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Insight News

December 9, 2019 - December 15, 2019

Vol. 46 No. 49• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

FAMILY AFFAIR

THE STEELES, ONE OF MINNESOTA’S ICONIC MUSICAL FAMILIES, TO PERFORM TWO HOLIDAY SHOWS AT THE FITZGERALD.

THE STEELES STORY ON PAGE 8

Page 2 • December 9, 2019 - December 15, 2019 • Insight News

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Ghana: Back to my roots Planting People Growing Justice will host a 2020 “Back to My Roots” trip to Ghana.

The organization’s founder, Dr. Artika Tyner, hosted a similar journey in 2019 in honor of “The Year of the Return” that marked the 400th anniversary of when the first African slave ships arrived in the U.S. in 1619.

“This trip will be a remarkable sankofa experience of returning home and reclaiming our rich cultural heritage,” said Tyner.

“This is a gift to humanity.”

The trip will take place June 26 – July 5. During the excursion, individuals will visit Senchi Ferry, Cape Coast and

Accra, the capital and largest city in Ghana. Participants will learn about the rich cultural heritage of Ghana, the history of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade, and revel in the beauty of Africa.

Registration is now being accepted for the “Back to My Roots” experience.

Participants

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Dr. Artika Tyner (far right) with a group of Minnesotans during the 2019 Year of the Return trip to Ghana.

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will spend nine days in the Motherland and learn about amazing Africa. The cost is $2,900 and includes meals, tours/visits, ground transportation, and double occupancy hotel room.

Individuals will have the opportunity to visit the slave castles in Cape Coast. An estimated 6-12 million enslaved Africans

passed through the 40 or so castles/forts that were built along the African coast as early as 1502 where Africans were bought, sold and sent to points around the globe.

Sankofa is a word in the Twi language that translates into “go back and get it” or “go back and fetch it.” Tyner said that’s what the “Back to My

Roots” experience does.

She said it gives individuals an opportunity to return to their roots, traditions, and the land of their ancestors.

Sankofa is also a symbol used by the people of Ghana that stresses the importance of using knowledge of the past to bring about positive change in the future.

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Insight News • December 9, 2019 - December 15, 2019 • Page 3

Insight News WINNER: 2018 NNPA MERIT AWARDS: 3RD PLACE BES T COLUMN WRITING

December 9, 2019 - December 15, 2019

WINNER: 2019 GENERAL EXCELLENCE, 3RD PLACE, COLUMN WRITING, 2ND PLACE

Vol. 46 No. 49• The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • insightnews.com

Deadly force State’s attorney general; public safety commissioner working to reduce deadly force police incidents

By Harry Colbert, Jr. Managing Editor harry@insightnews.com The state’s top attorney and the commissioner of public safety are working together to reduce the number of officer involved shootings in Minnesota.

Attorney General Keith Ellison and Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington have formed a coalition to examine officer involved shootings in efforts to find solutions to the problem.

In 2018, according to the Washington Post, as of Oct. 16, 713 people in the U.S. have been killed by police in 2019. The number was 992 in 2018. According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension – the agency that investigates officer involved shootings – as of Dec. 5, there were 23 such shootings resulting in injury or death in 2019 and 18 in 2018.

Ellison and Harrington are convening meetings throughout the state with government officials, citizens and members of law enforcement to discuss the issue and compile information that will be put into a public report. The report will offer policy recommendations to be implemented at the local level.

Harrington said Minnesota is the only place looking at the

issue from a state level. He said the issue demands an “all hands on deck” approach.

“Any of our babies we lose … lawfully or unlawfully … is a tragedy to the community,” said Harrington during an interview with Insight News editor-in-chief Al McFarlane on KFAI-FM. “When we talk about the work we’re doing, for me, the tone was set when we heard from the mothers of Oscar Grant (Grant was killed in Oakland by the Bay Area Rapid Transit police) and Philando Castile (Castile was killed by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez).

That set the tone for this whole initiative.”

With taking on the issue of police shootings, Ellison said there was skepticism from both community and law enforcement.

“And understand, we can do everything right (with the coalition and report) and there will still be tragedy, but we can affect change and reduce the number of tragedies,” said Harrington.

“And on top of that, when we look at this issue people have made it a Black or white issue, and make no mistake, police shootings definitely negatively affect the Black community … definitely … but in Minnesota 60 percent of officer involved shootings occur in Greater Minnesota and those shootings overwhelmingly

Harry Colbert, Jr.

Attorney General Keith Ellison and Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington are working together to reduce scenes such as this. A photo of Thurman Blevins was surrounded by yellow police tape following the June 23, 2018 killing of Blevins by Minneapolis police. involve white individuals,” said Ellison. “You’ve got to understand, I’m not the Black attorney general I’m thee attorney general. John is not the Black commissioner of Public Safety; he is thee commissioner of Public Safety. We’re looking out for everybody on this.”

The attorney general also said he is in his position for a reason and that reason is to affect change for those previously marginalized.

“The Civil Rights Movement put John and I in a position to be able to make change from within,” said Ellison.

Ellison and Harrington have been hosting listening sessions throughout the state to address the issue.

One such meeting in the metro area became contentious, but Ellison said the dialog was welcomed.

“The community

showed up and some saw it as disruptive, but I didn’t see it that way. To me it was the community’s meeting anyway, so we made sure they were able to have their say,” said Ellison.

