you're going to achieve.

Just to give a little history: during the 

, I was a new family in the district. My oldest had just started pre-K when COVID happened and we had e-learning. Then came the CDD and the boundary changes, and my child was also part of the back-to-school pilot. She switched schools three times between pre-K and first grade until we finally landed at Cityview, where she found her school home. That's a lot of transition for a new family to go through, constantly having to switch their child's school every year. And not because they want to, but because they have to.

 Shakiya, I'm going to interrupt you real quick. CDD is the redistricting that happened around 2020 and 2021. Is that about the era?

 Yes, it was the Comprehensive District Design. I call it the district redesign. What we do know from that data is that 18% of families who were in the district during that time did leave. That's a large percentage of our district.

I also want to mention that the district has to understand that engagement looks different for different groups of people. Something I've been hearing lately is that our families who are homeless and highly mobile haven't been involved in the conversation. Nobody's asking them how it's going to affect them, or stepping in to say, "Hey, here are the plans. How can we help you prepare?"

We have Somali families, Hmong families, and Hispanic families where a lot of the time the adults don't speak English. They're not being properly communicated with, and that's a barrier the district has yet to dissolve. So there are a lot of people being left out of this conversation, and still a lot of Black families who don't know.

 I won't give them an A-plus for communication. When there are really hard things to break down, the least they could do is make sure it's well presented and soundly researched. Personally, I share your frustration and your feeling that it's been neither.

I will say that y'all seem very well researched and very capable communicators, and you've shown real courage during a time of crisis for your own families. I can't imagine all the stuff you're managing right now, so taking time out to chat with us means a lot. Hopefully your stories and the things you've shared today will reach more ears, and people will get a sense of what's happening with this transformation at Minneapolis Public Schools.

That was Shakiya Carter and Alyssa Olson, parents of children at Cityview and Kenny. I sincerely thank you for your time today, and I'm sending my love out to you as a fellow parent for what you're facing in the coming months.

MPS's financial woes, and its mishandling of said financial woes, have been big news in the Twin Cities for almost half a decade.

Minneapolis Parents React to Proposed School Closures

Local News

Adam Sage

Anna Weggel

Molly Chase

Tiffany Bui

I absolutely love spooky season but one of my very favorite October traditions is to attend the 

. This festival launched in 2012 and has horrified me year after year with plays featuring murder, blood, gore, and delicious jump scares. Picture the Fringe Festival but with audiences screaming, creepy sound design, and 100% more blood. One time I even saw a play there where there was a pool filled with blood on stage, and at the very end of the play, there had been someone with a diving mask hiding in the blood the entire show, only to spring out at the end. That, of course, came from the messed up minds of one of my favorite groups – Dangerous Productions. This year they have a show called “SHED”, and like every other year, I am so there. Are you ready for sixteen days of on-stage horror? It’s October 16-31 at The Crane Theater in Minneapolis. (p.s. if you run into me at an upcoming City Cast event, ask me about the time someone passed out next to me in the audience.) 

Are you afraid to watch horror movies alone? Enjoy a good scare with an audience. St. Paul’s fall 

 kicks off Oct. 2 with The Blair Witch Project, which is actually probably scarier seen outside than in. The Parkway is playing 

 are showing movies from seven countries focused on witchcraft. To keep the magic going, head over to 

This ain't your mom's puppet show – unless she volunteers in the community-driven performance I’m about to mention. The 

 is an annual tradition at Powderhorn Park where volunteers put on a play broadly centered around community resilience and taking care of one another. Employing massive surrealist puppets, live music, and plentiful pyrotechnics, last year's show depicted a story of forest animals being attacked by an army of pigs before they banded together to chase them out of town (it's like they predicted Operation Metro Surge!). Every year, part of the performance makes space to remember those who have lost their lives to state violence and otherwise. The performers sing, and audience members shout the names of those they want to remember. It's a family-friendly cathartic experience that makes you feel more connected to your community, and it's a damn good play. 

If you're a fan of haunted houses, make the trip up to Wyoming, Minnesota to give 

 a try. Take a 20-minute hayride through wonderfully produced horror sets and sketches as zombies and other creatures chase you, and then walk back through 30-45 minutes of continually connected haunted houses. Get there early to hang out by a fire pit in their massive beer garden before going in, and be prepared to be scared. –

Ready for some exquisite fall foliage? Take in the view from the 

 balcony after you tour the newly-opened 

‘Merciless’: Indigenous Lands Since 1776

, a celebration and commemoration of Indigenous resistance. Across the river in St. Paul, check out the 

 at Phalen Park. It features incredible tree views plus a Peanuts Lucy sculpture painted by Minnesota Hmong artist 

