Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/best-of-neighborhood-news-2-8-candidate-hopes-to-change-historically-all-white-hennepin-county-board/)
Best of Neighborhood News 2/8: Candidate hopes to change historically white Hennepin County board
By Kim Schneider | February 8, 2018
LaDonna Redmond, candidate for Hennepin County District Three Commissioner, is a local advocate for food justice.
LaDonna Redmond, a Twin Cities food justice advocate, is vying to be the first person of color to serve on Hennepin County's commission. According to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Redmond, running for District Three, wants to empower historically disenfranchised people.
"The County is really an unknown governmental layer. It is a very powerful layer. [It] distributes $2 [billion] a year in funding across the system. [That layer] goes to everything from jails to the highways. So, anything in between – health care, Medicaid, transit – all those things also run through the County."
Read the full story from the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.
Few disabled Minnesotans run for office
As reported by MinnPost, there are very few politicians in Minnesota's history that have a disability – and many of those who did hid it. Roughly 11 percent of the state's population reports having a disability. Nikki Villavicencio, who is running for a city council seat on Maplewood's five-seat board, hopes to change that.
"We make great leaders because we depend on services in our everyday life," Villavicencio said. "Who better to make decisions about our local, state and federal programs than the people who really understand how they work?"
For more details, check out the story on MinnPost.
St. Paul organization will spend $7.2 million on Midway building
The Capitol Region Watershed district will move its headquarters to a Midway building in St. Paul. According to Monitor St. Paul, the building will have gathering spaces for community members and educational opportunities.
"The renewed building will utilize green building principles including stormwater management practices and energy efficiency measures to conserve natural resources, create a healthy workplace and protect the Mississippi River."
Read the full story at Monitor St. Paul.
Disability/Differently Abled
Kim Schneider