The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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April 13, 2008

Angst lingers four years after evictions

Mayor says situation with downtown Latino dwellers ‘spun out of control’

By Brian Ojanpa

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.



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