. I’m a big fan of Thao’s work, and can’t wait to see 

 at the Wheelock Parkway Project. With the help of this 

 from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, I’m making it my mission to snap pics of Thao’s work against an optimally gorgeous autumn backdrop. –

Want to get creeped out but don’t have time to watch a whole movie or play? How ‘bout you visit some of the scariest places in the Twin Cities? The 

 in the Prospect Park neighborhood is one of the highest points in Minneapolis and it is delightfully creepy. I went on a random Tuesday afternoon and the park was empty except for one goth woman staring into space while smoking a cigarette. Incredible. Also, it may sound like low-hanging fruit but any 

 is basically a creepy capitalist ghost factory. I recommend visiting the spirits still kicking around the old JoAnn Fabrics building in Roseville during the handful of months it is reanimated by Spirit Halloween. If you are looking for spooky environs on Halloween proper, I recommend a visit to Palace Ave in St. Paul between Pascal and Hamline. We’ve got 

 to confirm that it’s downright haunted. 

Are you ready for two Halloween costume ideas that will turn heads at any Twin Cities function? Get ready for these spicy numbers!

Grab some white noise generators and a huge box and make every guest sign an NDA before you talk to them … now you’re a data center!

The utterly professional Mayor Her of St. Paul sent around a 

 of a St. Paul cop swaddled up in a blanket and said it was how someone looked after a good weinering. Wear this to your work party – Mayor Her hasn’t been fired, maybe you won’t either! –

Explore Twin Cities parks, enjoy fall festivals and Oktoberfests, and shop local for school supplies at unique neighborhood stores.

Your Guide to September 2026 in the Twin Cities

Your Guide to October 2026 in the Twin Cities

Twin City Guides

Tane Danger

Irene Fernando for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

 We'd like to welcome on Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando, who represents District Two. Fernando is running as the incumbent in the race, and we are looking to connect with as many candidates as possible for Twin Cities elections before election day on November 3rd. Commissioner Fernando, thank you so much for joining us today.

 Now as the incumbent, I want to go back to when you first ran for this position. What prompted you to step up and decide to try to be a commissioner in Hennepin County?

 What motivates me now is to prevent structural, addressable suffering. It sounds like an odd place to begin, but as I've learned more about systems and been able to govern for eight years, the most significant systemic pain points our residents experience are addressable problems for which we have solutions. A lot of folks are feeling hopeless, and I want to express that shared humanity will absolutely prevail when we rise together in solidarity toward justice. Here in Hennepin and in Minnesota, we've demonstrated many ways where regular people are able to come together and make a difference beyond our imagining, and that's really what led me to this board.

In some ways elected office is very unique, and in other ways it's consistent with what we know. We have a board of directors that should be responsible for policy direction and financial performance and outcomes. Here in Minnesota, we appoint our executive leaders — similar to a nonprofit board hiring an executive. What originally prompted me was an interest in the issues I cared about. Like many people, in January 2017 I was seeking to get more involved, and I wanted to understand who affects transit, who affects climate action, who makes decisions on mass incarceration or youth outcomes. I kept seeing the same words: Hennepin County Commission. As a youth worker at the time, I literally thought it was an arts board — I thought, wow, Hennepin is so forward, we're asking all these meaningful questions from its arts board. It was a particular awakening to understand that this seven-person representative body is representative democracy and representative governance in action. I kept asking the next best question, and I found myself in a nearly two-year campaign. I was able to prevail, and I've been governing ever since.

 You've already hit on one of the things I get really passionate about, which is the different levels of government and how they have different roles and responsibilities in our system. I think county government is potentially the most misunderstood level of government — and you're giving me a thumbs up on that, which I appreciate. So you've been in this role for eight years, you're running for reelection — what are the ways you'd say to voters and constituents, "these are the things I have the most agency over as a county commissioner, and this is where you should be coming to me to affect change"?

 Well, in general, you should be able to approach any elected or public official, and it's my belief that we should in some way be assistive as to where and how your impact or advocacy can make a difference. Specifically, counties are the only level of government mandated by law to care for the vulnerable. For the county, that generally means foster care, SNAP — what growing up was called food stamps — and the ways in which those who are misunderstood within our systems often find themselves under county jurisdiction or county care. For those who are moved to prevent suffering, to advance justice, and are motivated against systemic injustice, I think counties are a really beautiful place to create change for areas that have systemic impact.

