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PODCAST

Wedge LIVE!

A show about Minneapolis politics from the maker of Wedge LIVE, the award winning local news website.

news politics

All Episodes

00:47:21

Ice Cast Ep. 1: Lake Harriet Ice Dip and Sauna

Wedge LIVE! ·

2023/01/03

John is joined by Wedge LIVE lifestyle producer Paula Chesley for a miniseries featuring the stories of real people, not just surviving, but thriving through a Minneapolis winter. For this episode recorded January 1, 2023, we're at Lake Harriet narrating people jumping into a hole in the ice as if it's the Rose Parade. We speak with first timers, longtime ice dippers, and skeptical observers who live in the neighborhood. Then we head over to Embrace North, a sauna and ice bath facility in Linden

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01:02:52

Holiday Special with Surprise Musical Guest

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/12/21

It's the Holiday Special! John, Elissa, and PeggySue talk about what this time of year in Minneapolis means. We name the persons and/or concepts that Scrooged us the hardest in 2022. And offer thanks to the people who "Saved Christmas" - which is a necessary trope of any holiday special. Elissa has tips for how you can do end of year self reflection and 2023 goal-setting in a positive way, without being hard on yourself. Lots of recommendations in this episode if you're looking for a book or video

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00:53:58

Rent Control Policy with Jennifer Arnold of...

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/12/19

In 2021, Minneapolis voters approved a ballot question giving the go-ahead for a rent control ordinance. In 2022, the City Council and Mayor Frey formed a Rent Stabilization Work Group to make policy recommendations. Those meetings began in September and wrapped up last week. A majority of the work group (14 of 25) voted for a policy recommendation that, if placed on the ballot and approved by voters in 2023, would be the most strict in the country. We start the episode with a ten-minute check-in

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01:00:10

Monthly with Melody - December 2022

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/12/13

It's our not-quite monthly appointment with Dr. Melody Hoffmann, PhD. Melody starts us off with the farmers market report. We talk about the massive fire that destroyed a 25-unit, 100 year old apartment building at 24th and Lyndale in the Wedge -- and whether city hall failed to properly intervene to stop a public safety threat that neighbors had been predicting for months. We talk about a failed effort to put $200,000 in the city's 2023 budget for a municipal sidewalk snow clearing pilot. John

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00:51:44

What's needed from a new police oversight commission...

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/12/05

John is joined by Abigail Cerra for a conversation about a proposal for a new police oversight commission in Minneapolis. Cerra is the former chair of the Police Conduct Oversight Commission, a body that hasn't met for most of 2022 due to the failure of the mayor and city council to appoint new members. We talk about the draft creating the new commission and its several glaring flaws; Cerra's experience; why she resigned from the PCOC; and how the old commission was ignored by city leaders and

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01:07:10

What's missing from local news in Minneapolis?

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/11/30

John is joined by Logan Carroll (a recent third place finisher for a prestigious journalism award) for a conversation about what our otherwise vibrant local news scene is lacking. He says we're missing stories that take the long view, that offer depth and accountability. He wants journalism that creates a greater understanding of what's happening at city hall. We look at Logan's 6 month analysis of local news stories. Who is producing the most coverage? What gets talked about? Who gets quoted and

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01:24:04

A Drug-Fueled Election Results Episode

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/11/10

John is joined by an excessively large panel of pundits to analyze Tuesday's election results, the Democratic wave across Minnesota, Mary Moriarty's historic and crushing victory in the race to become Hennepin County's top prosecutor - and what it might mean for Minneapolis in 2023 and beyond. On the panel: Jason Garcia, Taylor Dahlin, Dianna E. Anderson, and Josh Martin at the results desk. You won't want to miss Taylor's live reports from the election night parties of all the losing candidates

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00:36:44

Sonya Emerick - Minneapolis School Board At-Large

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/10/20

This week on the Wedge LIVE podcast, John is joined by candidates for Minneapolis School Board At-Large: Collin Beachy, KerryJo Felder, and Sonya Emerick (We weren't successful in our attempts to contact candidate Lisa Skjefte). We talk about why they want this low pay/high stress job; the candidates' leadership experience; what they're looking for when they hire the next schools superintendent; what's behind declining enrollment numbers and how to reverse them; the Minneapolis Public Schools budget

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00:41:55

KerryJo Felder - Minneapolis School Board At-Large

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/10/20

This week on the Wedge LIVE podcast, John is joined by candidates for Minneapolis School Board At-Large: Collin Beachy, KerryJo Felder, and Sonya Emerick (We weren't successful in our attempts to contact candidate Lisa Skjefte). We talk about why they want this low pay/high stress job; the candidates' leadership experience; what they're looking for when they hire the next schools superintendent; what's behind declining enrollment numbers and how to reverse them; the Minneapolis Public Schools budget

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00:40:33

Collin Beachy - Minneapolis School Board At-Large

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/10/20

This week on the Wedge LIVE podcast, John is joined by candidates for Minneapolis School Board At-Large: Collin Beachy, KerryJo Felder, and Sonya Emerick (We weren't successful in our attempts to contact candidate Lisa Skjefte). We talk about why they want this low pay/high stress job; the candidates' leadership experience; what they're looking for when they hire the next schools superintendent; what's behind declining enrollment numbers and how to reverse them; the Minneapolis Public Schools budget

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00:53:18

Anne Winkler-Morey's 420-Day Bike Trip Around the...