Both Ellison and Harrington agree there needs to be a retraining for police throughout the state.

“Almost half the people involved in these incidents are people dealing with a mental health crisis and we need to better train police to deal with this,” said Ellison.

“What we’ve learned thus far is we’ve got to train officers to slow things down (when dealing with a stressful call that could result in use of force),” said Harrington.

The full interview of “Conversations with Al McFarlane” with Ellison and Harrington is available online at www.kfai.org.

Harrison Neighborhood Association faces displacement due to Minneapolis Public Schools decision to terminate lease Citing the “growing needs of students in Minneapolis School District in the area of mental health,” Harrison High School is looking to expand into the Harrison Community Center and take over the Harrison Neighborhood Association and Lao Assistance Center’s longtime office space.

The construction of the facility that houses Harrison High School, the Harrison Recreation Center, Lao Assistance Center and Harrison Neighborhood Association (HNA) was the result of a collaborative initiative of the Harrison Neighborhood Association, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. In 1993, the school board decided to demolish the old Harrison school and locate the Level 4 program on an alternative site. When an alternative site could not be found in a different neighborhood, the board proposed to construct a new building for the Level 4 program on the same site in Harrison. Harrison residents initially pushed back against the idea because of safety concerns, but after a year-long negotiation process, they began to see an opportunity in the proposal.

Their vision was to partner with the school district and park board to build a community center in a building shared by all stakeholders. HNA contributed $300,000 of its Neighborhood Revitalization Program funds toward the cost of construction and raised an additional $683,000 through a capital fundraising campaign. HNA entered into a 20-year lease for the space and

Twin Cities Daily Planet/Tammy Ward

Harrison Neighborhood Mural located on the side of 1900 Glenwood Ave. N. a shared use agreement between the school district and the park board for use of different parts of the building.

According to Nichole Buehler, executive director of the Harrison Neighborhood Association, instead of working with the Harrison community to maintain space in the building, the school district is seizing this as an opportunity to expand Harrison High School. After the 20-year lease and shared use agreements expired last year, the agreements continued through an auto-renewal clause; however, in September MPS notified HNA of their intent to terminate the agreements and take over the space. Presently, Harrison High School occupies 50,000 square feet with a current enrollment of 18 students.

The space they are looking to acquire is less than 5,000 square feet.

Buehler said thus far, MPS has refused to recognize the Harrison community’s nearly $1 million investment as being in exchange for anything more than a 20-year lease.

She said to construe HNA’s investment in such a manner

would mean that HNA has been paying $4,100 per month for the space – an outrageous amount given that HNA was paying just $600 a month for its lease when the agreement was first entered into, and has sublet half of the space to the Lao Assistance Center for the past 17 years for $800 a month.

“By forcing HNA to vacate the community center, MPS is single-handedly putting back into place a key barrier to equity that the community’s investment was designed to address – lack of community space,” said Buehler.

“Maintaining community space in Harrison and HNA’s physical presence in the neighborhood is more important than ever. After decades of intentional economic disinvestment, Harrison is now being inundated with new development plans that threaten to displace current residents and businesses.”

Currently, HNA is assisting Harrison residents at three different proposed development sites to stay in their homes and Buehler says HNA’s own potential displacement and the elimination of Harrison’s

I2H

Treating HIV in the tiniest babies could have huge positive implications for their future

PAGE 6

community space not only exemplifies the current struggle happening across Harrison, but represents a threat to the future of the Harrison community as a whole.

“HNA’s ability to secure comparable, affordable space in the neighborhood is simply not realistic given the current market in Harrison, and without a designated space for community to gather and organize, the neighborhood’s ability to fight displacement will be significantly compromised,” said Buehler.

She said MPS has excluded Harrison residents from a decision-making process that will dramatically impact their community. A few years ago, however, she said MPS’s treatment of another neighborhood association looking to maintain its space in a district-owned building was much different.

In that instance, the Windom Community Council, an organization located in Southwest Minneapolis that represents a community that is majority white and affluent was afforded the opportunity to enter into negotiations with the district and ultimately allowed to stay in their space.

“Thus far, HNA, an organization located in North Minneapolis that represents a community that is majority people of color and low-income has largely been ignored,” said Buehler.

School Board Director Kerry Jo Felder will be bringing forward a resolution at Tuesday’s (Dec. 10) school board meeting that will propose to extend HNA’s lease and shared use agreement.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

Ellison leads group of states on Liberian deportations Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison once again led a coalition of states in moving to protect Liberians who are beneficiaries of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) from deportation.

Ellison and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey co-led a coalition of 14 states in filing an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs-appellants in African Communities Together v. Trump, who have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reverse the federal district court’s dismissal of their lawsuit.

This is the third time this year Ellison has co-led an amicus brief in supporting Liberians with DED against President Trump’s attempt to terminate their status.

“Every Minnesotan deserves to live with dignity and respect, and every Minnesota community thrives when our Liberian neighbors, co-workers, caregivers, and friends thrive.

Liberians are woven into the fabric of every community in our state. As long as the Trump Administration keeps trying to deport Liberians from their longtime homes in Minnesota, I’ll keep fighting for them,” Ellison said.

