Frederick Melo, Reporter (TwinCities.com, Pioneer Press)

On Sept. 9, newsroom management gave us less then two weeks to cull the herd — 2 or 3 of us must go. What do you cut when you’re down to bone? Would St. Paul benefit from not having a City Hall beat? No more State Capitol reporter? No more schools? We must choose by Monday, or layoffs likely follow.

What Boston-Area Critics Are Saying About the New Documentary “Minnesota Neighbors”: minnesotaneighbors.org

128 letters sent! We need 200 to hit today’s goal — we’re 72 letters short! Won’t you please sign the petition?

DON’T CLONE Me BRo! Please sign the petition. The AI 🤖 bot version of me just wouldnt be the same!

Plaza Del Sol has reopened on Payne Avenue with new eateries, a bar and wedding hall, despite ICE sightings and ongoing fears of heightened immigration enforcement: www.twincities.com/2026/10/25/s...

St. Paul voters have 1 ballot question — If a renter needs a repair done, and the landlord doesn’t do it, should they have the right to get the repair taken care of themselves and withhold the equivalent amount of cash from their rent/seek reimbursement? www.twincities.com/2026/10/25/s...

Downtown St. Paul: There’s a party today on a bridge. You’re invited. www.twincities.com/2026/10/24/a...

ST. PAUL POLICE PUBLIC SAFETY ALERT: If you see this man, call 911. Then get the heck out of there and lock your door. Serial sex assault suspect on the loose. www.twincities.com/2026/10/23/s...

There's a new playground at Newell Park, and you* built it! www.twincities.com/2026/10/23/s... Story by Vivian Wilson

Plans for a liquor district around Snelling-University have been pared down. Assuming they’re the only applicant, Dilla Ethiopian Restaurant would be able to serve until 2 a.m. Maybe more bar licenses would be available within the district in the future — maybe. www.twincities.com/2026/10/22/s...

A St. Paul store clerk saw a school bus veering out of control with the driver in medical distress. He immediately ran after it, jumped aboard and got the kids to safety. Story by @MaraGottfried www.twincities.com/2026/10/22/s... Ahmed said “Grey’s Anatomy” helped prepare him for the unexpected...

The Unviversity of St. Thomas student who yelled "Go back to your own country, b---" at a protester outside a Turning Point USA event at the U of M has issued a public apology and withdrawn from St. Thomas. (FYI: She was a first-year, not yet a nursing student) www.twincities.com/2026/10/21/u...

In St. Paul, there were fewer than 700 data requests in 2017. Last year? About 22,000. You really want those studies, plans, emails and text messages, don't you... www.twincities.com/2026/10/21/c...

Police Chief Henry expands lawsuit against Mayor Her to include a seventh claim, and reference to an hour-long Hmong-language podcast she appeared on after his lawsuit was filed. And he says the Axon contract was already in play under the Carter administration. www.twincities.com/2026/10/18/s...

The U.S. Department of Justice sues St. Paul over rules banning law enforcement from wearing face masks. www.twincities.com/2026/10/16/d... Story by the eagle-eyed @imanicruzen

HOUSING/HOMELESS: The last time St. Paul Mayor Her cleared a homeless encampment, she gave everyone less than a month to spring into action. A city council resolution calls for 60 days notice/outreach, and temporary and permanent shelters. COST: $10.85 million www.twincities.com/2026/10/16/s...

The self-described “policy nerd” and the activist poet/rapper. One could argue that over the years, each has leaned at times a bit more toward the other’s playbook. Here’s Meg Duhr, Ta-coumba Aiken and Sage Holden on the candidates:

Rebecca Noecker and Maria Isa Perez-Vega are both running for the same seat on the Ramsey County Board. Here’s where some voters in their district line up — what they’ve accomplished while in office — and what they say about the job, and each other. www.twincities.com/2026/10/15/r...

St. Paul will consider a $160,000 settlement to Save Our Street/Summit Avenue bikeway opponents, to put to bed second of 2 lawsuits over data practices. The first, recently affirmed by MN Court of Appeals, remains active. City has sought review by Supreme Court. www.twincities.com/2026/10/15/s...

NHL has now negotiated commercial licensing for broadcasting Wild games at bars and restaurants with FuboTV. For a 100-seat bar, it starts at $1,000 for the season through the beginning of play-offs. That gets a bar the Wild+ streaming service, only. www.twincities.com/2026/10/14/f...

Evie, HourCar end on Thursday. Could they yet be revived, in whole or in part? Some state lawmakers say yes, yes they could... To make the services viable, what would you change? Let me see inside your beautiful business-minded, socially conscious brain... www.twincities.com/2026/10/14/h...

Remember Midway Pro-Bowl? Big V's? Hot Rod's? Fasika? It's been a bear trying to maintain Twitter, Facebook and Blue Sky all at the same time. Uploading video longer than a few seconds to Blue Sky is hit or miss. Here's a video interview with Mr. Dilla, of Dilla's Ethiopian: x.com/FrederickMel...

St. Paul sues Maplewood -- for access to gun range: www.twincities.com/2026/10/13/s... Story by @imanicruzen

Public hearing at Merriam Park Rec at 9 a.m. Wednesday. E.g. In 9.5 hours. Go to bed!

St. Paul City Council is considering a district around Snelling/University that would free up 4 to 7 bar licenses and allow them to apply for 2am close. Midway Chamber, Hamline-Midway Coalition, Union Park, United Village asking for a time-out/go slower approach: www.twincities.com/2026/10/13/s...