It sounds odd, but the county — Hennepin County specifically — has planted so many trees for our tree canopy, which has a cascading effect. So I'd say: for those who are vulnerable, and how to improve systems for those individuals, and then as we think of generational effects, those systemic decisions matter. I was fortunate to be raised through a matriarchal leadership framing, and I see counties through that lens — counties are the caregivers of government, and we're also kind of the chores of government. Both of those mean we're not as visible as other levels, and yet we are the vital infrastructure and essential services that ensure our community is able to proceed. Hennepin is unique because we're 22% of the state's population — the largest of the 87 counties. Take, for example, decisions that were before me: we have a Hennepin County library system in part because many moons ago there wasn't a decentralized system, and Minneapolis libraries at the time weren't on solid footing. So some of what I'm answering is a county answer, and some of what I'm expressing is also my belief around Hennepin County's unique responsibility, given our size and volume.

 When you talk about the statewide impact of Hennepin County, the first thing that comes to mind is HCMC, which is a very unique hospital — one you could end up in if you're injured in Duluth, or Brainerd, or St. Paul. But it's been on shaky ground, very shaky ground financially, for quite some time. What role do you see Hennepin County and the rest of Minnesota playing in securing HCMC's continued operations?

 Absolutely. The county's role so far has been that HCMC is only here because of Hennepin. There's no requirement by law to have a county hospital or a public hospital, but the commissioners before me and the commissioners at present believe a public safety net hospital should exist in our geography. I happen to agree with that very passionately, and I'm proud that we were able to, alongside so many partners — really the people — save the public hospital. We're the last public safety net hospital in the upper Midwest.

What's our role moving forward? We need a durable, sustainable financial source. Federal changes have completely upended our entire social safety net and the longstanding practice of how healthcare is financed and delivered in this country. So it's been on shaky ground in some ways, but so has everything — there's a decade-plus of a really compressed financial model in healthcare, and then COVID, and then this past year. In some ways, moving forward, we should ask ourselves what Minnesotans believe in. I was so inspired this past winter, because Minnesotans demonstrated that no one — not even the feds — gets to tell Minnesotans how we care for our neighbor. Do Minnesotans believe healthcare should be accessible and affordable? Do Minnesotans believe that, in addition to trauma care, routine preventative healthcare and mental healthcare are essential — especially when we think about domestic, intimate partner, and gun violence? I've heard over and over that Minnesotans believe in those things.

I'll take it a step further: social determinants of health are old news at this point. We know an individual's access to housing, food, clean air, and clean water directly impacts their health outcomes. So how might we, as Minnesotans, structure a system that encompasses the compassionate, practical, and imaginative caregiving we already express in our homes and neighborhoods? I'm very proud that Hennepin County gets to be part of that, because of our unique county infrastructure.

 One of the most divisive issues in Hennepin County right now is the future of the HERC, the garbage burner in downtown Minneapolis — which I think is technically just outside your district. There are activists who say it's toxic and poisoning the air, but Hennepin County, the city, and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reviewers have all said the health risk is low, and that trucking garbage to landfills instead would likely create more CO2 emissions and health risks. Where do you stand, as you're arguing for another term, on the timeline for closing the HERC, and what can the county actually do to either make that happen faster or make it better while it's still open?

 Sure. I define closing the incinerator as closing the HERC, so there's a distinct policy position between the county and the city of Minneapolis. That's meaningful because the city is the land use authority — an authority outside of the county — so what occurs on that land is up to the city. The second reason the city matters here is that 75% of the waste comes from the Minneapolis geography: 53% from commercial sources within Minneapolis, and 22% from organized collection — the cans outside residences with the City of Minneapolis logo on the side.

I believe in concluding incineration on the fastest possible timeline, and that can happen by converting the existing facility so we can still receive waste from everyone delivering it to us. I want to be clear about a distinction here: is closing about ending incineration, or is it about not having a building there — not having a place within Minneapolis to receive waste? I believe Minneapolis must have a place to receive waste, from a climate perspective — waste should be processed closer to where it's generated, and Minneapolis is about 10% of the state's population. On the closure side, there's nuance in how we get there: zero-waste activity, reducing consumption, increasing recycling, and the policy, funding, and outcomes related to that is what we should be paying attention to. Hennepin has been putting a lot more money into those efforts with favorable outcomes. It would be meaningful for the city of Minneapolis to match or exceed that funding and accelerate those outcomes — that's not the data I've seen from that entity to date. So realistically, I won't conclude a service until there's an operational plan to replace it. I've seen trash pile up in other areas of the country without an operational plan, and that has its own public health risks. In short, I look forward to ending waste incineration inside this decade. I want to do so with a concrete plan, and we have to really reduce overall consumption and increase zero waste.

 Inside this decade — by 2030, you're saying?