As DED-holders, Liberians are not subject to immigration detention and removal and can legally reside and work in the United States. Many have lived in

Minnesota for decades, building families, participating in the workforce, and contributing to their communities. Ellison and the coalition argue that the Trump Administration’s attempt to terminate DED for these long-term residents of the United States would force them to return to dangerous conditions in Liberia.

The Minnesota Attorney General also argues that terminating DED for Liberians would harm Minnesota by putting at risk the welfare of thousands of children born to Liberian parents but raised in the United States. In addition, he argues that Minnesota’s economy and communities would be harmed if DED were terminated. This is particularly true in the areas of health care and social assistance where many Liberians care for Minnesotans every day.

Background on DED DED is an immigration program authorized by the president that allows foreign nationals whose countries have experienced armed conflict, civil unrest, natural disasters, or public health crises to stay in the country lawfully. Liberian nationals have been protected by either DED or Temporary Protected Status since 1991, and continuously by DED since 2007, following the outbreak of

ELLISON 7

Artika Roller to head Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault Artika Roller is the new Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA) executive director.

Roller brings 20 years of direct service experience serving women and children in the fields of domestic violence, sex trafficking and sexual violence.

As the former program director of Women’s Advocates Shelter and the PRIDE (From Trafficking to Promise, Recovery, Independence Dignity and Equality) Program, Roller played a key role in public policy advocacy and helped lead the legislative advocacy for the Safe Harbor “No Wrong Door” model for minor victims of sex trafficking and the current “Safe Harbor for All” policy advocacy. Roller was most recently employed with Hennepin County Department of Health and Human Services,

Artika Roller where she led the development and strategic planning for their child, youth, and community well-being engagement efforts.

Sports

All-star move

PAGE 7

Page 4 • December 9, 2019 - December 15, 2019 • Insight News

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Policing in Minneapolis: Northside Voices community forum Tuesday The public is invited to “Policing in Minneapolis: Northside Voices,” a community forum on the past, present, and future of policing in North Minneapolis.

The Tuesday (Dec. 10) event that goes from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at UROC, 2001 Plymouth Ave. N., Minneapolis, will build off a University of

residents about their perceptions of police, desires for police reform or transformation, and approaches to community safety and wellbeing. After a brief presentation of initial findings, community members will have the opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback on the results, and reflect on ways the

Minnesota research project that examines how neighborhood residents in North Minneapolis understand policing in the wake of the Movement for Black Lives and related local organizing. Presenters will discuss findings from a two-year study, which included interviews with more than 120 Northside

community can use the findings to advance community needs.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested. Food and refreshments will be provided.

Community mourns the loss of scholar athlete Eric Jones Eric Devante Jones, 20, passed away on Nov. 25 at Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis as a result of a rare and highly aggressive cancer diagnosed less than four months prior.

Jones was born at Fairview University of Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis on Oct. 31, 1999.

Jones graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 2017. He recently completed his sophomore year of college at Highland Community College in Highland, Kan. He was enrolled to attend Missouri Western University this past fall where he planned to major in sports management.

Jones was an athlete and had a love for the sports of basketball and track & field. His senior year in high school he participated in the long jump, high jump and triple jump in the Minnesota State Championship and in the Junior Olympics in Lawrence, Kan. in 2017.

He was well known for his passion for working with children and began his studies in childhood education at the age of 17 years old and was a member of Shiloh Temple International Ministries where he was baptized in Jesus’ name by his godfather, Broderick “Buster” Austin.

Jones is survived by his parents, Julia (Bass) Israel and Alvin Jones, step-mother

Eileen-Jones and step-father Ishmael Israel, brother Jaden Butcher, grandparents, Dr. LaTonya Whitley, Dr. Samuel Bass and Ms. Callie Jones, aunts and uncles, Tracey Jones, Antionette Jones, Alonzo Jones, Eumeeika Jones, Jennifer Brown, Samuel Bass, Jason Bass and Stephen Bass, a host of cousins and his beloved fourlegged canine companion, Chloe.

Jones’ funeral was held Dec. 4 at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, 1201 W. Broadway Ave., Minneapolis and burial took place at Mound Cemetery, 3515 69th Ave. N., Brooklyn Center.

Eric Jones lost his battle to an aggressive form of cancer. He was just 20 years old.

Photo on the left is a recent photo of Jones. Photo on the right was taken in 2017 during his Jack & Jill Rites of Passage ceremony.

She will donate more than $500,000 to support adolescent girls around the world through the Girls Opportunity Alliance at the Obama Foundation

Michelle Obama to donate proceeds from ‘Becoming’ merchandise collection to Girls Opportunity Alliance In keeping with former first lady Michelle Obama’s commitment to supporting adolescent girls’ education all over the world, she announced on Giving Tuesday (Dec. 3) she will donate more than $500,000 – the proceeds she derived from 2018 and 2019 merchandise sales related to her book, “Becoming” – to the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund, which supports grassroots leaders working on adolescent girls education around the world.

“I’ve always thought of helping others as a responsibility,” Obama said.

“This duty of giving back is what my parents and grandparents taught me, and it’s a value I’ve tried to live by my entire life – because it’s not enough just to make your way through life, thinking only of yourself.

Over the past year I’ve been incredibly blessed and humbled

Michelle Obama’s best-selling book, “Becoming.”

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by the response to my book, and I’m proud to channel that enthusiasm toward girls around the world. My hope is that this donation will help more bold and brilliant girls reach their fullest potential, continuing upward on their path toward becoming the women they are meant to be.”

The Girls Opportunity Alliance aims to engage people to take action to support adolescent girls’ education.

As part of this effort, the Alliance supports grassroots leaders around the world who best understand the unique challenges girls face in their local communities – including through the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund, which financially supports projects to empower girls throughout the world from Cambodia to Malawi to Peru.

As part of her “Becoming” book tour Obama

launched a small, Americanmade merchandise collection that accompanied her memoir, which was published in November 2018. The collection was designed to enable readers and fans to extend the messages of Obama’s book and accompanying tour into their daily lives. The collection featured messages from her memoir such as, “Work to Create the World as it Should Be” and, “When They Go Low, We Go High.”

The donation will fully fund existing projects that are supported by the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund and fund new projects being released, including a new series of projects being supported by the Fund in Vietnam.

Since publication, Obama has sold more than 11.7 million units of “Becoming” across all formats worldwide.

‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ awarded to Aminatou Haidar (Global Information Network) – The Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize” goes to five human rights activists this year. Among them is Aminatou Haidar of the Western Sahara.

Haidar receives the Right Livelihood Award “for her steadfast nonviolent action, despite imprisonment and torture, in pursuit of justice and self-determination for the people of Western Sahara”, according to organizers of the event in Stockholm, Sweden.

It is the first time that a Right Livelihood Award goes to a laureate from Western Sahara.

“I feel very honored to receive the renowned Right Livelihood Award. This is a recognition of my non-violent struggle and the just cause of the Sahrawi people. Despite military occupation and violations of fundamental human rights, they continue their peaceful struggle. The Sahrawis deserve to be supported by all so that, one day, they will achieve independence and freedom,” said Aminatou Haidar.

Haidar was born in El-Ayoun in 1967 when Western Sahara was under Spanish colonial rule. Only two years earlier, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara requesting Spain to decolonize the disputed territory. In the following years, the UN General Assembly repeatedly requested

Aminatou Haidar Spain to organize a referendum on self-determination, under UN supervision. In the meantime, the neighboring countries Morocco and Mauritania claimed the territory.

The indigenous people of Western Sahara, the Sahrawis, have repeatedly been promised the right to self-determination by the UN, Spain and Morocco. But more than 40 years have passed without a referendum being held, with the international community indifferent or even complicit in the occupation.

The four other awards went to Guo Jianmei (China), Greta Thunberg (Sweden) and Davi Kopenawa/Hutukara Yanomami Association (Brazil).

The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 to “honor and support courageous people solving global problems.”

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Insight News • December 9, 2019 - December 15, 2019 • Page 5

Dr. Jean Mouelle: The ‘tree protector’ technician with the DNR, keeps an eye out year-round for wellshaped evergreen with short needles, like balsam fir or white spruce.

The tree must be near a road so it can be transported, and ample space is needed for the fall. Each November, Strock finds three to five trees for Mouelle to choose from.

“Jean has the last say,” Strock said. “He’s the chief picker.”

A chainsaw fells the tree so it moves downward slowly in a predetermined direction. Witnesses hear a pop and squeak as the tree falls to a tarp. The tree is placed on a trailer and delivered to St. Paul the next day where staff from the Governor’s Mansion wait with a crane.

By Deborah Locke DNR Information Officer Yes, in answer to that age-old question, when a tree falls in the forest, it makes a sound.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) forestry staff know that better than most people, especially those on the crew to deliver a 30-foot tree to the Minnesota Governor’s Mansion for the Christmas season.

Dr. Jean Mouelle, born in what was then French Congo and educated in forest preservation, made the final selection of the state tree from General C.C. Andrews State Forest in Pine County. The balsam fir was delivered to the St. Paul address on Dec. 3.

Mouelle, 61, whose title is regional silviculturist and road specialist, is known nationally and internationally for forestry and logging protection, conservation and harvest. A pretty good problem solver, he’s found solutions in use today that early on, seemed outlandish.

Consider these.

He figured out a better way to harvest mahogany trees in east central Africa. He figured out a better way to harvest trees in Idaho that gave family-owned logging operations a fighting chance against the big logging industries. He figured out a way to cut a big tree in a way that guarantees where it will fall without smashing branches once it lands. For that skill, Mouelle did research, practiced with a chainsaw, and today oversees the cutting and removal of the 500 to 900-pound pine from a Minnesota forest to St. Paul.

A 21-year DNR employee, Mouelle’s career and life have been rich and eventful, pocked with a few tragedies and

DNR interns often help with the Christmas tree harvest, and provide youthful enthusiasm when the tree falls, Mouelle said. “You hear them scream and that makes me happy,” he said.

On balance, the tree removal requires a small fraction of Mouelle’s education and experience. Yet he is happy to act as crew coach because traditions are important to maintain, he said. After Christmas, the big tree is transported to a St. Paul yard and chipped for mulch, where it enters another phase of its life … to keep still-growing trees moist.

“Those chips will nourish another tree,” said Mouelle. “They’ll close the cycle of life.”

Dr. Jean Mouelle challenges.

In conversation with him, however, difficulties receive slight mention. He’s a natural, optimistic storyteller with a life story that reaches from a remote African village where he spent a few years as a child, to his earning a Ph.D. in Idaho, followed by a move to Minnesota.

