What does it feel like when a city has its breath taken away—not just by frigid weather, but by sudden shocking violence that cuts into the lives of neighbors and friends?

In Minneapolis, there is a texture to the streets that doesn’t show up in social media clips. Day after day, in bitter cold, people have come together protesting, marching, and organizing neighborhood watches. Their gatherings have been sparked by a wave of federal immigration enforcement in the city and by two fatal shootings.

On Jan. 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good, a Minneapolis resident. The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled her death a homicide. Video evidence has raised serious questions about whether the force used was justified.

Then, on Jan. 24, Border Patrol agents killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti. Federal officials initially claimed Pretti violently resisted and brandished a gun. But video footage, eyewitnesses, and independent reporting refute those claims. The discrepancy between the official account and the evidence has become a flashpoint for protests and calls for accountability.

In recent weeks, journalist Hamilton Nolan has been on the ground in Minneapolis, walking with people in the cold, listening to residents, and trying to make sense of what “resistance” looks like right now. He’s written about what he’s seen and heard in his Substack newsletter How Things Work. 

He joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss what he saw on the ground and what Detroit can learn from Minneapolis.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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On this episode of Visions, I celebrate several birthdays, including my own, the solstice, and winter in general.

Dec. 29 just so happened to fall on a Monday for Visions, but that’s also my birthday, Joe Lovano’s birthday and Danilo Perez’s birthday. I play their music and several others who have birthdays in late December and early January.

You’ll hear from Lonnie Liston Smith, Chris Potter, Milt Jackson and Herbie Nichols. I also play Capricorn themed music from Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter.

I play a couple selections having to do with the solstice or winter from Gerry Mulligan & Paul Desmond, Branford Marsalis, and a beautiful record from Ralph Towner.

Last but not least, I play my own music on Visions for the very first time. You’ll hear two selections from my 2021 album, Placemaking.

Check out the playlist below and listen to the episode on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Visions Playlist for Dec. 29, 2025

• “Lonnie’s Lament (Live)” – Joe Lovano
• “Footprints” – Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes
• “Capricorn” – Miles Davis
• “For Someone I Love” – Milt Jackson
• “Dyad” – Kaleigh Wilder*
• “Wintersong (Take 2)” – Gerry Mulligan & Paul Desmond
• “Solstice” – Branford Marsalis
• “Panamá 2000” – Danilo Perez
• “It Didn’t Happen” – Herbie Nichols
• “Capricorn 2” – Wayne Shorter
• “The Source (For John Coltrane)” – Chris Potter
• “These Tears I Cry (Alternate Take)” – Kaleigh Wilder
• “Nimbus” – Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber & Jon Christensen

*indicates Detroit artists