 That's been my reference since I started my first term. Commissioner Conley and I brought forward a number of measures that didn't prevail in shifting the county's policy position. The state legislature's defining legislation has initiated this discussion differently, because by 2040 this waste incinerator will no longer be considered renewable energy. That's another reason I say by the end of the decade: in order for a service to proceed, you have to put money into it, and if it's not going to be considered renewable by 2040, every year we put more money into that service is money that could be spent converting it to a different service — because by 2040, we won't be considered renewable anyway.

 Commissioner Irene Fernando, you've been very generous with your time and definitely shared your passion for the work you're already doing as commissioner for District 2, and for running for reelection this November for the same position. We appreciate you joining us today, and we appreciate the opportunity to connect with all the candidates in these upcoming elections. Thank you so much.

Meet Your Candidates: Irene Fernando for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

Sharon El-Amin for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

 We'd like to welcome on Sharon El-Amin, Minneapolis School Board Director for District 2. She also formerly served as chair of the Minneapolis School Board. Now she's running for Hennepin County Commissioner for District 2, and we're interviewing as many candidates as we can before November 3rd. Thank you so much for joining us, Sharon.

 Absolutely. Thank you, Tiffany. It's an honor to be with you guys today, so thank you.

 As was mentioned, you're currently serving as a school board director. Why do you want to move from that to this run for Hennepin County Commissioner?

 Just a couple different reasons. I've sat on the Minneapolis School Board for six years — I'm currently in the role, as you stated — but I've been in my community for over 30 years. Being in the community and serving on the school board, I've seen the makeup of our community, I've seen where the absence is, and I understand the need within our community. Sitting on the school board, I've always fought for academics, for safer schools, for community to be a part of what takes place within the school. But I believe the role of county commissioner gives a bigger opportunity for me to help shape our community.

I live in this community, and I see the children on the street, and I hear from families about everything they want to see — safe schools, after-school programs — and having the opportunity to build up our community is what the county commissioner role allows for. So it's moving from one side to the other, but being able to bring more resources into our community.

 As a follow-up — I think a lot of people don't know exactly what a county commissioner does. What do you think it is about being county commissioner that would uniquely let you deliver on what you're seeing is missing right now as a school board member?

 You're correct, a lot of people don't know exactly the critical role the county commissioner plays. The county commissioner's responsibility is to make sure the human services people need are there and that they're accessible. As a county commissioner, you're overseeing health and mental care, child daycare subsidies, housing stability — the property taxes, all of that is the role of the county commissioner. So the role is to make sure those things are accessible, and that the community knows about the services our county provides and has an easy, accessible way to reach them.

 Can I push on that — you're challenging an incumbent. What are some of the things that, if elected, you'd like to see happen differently — that you'd propose doing differently as a county commissioner?

 Thank you. So, again, District 2 — north Minneapolis has been home for me. I'm a small business owner, I've served on the school board, I'm a homeowner, and I've been a recipient of SNAP benefits when I first moved into the Minneapolis area. Why am I running, and what don't I see? There's an absence of leadership within District 2. I've tried on a number of occasions to reach out to my county commissioner to understand what's happening with the light rail, what's happening with the HERC — as a business owner, as a homeowner, trying to understand the things we can't get answers for.

As I've been on the ground, I thought it was just north Minneapolis, but it encompasses more than that — District 2, from a county level, is Golden Valley, southeast Plymouth, northeast Minneapolis, Medicine Lake, and St. Anthony Village. On the ground, I'm hearing the same thing: I don't know who my county commissioner is, she doesn't return phone calls, we have a hard time reaching the offices, people can't get in contact with their county commissioner. That role is too critical to be absent. The county commissioner should be at the schools, in the community spaces, providing updated information about where the dollars are going, what's happening with critical projects like the HERC or Hennepin County Medical Center or road construction in our community. Business owners I've talked to say there's just no response.

So coming in as county commissioner: I will communicate, I will be accessible, I will respond. I will keep my community informed of the challenges before us, and also the successes. I will not wait until a crisis happens before we communicate, before community is made aware, and before we have to pivot to other emergency situations — which we've recently seen.

 Let's talk about those two topics you just mentioned — the HERC and HCMC. Let's start with the HERC. I think opposition to it continuing to stay open without a set date to close has made Hennepin County commissioners very visible, at least in the press. Sharon, where do you stand on the timetable for closing the incinerator?

 The HERC has to close — there's no question about that. It's about how we get there. How do we make sure our community is educated, that we're educating people about waste reduction and recycling? Those things have to happen. The timeline from 2028 to 2040 is too big of a gap — it should be closer to 2028, 2029. We have to be able to reach it. To stretch it out that far is just kicking the can down the road.