The early years demonstrate the greatest contrast between then and now. He was born in a city and for a few years as a boy, lived in a remote African village that lacked electricity and running water.

Children played soccer with a ball handmade from leaves.

Everyone shared what little they had.

“It was there that I fell in love with nature and where I developed an interest in forestry,” he said.

Mouelle learned the benefits of cooperation and

sharing, traits that benefit the whole group. That early lesson becomes evident today through a simple question. Jean Mouelle, what tree should we plant in our yards?

“Fruit trees,” he said immediately. “They’re not too tall, they give shade, and they give fruit in the fall.”

Extra bounty can be shared with friends or a food shelf, he said. In addition, he encourages home gardening in the ground or through containers. He located land and helped fellow church members plant small plots.

Mouelle has planted and protected trees for a long time. As a young man, he attended the Rural Development Institute in Congo for engineering, rural development and forest management, and figured out way to harvest valuable mahogany trees that used the whole tree. He also

espoused replanting trees.

Not everyone embraced the new methods, especially large corporations.

“When you stand in the way of a corporation, it’s a no-no.” he said.

Fortunately, at that time he received a scholarship to study agri-forestry at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.

Mouelle said his exposure to tropical and U.S. forestry and the differing methods of tree harvest gave him a broad understanding of the world and the management of natural resources. In Idaho he received a M.A. in agri-forestry and range resources and a PhD. in forest management.

That education and background give him a keen eye in the search for an ideal Christmas pine for the Governor’s Mansion. Brian Strock, a 19-year veteran

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Page 6 • December 9, 2019 - December 15, 2019 • Insight News

Insight 2 Health

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Treating HIV in the tiniest babies could have huge positive implications for their future

By Roger L. Shapiro Associate Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health TheConversation.com

Princess had a rough start in life.

She was born HIVinfected. Her mother was often sick, and there was little family support for her own struggles with HIV. But Princess’ mother had recently started HIV treatment and planned to stay on it. She wanted to do everything possible for her daughter, so she made a decision that ultimately helped save Princess’ life … she enrolled her in a study to treat HIV infection just a few days after being born.

HIV progresses rapidly in the first year of life, wreaking havoc on an infant’s developing immune system.

Although treating HIV-infected women with three active drugs in pregnancy can prevent most transmission to babies, Princess is one of almost 500 children born each day in sub-Saharan Africa who still become infected with HIV. The World Health Organization recommends starting threedrug antiretroviral treatment in infected children as early as possible, yet this goal has proved elusive in most pediatric HIV treatment programs globally.

Recent research in this field, including our new data from Botswana, suggest that initiating treatment as close to birth as possible may be the best time to treat infants. Starting in the first week of life may reduce the total amount of virus in the baby’s body, it may improve favorable immune responses to the virus, and it may prevent rapid decline in health among children who are HIV infected – 50 percent of whom will die within two years if untreated.

Only a handful of exposed children are currently tested for HIV and started on treatment in the first week of life. South Africa has recently

changed its policy to test children at birth and 10 weeks, but it is the only country in Africa to do so. All others have policies to test babies for HIV when they reach between four and six weeks old, by which time the viral burden in the body is high and signs of a weakened immune system may be apparent.

We are infectious disease doctors who work in Botswana and Boston and, since 2015, we have been conducting the Early Infant Treatment Study in the Francistown and Gaborone regions of Botswana, a country with the third highest HIV-1 prevalence in the world.

The study offers HIV testing and immediate initiation of treatment within days of birth.

Given the mounting evidence that immediate treatment is good for HIV-infected children, we hope our research offers a road map for addressing barriers to newborn treatment.

Accurately diagnosing HIV in newborns The first barrier to early diagnosis and treatment is the way health providers diagnose newborns.

The diagnostic test needs to be virtually perfect to establish that the baby is infected with HIV (and to start lifelong treatment). Children cannot be tested with standard antibody tests until they are at least 18 months old because they still have circulating antibodies from their mothers (including antibodies to HIV that would always lead to a positive test result). So tests that directly detect the HIV virus are needed.

Direct tests for HIV virus can be performed by a heel prick using drops of blood on filter paper, which can then be transported to a laboratory either at the same site or a distant location without refrigeration.

These tests are commonly used, and highly accurate when children are at least four to six weeks old. But the accuracy of the test in newborns is not as well established, and the testing is less likely to be available at maternity wards, and even less likely if delivery occurs at home.

In our study, we found that we could make a correct diagnosis in newborns as long as we tested a second sample for every child who initially screened positive or indeterminate. Since this does not happen often (less than 1% of tests in our setting), this repeat test strategy was feasible, and it provided enough diagnostic certainty to immediately offer treatment to infected newborns without fear of misdiagnosis.

Limited drugs and misperceptions about treatment The next barrier is the limited number of antiretroviral drugs for use in newborns.

Until recently only two drugs – zidovudine and lamivudine – have had adequate safety and dosing data from birth. Other drugs can only be used from when the child is two weeks old. But there are additional concerns, including medicines with a terrible taste that cannot be masked easily, or drugs with complex treatment formulations that make them difficult to use.

