JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Naming The Six (Possible) North Minneapolis Crime Families Hours After Polls Close On Election Night...

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

About a year ago, a respected community leader (RCL) told me something like, "John, I know you're the only one willing to dig into this story I am about to tell you." The RCL proceeded to tell me half a dozen "crime families" were responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in North Minneapolis. The crime families had generations of dysfunction and it appeared they taught crime skills to their offspring like a profession.

I obtained the surnames of the families, one of which was (of course) Gomez.

In fact, it was my stories about the Gomez family, documenting three generations of crime, which made that RCL believe I'd be able to get to the bottom of the story of half a dozen crime families. (Click here, and here) 

HOWEVER, hearing of the pattern and assembling the facts isn't as easy as assembling facts and then perceiving the pattern...

Jordan Area Community Garden: Still a Shining Corner Seven Years After Riots

Contributed Photo

by Jordan Neighbor
JNS Guest Blogger


On August 22, 2002, dozens of people gathered on the corner of 26th and Knox in North Minneapolis. There was anger, disrespect and lots of resentment in the air. They yelled, they screamed, they ran around and threw rocks, glass bottles, punches, and angry words. Yet the newborn community garden survived the chaos with relatively little to no damage.

On August 22, 2009, dozens of people gathered on the corner of 26th and Knox in North Minneapolis. There was joy, respect and lots of fellowship in the air. They yelled in celebration, they praised the artists responsible for artwork at the garden, some of the children ran around catching bumble bees in plastic cups. People mingled and smiled, hugged, and offered congratulations and admiration for the artwork.

The contrast from seven years ago yesterday was very prominent in the minds of neighbors. The Big Stop store is gone, the open air drug market on 26th Ave is (mostly) gone. The neighborhood kids are running, playing, biking, chasing bumble bees and butterflies. Neighbors walked down to the garden from all points in the Jordan neighborhood without crossing through gang territory and passing through drug dealers' general storefronts.

The Pohlad Family Foundation, Treetrust and Chicago Ave Fire Arts Center teamed up with Jordan Area Community Council to complete a garden makeover, create some new art for the garden and hold a re-dedication ceremony. The ringleaders shared a few words about their accomplishments. The young artists spoke of their work. A couple of spoken word performers shared their skills. Kids clapped and screamed in joy and celebration. Neighbors admired the beautiful garden gate adorned with symbols and words of Hope and Equality. And newborn babies were tickled and ogled.

It was a fabulous day to celebrate in the Jordan neighborhood and many neighbors gathered to do just that. What a perfect Saturday afternoon. Thank you to all the folks involved in this project that worked hard to pull it off and add to the community garden, both tangible and intangible contributions that will ripple through the universe.

(Do not click "Read More" but Do go to 26th/Knox to see for yourself!)

Pohlad Foundation, Tree Trust, Volunteers Remake Jordan Community Garden...

Photos By John Hoff

There is a story everybody in the Jordan Neighborhood knows about the Jordan Riot of 2002: during the violence, not even one petal on a flower was harmed in the Community Garden, which was in the very heart of the civil disturbance.

Oh, sure, a few garden stones were ripped out to throw at police cars or whatever, but the flowers were unharmed because even the drug-dealing gangs respected the garden. After all, their own children helped plant flowers, side-by-side with the forces of neighborhood revitalization there at the intersection of Knox and 26th.

Now 26th Ave. N. is so peaceful that I often walk or bike where, at one time, many residents were afraid to drive in vehicles. Shot spotters, video cameras, dedicated police work, and just a little bit of silver lining from the dark cloud of the foreclosure crisis are all responsible for these positive changes.

The Jordan Garden was, however, always a humble little patch of ground. The efforts to plant and maintain the green space were, one might say, "grass roots." But now Jordan Community Garden is getting a dramatic makeover with help from Tree Trust and the Pohlad Foundation...


These photos show some of the people and good feeling apparent yesterday in the garden. From top to bottom, here's who's who and what's going on.

First, word is the old sign (created in approximately 2003) is not going ANYWHERE. Just because there are improvements doesn't mean everything changes.

Second, my son at the garden with the Mayor of West St. Paul, John Zanmiller. You might wonder why the Mayor of West St. Paul would be taking an active role in a NoMi community garden but, well, he gets to the Jordan Neighborhood pretty frequently and wears many hats.

In the next photo, Stu Ackerberg of the Ackerberg Group posing with my son. Stu has been doing incredible things to renovate West Broadway. But in our brief conversation, I also learned that (more importantly) he's a dedicated father.

The last photo shows Council Member Don Samuels, Terri Egge of the Pohlad Foundation, and a bunch of Tree Trust volunteers. The house in the background is 1716 26th Ave. N., the flashpoint of the Jordan Riot. The story of the riot has been told again and again, but each time I've heard the story from residents of the neighborhood, this particular piece of information has been emphasized:

Yes, the police made a mistake during the raid and a child was injured. However, drugs were dealt CONSTANTLY at the house and the people who lived there were affiliated with a gang. The Jordan Riot wasn't a "people's uprising" so much as criminal resistance against law and order.

So what happened as a result?

Click here for my editorial comment, in music.