Their survey goes beyond rent control, asking the public how you’d feel about a basement-size data center in a downtown St. Paul office building — a badly-needed means toward stabilizing semi-vacant buildings and property taxes, or a risky venture that could run up your water bill?

Have you received an anti-rent control door hangar? Domestic Policy Caucus has launched “Wake Up Saint Paul,” a market research campaign testing waters well in advance of 2028 St. Paul City Council and Mayoral election www.twincities.com/2026/10/12/st-paul-rent-control-data-center-policy-org-survey/

"Minnesota Neighbors," documentary of everyday people in the Twin Cities during Operation Metro Surge, comes to the Riverview Theater at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Oct. 15. I can't imagine anyone else has come close to interviewing this many people on this topic: www.eventbrite.com/e/world-film...

Rice and Larpenteur Alliance--a coalition between St. Paul, Maplewood and Roseville--helped shutter 2 violence-prone clubs and fill in grocers and restaurants. It's launched signage, EPA inventory of lots ripe for redevelopment. Why did St. Paul pull its funding? www.twincities.com/2026/10/11/r...

MN Court of Appeals will hear a case, brought forward by St. Paul, to block a ballot question about rental repairs from the Nov. 3 ballot. Early voting began a month ago. Therein lies many questions. You can Zoom in to watch live 10 a.m. Monday at this link. www.twincities.com/2026/10/11/m...

A Stillwater man has been convicted in U.S. District Court of hiding child porn he was making of his friends' kids in a large wooden crucifix on his wall, on an SD card behind the holy water. Alejandro Rojas Garcia also faces a crim sex trial in Washington County. www.twincities.com/2026/10/11/s...

Mayor Her said she was taken aback when she discovered the police, without consulting with her, had signed a contract with Axon, a provider of AI-linked hardware and software. She asked about cost of a new high tech unit... She was told there was no cost. Wrong. www.twincities.com/2026/10/11/s...

The Pioneer Press emblem used to be a bulldog. I’m rallying to bring my it back, britches over troubled water!

#FAFO — Here are my election rules. What are yours? What’s that? You don’t like rules? You wanna “cheat like hell”? Shut the front door… 🚪

Andy Scott, the Scottish artist who did the world’s tallest loon “The Calling” and 100-foot-tall horses “The Kelpies” just added “The Coo” to Macalester College “https://www.twincities.com/2026/10/08/macalester-unveils-new-sculpture-from-familiar-artist/

U.S. 52 closed in both directions all weekend. You didn't hear it from me: www.twincities.com/2026/10/09/u...

Minneapolis passed an ordinance (7-6) that says there needs to be a human safety monitor in each car Right by the brakes and steering. Mayor Frey vetoed that rule. The veto could yet be overridden.

This may be Waymo than you can handle right now with HourCar and Evie closing but the St. Paul City Council president is calling for protections for workers, riders and society at large. Autonomous vehicles are rolling in (someday). Will St. Paul be ready? www.twincities.com/2026/10/09/s...

POT LUCK OUT OF LUCK: Rosedale Mall’s overpriced food court to close www.twincities.com/2026/10/08/p...

IT IS OVER FOR HOURCAR: With insurance costs doubling and federal support iffy at best, HourCar rolls to an end next week, as does Evie electric car-sharing. 20 years went by fast… www.twincities.com/2026/10/08/h...

The Celia gets the green light www.twincities.com/2026/10/08/s...

Mara Gottfried on the St. Paul City Council decision to hire a law firm to review whether they should hire a law firm to defend the mayor: www.twincities.com/2026/10/07/s...

There's 105 Lime scooters missing from downtown St. Paul, all of them having disappeared in the general vicinity of the Wabasha Street bridge. There's a river there... and a man in custody, caught on video tossing two Lime scooters to their watery grave, allegedly. www.twincities.com/2026/10/05/v...

The St. Paul-Chicago Amtrak Borealis adds a fourth superliner passenger coach car this week in each direction, because it keeps selling out www.twincities.com/2026/10/05/a...

Fatal shooting on the Green Line near St. Paul/Minneapolis border on Saturday night www.twincities.com/2026/10/04/s...

At Highland Bridge, a new civic square opens next to a market-rate apartment building -- The Albert -- that incorporates the facade of old Ford site buildings. Story by Trevor Dunning, U of M... www.twincities.com/2026/10/01/f...

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry's attorney, Chris Madel, is calling upon the St. Paul City Council to call upon Mayor Her to resign. Will they or won't they? I asked all 7. Here's where they stand: www.twincities.com/2026/10/02/w...

OPERATION METRO SURGE: THE MOVIE? World Premiere of "Minnesota Neighbors" lands at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis on Oct. 15, followed by NPR/WBUR FM studios in Boston on Oct. 27. I'm told the camera caught my good side. How many of these folks do ya know? www.eventbrite.com/e/world-film...

From @jaredography: "Cool new event alert: The inaugural Midway Music and Arts Fest runs Friday through Sunday with performances, open classes, studios, literary readings and workshops, vendor markets and more across some 25 venues." midwaymusicandart.org" www.twincities.com/2026/09/30/f...

THE DOWNTOWN VITALITY FUND: Endicott-Arcade, the single-story retail building that housed the Hat Trick hockey bar on 5th Street, and the 428 Minnesota building (the former Woolworth) will share $1.5 million between them for stabilization or tenant improvements: www.twincities.com/2026/09/29/s...