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Community Solutions Podcast


May 23, 2019

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Communication is at the center of all relationships. Good communication fosters a positive, healthy rapport, while poor communication eats away at the center of an association. This is as true with the "bond" between government and its constituents as it is anywhere else. Unfortunately, we have seen way more examples of bad communication than good in politics. Whether it being outright lies, unfilled campaign promises, or just a lack of transparency, a distrusting and disappointed electorate is almost always the outcome. From last minute notifications to limiting feedback, governments are experts at manipulating what you hear and your feedback. What does it look like when an elected body communicates in a way that the people can be both informed and have an opportunity to have a voice? We outline a number of the problems with the way that cities/counties/school districts communicate, and practical ways to improve the conversation between government and public. The problem is that most elected bodies don't really want you to know what's really going on, because they'd have to be accountable for what they do. This will help you, as well, to have a standard to hold them to when they brush off your pleas for more transparency.

Also, we discuss a recent article in which Minneapolis is discussing banning new drive-throughs from being built. They believe that this will help Minneapolis to be carbon neutral by the year 2050. This is a new battle in the war on cars, and they have your car (and your appetite) in their sights. This is possibly the worst thought out policy to date. We give you all of the details here.

We also discuss the push by the state legislature to reduce suspensions and expulsions in Minnesota schools. They feel that it is not equitable to minorities, so they want to get rid of the practice for the most part. They feel that by creating a more caring environment that fosters a desire to learn that students receiving suspensions and expulsions will become model students. We’re not so sure.

Have you checked out our Spotify playlist? At the beginning of each episode Jason quotes some song lyrics that have to do with the subject matter of the podcast. Andrew never knows what they are, but now he can… and so can you! We’ve launched the Spotify playlist: “Community Solutions Music From the Podcast!” You can listen to Roundabout from Yes after listing to Episode 30 on Roundabouts… or kick back and enjoy a rocking playlist just for the thrill of it. We add a new song every week. Subscribe and enjoy!

Don’t forget that you can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify, or go out to the PodBabble Podcast Network!