The Minneapolis Star Tribune rebuts the Rick Kupchella documentary on the decline and fall of the Twin Cities.
Last week, I reviewed and recommended the 59-minute film. The headline of my piece was, “Decline is a choice.” The Star Tribune votes, “YES.” The full Precarious State video can be seen here.
In an article posted today that took four (4) reporters to write, the Star Tribune headline reads,
What to make of ‘A Precarious State,’ the new film that sees Minneapolis through a dark lens
“Dark”? The feedback I’ve received from viewers of Kupchella’s work is that he’s far too optimistic. The newspaper writes,
Coming one month before a city election that could tip the balance of power in Minneapolis City Hall, a new documentary from former KARE-11 anchor Rick Kupchella paints a dark picture of the state’s largest city while taking aim at several City Council members on issues ranging from taxes to commercial real estate, migration to the city’s business climate.
Billed as a public education campaign, the film, “A Precarious State,” has drawn some 300,000 views on YouTube and aired statewide on ABC affiliates last week as a paid advertisement.
To be clear, the current balance of power on the Minneapolis City Council is held by the members of the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) chapter.
The DSA, like its cousin Antifa, ceases to exist as a corporate or extant entity whenever it comes in for criticism,
City Council Member Jason Chavez told the Star Tribune that the DSA isn’t a national political party but a movement that prioritizes local autonomy and democratic control,
Although no DSA-endorsed member would sit for a Kupchella interview, they are quick to point out to the Star Tribune where they allegedly differ from the DSA platform, expecially on crime and policing.
As for some the other points made by Kupchella,
It’s true that crime exploded in Minneapolis after the pandemic, as it did elsewhere, and that some categories of crime, including homicides, still remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. But in other categories police have made progress: Motor vehicle thefts are down since 2023, and carjacking is also down sharply since it peaked in 2022.
It’s the difference between normal and normative. Kupchella uses as his baseline the pre-pandemic year of 2019. High crime is the new normal, perhaps down from a peak, but that does not make it good or correct.
It is true that most schoolchildren are not performing at grade level in reading, math, or science. The Star Tribune says not to call that “failing.” They suggest something more along the lines of not yet succeeding.
Minneapolis real estate markets in distress? The Star Tribune says it sees “pockets of strength.” As the songstress once wrote,
I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine