The Desk
What happens at Twin Cities public meetings, who organizes it, and what the coverage skips. Shot from the city’s own tape.
CITY TAPE · 2026-08-26The news called it a privacy fight. The room said “genocide” 16 times.
Twenty-nine people testified about Flock cameras and police drones at city hall on Aug. 26. Here’s what they actually said, who turned out the room — and what every TV story skipped.
3 full speeches · the coverage table · the organizers → read it
The August 19 takeover A bond hearing and a domestic-violence grant hearing were used as platforms for the Skydio campaign a week before the special hearing. Skydio: 9 mentions on tape; TV stories mentioning the campaign: 0 located.
The Waterfall renewal Saint Paul's water board renewed a five-year, $153,611 contract with an Israeli cybersecurity firm over sustained protest — 6–1, one story per outlet, no video coverage anywhere.
The ceasefire template trail Saint Paul's 2024 ceasefire resolution shares 111 distinctive words with Hastings' — and zero with independently drafted versions from Columbus, Somerville and Alexandria. Same-text analysis, control-subtracted.