Ilhan Omar wins primary race

Our neighborhood voted strongly for her, as did most of Minneapolis at large. The great exceptions were southwest Minneapolis, Downtown, and a tiny part of Northeast Minneapolis.

This tweet has a great map about it:

The tweet itself has this map in it, which is an entire history of how Minneapolis is divided economically, racially, and politically in a single picture:

Map of US Representative Disctric 5 (DFL)
Map of US Representative Disctric 5 (DFL)

Depending on the political leaning of the media you read she either struggled to win, won in a contested race, or handily beat opponents. All she has to do now is win in the main election and she’s off to another term on Congress, which is very possible as Whittier’s congressional district has voted Democrat.

Channel Reorganization

Tonight we set to the task of reorganizing the channels on the Discord instance. We now have 45 channels, down from 90+ channels. A few more channels are likely to go away but it should make it far, far easier for people to find the right channel to post something, as it was a common sight to see people get overwhelmed and confused when signing on to the Discord for the first time.

Many great thanks go to everyone in the #cartography (nee #feedback-and-suggestions) channel who assisted with this.

The Areas

We settled on the following layout after going through a few iterations over a few weeks.

Whittier Zones
Whittier Zones

These are not set in stone and they are meant to be zones of focus —rather than meaningful regions— and you should post to whichever channel seem most relevant for your immediate concerns. They also don’t have hard edges to help with cross-posting across areas.

Zone 1: Loring Heights

Technically part of the Loring Park neighborhood but a few people have found themselves in our Discord instance. Boundaries are:

  • North: I-94
  • East: Nicollet Avenue South
  • South: West Franklin Avenue
  • West: Lyndale Avenue South

Zone 2: Stevens Square

Same as with Loring Park, quite a few neighbors have found themselves in the Discord instance. Boundaries are:

  • North: I-94
  • East: I-35W
  • South: West Franklin Avenue
  • West: Blaisdell Avenue South

Zone 3: The Wedge

Just like the name says, the main feature of this area is The Wedge Co-op and its (in)famous parking lot. Boundaries are:

  • North: West Franklin Avenue
  • East: Pleasant Avenue South
  • South: West 25th Street
  • West: Lyndale Avenue South

Zone 4: Blaisdell North

Largely a residential area, boundaries are:

  • North: West Franklin Avenue
  • East: 1st Avenue South
  • South: 25th Street
  • West: Pleasant Avenue South

Zone 5: Washburn Fair Oaks

With the Washburn Fair Oaks park right in the center of it, it also contains the MIA. Boundaries are:

  • North: West Franklin Avenue
  • East: I-35W
  • South: E 25th Street
  • West: Nicollet Avenue South

Zone 6: Whittier Park

The main features are Whittier Park (where people first started getting organized) and Whittier International Elementary School. Boundaries are:

  • North: West 25th Street
  • East: Pleasant Avenue South
  • South: West 28th Street
  • West: Lyndale Avenue South

Zone 7: Eat Street

Comprising most of the business corridor on the south end of Nicollet Avenue, its boundaries are:

  • North: 25th Street
  • East: 1st Avenue South
  • South: 28th Street
  • West: Pleasant Avenue South

Zone 8: MCAD

Comprising MCAD, its student apartments, and everything south of it until reaching Lake St, its boundaries are:

  • North: East 25th Street
  • East: I-35W
  • South: East Lake Street
  • West: 1st Avenue South

Zone 9: Karmel Lake

This area encompasses most of the commercial and businesses along Lake Street, including Karmel Mall, and the now emptied K-Mart that cut Nicollet Avenue in half. Boundaries are:

  • North: 28th Street
  • East: 1st Avenue South
  • South: Lake Street
  • West: Lyndale Avenue S

Again, the boundaries are malleable so if something happens on say, Lyndale Ave & 25th St, it could be posted to both areas 3 and 6.

In addition to these areas, which each have their own category, there are two extra ones:

  • 0: Area Primary Contact. This is meant for the area leads to chat and organize the neighborhood watch should it become necessary again. Neighborhood wide emergencies also go here.
  • 10: Adjacent Neighborhoods. Just like the name says, this is a category with channels for people around Whittier itself.

If you have questions or issues, make sure to let us know in the #feedback-and-suggestions channel.

City Charter Amendment

This is something a lot of people have been working towards and now we’re seeing the results. This was just announced by the @mplsclerk twitter account:

There are multiple steps to actually getting this Charter amendment passed, but the most important is this:

Make your voice heard!

This amendment is what directly allows the city to replace its existing police department.

If you can, attend the meeting. If you can’t (or don’t want to, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, after all), there will likely be some people streaming it.