With these limitations in mind, clinicians may delay starting treatment until later in infancy, believing the treatment is too difficult to administer for newborns. While the limited number of available drugs is a very real concern, our experience has been that newborns tolerate HIV treatment well, and can rapidly suppress the virus when the right supports are in place.

Another challenge that makes it difficult to initiate treatment at birth is rooted in perceptions about a baby’s ability to tolerate travel and treatment in the newborn period.

Initiation of treatment often requires a referral to a pediatric HIV clinic. This transfer from one department to another – or in some cases one facility to another – can be complicated.

These considerations may lead health providers to believe that HIV testing and treatment is best sorted out later in life when the infant is perceived as stronger.

However, we have found that this reasoning is misguided. Immediately after birth the child has suffered the least immune system

AP Photo/Themba Hadebe

World AIDS Day is observed annually in many countries to raise people’s awareness in the fight against HIV. damage from HIV. There are also opportunities for frequent contact with the health care system early in life, which can help a child stay on medications.

In our study, we frequently partnered with nurses at postnatal care clinics to help with adherence counseling and even direct observation of dosing, and these partnerships helped improve treatment responses.

Cost The final barrier to initiating testing and treatment at birth is cost.

Because not every infection can be detected at birth, testing at 4-6 weeks for virus in the blood, which may cost US$25 or more, is a “catch-all” for transmissions that occur in pregnancy, during delivery, or from early (but not later) breastfeeding. So birth

testing adds a step to most infant diagnosis programs. However, the consequences of missed early diagnoses, and worse treatment outcomes with delay, are now better understood.

Targeted birth testing is also an option in cost-constrained settings. In the Early Infant Treatment Study, the vast majority of HIV-infected children had an easily identifiable risk factor for transmission – such as the mother being off treatment or having a history of detectable virus in her blood. Targeting babies at high-risk could be adopted to reduce cost, while still allowing us to identify nearly all the infected children and get them started on treatment.

Finally, in an attempt to find less costly diagnostic options, we piloted the use of facility-based, or “point-ofcare,” testing for virus in the

blood and demonstrated that it identified almost all infant infections in the first week of life. Point-of-care testing can offer less complexity and reduced cost, though at about $18 per test, we have not solved the cost issue entirely.

Knocking down barriers There are both real and perceived challenges to diagnosing and treating HIV in newborns. While the resources of a study may not be available everywhere, our experiences in the Early Infant Treatment Study in Botswana suggest that this strategy works, and should become the standard of care everywhere.

We do not have a cure for HIV yet, but immediate testing and treatment of newborns offers a pathway forward so children like Princess can survive until we do.

Eliminating food deserts won’t help poorer Americans eat healthier income households aren’t that different: They travel 4.8 miles.

Given that we’re willing to travel that far, we tend to shop in supermarkets even if there isn’t one down the street. We found that even people who live in ZIP codes without a supermarket still buy 85% of their groceries from supermarkets.

By Hunt Allcott Associate Professor of Economics, New York University TheConversation.com In the U.S., rich people tend to eat a lot healthier than poor people.

Because poor diets cause obesity, Type II diabetes and other diseases, this nutritional inequality contributes to unequal health outcomes. The richest Americans can expect to live 1015 years longer than the poorest.

Many think that a key cause of nutritional inequality is food deserts – or neighborhoods without supermarkets, mostly in low-income areas. The narrative is that folks who live in food deserts are forced to shop at local convenience stores, where it’s hard to find healthy groceries. If we could just get a supermarket to open in those neighborhoods, the thinking goes, then people would be able to eat healthy.

The data tell a strikingly different story.

Negligible change We recently studied the impact of opening supermarkets in food deserts in research conducted with fellow economists Rebecca Diamond, Jessie Handbury and Ilya Rahkovsky.

From 2004 to 2016, over 1,000 supermarkets opened in neighborhoods around the country that previously had been food deserts. We analyzed the grocery purchases of a sample of 10,000 households living in those neighborhoods.

Did they start to buy healthier food after the supermarket opened nearby?

Although many

people began shopping at the new local supermarket after it opened, they generally didn’t buy healthier food. We can statistically conclude that the effect on healthy eating from opening new supermarkets was negligible at best. We calculated that local access to supermarkets

explains no more than about 1.5% of the difference in healthy eating between lowand high-income households.

How could this be?

Why aren’t

food deserts the problem The food desert

narrative suggests the lack of supply of healthy foods is what causes reduced demand for them.

But in the modern economy, stores have become amazingly good at selling us exactly the kinds of things we want to buy. Our research suggests the opposite narrative:

Lower demand for healthy food is what causes the lack of supply.

Furthermore, local neighborhood conditions don’t matter much, since we regularly venture outside our neighborhoods. We calculate that the average American travels 5.2 miles to shop. Low-

Tax sugar, subsidize produce In other words, people don’t suddenly go from shopping at an unhealthy convenience store to shopping at the new, healthy supermarket. In reality, people go from shopping at a faraway supermarket to shopping at a new supermarket that offers the same types of groceries.

To be clear, new grocery stores do provide many benefits. In many neighborhoods, new retail can bring jobs, a place to see neighbors and a sense of revitalization. People who live nearby get more options and don’t have to travel as far to shop.

But the data show that healthier eating is not one of those benefits.

Instead, we would recommend tweaking prices as a better approach to encouraging healthier habits.

Taxes on sugary drinks can discourage their consumption, while food-stamp programs could be modified to make fruits and vegetables cheaper.

