Meldahl you might not care about your family but I wouldn't want mine to live in a home not built or repaired to standard builing code. Kahn admits he could have been more responsive to city complaints and said "This is hard work," I say maybe you should go get an easier job selling pop at the local corner store.

Damaged homes ..if they are older inefficient buildings they should be encouraged to demolition them.. it would help in a lot of ways.. create demand for houses which would help stabilize property values also when needed new housing can be built which can be safer.. more energy efficient ..also Jobs jobs jobs.. cleaning up..rebuilding..

"Some say.." "Some predict.." What a poor excuse for journalism. Who says? who predicts? I'm a former seven day a week print subscriber now down to Sunday. Give me a reason to read this rag seven days a week??

The risk in improving housing stock for section 8 tenants is that all the value will be lost to damage done by the tenants themselves. Perhaps if the commodity price of copper weren't so high, or if cockroaches could be confined to the one filthy apartment that spawned them, or if every object thrown in anger didn't require a fresh round of drywall and paint, it might be worthwhile. Yet, in a neighborhood dominated by the culture of criminality and failure, the only people who will move in are those who cannot afford to live anywhere else. Sadly, every advocate for low income people seems to be convinced that all the problems in North Minneapolis are caused by white privilege. How many residents of Kenwood drive over North to dump their garbage on the ground?

Let me get this straight. Landlords are planning on pocketing insurance money, while not fixing the damage. Isn't that fraud? I've owned a home here for 18 years, all the while watching absentee landlords (some of whom, yes, do live in neighborhoods like Kenwood or like the man in this article, Roseville) take in govt money in the form of rent subsidies, all while NEVER setting foot on their property as it declines more and more. Get off your high horse, and try to give a damn about a neighborhood besides your own.

With what the news media said last nite that Minnesota is getting to be the worst state with home foreclosures, Property values down, Just take the money and run. At least someone will make out in todays economy.

adjuster says repair is 50k. and you find a licensed/union worker/business to repair it for less? is adjuster wrong or business losing money?

triode, what a jaded out look you have of the Northside. I grew up on 16th and Washburn no roaches, no holes in our walls and our plumbing is intact. matter of fact my parents raised a pretty ignorant man......I dont know what is like to not have lights/power , they always came on everytime I flipped the switch. We had only one phone number my entire life, even had i one in my room, 612-521-XXXX without interruption, ever. I always had new school supplies and clothes to start the school year. I have never opened the icebox(im old school) and there was no food to eat. I had chores around the house. We went up to the cabin (in South Heaven)on weekends and vacations in the summer. Our house has never been broken into. Our neighbors up and down the block keep their yards nicely trimmed and houses painted. There was not police rolling up and down our block. The kids I hung with would cross Xerxes and go down to the railroad tracks or build go-cart (with no breaks) and go down Dead Mans alley (the alley between Washburn & Xerxes between 16th & 17th). and Mr Estes garage was our breaking system (ouch!) those are my memories from my childhood growing up over North...where did you say you lived? one more thing my family has lived in Minnesota for over 91 years, even had a great aunt that had a house moved from the Rondo area. So i feel real connected to the community and the state and can tell you out right that you are stereotyping some good folks man. Please do not do that and I wont hold you accountable for the Third Reich, the KKK and the other idiots. psssst and I tell my friend dont point at other races for your short comings or hurdles, use those nay sayers as the fuel for your locomotion or promotion. and on the last note Please put litter in its place over North South and in the Kenwood area

to the webmaster: your photo pagelet for this story "twister upends housing landsdcape" is hosed for two reasons. Photos are included for some kind of eldery barn story, as well as a photo about cell phone radiation. And there isn't sufficient room to read some of the captions. They end in "..." and there's no way to seen what the rest says.

jmknside, just because I'm so kind I'll help you out. It is not fraud to take an insurance payment and walk away. People do it with wrecked cars all the time. It is fraud to collect a payment from the government saying you are renting to low income when you are not renting... just like it's fraud to say you provided Medicare services without providing them. The property owner has the right to decide what to do with their property... rent it, live there, leave the lot vacant, etc.