Celebrating Twin Cities Pride!

Local News:

Happy Pride Month! June is recognized as Pride month in remembrance of the Stonewall Riots, a series of protests in the 1960s that many consider the turning point in the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights. Every June sees celebrations of the LGBTQIA+ community across the country, and Minnesota is no different. Each year, Minneapolis hosts one of the largest Pride festivals in the country. But for years prior, Minnesota has led the way for many progressive laws and stances in fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights. In 1975, Minneapolis became the first U.S. city to pass a Transgender protection ordinance. In 2013, Minnesota legalized same-sex marriage two years before it became national law, becoming only the 12th U.S. state to do so. While there are still untaken steps to ensure safety and equality for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community, we hope everyone can take a moment to celebrate how far the movement has come. The Twin Cities Pride Festival is on June 25th and 26th, but Pride Events are happening all month long.

BIPOC News:

A 100-foot mural of Prince was unveiled in Minneapolis at Parking Ramp A near First Avenue and Target Center last Thursday. The muralist, Heiro Veiga, was selected out of more than 60 artists to complete the impressive project, which was driven primarily by the Crown our Prince project. You can find more of Veiga’s photorealistic works here. The committee that made the artist selection included members of Prince’s family, friends, and others that knew him closely. Throughout the selection process, the committee maintained a focus on choosing a BIPOC muralist, with the understanding that many different community members would be seeing the mural daily and with the hope that all who see it would feel inspired. 

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Katya Echazarreta is the first Mexican woman and one of the youngest women, at 26 years old, to go to space. This past Saturday, Echazarreta and five others reached an altitude of around 66 miles above Earth as part of a Blue Origin flight, the space travel venture of Jeff Bezos. The Guadalajara native held up a Mexican flag after landing, surrounded by the five others who joined her. Her flight was sponsored by the nonprofit Space for Humanity. Locally, Minnesota has its own share of astronauts. One of them, Anil Menon, born to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants, was raised in Minneapolis. He is one of the ten people selected to join the 2021 Nasa astronaut candidate class. 

Bottom of the News:

Minneapolis resident, Eric Ahasic, has won $40,000 on the iconic quiz show Jeopardy! Eric is a meteorologist working at the National Weather Service in Chanhassen; he filmed his first episode back in April, ending the 16-game-long winning streak of Ryan Long. Ahasic’s third episode airs tonight!

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