And, given that we develop long-term eating habits as children, parents and schools can encourage kids to eat healthier.

Health inequality is one of our society’s most important problems. We hope that this research can direct efforts toward ideas that can materially improve health – and away from ideas that do not.

insightnews.com

Insight News • December 9, 2019 - December 15, 2019 • Page 7

Sports

Twins slugger named most outstanding designated hitter of 2019 season

Nelson Cruz wins Edgar Martinez Award Nelson Cruz has been named the winner of the Edgar Martinez Award for most Outstanding Designated Hitter of 2019.

The 39-year-old joins Chili Davis (1991) and Paul Molitor (1996) as the only Twins to ever win the award. This marks Cruz’s second time winning the award after earning it in 2017 as a member of the Seattle Mariners.

Cruz played in 120 games, hitting .311 (141-for454) with 26 doubles, 41 home runs, 108 RBI, 81 runs scored, 56 walks and a 1.031 OPS – the best of his 15-year career and matching the Twins alltime record. His home run and RBI totals, all collected as a designated hitter, set Twins single-season records for the position. Among all American

Nelson Cruz

League designated hitters, Cruz ranked first in batting average, hits, home runs, RBI, runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. Additionally, among all American League players, Cruz ranked second in OPS and slugging percentage (.639), tied for third in home runs, sixth in batting average and seventh in RBI, joining Boston’s J.D.

Selig in a September 2004 ceremony at Safeco Field in honor of the retiring Martinez.

Ballots are cast by club beat writers, broadcasters and AL public relations departments with nominees including all players with a minimum of 100 at-bats as a designated hitter.

Martinez as the only two players to rank in the top-10 for all three AL Triple Crown categories.

He also joined Hank Aaron (1963) and Barry Bonds (2003 and 2004) as the only three players in baseball history to hit 40 homers at age 39-or-older.

Now in its 46th season, the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award was renamed by Commissioner Allan H. (Bud)

Minnesota Sports Award

Track and field star Shaliciah Jones: Finalist Sports Minneapolis has announced the finalists for the 2019 Minnesota Sports Awards.

Minnesota Sports Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of high school, collegiate, and professional athletes during the 2018-2019 season, many of whom will be on hand for the evening’s awards ceremony.

The finalists for Girls High

and part of the three-time 4x100 relay state championship team.

Nationally she is a U.S. Track and Field All-American in the 100 meters.

The winners will be announced at the third annual awards gala on Dec. 11, at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot.

School Athlete of the Year are CC Bowlby, Edina High School (hockey) Erika Bute, Alden-Conger High School (volleyball/basketball/softball) and Shaliciah Jones, North St. Paul High School (track & field).

Jones is the defending state sprint champion in the 100-meter dash (two-time champion) and 200-meter dash,

Shaliciah Jones

All-star move All-Star 100, a state basketball tournament and organization focused on showcasing youth basketball players, recently presented the Heritage Youth Sports Foundation with a $1,000 check to support the team’s efforts to support other youth who cannot afford association participation fees.

Members of the third-grade team are (front row, left to right) Sabir Seman, Michael Williams, Lordan Robbins, DeAndre Scott, Jeremi Thomas, Cameron McCoy, Kamonte Ratliff, Myles Shelton, Laron Adams and Mekhi Abner.

The back row (left to right)

All-Star 100, a state basketball tournament and organization consist of Pete Johnson, cofounder, Heritage Youth Sports Foundation, Clarence Fields, of Trusted Coaches, Omar Tezel, co-founder, All-Star 100, John Baker, co-founder, All-Star 100 and Mike Shelton, cofounder, Heritage Youth Sports Foundation.

Ellison From 3 civil war in Liberia in 1989 that led to many Liberians fleeing for safety to the United States.

Liberia also suffered the largest outbreak in history of the Ebola virus. Some Liberian immigrants have been beneficiaries of DED for more than two decades.

Until now, all presidents have extended DED for Liberians.

In the amicus brief filed in support of the plaintiffappellants’ appeal of the dismissal of the suit, Ellison and the coalition argue that the district court erred in dismissing

it because the court could have enjoined the Secretary of Homeland Security from implementing the President’s directive.

Indeed, the president’s directive explicitly stated, “I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate measures to accomplish … [t]he termination of DED for all Liberian beneficiaries effective March 31, 2020.”

Joining Ellison and Massachusetts Attorney General Healey in filing the brief are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington.

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Page 8 • December 9, 2019 - December 15, 2019 • Insight News

insightnews.com

The Steeles to perform two Christmas shows at the Fitzgerald How much talent can one family have?

And how lucky are audiences in the Twin Cities (and throughout the world) that said family chooses to share their talents with the rest of us? The family is The Steeles; the gift they share … their voices.

The Steeles will next be sharing their talents Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 at the Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul for Christmas Celebration with The Steeles.

The Steeles consist of five siblings; J.D., Fred, Jearlyn, Jevetta, and Billy Steele. They have recorded and performed with Prince, Morgan Freeman, George Clinton, Mavis Staples, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Johnny Lang, The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, the national radio broadcast “A Prairie Home Companion” and others throughout their long and storied career. The family has traveled around the world in the acclaimed musical “The Gospel at Colonus” including a Broadway run at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre.

