Over the last several years, Scott and I have chronicled the sad decline of the city of Minneapolis. The city’s collapse has several causes, starting with inadequate policies at the local, county and state levels. Over the last two years, of course, crime has become the biggest driver of decline, with covid lockdowns contributing. But it didn’t start with George Floyd, or with covid. Before covid and well before George Floyd, the most popular upscale lunch restaurant in Minneapolis closed suddenly, despite being crowded daily. The owners put a hand-made sign on the door saying that the cost structure in Minneapolis was such that it was not possible to operate profitably in the city.
And those were the good old days. Yesterday one of the city’s most popular bars announced that it was closing its doors. Its statement needs to be read and absorbed not just by all officials in Minneapolis, Hennepin County and the State of Minnesota, but by such officeholders nationwide:
For 2 and a half years we have fought through endless mandates and lockdowns issued by Governor Tim Walz…
This was a huge problem for many thousands of businesses, not just in Minnesota but across the country. Will there ever be a reckoning?
…as well as riots and rampant unchecked crime.
A young man celebrating his college graduation, scheduled for the next day, was shot and killed across the street from Wild Greg’s Saloon, apparently by a stray bullet. That is not good for business. But “unchecked” is a key word. City and state officials, including Governor Tim Walz, sympathized with rioters and criminals and actively worked to undermine law enforcement. Their recent backtracking in the face of hostile public opinion is much too little and, for this business anyway, comes too late.
We would like to thank Minneapolis City Councilmember Michael Rainville…
The city council member, perhaps the only one, who ran on an anti-crime platform. But, as I wrote here, the Minneapolis Star Tribune is trying to drive Rainville off the council because he committed the sin of noticing that many of the youths who terrorized the city last Fourth of July were Somalis.
…and the members of the Minneapolis Police Department…
The MPD has been under siege for years. Its recruitment is in the basement, for obvious reasons, and it is well below the force mandated by the Minneapolis City Charter. We can only applaud the dedication of the MPD members who have stayed on the job and tried to maintain order in a city that has mostly abandoned them and sided with rioters and criminals.
Minneapolis is not unique. Its story is being replicated in a number of other blue cities, from San Francisco to New York. Blue governance is a catastrophe, always and everywhere. It is worth noting that Wild Greg’s Saloon, having closed its Minneapolis bar, continues to operate in Austin, Texas, Lakeland, Florida, and Pensacola, Florida. Unlike Minneapolis, those cities are thriving, not dying.
None of this will change unless voters hold liberal politicians accountable in November.
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