North Minneapolis is an area with some of the highest levels of asthma and upper respiratory illness. I live in north Minneapolis, and I recently lost my daughter to upper respiratory illness. So I will push for the HERC to close immediately. But I do understand there's a process — we have to educate our community, we have to get to a point of understanding waste management and what the options are on the other side. Community should be part of the conversation. I'd like to see a board made up of community members, commissioners, and county workers who understand the path that can be taken — and clearly bring the community along with us to understand the options. Meetings should be open and public, and community should be part of it. We should be able to champion the change we need together. That 2028-to-2040 timeline — we've already been talking about this for ten, twelve years, if not longer. Put that on top of the existing plan, and it's just too long. Our families deserve better. They deserve direct answers, and we deserve to work together for the county and the city we want.

 First of all, I'm very sorry about your daughter. But I do want to push on this question, because it's obviously important to voters. You said "immediately" — both the MPCA and city and county officials have said that closing the HERC would actually lead to trucking more garbage out, and that those trucks would add to air quality problems and potentially make the situation worse. So what can voters point to — if they elect you — that would be different in terms of that timeline and those options? What can you tell them now: elect me, and we will do this differently?

 I'm stating it here, out loud, that closing the HERC will be a priority for me. I'm also stating that community will go along the path with me — that board of community members will help educate the community and sit with the county commissioners and county workers to hear what the options are and how fast we can move toward closure. So when I say immediately, it may not literally be 2027 or 2028, but we will immediately know what the options are, and the community will immediately feel like it's part of it, having real-time conversations backed by facts about what needs to happen. We don't want big garbage trucks causing more harm — that's not what the community is asking for. But we are asking for answers, and for a pathway that shows we're headed toward closing the HERC, and that's what I would do.

 Let's talk about HCMC. Sharon, as you know, it almost closed this year, and suddenly everyone was talking about how important it is and how crucial it is to the state. For the future of HCMC, what do you think the role of the county and the rest of Minnesota should be in securing its operations?

 That would've been devastating — losing our number one safety net hospital. As a county commissioner, as a leader, you're expected to bring facts to the community and be very open and direct. This didn't happen overnight. There was a recent article in the Star Tribune about 2023, when these conversations began — the medical board at the time brought forward different options and resources on what could be done, and those red flags were ignored and not shared with the community. The community wasn't aware of where the county was as far as the deficit it was facing. That's information that should be shared with the community — we have to have both the hard conversations and the win, the success stories. We have to bring community along with us.

The medical board was dissolved in 2023, and the county commissioners took over — I think that was a mistake. I believe Hennepin County Medical Center should have a board made up of medical professionals, county commissioners, and community members — the people affected by it. These meetings shouldn't be happening behind closed doors. There was a meeting in 2023 — that video should be public today, and there's no trace of it. Where's the video? Why is the public being kept in the dark about what happened in 2023, and why should we trust the same things won't happen again in 2026 and beyond if we don't elect new leadership? That county board should be made up of county commissioners, county residents, and professionals in the field — they should be the ones considering how the county should operate, with the county commissioner overseeing that budget, not behind closed doors, but with the public and the medical professionals who know the work.

 One of the conflicts between the medical board and the county board was over staff reductions — reducing HCMC's workforce, which medical leaders said needed to happen to rightsize the organization, and there was conflict over whether county commissioners approved of that. If the medical side of the organization said "we need to rightsize this organization, and that will lead to layoffs at HCMC," would you support that, based on their recommendation, as a county commissioner?

 I think we have to look at other ways to right-size that budget — where are the community partners? What we don't want is for people on the ground to lose the services they need — that's a priority for me. We need to make sure we can provide that. That looks like partnerships, that looks like building more relationships with the state. I'm thankful for the $705 million the state legislature did bring to this space, but we need stability. So we need to be looking at partnerships. We do not want to eliminate jobs, but we do want to make sure we can provide the services that the people who come through those doors — who depend on what the county has always offered — can still count on. That's partnership.

 Sharon El-Amin, thank you so much for joining City Cast Twin Cities today and doing some educating on the importance of the commissioner role. We appreciate you sharing your time with us today.

 Thank you, thank you. If there's any other questions, please feel free to reach out — my website, sharonelamin.org, is where you can find more information about me. Let's just get out and do what's needed for our community, and vote on November 3rd. Thank you.

Meet Your Candidates: Sharon El-Amin for Hennepin County Commissioner District 2

Hans Buetow

María Isa Pérez-Vega for Ramsey County Commissioner, District 5

 We're very grateful to welcome back State Representative María Isa Pérez-Vega, who is currently campaigning for Ramsey County Commissioner for District 5. We look forward to connecting and interviewing all candidates who are available in advance of the November 3rd election day. Thank you so much for joining us, Representative Maria Isa.

