The Staff of Harvest Best Academy Get Creative with School in a Pandemic
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NORTH NEWS September 25, 2020 Serving the neighborhoods of North Minneapolis www.mynorthnews.org ALSO INSIDE Violence is met by Navaeha Broyld-Henigan works quietly behind a a tireless ‘soldier’ plexiglass guard in her kindergarten classroom of peace at Harvest Best Academy. Page 6 The number of students is limited in each class- room as the public charter Soccer returns to school attempts to hold North High in-class school during the pandemic. Page 15 Class Is In Session The staff of Harvest Best Academy get creative with school in a pandemic. Page 10 devastated local economy NEWS NORTH NEWS 3 my first rodeo so to speak. For more than The students are taking things in stride, NORTH NEWS MURDER & VIOLENT 10 years I taught radio journalism to high but their yearning for in-person learning 2020 Issue #9 school students and college freshmen is palpable. There’s talk of missed friend- Circulation: 10,000 in North Minneapolis. through the Greater St. Louis (Mo.) Asso- ships, missed activities … missed home- Delivered free on a monthly basis to CRIME RUNNING...worst RAMPANT school district in the nation... ciation of Black Journalists. Passing along coming. They even talked of missing some public places & homes in Near North & Camden. my knowledge to the next generation of of their favorite teachers. 3650 Fremont Ave. N, Shootings, lootings, and robberies are commonplace storytellers is one of my greatest hon- Distance learning works, but it’s far from Minneapolis, MN 55411 ors. It means more to me than any of the ideal. Phone: 612-701-3883 Website: www.mynorthnews.org accolades I’ve been fortunate enough to There are issues with internet connectiv- amass. ity, homes with multiple students in small Harry Colbert, Jr. Although it had been more than five spaces trying to concentrate on their Editor/Publisher/Advertising is years for me in a classroom setting (I was screen/class without being distracted by David Pierini Maurice Hudson ENOUGH! Staff Reporter Intern Reporter a volunteer instructor with the National their siblings’ screen/class. Some students Association of Black Journalists when the are barely audible due to weak comput- Thomas Toley Anya Johanna DeNiro ENOUGH national convention came to Minnesota), er mics combined with background noise Graphic Designer Copy Editor my trepidation had less to do with class- of televisions and the occasional barking Lyle James R Delivery room rust, but more to do with how the dog (that would be mine). heck to log in on this darn Google Class- But despite the challenges, all the stu- Additional support is provided by The Jay & Rose room thing. That’s the unfortunate reality dents are giving it their all. Surprisingly, Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota and the Letter from the Editor in which we now live. It’s the “new nor- for an 8:30 a.m. class where students are Minneapolis Foundation. mal.” And it’s heartbreaking. often in their bedrooms, the young report- “My name is Lacy Johnson. I have lived in North Minneapolis for 41 years Story ideas and letters to the editor under 300 words Harry Colbert, Jr. With Minneapolis Public Schools opting ers are attentive, alert and engaged. Hon- are always welcome. Unsigned letters will not be run. and I am running to serve the Fifth Congressional District in Congress. for distance learning (at least until Octo- estly, they are inspiring. Join our team. Vote for me on No vember 3rd.” ber) to keep students, staff, parents and Just three weeks into the semester and I If you want North News on your doorstep NOW, I haven’t had first day of school jitters subscribe for $30 per year. the community safe during the COVID-19 know this class … this experience … will be in quite some time, but on Sept. 8 there I Email [email protected] pandemic, lessons are administered vir- something special. or call 612-701-3883 to sign up. was anxious about the start of class. tually. We have nine wonderful young In the editions to come readers will get Next issue delivered: October 30, 2020 As a part of my duties as editor-in-chief ladies in our class – first period at 8:30 to read the works of these talented young for North News I am tasked with being North News is an enterprise of: a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday journalists. I trust you will be as enthralled an assistant instructor for the journalism – who I know almost exclusively by their with them as I am. These journalists are class at North Community High School voices. Most cameras are off and mics are special and oh wow, do they have a story (North High or North to most). This isn’t muted except when called upon. to tell. By absentee ballot In person . Let nothing . interfere with Register/check registration Register/check registration . Request ballot Find early voting location . your vote . VOTE VOTE . Return ballot Tell your friends to vote . this year • By mail (no postage needed) . If you’ve already decided, • Drop off . you can vote now. Tell your friends to vote . PAID FOR BY LACY JOHNSON FOR CONGRESS . Find out how you can mail, drop off, or cast your ballot in person Better Schools H Safe Neighborhoods H Jobs & Opportunity . early at hennepin.us/elections . 