St. Paul’s most competitive council race is focused on crime, development — and bringing a new approach to city hall
Once upon a time on St. Paul’s East Side, an abandoned railroad line surrounded by junkyards and mounds of asphalt covered what is now a busy commercial corridor, Phalen Boulevard. Few businesses could keep their doors open east of Hwy. 61 and most residents lived in single-family homes.
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One of those who’ve been campaigning for months is Nelsie Yang, a second-generation Hmong-American who grew up in North Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park before her parents moved to Frogtown. At Minnesota State University, Mankato, Yang began dabbling in politics; on breaks from school, she volunteered for current Ward 1 St. Paul Council Member Dai Thao, who represents Frogtown and Summit-University, and later worked on campaigns for DFL state and congressional candidates. She also rallied support for St. Paul’s minimum wage increase and criminal justice reform with TakeAction Minnesota, and chairs an advocacy nonprofit called Hmong Americans for Justice.
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