I've often thought you can tell the history of Minneapolis through its tortured relationship with the bottle. On Friday came news that the city had prevailed in its effort to shut down Karma, the notorious Warehouse District club, and one in a long line of nightspots that were just a little too lively for comfort in Minneapolis. Matt McKinney reports that the nightclub owner said giving up the liquor license had nothing to do with all the pressure from the cops, license inspectors, etc. Meanwhile, zoning laws designed to keep liquor stores away from schools, churches and each other mean that there are only a few spots left in sought-after south Minneapolis to put a new one, and that makes each license a hot commodity, Eric Roper reports.
The heavily-subsidized Minneapolis Convention Center is laying off staff in the face of a slump in trade shows and conventions, Steve Brandt reports. One startling statistic: the occupany rate for the giant structure last year was 51 percent.
The OccupyMN demonstrators and other groups unhappy with banks, unemployment and the war in Afghanistan turned downtown Minneapolis into a protest zone last week, but at least two actions that could have resulted in arrests - a sit-in outside Wells Fargo Friday and the construction of tents early Sunday on Hennepin County government plaza - didn't. The next proposed campground: the plaza in front of the U.S. Bank building, Nicole Norfleet reports.
The king and queen of Norway bade farewell to the Twin Cities today after a banquet at the Minneapolis Hilton last night, where nobody was allowed to leave before the royals, Kim Ode reports.
At the courthouse: A judge ruled that the civil case against Amy Senser in the hit-and-run accident that killed Anousone Phanthavong will have to wait until the end of the criminal investigation, Abby Simons reports. A federal judge ruled that two Minneapolis poilce officers violated a man's constitutional rights when they strip-searched him in public, Corey Mitchell reports.