 So Representative Isa, when you looked at the list of things that were available for you to take on, you were like, "Hmm, county commissioner — that's the ticket, that's the one for me." First of all, what does a county commissioner do? Second, what parts of it drew you into this? Because you could just stay in your current elected position and make change in your community.

 I could just stay, but I'd have to run for that seat again.

 Yeah. Well, I'm the only candidate in this race who has finished their term, and I'll answer your first question — what does the county commissioner do?

The county commissioner does a lot, and it's kind of been one of the levels of government that's not very transparent. But as the direct lead administering human services, and the decisions on ordinances and creating policies to serve the most vulnerable people within the county — for this seat, that's District 5 of Ramsey, which is the St. Paul neighborhoods of downtown St. Paul, the West Side community, parts of Highland Park, Mac-Groveland, West 7th — or if you're an original St. Paul or West Ender — and the East Side's Dayton's Bluff, and other neighborhoods. So it's a collectiveness of someone who is talking about infrastructure development — the county's annual board budget is usually a billion dollars, which is federally funded, state funded, and then funded by our property taxes, which are the highest in the state of Minnesota.

And I know that because I've served in our state legislature for two terms, and I've delivered for Ramsey County. I've delivered to all 87 counties, but I've fought really strongly for our revitalization of downtown. As a lifelong St. Paulite, it wasn't a matter of, "Ooh, which spot is open?" It was, this is an opportunity — Commissioner Ortega has been serving over 30 years and is now retiring, so it's an open seat. And to me, it's about where's the best way that Maria Isa can lead with the people she currently represents and always represents.

Because I'm the chair of the St. Paul Minnesota House delegation, I may not carry a lot of weight within the jurisdictions of other districts, like District 64 or District 67 — but in District 65B, being chair of the delegation, I've been able to facilitate and advise all of those members at the State House on what would be progressive for our overall city. How can we reduce property taxes? What does the infrastructure look like? What are their communities lacking? What county services need more support — children and family services, healthcare? Think about the county — that's healthcare, the Medicaid cuts happening at the federal level, SNAP, nutrition.

All that funding you get from the county is coming from your property taxes, and it's also coming from state and federal funding that's no longer going to be as accessible as it was when I first entered the state with an $18 billion surplus. So, someone who's already delivered millions of dollars for childcare services and housing, who helped approve the $1.3 billion historic housing budget in Minnesota legislation for all 87 counties — I've got to make sure that's going to be delivered, distributed, and accessible for the people of Ramsey County. St. Paul is where I'm from, and this is a large part of the leadership to determine our future — our businesses, our public safety, especially fighting ICE and what we've been dealing with. My background in youth services, working in juvenile detention centers on music initiatives and literacy programs — that's been my influence. So it wasn't about what seat's next, it's about how can I lead better and deliver.

 There's a lot of people who could lead better — everyone who's trying to handle the unhoused population in the Twin Cities, because there is a crisis happening right now, and there's also some finger-pointing. And frankly, Maria, some of that finger-pointing has gone to the county level in a way I didn't expect, because I didn't know much about the county. I knew I lived in Ramsey County mainly when I filled out forms — I thought about living in St. Paul, and that was it. But when I hear about the problems we're having in the city of St. Paul with encampments, what I'm thinking about is that this is a greater metro-area problem that's falling on St. Paul's doorstep. And I'm trying to understand how activists and people who are really focused on these issues at the county level can actually help, because they're being accused of not helping very much at all. So how do you think county-level leadership can step in and improve the situation for unhoused populations in St. Paul and across Ramsey County?

 One of the things is listening to our own neighbors — you can't just make decisions without the source. And I think that's been an issue with all levels of government, local government in particular. When I got the news, as the representative and chair of the delegation, that our mayor had decided to close these encampments, it was a shock. There was no pregame — the county manager, Lynn Baker, didn't know. There was a lot going on. And what I see happen a lot in government, just from being in it and learning, is that there needs to be true partnership across all levels of government instead of pointing fingers to escape accountability.

So I want to mention that right now we're in a time where we have strong partnerships that we've got to put to work, and that's not going to happen with just the leaders. First and foremost is listening to our unhoused neighbors and listening to the frontline workers — the agencies coming from the county and the city. When you talk about the Department of Safety and Inspections, that's a city agency working with mental health and behavioral health resources from the county. So — what I feel has happened isn't a direct attack on one politician or leader in government. It's an overall spectrum of, how are we going to have the creativity to deliver essential services? What we're facing right now is a deficit of those services, and how do we create the opportunities for folks in leadership to make these ordinances happen? That takes action — it takes folks with energy, and folks who come from different lived experiences.