Their voices have been experienced throughout the United States and around the world including

The Steeles are set to perform two holiday shows Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.

Paris, London, Barcelona, Italy, Moscow, Brazil and Scotland. They have also contributed to several soundtracks including the documentary “Hoop Dreams,” and films “Graffiti Bridge”, “Blank Man,Corrina,” “Corrina” and most recently, “The Meantime” on UpTV. To their credit are several gold and platinum

albums as well as the recent Sally Award in Education.

They have released seven CDs and are currently working on the eighth, “The Colors of Gershwin” featuring new arrangements of the music of George and Ira Gershwin.

Not only are The Steeles acclaimed as a singular unit, they are each individually lauded.

Fred Steele’s

voice can be heard on countless voiceovers and vocal advertisements for companies including Levi’s and Wilson and Leather. His inspirational gospel CDs for Compass and Lifescapes are still a top selling series in the United States. J.D. Steele has performed and recorded with Prince, Kim Carnes, Fine Young Cannibals, The Sounds of Blackness and

others. Jearlyn Steele’s voice can be heard on various CD’s for national artists such as George Clinton, Mavis Staples and Prince, with whom she has toured and recorded a duet, entitled “Race.”

Jevetta Steele performed with Natalie Merchant, Kirk Whalum … in addition to Prince. Billy Steele’s voice has been heard on soundtracks with artists

such as Rod Stewart, Luther Vandross and more.

Shows for Christmas Celebration with The Steeles are 7 p.m. and tickets are $30.50 - $40.50 and available online at w w w. f i r s t - a v e n u e . c o m / content/2019/12/thesteelesxmas.

The musician behind the Shadd piano

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia From churches and especially symphonic tunings, Warren Shadd said he understood the piano had a disadvantage.

“In terms of the pianists especially being able to hear themselves play, because in church you’re in total competition with the Hammond B-3 organ or the pipe organ, the drums, the bass, the percussion, the choir, and the congregation,” Shadd, a jazz

drummer and the world’s first African-American piano manufacturer, said in an earlier interview with NPR. “They would put microphones in the piano, but they weren’t placed right to give you the most opulent sound of the piano. My first notion was enhancing

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the volume of the acoustic piano by itself, without any kind of electronics.”

He studied, researched, and wrote a dissertation. He also experimented with the soundboard of some of the pianos that he had previously restored.

“One day, I was tuning a piano at this old man, Mr. Tucker›s house,” Shadd stated in the lengthy 2014 NPR interview.”As I›m tuning his old upright piano, he started whimpering. I said, ‘Mr. Tucker, what’s going on?› He said, ‘It’s all right, Shadd, it›s all right.’

So I go on tuning the piano, then he really starts crying a lot. ‘What’s wrong, Mr. Tucker?’ He said, ‘Shadd, see that piano? See the name on the front of it? That should say, Shadd, because you›re the only one!’ I said, ‹OK, Mr. Tucker, I›ve got these ideas, I’m gonna go back and study.’ He pretty much planted the seed.”

That seed has blossomed.

Earlier this year, the Shadd was named the official piano of the Vatican – yes, the Pope has regular access to a Shadd.

The Shadd also became branding partners with Rolls Royce. The automaker rarely advertises as a brand but is sold mostly on its reputation among the wealthy.

The popular television music competition show, “American Idol,” uses the Shadd as its stage piano, and it›s the official instrument of the blockbuster television show, «Empire.”

“As a diversified musician and technology enthusiast, I can appreciate the advent of fusing the acoustic piano with electronic keyboards, synthesizers, sequencers, computers, and their accessories as well as incorporation Internet access,” Grammy winner Herbie Hancock said in a statement. “The Shadd piano allows me to perform the gamut of genres in their original form, from Maiden Voyage to Rockit and beyond.”

Keyboardist, music director, and composer

shaddpianos.com

Warren Shadd, tuning at Howard Theatre.

Michael Bearden, who has worked with Lady Gaga, Usher, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, and others, said the Shadd piano has helped bring modern-day musicians into the new century.

“I can use the Shadd piano in everything from traditional jazz settings to cutting edge techno,” Bearden noted in a statement. “As I must adapt to many different playing and compositional styles, I need an instrument that can cover a lot of ground. The Shadd piano affords me the opportunity to play a real acoustic piano as well as utilizing up-todate computer technology and sounds at my fingertips.

Once musicians get to experience the versatility of the Shadd piano, I believe it will become industry standard – whether on tour, in the studio, or at home.»

The piano maker is a second-generation piano technician and thirdgeneration musician. He has performed and toured worldwide in every aspect of live and recorded music with hundreds of celebrities, according to

his

official biography.

On drums, at the early age of four, he played his first of many jazz concerts and was proclaimed a child prodigy. From high school through Howard University, Shadd performed with numerous icons like Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson.

As a piano technician, Shadd has tuned, repaired, or rebuilt pianos for countless major performing artists, concert halls, churches, schools, and institutions worldwide. He’s tuned and rebuilt pianos for Tony Bennett, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, George Duke, and many others.

In 2003, he founded Shadd Pianos USA. “I do know there’s a responsibility with this, to make the best piano – not one of the best – the best piano, period, in the world, and that’s what I believe I’ve done,” Shadd said. “I’m a perfectionist, so every nuance that goes into this piano has to be very best.”