Readers Write: Doors Open Minneapolis, Brian O’Hara’s comments, mushroom hunting, Gov. Tim Walz

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I have felt depressed, saddened and hopeless in the past few months, like many Americans and Minnesotans. But last weekend I attended several great venues featured in Doors Open Minneapolis. I volunteered as a greeter at K&K Metal Recycling; almost 800 people toured and most of them said it was fantastic, fun and interesting. So, I went back the next day for a tour; they were right. I also toured a firehouse and a cancer research lab at the university. All interesting and fun.

But the thing I reveled in was all the friendly and happy people talking to each other — enjoying our city and each other. Everybody I encountered was happy and having a fun day. Strangers talked to each other; no one was angry or yelling. What a welcome relief after the past few months of oppressive animosity. Thanks, Minneapolis, for the experience. And thanks, Rethos, for throwing a great party. I’ll be back next year.

Mary Ann Knox, Minneapolis

I read about Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara’s comments to the New York Post, and I completely understand the chief’s frustration (“Minneapolis police chief says city’s ‘bourgeois liberal mentality’ distorts facts,” StarTribune.com, May 18). The Post was doing a follow-up article on the changes that have taken place in Minneapolis since George Floyd was killed five years ago. The climate of policing changed drastically after May 2020. The momentum of being anti-police grew in the following years and is completely understandable. The chief was hired in November 2022, two-and-a-half years after Floyd’s death. He took on a force that was short-staffed and had low morale along with an inside culture that needed a big change. O’Hara moved across the country to take on the job while his wife still resides in New Jersey.

A perfect example of the “bourgeois liberal mentality” the chief referred to is George Floyd Square. The surveys and research done show the businesses and neighborhood want the intersection open so they can go on with their lives. But instead, Council Member Jason Chavez and other council members think they know best on what should be done in the area, ignoring the research the taxpayers have spent money on. This makes no sense — or as the chief said, “A lot of times it’s like reality and facts can’t get through the filter.” When the council vetoed the plans for GFS this past December, Chavez said, “We have one shot to get this right.” For who? Certainly not the people and businesses in the area who shared their opinions!

And on Tuesday, it was announced that the Minneapolis Police Department hired civilians for two high-ranking positions to lead bureaus that focus on officer conduct and rebuilding community trust. O’Hara said the changes “underscore our commitment to building a stronger, more accountable department.” He is doing what he was hired to do in spite of the fact that he runs into criticism no matter what he does.

Through the work of the mayor and chief, I believe we are better off than we were five years ago. And I believe we are on the path to being better yet.

I think Chavez and Council President Elliott Payne should take a moment to see how hard O’Hara is working and understand that the comments he expressed match the frustration he feels. They might find that they can accomplish much more together.

Teresa Maki, Minnetonka

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O’Hara says Minneapolis is a “bourgeois liberal” city. If he’s talking about me, he’s right. I’m a bourgeois liberal. Here’s what I want: Police that protect and serve. Without unnecessary force. Without racism.

His job is to try to work with citizens like me to achieve that. If that goal is too bourgeois or too liberal for him, maybe he should look for another job.

John Stuart, Minneapolis

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Printing quotes is not a smear (“Stick to real news, please,” Readers Write, May 20). We constituents get sanitized, curated statements from offices of politicians and figures that can mask true intentions or feelings. If a quote makes the person quoted look bad, that’s an opportunity for self-reflection and discussion to moderate each other. We deserve to know if people seeking contracts with the city are harassing or intimidating those sitting in the seats of power. We deserve to know if people seeking those seats of power reveal some latent racism in their deflection of personal responsibility in why constituents did not support their efforts. We also deserve to know what people tasked with safety of the public say about those trying to hold that crucial power to account so we don’t keep repeating cycles of abuse.

Phi Khalar, Minneapolis

The article “A mushroom hunting novice hunts for the elusive morel” (May 20) mentions foraging groups’ laudable goal “to create a task force to outline clearer rules for harvesting on state properties.” Unfortunately, a bill (SF 2077) that would appropriate $327,000 to establish a “Sustainable Foraging Task Force” contains four fundamental flaws:

Thomas E. Casey, Mound

The writer is board chair of Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas.

In what seems like a lifetime ago, my son graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law. This past Saturday, the University of Minnesota Law School held its own graduation. I won’t bore you with the “proud father” moments I had — suffice it to say, it was a day I’ll never forget, for all the right reasons.

Wow, what a difference a lifetime makes!

On that long-ago day, a parade of commencement speakers sent forth a variety of heartfelt congratulations, offered up sage advice and primed each graduate with the myriad challenges each would be facing, as well the grand opportunities that would present themselves. All in all, a grand day.

On Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota took a much different path. He decided the graduating class would rather hear just how much he hated President Donald Trump. In a rather pointed manner, Walz declared that unless he shared his feelings with this august body, “I wouldn’t be honoring my oath ... .”

From there he began his rampage by suggesting that Trump and his ICE agents “were a modern-day Gestapo” and that they were “scooping folks up off the streets. They’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons ... .”

I’m only guessing, mind you, but my gut tells me that if the proud parents and young men and women in the graduating class had wanted a passionate political diatribe, they would have been better served by going to the next Bruce Springsteen concert.

Terry Bremer, Wayzata