And I want to highlight — this is myself running, but it's with a community that's been working together to become those progressive champions, to secure that funding. I don't know everything, and neither does my colleague. But we need to bring in the voices of people who've experienced unshelteredness, whether it's been for three months or three decades, and that's what it's really going to take — that direct service and impact. That's what I feel the county needs a refresh on. We've got a lot of great leaders at the county already, in Ramsey County. And they need someone to partner with who knows how to create different avenues. And I'd say it's not just about avenues, it's about rhythm — and we've had a lack of rhythm in St. Paul and in Ramsey County. That's not just happening here, it's happening across the country. But when we think about the pits and the peaks, the peaks are finding creative initiatives for infrastructure and building a tax base so we can have funding, because it's more than just a bed. It's more than just a cot. It's more than just creating more shelters. It's actually crossing the full circle of the policy sector — healthcare, right? You can't talk about housing without healthcare. Workforce — you need a job to pay your mortgage and your rent. And youth services — a lot of our young people who aren't sheltered, it's not necessarily that they don't have a cot or a bed, it's whether they feel safe, whether there's cultural competency in that. So I think we need bold leadership that comes with partners at every level of government. And definitely the county has a big hand in that, and that's also why I'm excited to run for this. This isn't anything new to me — it's about culturally connecting, and as someone with a cultural studies background, that's the influence I look forward to bringing to the county board.

 So we talked about rhythm — I love that idea, thinking about our government as rhythm. So let's talk about the rhythm of — let's say you get the votes you need, you're elected. Can you run through your priorities? What's your priority day one? What do you pivot to for month one? And then what's your priority for the first 100 days you're there? What's the rhythm of the things you're going to set up, the things you think need the most attention or tending right now that you can really make a difference with?

 Well, as the candidate with the majority of the county board's endorsement, I've been having conversations with those who are already sitting on the board, about the differences among our county districts, as well as the similarities. What's similar is — and I say "we," because it takes a board, you need four votes — is amplifying, my vote is prioritizing direct services, protecting against the federal funding attacks, and ensuring that those dealing with the aftermath and continuance of Operation Metro Surge are getting support.

And then, for the 100 days — I look at it as, here's a timeline, here's our goals. Let's try to get one through within the 100 days, and if we get one, let's get more. Can we get two birds with one stone, so to speak? So: direct services, and then community input and meeting with community — not saying "here's where I'm at," but going to where our community is at. Going to the spaces, going to where the unsheltered are, going to our juvenile detention centers, where there are kids who need love because they're still kids. Going to the food and mutual aid services that are continuing, and partnering with organizations whose budgets are also getting cut at the federal level. How do we build sustainability for these organizations in the county that offer great services — workforce training, afterschool and childcare programming — so they're not competing against each other between Maplewood and St. Paul, but partnering so we have sustainability there.

And we're going to need to do that through a third major priority of mine, which is increasing the tax base — I'm going to keep saying that. We've got to fund these county projects, and we have to reduce property taxes, or those of us so-called lifelong St. Paulites can hardly afford to manage in the spaces that are our front yards and our backyards. So it's going to take creativity — how can we do things, and what's not working? Let's not circle back to the things that aren't working. If they're outdated, we need to contemporize them. If we're still going into film, are there ways we can collaborate and digitize it? I think about things as an artist, because we know how to make things out of means of nothing — it creates an opportunity, like Basquiat's legendary artwork. Let's do that with county services. We don't have to overthink things, and I think that's an issue — there's this whole status-quo movement to politics, when really the movement is with the people. So: making sure people are engaged, direct services, community input and meeting where the community's at, and making sure we're increasing the tax base so we can fund county projects.

 Let's keep this artist comparison going. Maria and Hans, we probably both know people who are awesome at leading a quintet and would be completely out of their league handling a 15-piece band. Maria, you'll be serving a larger population, and I want to understand how you'll be able to lead this, quote-unquote, "15-piece band." Maybe you've been comfortable representing a smaller population, but now you've got to answer to more people and serve more people. How are you going to scale up to make sure you keep that contact with citizens and individuals?

 Let me get this on the record, and on rhythm, for everyone who may not have been on beat so far. I've served five million people in the state of Minnesota. I've carried legislation — I've served alongside colleagues to get laws passed, with 133 other members in a tied House. You don't get things through to the Senate unless they pass in the House, and the Senate can't get anything through with a one-person majority unless it gets through the House. So when you think about leadership, I prioritize working and pushing in collaborative efforts with those who have the political — the elected — position, and, most importantly, the crowd of people you represent. I think of it as a crowd because I'm an artist, and I'm hearing things, and I'm listening constantly.

