MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota officials have launched a civil-rights investigation into the entire Minneapolis Police Department following the killing of George Floyd. It coincides with calls for reform, but watchdogs elsewhere say changing police culture is very difficult.

Other recent high-profile incidents have prompted reforms within MPD, but skeptics say what happened to Floyd shows not much has changed.

The Rev. Harriett Walden, founder of Mothers for Police Accountability in Seattle, was involved in reform efforts when that city's police department came under federal scrutiny. There was a lot of optimism at first, she said, but the problems persist.

"The Seattle police enforcement still had disparities along racial lines; that was 2019," she said. "People of color were more likely to be frisked than white people, and more likely to have weapons put in their face, even though those people didn't have weapons on them."

Walden was referring to the Seattle department's own disparity review from last year. She said broader discussions about the nation's history of discrimination need to find a platform within police agencies.

Meanwhile, Minnesota's human-rights commissioner has vowed that the investigation will lead to meaningful action, not just a report.

Also at the state level, a task force led by Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington and Attorney General Keith Ellison in February issued a non-binding report containing 28 recommendations on reducing deadly force by police. Observers say the Legislature's need to respond to COVID-19 shifted the spotlight away from the findings, but some are hopeful it will get strong consideration in the future.

Union influence

Walden said she thinks negotiations with police unions have played a role in slowing reform efforts across the country, and that leaders at city hall need to be held accountable as well.

"The city's job is to get the best thing for the city, and to hold the line," she said, "and in my opinion, sometimes the cities don't always do that."

In Minneapolis, the city's powerful police union leader, Bob Kroll, has been criticized for fostering cultural issues within the rank-and-file. In response to the George Floyd aftermath, Kroll issued a letter to union members blasting city and police leadership over the protests and blaming the violence on a "terrorist movement."

Citizen oversight

Sam Sanchez is an organizer with the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, which was founded in response to the 2015 fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis. The group is calling for an even more dramatic overhaul of the department by amending the city charter to have a community panel run the force.

"These would be elected officials from the community that would be in charge of all aspects of the police department," he said, "up to picking the chief, to the budget, to the rule book."

Sanchez said this would remove conflicts of interest by no longer having officers hold their own colleagues accountable. But he acknowledges it would be tough to get any backing from the City Council and leadership at City Hall.

The Seattle Police Department report is online at crosscut.com. The Minnesota human-rights announcement is at survey.mn.gov.


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Missouri residents are gaining new insights into the powerful role of food in health care as experts and organizations advocate for a shift toward food-as-medicine initiatives.

Kelsey Gardiner, assistant professor of nursing and health studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, emphasized the critical link between access to healthy food and improved health outcomes. She noted individuals facing food insecurity often experience higher rates of chronic diseases, highlighting the urgent need for systemic changes to enhance food access.

"There are things we can do and there are certain shifts nationally that are happening, whether that be through policy or through infrastructure changes," Gardiner pointed out. "We can be doing more in the state of Missouri in order to help increase access to healthy food that can directly tie into better health outcomes."

Gardiner underscored the potential of food-as-medicine interventions in preventing chronic conditions and reducing health care costs. She said recent studies show such interventions can lead to $13.6 billion over one year in cost savings and several improved health outcomes, making them a valuable addition to health care strategies.

Kael Martin, people impact strategist for the Health Forward Foundation, said focusing on communities affected by structural racism, socioeconomic challenges and limited health care access is paramount. Food as medicine is seen as a strategic approach to promote health equity, particularly in areas where systemic barriers hinder optimal health.

"We know that eating healthy can prevent chronic disease, but it can be a treatment option as well," Martin stressed. "To have that connection within our health care system, to really integrate these interventions, can be really impactful for many patients."

While progress is underway nationally and in other states such as Massachusetts, California and North Carolina, Missouri is still developing its approach to integrate food as medicine into health care systems and policies. Efforts to push for legislation supporting these initiatives are in progress, with some federal legislation around medically tailored meals garnering support.

As many Wyomingites await their 2023 federal income tax refunds, a new National Priorities Project report breaks down how the money they won't get back is being spent.

Co-author Lindsay Koshgarian, program director for the National Priorities Project, said this year's Tax Receipt shows that - while many school districts in Wyoming and across the U.S. are facing major budget cuts - the average taxpayer is contributing thousands of dollars to military contractors, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.

"So whereas the average Wyoming taxpayer was giving almost $2,300 to corporate pentagon contractors," said Koshgarian, "they were giving only $455 for public education in our K-12 schools."

The average American household paid over $5,000 for militarism and support systems, but invested just $110 in the Child Tax Credit - which cut child poverty in half during pandemic era changes.

The Pentagon has failed to account for money spent in audits for the past six years. But its defenders argue tax dollars create jobs and maintain global security in the face of competitors, including China.

Koshgarian said corporate contractors can create jobs, especially in key Congressional districts.

She pointed to Brown University research showing that $1 billion in military spending adds roughly 11,000 jobs.

By comparison, $1 billion would add nearly 27,000 education, and 17,000 healthcare jobs.

"But if we put that same money into other things like education or infrastructure or healthcare," said Koshgarian, "we could actually create more good jobs with the same amount of money."

The U.S. Department of Defense has known about the existential threat of climate change for decades, and wildfires now cost upward of $394 billion in damages each year.

But the average taxpayer invested just $14 in wildfire management.

Koshgarian said she believes concerns about protecting international security, which largely serve corporate interests, are overblown.

"The U.S. is already the top military spender in the world by far," said Koshgarian. "We spend more than the next 10 militaries combined. We have the most capable military by far in the world, and no one disputes that."




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A New Mexico resident will attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union address tonight as legislation is pending to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

The measure was passed in 1990, with money going to residents of the Southwest who were harmed, either from uranium mining or atomic tests in 1945. The original legislation included "downwinders" in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. But New Mexico was left out, despite the state being home to the world's first atomic bomb testing and explosion.

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, has made it her life's work to get New Mexico families compensated.

"I've been working for 19 years to bring attention to the negative health effects the people of New Mexico suffered," Cordova explained. "The Trinity bomb was detonated in the middle of our state and adjacent to a bunch of towns where 13,000 people lived in a 50-mile radius."

Cordova was invited to the annual Presidential address by Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M. In the coming days, the Senate is scheduled to vote on legislation to reauthorize the act, now scheduled to end in June.

Cordova pointed out the more than 30-year-old compensation program was an admission of guilt on the part of the government but left out many of those harmed. She knows families who have lost relatives to cancer, some within 10 years of the nuclear bomb testing.

"I just hope that people who know I'm present, realize that we will never give up the fight," Cordova asserted. "We will work very hard to get the RECA amendments passed this year, but if by some chance that doesn't happen, we will continue to fight this fight for justice as long as it takes."

This Sunday, the Hollywood blockbuster, Oppenheimer, about the creation of the atomic bomb, is a favorite to win best picture at the 2024 Academy Awards. The film did not address effects to those downwind of the bombing site.


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