4 NORTH NEWS September 25, 2020 NEWS NEWS NORTH NEWS 5 North Minneapolis at a glance underlying health conditions, to vote early and to vote without having to go to a poll- County gives up on ing place. That also leaves the polls free on Election Day for those who must vote in Gordon Center shelter person, protecting the vote and the health of all Minnesotans.” proposal Some 900,000 Minnesotan voters live Hennepin County leaders have backed alone, as do half of eligible voters with dis- away from locating a homeless shelter for abilities, an earlier court ruling noted. Re- single women at the vacant Gordon Cen- quiring a witness signature combined with ter. a lack of easy access to absentee ballots County Commissioner Irene Fernando, could have disenfranchised thousands who represents North Minneapolis, an- who cannot risk contact with others. The witness requirement was suspended nounced the county's decision Sept. 2 on Y. Elaine Rasmussen, earlier this summer due to the same law- her website. interim director of the suit. – David Pierini The proposed shelter met heavy resis- Association for Black tance from residents in the Willard Hay Economic Power. neighborhood and from activists, who are Source: LinkedIn hoping the Gordon Center is eventually de- veloped as a youth center. The proposed shelter hinged on the Minneapolis school Rep. Lee has green board, the owner of the building, to sell it Candles, flowers and a pledge to end violence mark the spot where 17-year-old Village Financial could be in the to the county. A vote was never scheduled idea for rebuilding Andre Conley lost his life. Photo by Harry Colbert, Jr. and the project, Fernando said, had stalled to the point it was no longer workable. areas of unrest Community comes together following Absentee and early voting for banking business by summer 2021 "While the Gordon Center site is no lon- ger being considered for this project, I am By David Pierini Staff Reporter of Minnesota said they remained com- A proposal to use renewable energy killing of area teen mitted to supporting ABEP’s mission still hopeful to determine potential sites grants could pump more than $40 million By Harry Colbert, Jr. Editor-in-Chief vise and spend time with them. We’ve November election has begun The interim director of the Association in building a Black financial institution. for emergency shelters so we can secure into the areas of the Twin Cities destroyed got to get out here and take these streets for Black Economic Power (ABEP) said Rasmussen, an ABEP board member high quality and holistic emergency shelter by civil unrest. One more is one too many. over.” The start of early voting – either mail-in or election day for those who vote in person the non-profit is on track to open a Black- and founder/CEO of Social Impact Strat- services in North Minneapolis," Fernando Rep. Fue Lee (DFL-59A), whose district A community mourning the killing of a While Conley went to Henry, Mauri Fri- in person – has begun. and those who serve as election judges. led credit union in North Minneapolis egies Group, resigned from the board to wrote. – David Pierini includes a portion of North Minneapolis, sometime next year. be interim director to get Village Finan- 17-year-old Patrick Henry student rallied estleben said the teen’s death affected her County and city election offices will be- I’m recommending that all voters request wants to establish a Rebuild Right Grant together to call for an end to the violence just as if it were one of her own students. Y. Elaine Rasmussen said ABEP is cur- cial back on track. gin mailing ballots to voters who have — and return — their ballots as soon as rently in talks with a local credit union ABEP began a search for a permanent Program in the Commerce Department to in the city. “I am so 100 percent over it,” said Friestle- requested them, and in-person absentee possible to help local officials process and to open Village Financial Cooperative as executive director and offered an open promote green energy tech in rebuilt build- Andre Conley was outside of a conve- ben in a now viral Facebook Live post that voting is now available at election offices count all of those ballots.” a partner branch, possibly occupying a call for candidates to fill a few vacancies ings and low-income households.