Star Tribune continues to attack & lie about Glendale Families & Defend Glendale

https://www.startribune.com/glendale-townhomes-historic-designation/601345725?s=03

Dear Susan Du, 

On behalf of Defend Glendale and long-time families of Glendale Townhomes, we find your article to be an elaborate lie, an attack on low-income and working-class families that made Glendale historic, and the ones who are living there now that continue to make Glendale historic. We urge you to research and be a credible reporter instead of marketing for MPHA and Mayor Frey. This is the 4th or 5th time Star Tribune lied about us and ignored us when we submitted op-eds to tell our side of the story. However, when a white ally submitted the same Op Ed, Star Tribune accepted it. Your reporting continues to amplify the misrepresentation and silencing of low-income communities of color in Minneapolis, and it has not failed you yet. The article is full of lies from beginning to end.  We demand a public apology and the following corrections to the strategically false statements in your article. 

  1. The petition you are referring to doesn’t say anything about displacement.Blank Petition Glendale to HPC and Minneapolis City Council April 2025.pdf
  2.  Although the issue before the HPC is historic designation, MPHA’s repeated redevelopment proposals have confused the issue and raised serious concerns among residents. For the first time in a decade, MPHA is showing up regularly, now discussing relocation and demolition, while insisting they have no concrete plans. This contradiction has left residents in a state of uncertainty and fear of displacement.  MPHA initially claimed there were no plans, but soon presented four redevelopment options, including multi-story buildings. They called these proposals “preliminary,” yet have since confirmed RAD as their official direction—a program that would require demolition and has not been clearly explained to residents. At the end of these meetings, MPHA dismissively claims Glendale is not historic, despite expert opinions to the contrary.  MPHA has also falsely suggested that historic designation would block repairs. In fact, according to the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, local designation does not prevent changes—it only requires that exterior modifications follow preservation guidelines and receive HPC approval.
  3. You reported that DGPHC refused to provide a comment on Historic Designation. How is that true, when DGPHC invited multiple Star Tribune reporters to the May 11th press conference, and sent the press release to the Star Tribune tip line on May 10th. Instead of attending and speaking to the resident organizer, you used an old quote about the RAD fight at Elliot Twins, which has nothing to do with the historic designation of Glendale Townhomes.
  1. Another false claim is that homes cannot be repaired if they are historically designated. This is simply false, and even the HPC has clarified this point. According to the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office’s website, “Local designation of a historic building or district will not prohibit you from making changes to your property. However, any exterior changes you make must meet local preservation guidelines based on the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and must be approved by your HPC.”
  2. Despite having access to numerous vacant lots, both MPHA and the City are not using this land to build more Section 9 public housing. Instead, residents face displacement in Glendale because that is what MPHA has been talking about in Glendale meetings since December 2024. Why isn’t this available land being used to expand Section public housing instead of demolishing and ending it? And why are many of the privatized scattered-site homes—especially those serving large families—being demolished?  The facts are all public records at MPHA.  Do FOI? You chose not to look at facts but to repeat MPHA’s lies.  
  3. MPHA is receiving more funding from the City and State than ever before, yet continues to demolish Section 9 public housing. The new small fourplex apartments being built cannot accommodate large families, and they are not true public housing. These units are privately owned by LLCs and based on Area Median Income (AMI), which reflects market-rate rents, often geared toward households earning around $100,000. As a result, large families and those with very low incomes are excluded and unable to return. Why not investigate what happened to the displaced families from the original Section 9 single-family homes? Do your research.
  4. On July 6, 2016, as a City Pages reporter, you interviewed Glendale families and published a well-received, balanced piece titled “The Fight Over the Housing Project That Sits on Gold”. At the time, you told both sides of the story fairly and factually. Now, as a reporter for the Star Tribune, you’ve misrepresented Defend Glendale and the Glendale Townhomes, despite knowing the facts, especially that our campaign is not run by white people.
  5. The worst lie by you and MPHA is “Staff have fielded numerous complaints about canvassers knocking on tenants’ doors and telling them they would lose their homes if they didn’t support historic designation.”  

At the public hearing, Youth on April 8th at HPC, directly addressed and refuted accusations that they were using fear tactics to gain support for historic designation. In contrast, Abdi Warsame has reportedly harassed residents and brought in outside agitators to intimidate and silence community voices. If the Star Tribune had attended our press conference and spoken with residents about how MPHA is scaring them, the coverage could have been more fair and accurate.

We could write pages correcting the misinformation in the article, but we don’t have the time. More importantly, the privatization of the Elliot Twins through RAD—now owned by a private LLC with a 99-year lease to the Bank of Canada—has nothing to do with the historic designation of Glendale Townhomes. Instead of drawing false connections, why not conduct real investigative reporting? Look into how rent calculations changed after the Elliot Twins’ conversion from Section 9 to RAD, and report the actual number of displaced elders with disabilities, on SSI, many of whom were organizing against the privatization.

Star Tribune’s history of silencing and racist tactics on Glendale Townhomes and public housing leaders of Defend Glendale goes back to 2017, since they identified with Greg Russ, the Czar of Privatization and Gentrification. 

Star Tribune’s long history of slander, disrespect, racism, and silencing is well documented throughout the City’s low-income Black and Brown communities, who are trying to save their communities like Glendale Townhomes. We demand a public apology and corrections as soon as possible.