Uptown was, until recently, one of Minneapolis’s principal entertainment and shopping areas. Now, in the wake of Winston Boogie Smith’s shooting by law enforcement–he apparently opened fire first–a chunk of Uptown has been closed off to traffic and turned into an “autonomous zone” that is referred to by some as Boogie World. The area encompasses Lake Street, one of the city’s principal roadways, from Hennepin Avenue–another principal roadway–to Fremont Avenue. At this point, Uptown is essentially dead:
Received from a follower.
More pics of the new #NoGoZone #UptownMpls #MplsClownWorld 2.— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) June 15, 2021
More:
We got a message from a reliable source who said that the mayor and council members are not returning calls from the business owners in the area.
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) June 15, 2021
I don’t know whether Mayor Jacob Frey and members of the City Council are returning phone calls, but I can say for certain that they aren’t doing anything to arrest Minneapolis’s stunning decline. Neither is Governor Tim Walz, who as far as I can tell has not even commented on the latest round of violence and lawlessness in Minneapolis.
That is the bad news. The good news is that voters have had it with the incompetence of state and local officials. A poll that will be released tomorrow found that Minnesotans disapprove of Governor Walz’s response to “the riots, looting, and arson that have occurred over the past year in Minneapolis” by 55 percent to 39 percent. This represents a marked drop from his ratings in the same polling a year ago, in the aftermath of the initial George Floyd riots.
Further, 81 percent of respondents say they are concerned about crime in Minnesota, not just in Minneapolis. A majority–52 percent–say they do not feel safe in Minneapolis, and 58 percent say they are now visiting the city less frequently. A whopping 75 percent are concerned about the impact of Twin Cities crime on the state’s economic future, as they should be.
When asked whom they trust to make Minnesota safer–Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, the state legislature or law enforcement–the overwhelming winner is law enforcement. This reflects the fact that, by a remarkable 86 percent to 14 percent, Minnesotans say they have confidence in the police in their local community to act in the best interests of the public. Finally, voters understand the crippling impact of the Black Lives Matter movement and related attacks on law enforcement. Eighty-one percent say they are worried about “Minnesota’s ability to recruit qualified new police officers.”
I should add that, in addition to the above poll, I have it on good authority that DFL insiders are “freaking out” over their own polling, which shows the same hostility to Governor Walz and Mayor Frey over crime. The second issue that reportedly frightens local Democrats, based on their own polling, is the dismal showing of Critical Race Theory.
What is happening in Minnesota is a disaster. The silver lining, perhaps, is that we are likely to see a new governor elected next year.
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