Murderapolis

What Was Minneapolis Like In The Mid 90s?

By Gabriel Matias Castilho

“Good were the old days” is a phrase we commonly hear from our parents and grandparents, as yearning for the past revives grand experiences and kind memories. For example, some of our grandparents still call the city we study in “Murderapolis,” in an effort to evoke the old times when Minneapolis had a spike in violent crime. As the city still recovers from the 2021 spike in homicide rates and the police department comes to terms with its decay in reputation, we uncover this rather old nickname for a reflection of what crime is in Minneapolis.

Crime is a delicate topic to discuss, and it is not uncommon for people to try to tread the line when talking about it. To define what is a crime and what is not falls in the hands of the people we put in power, who might also be regarded as criminals by some. But the simple dilemma of whether the kid who steals a loaf of bread to feed his hungry family should be considered a thief is irrelevant to this conversation, because the city wasn’t called “Stealapolis.” Murder, on the other hand, is an uglier facet of humankind, perpetrated by those who feel confident killing brings justice rather than disgrace, suffering, and pain, and in the mid-1990s those lines were even more blurred than today — or were they?

Researcher Will Cooley commented on the law and order backlash of the 90s to the Minnesota Reformer, noting the police were constantly told minorities were the problem, soon leading to its breach of trust with the population. He said the decentralization of the crack marketplace after the arrest of the major importer and dealer Plukey Duke, changes in demography and the murder of MPD officer Jerry Haaf were the causes for the spike in homicides in the city. It was also in the 90s that the city saw the rise of a group of MPD officers known as the ‘Thumpers,’ who disproportionately directed their outrage toward the city’s Black, Native American, and LGBTQ+ populations. The Scandinavian-style social liberalism perception foreigners had of Minneapolis, thought of as the highly democratic welfare state with high rates of happiness and equality, got shattered as murder rates surpassed New York’s in 1995.

For the “What was Minneapolis like in the mid 90’s” Reddit thread, “Murderapolis” was a city where the food scene was starting to create its roots and gutter punk gangs loitered all across Uptown, intimidating passersby who refused to give them money. South “Murderapolis” seemed affordable for people in their 20s and 30s and alternative music was the thing. Looking back, some users recall their fathers telling them terrifying stories of when parks where kids play now were the locations of daily shootings.

But the most upvoted post in the “What was Minneapolis like in the mid 90’s?” Reddit thread was “RIP Shinders”. Shinders was a Minnesota store started by three brothers (Al, Daniel, and Harry Shinder) who sold newspapers on the street in 1916. After acquiring its first newsstand in the 20s, the company grew from one store to 13 in the early 90s. The locations sold newspapers, magazines, comic books, collectibles, and gaming cards until they were sold in 2003 to Robert Weisberg, a distant relative of the family who in 2007 lost control of the firm after police found drugs, needles, and a .40-caliber rifle in his van. In that year, the store closed its last eight stores and what’s left of it is an online link reclaimed by its former customers in homage to the store and its importance to the community.

Different times, same stories. “Murderapolis” soon became a dated name, locked inside the prison of history as a description of one of the most brutal civil episodes in the city. As we come to terms with the reality the city faced in recent years and still faces now, that title does not seem too far-fetched at all (sometimes even applicable). Find peace in knowing that someone just like you might also have been reading a student-run magazine bought from the nearby Shinders—past and present are two faces of the same coin.