subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Tue, Nov 10 2009 

Resources

print this story   Print this story
  Post to del.icio.us

Photos


The city of Montgomery’s 2004 eviction of Latino renters in business-district buildings deemed unsuitable for tenant habitation cast the city in a negative light that some say was undeserved.
Pat Christman / The Free Press


LaNette Kuelper opened an antique store in one of the three Montgomery downtown-area buildings formerly used as apartments. Of the other two buildings, one was razed and the other remains vacant.
Pat Christman / The Free Press


A wall mural bespeaks a pioneer-era Montgomery. A few years ago, the city was envisioned as becoming an exurban living community for Twin Cities commuters, a notion that has been hampered by rising gas prices and flat real estate markets.
Pat Christman / The Free Press


Published April 13, 2008 11:50 pm -

Angst lingers four years after evictions
Mayor says situation with downtown Latino dwellers ‘spun out of control’

By Brian Ojanpa
The Free Press

MONTGOMERY

The renters are long gone, settlement money has been paid, and the state of Minnesota appears satisfied that Montgomery is complying with mandated policy changes.

Yet nearly four years later, some frustrations linger among the parties involved, which is the way of it in a small town that found its city government accused of discriminating against Hispanics, and reluctantly agreed to pay each $17,000.

“It created a lot of ill will in the community,” Mayor Mick McGuire said. “But I don’t know if we would have done things any differently.”

City Council Member Dave King, who was not on the panel when the brouhaha began, said Montgomery, Minn., was unfairly cast as a latter-day Montgomery, Ala.

“It’s sad we’ve gotten this rap that sounds a whole lot worse than what it was,” King said. “Some people think we run around wearing white hoods.”

In 2004, the city bought three dilapidated apartment buildings in the downtown area and evicted 13 families, nearly all of them Latino.

For complete story, see the Monday, April 14, 2008, print edition of The Free Press or sign onto our e-edition.

Click here to access Free Press e-edition



print this story    email this story   
Click here to load this Caspio Bridge DataPage.
Click here to load this Caspio Bridge DataPage.






autoconx

Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premier Guide

 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index