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The Minnesota Human Rights Department finds that the Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination over the past decade ("A pattern of racism at MPD," front page, April 28). Mayor Jacob Frey calls the findings "repugnant, at times horrific" and goes on to say that "this time it needs to be different." Apparently, all the other "times" weren't horrific enough. The report finds that former MPD Chief Medaria Arradondo had "at least" 65 completed discipline files on his desk awaiting review when the HRD began its inquiry in June 2020. The Star Tribune Editorial Board calls the report "damning," but nowhere in the editorial does it call out the role that the mayor and the chief have played in the sick and racist culture that has been allowed to thrive over many, many years.

I am indeed sickened and horrified but sadly not surprised by the findings of the HRD. Do the mayor, MPD leadership and the Editorial Board now understand why I and so many of my fellow Minneapolitans voted "yes" on Amendment 2 in 2021 to replace the MPD with a Department of Public Safety and voted "no" on re-electing Mayor Frey? I have no trust in this mayor, current MPD leadership and the Minneapolis police union. We needed a fresh start, but we didn't get it. To my Black sisters and brothers, I don't even know what to say.

Rebecca H. Hamblin, Minneapolis

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So the state report found racism at the MPD. Is that any surprise considering that the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which led the investigation, is headed by Rebecca Lucero? She is a protégé of Keith Ellison, our left-leaning state attorney general. Her bio on the Minnesota government website states that "she strives to lead her life with an intersectional lens, honoring complex identities." For a man of limited wit like me, that leaves me scratching my head but again reinforces which political party she identifies with.

Loras J. Holmberg, Plymouth

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The Minnesota Department of Human Rights just completed a two-year study to determine if there was racial bias in the MPD. They concluded that there was.

One statistic that I would like to see that would shed a considerable amount of light on the subject of crime in Minneapolis and the resulting police response to it is what was the race of the person(s) committing each of these crimes: 1) carjacking, 2) assault and 3) robbery. (I would include murder on this list, but most of the time, the victim is unable to convey this information to another person.) The answer to the question of who committed these three crimes should come from the lips of the crime victims, most of the time probably showing up in the police report, or if not, by contacting the crime victim and asking them that one question.

Then the government officials, those pushing for reform of the Police Department and the public will have a very good idea as to who is committing these crimes. And if we know that, we will also know if the police have been accurately focusing on the proper place. If they have, this dramatically changes the picture some people are now trying to paint. What percent of these crimes are being committed by the different races in Minneapolis? And how do those percentages compare to their proportion of the population? That is the question, and it was probably unwittingly raised by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in conducting and reporting on this subject.

In 2020, the Star Tribune published an article titled "Minnesota welfare payments to increase for first time since 1986." I appreciate the attention that is being brought to the lack of funding increases that the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) has seen.

It is now 2022, and I would like to highlight several other notable issues that MFIP has along the lines of funding, which currently impacts a substantial amount of Minnesota residents. Firstly, MFIP has not made significant progress in reducing poverty in Minnesota, only removing extreme poverty. This is alarming, given one of MFIP's primary goals is to create financial stability in families. Additionally, based on the current requirements for employment/education hours, MFIP has the ability to push families further into poverty when termination or sanctions are required. MFIP also has a confusing asset limit of $10,000, which can easily be a single car for a family, again making it difficult for them to obtain a financial stability goal if participants aren't able to hold necessary assets such as transportation. Finally, MFIP has a significant issue with the employment options that are available, many of which are minimum wage or part time. The latter does not support single-parent or dual-parent families in establishing financial assistance.

I'd like to encourage any reader of this message to contact their legislator to advocate for increasing low-income wages and increasing access to higher education to regain the track of establishing financial stability.

Julia Rodriguez, Eagan

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I'm a graduate social work student, and the importance of serving individuals with dignity and respect has been repeated time and time again over the last five years of my education. I blindly assumed the work of food distribution programs was ethically sound. It wasn't until I spent an entire semester studying food insecurity in Minnesota and the rest of the United States that I recognized areas in which food assistance programs fall short in providing culturally sensitive services.

Throughout our state, many cultural communities look to food banks to meet their dietary needs. However, a considerable number of these programs are designed to solely serve food based on American culture and dietary habits.

Food is a significant part of one's culture. Food is not only used as a means of sustaining the mind and body but is incorporated into traditions and celebrations. Just because someone lives in poverty does not mean their cultural practices should have to be sacrificed. By not providing culturally appropriate food options in our food programs, we are in a way asking culturally diverse neighbors of Minnesota to assimilate to American culture. By incorporating diverse, culturally appropriate food options, we can better serve our neighbors with dignity and respect.

Katelin Wood, Eagan

While I applaud the Star Tribune editorial on state Rep. John Thompson, which argued that he should retire to allow his district more effective representation ("Lawmaker has run-in with the law. Again," April 29), it failed to report that the Democratic delegates in House District 67A have not endorsed Thompson in this race (they did in 2020) and have given their endorsement to Liz Lee. As a former congressional staffer and Ivy League graduate, Lee appears to have all the credentials to provide the effective and responsible representation that is currently lacking in Thompson.