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/08/18

After getting laid-off from her job as a college professor during the great recession a decade ago, a Minneapolis woman with a fear of bikes and strangers, takes a 420-day bike trip around the perimeter of the country with her spouse, accepting invitations to stay in the homes of strangers along the way. I met Anne Winkler-Morey at Open Streets on Franklin Avenue several weeks ago and was taken by her story. Who doesn't fantasize about leaving it all behind, escaping the political despair, facing

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00:59:59

Minneapolis Primary Results Episode 2022

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/08/11

John is joined by Jason Garcia and Josh Martin for a reaction to the results of the 2022 Minneapolis primary election. Though this episode premieres two days after election day, Josh announces results as if in real time, accompanied by breaking news music. We ponder the meaning of Rep. Ilhan Omar's surprisingly small margin of victory; Mary Moriarty's comfortable first place finish in the Hennepin County Attorney's race; Don Samuels and Martha Holton-Dimick's failure to win in North Minneapolis,

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01:11:16

Beachcast: Lake Nokomis Main Beach with Patrick...

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/07/26

John and co-host/producer Paula Chesley begin by storming the main beach at Lake Nokomis doing "person on the beach" interviews. Then we're joined by local artist and activist Patrick Scully and his friend Wendy Morris for a conversation about a different beach: Twin Lake's hidden beach. For decades it's been unofficially a place where it's ok to swim naked -- until the police show up. Patrick tells a story of a 1977 police raid of the beach and how he barely escaped arrest (after a police officer

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00:59:57

Monthly with Melody #2

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/07/21

John is joined by Melody Hoffmann from https://SouthwestVoices.news, who is finally off podcast probation, for our regular "Monthly with Melody" conversation. Topics include: a a very brief farmers market update from an unprepared Melody; Mayor Frey's choice for Community Safety Commissioner, Cedric Alexander; the burgeoning movement against 5G towers in the Kingfield neighborhood; and we dissect John's thesis that "Fear is ruining Minneapolis politics, mainstreaming offensive and/or oddball

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00:46:22

Beachcast: Longfellow Beach on the Mississippi River

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/07/19

John and co-host/producer Paula Chesley climb down a 90-year-old staircase to visit Longfellow Beach, an unsanctioned beach on the Mississippi River. Experts will advise you not to swim in it. It's full of agricultural runoff and bacteria -- and the currents might carry you off. Paula gets out the pH test strips to see how the river water compares to kimchi, a substance that is apparently safer to swim in than the river. Paula recounts some river beach history and reveals her rating system for beach

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00:45:29

Beachcast: Hidden Beach at Cedar Lake with...

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/07/13

The first in our Beachcast series of episodes. John and co-host/producer Paula Chesley are joined by Minneapolis Parks Commissioner Tom Olsen at his favorite beach: Hidden Beach on Cedar Lake. We discuss planned improvements (including an amphitheater) and past changes to Hidden Beach -- and beach politics in the Kenwood neighborhood. We talk about park issues, including bathroom availability, public drinking, nudity, crime, and mansion owners encroaching on the lakeshore (which is legally park

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00:43:26

What if free transit was included in your rent?

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/07/06

What if instead of a dog grooming station or a cable TV subscription, your landlord or condo association provided you with free transportation? John's guest is Molly Burns-Hansen from Move Minnesota, who is seeking out tenants, landlords, condo associations, and neighborhood groups in order to sign buildings up for Metro Transit's residential transit pass program. It's just $14 per month to provide an unlimited ride transit pass to every unit in a building (or several buildings, with a minimum of 10

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00:43:58

What's next for the Minneapolis 2040 Plan lawsuit?

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/06/28

Following the City of Minneapolis' recent loss in Hennepin County District Court, John is joined by Matthew Melewski -- a lawyer with experience in Minnesota land use and environmental law -- for a conversation about the ongoing four year legal battle over the Minneapolis 2040 Plan. We review the arguments, the law, the fake environmentalists behind this lawsuit, and anticipate the next 18 months of appeals. That's right, there could still be 18 more months of this. John takes issue with the

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01:04:38

On Location in Uptown

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/06/21

John is joined by Melody Hoffmann (@MelodySWV from https://southwestvoices.news) for a Saturday night special report on location from the streets of Uptown. All with a goal of answering the question: what is the relative aliveness of Uptown these days? We start in LynLake and move west towards Uptown proper. We visit local art such as the Uptown Trolley Ball, assess the 29th Street "shared street," climb a local parking garage for a bird's eye view of Hennepin Avenue, endure an extended cameo from

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00:44:43

Pedal Pod: Mike Norton, Minneapolis DFL Vice Chair

Wedge LIVE! ·

2022/06/16

On the series finale of the Pedal Pod: There's an empty seat in the pod-mobile. John faces the prospect of podcasting without a partner in conversation. Increasingly desperate, he picks up Mike Norton, logistics tycoon and Lakewood cemetery tour guide. As we pedal up and down Lyndale Avenue, we talk about the disgruntled reaction to Mike taking on his new role as vice chair of the Minneapolis DFL, his 2021 attempt to unseat Ward 13 Council Member Linea Palmisano, and we disagree on how likely it is

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