So, being able to do that — if I've been able to do that with 133 other people in a tied House, to pass laws that folks said, "You're never going to get any capital investment this year, forget about it. You're not going to get health services after the federal government cut HIV and AIDS healthcare services — you're not going to get that at the state level" — I don't take no for an answer. And then you look at what the Ramsey County Board is: it's seven people, seven elected commissioners representing seven different districts. I'm confident I can handle representing the people who voted for me in District 65B, and it's about those partnerships. I have a great group across all levels of government who have endorsed me and want to continue partnering with me — and none of them have said, "Maybe you should stay in the House." I've heard, "Go for it, we need you at the county level, we need someone to take that action." To me, it's not about the title — representative, senator — it's about where can I get this ball in the hoop so that all the people get enough food in their stomachs and a roof over their heads. That's where I'm going to keep leading.

I also want you to know — I come from a community of activists and leadership that I was born into. I'm a Puerto Rican woman, and I worked hard to make sure our ancestral land and our families and friends were able to get access to emergency essentials. We delivered, through my leadership and partnerships with leaders throughout the state — before I even held elected office — emergency essentials to Puerto Rico during the first Trump administration. So dealing with this federal administration isn't anything new to me. It's actually — why aren't we proactive enough here in Minnesota? Why aren't we proactive enough in county services? We have to be, because I've seen the deterioration of the island of Puerto Rico due to the first Trump administration, and the negligence that's happening now in the water crisis there.

And I also want to talk about organizing a statewide Latino outreach, revamping the Latino caucus — the Movimiento Caucus — in 2022, so we could get a trifecta, so we could have accessibility to healthcare, where everyone in the state of Minnesota who pays taxes has access to it, so our kids can have breakfast and lunch. These are important values and virtues, and I'm part of that leadership. So when you ask what's going to happen as we grow into this, I think — I come from spaces where we were kids trying to figure out how we were going to afford insulin. This isn't David and Goliath to me. It's, let's pull up our bootstraps, let's get the work done, and let's be proactive about what we're dealing with right now, instead of waiting three months for an ordinance so our communities feel safe.

 So, as a lifelong St. Paulite and Ramsey Countian — Ramseyian?

 I wouldn't say that. Let's just say St. Paul. A member of Ramsey — how about "a member of Ramsey," as I'm called by my speaker of the House.

 As a lifelong member of Ramsey — if you have what seems like, based on how you're talking about your work, a rare day off where you're not doing any politicking, where would we find you?

 Oh my goodness. For breakfast, I'm definitely going to catch Lost Fox, or I like Cafe Story too — they've got a really good breakfast sandwich. I also enjoy coffee at the new Cafe Milagro on the West Side — shout out to Ale Diaz, a fantastic queer Latina-owned business in the heart and pulse of our barrio. I'd also like to say I'm going to be popping into the White Squirrel, 620 West 7th, for a good happy hour, or a late-night surprise karaoke, or maybe a DJ set I could hop on. I definitely enjoy a good steak at Mancini's with my dad and my mom. And my daughter is a huge fan of going to Cecil's in Highland Park for a good hot dog, while Mom gets a good bagel pastrami sandwich. Let's see — oh, Cafeto, great coffee, Latina-owned business on the East Side, and Mañana for an awesome pupusa. Crosskey's for some arepas. Boca Chica for a good happy hour. El Burrito—

 You're going to be so full by the end of this day.

 Believe it or not, this is kind of like my campaign life — and honestly, it's not just my campaign life, it's my everyday life. I'm from St. Paul, and when I see a business shut down, it hurts me — it pierces a little bit. And I'm always thinking, "How can I—" Oh, and Run Mit 

 — shout out to Nia. These are folks we've grown up in our neighborhoods with, and been supportive of each other's businesses and families. We're a village in St. Paul, and that's what the county is about — providing access to essential services for the village. So you're going to see me there every day, bouncing around. Vina's in Highland for some pho. I just love our downtown spaces that need to be revamped — Gambit, shout out to all the spots that are giving heart. We're fighting hard to get the boat floating and provide some life jackets.

 Maria Isa, I'm going to go eat about 4,000 calories, as it sounds like you're also doing on your day off. This sounds wonderful. Thank you for your time today. We look forward to talking to everybody who's running for one of these positions, and we appreciate you taking the time to talk about your campaign for Ramsey County Commissioner, District 5. Have a great rest of your day, and thank you for your time.

 Thank you, Sean. Let's get it — Cinco de Maria Isa!

We're very grateful to welcome back State Representative María Isa Pérez-Vega, who is currently campaigning for Ramsey County Commissioner for District 5.

Meet Your Candidates: María Isa Pérez-Vega for Ramsey County Commissioner, District 5

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