Voting rights restored to formerly incarcerated

us today in our effort to springboard into a more healthy and planful future,” said ReConnect Rondo Executive Director Keith Baker in a statement.

The organization plans to use the $2 million grant, in addition to $500,000 in matching city and state funds, to conduct a traffic study of their proposed land bridge. The funds will also support a federally required environmental review and help ReConnect Rondo get input from more community members.

The idea for a land bridge first came up for discussion in 2009. However, actual planning for the project did not begin until 2014, when local community organizations came together to ensure the Metropolitan Council built stops on the Green Line to serve them.

In 2017 Reconnect Rondo was formed on the premise that its proposal to build a land bridge over Interstate 94 could help rebuild a

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By MSR News Service

On March 3, the Cultural Wellness Center (CWC) and the Pohlad Family Foundation announced the seven people invited to join the Black Legacy and Leadership Enrichment Initiative. A first-of-its-kind community-designed effort, the initiative’s goal is to give Black activists resources and support to recharge themselves, so they can better serve the community.

The seven activists selected will each receive an unrestricted grant of $55,000 for their own self-care and revitalization. The seven inaugural awardees, called “initiates,” include Melvin Giles, DejaJoelle, Farji Shaheer, Anura Si-Asar, Corenia Smith, Princess Titus, and Antonio Williams.

“Investing in leadership and legacy from our cultural perspective is about building up people to be a source of strength for the community,” said Elder Atum Azzahir, the founder and executive director of the Cultural Wellness Center. “These seven leaders represent the community’s process of rejuvenation and sense of resiliency, themes this particular model incorporated from the start as we welcomed community leaders to apply for this novel initiative.”

The ‘initiates’ Melvin Giles, a veteran peace and diversity educator and activist, co-leads Urban Farm and Garden Alliance, a St. Paul network of