Frederick Melo, Reporter (TwinCities.com, Pioneer Press)
@frederickmelo.bsky.social
A Boston transplant turned longtime City Hall/urban news reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota (twincities.com) but my true claim to fame is I wrote this 3-part comic book: https://fredmelosupervillains.thecomicseries.com
Heggie’s is one of the best pizzas in Minnesota. Fight me. Someone dare me to eat an entire Heggie’s on my own. Dare me!!!
February 13, 2026 at 5:38 AM
Heggie’s is one of the best pizzas in Minnesota. Fight me. Someone dare me to eat an entire Heggie’s on my own. Dare me!!!
Her seems to concur
February 12, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Her seems to concur
For many Black leaders, there’s a feeling of state-sanctioned racial hostility, Jim Crow lawlessness and selective enforcement, the same frightening backdrop that drew generations of Black folks from the south to the north a century ago. www.twincities.com/2026/02/11/s...
February 12, 2026 at 1:21 PM
For many Black leaders, there’s a feeling of state-sanctioned racial hostility, Jim Crow lawlessness and selective enforcement, the same frightening backdrop that drew generations of Black folks from the south to the north a century ago. www.twincities.com/2026/02/11/s...
Dilla Ethiopian at Fry and University Ave., St. Paul, hosts a karaoke night tonight… and an interactive comedy show on Feb. 14. They’re really doing everything they can to bring you here. I’m sold…
February 12, 2026 at 2:40 AM
Dilla Ethiopian at Fry and University Ave., St. Paul, hosts a karaoke night tonight… and an interactive comedy show on Feb. 14. They’re really doing everything they can to bring you here. I’m sold…
“Now we have incident after incident after incident of American citizens being detained and being injured at the hands of ICE, people with no criminal record at all. We are hearing more of those cases than actual situations where someone had a criminal record.” www.twincities.com/2026/02/08/a...
February 8, 2026 at 4:06 PM
“Now we have incident after incident after incident of American citizens being detained and being injured at the hands of ICE, people with no criminal record at all. We are hearing more of those cases than actual situations where someone had a criminal record.” www.twincities.com/2026/02/08/a...
Remember this innocent man? He buried his mother today, a Hmong war hero nurse who tended to countless American soldiers in Laos, as well as the wounded Hmong soldiers who came to their aid when their aircraft was shot down. www.twincities.com/2026/01/19/s...
February 7, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Remember this innocent man? He buried his mother today, a Hmong war hero nurse who tended to countless American soldiers in Laos, as well as the wounded Hmong soldiers who came to their aid when their aircraft was shot down. www.twincities.com/2026/01/19/s...
Untrue.
February 5, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Untrue.
SURVIVAL MODE: Julian Ocampo’s family shuttered all 8 of their restaurants Jan. 7. After a month hiatus 5 will be open this week, though some for take-out only. The governor has declared February “Shop Local” month and ethnic biz owners pray the public is listening www.twincities.com/2026/02/04/c...
February 4, 2026 at 2:01 PM
SURVIVAL MODE: Julian Ocampo’s family shuttered all 8 of their restaurants Jan. 7. After a month hiatus 5 will be open this week, though some for take-out only. The governor has declared February “Shop Local” month and ethnic biz owners pray the public is listening www.twincities.com/2026/02/04/c...
A small child wields the Hammer of Truth and Justice to destroy the ice man of cruelty at the #Minneapolis #ArtShanties
February 1, 2026 at 9:23 PM
A small child wields the Hammer of Truth and Justice to destroy the ice man of cruelty at the #Minneapolis #ArtShanties
HEY CONFUSED NATIONAL MEDIA: Federal Whipple Building at Fort Snelling has nothing to do with Minnesota Historical Society. Archivists don't deport people. Put your finger on the cartoon golfer and follow it up to marker that says Hwy. 62. Whipple is right around there: www.mnhs.org/.../mnhs-sta....
January 29, 2026 at 4:20 PM
HEY CONFUSED NATIONAL MEDIA: Federal Whipple Building at Fort Snelling has nothing to do with Minnesota Historical Society. Archivists don't deport people. Put your finger on the cartoon golfer and follow it up to marker that says Hwy. 62. Whipple is right around there: www.mnhs.org/.../mnhs-sta....
(I mean, this search took 60 seconds using the online state prison offender locator. Try it yourself: coms.doc.state.mn.us/publicviewer...)
January 23, 2026 at 3:55 PM
(I mean, this search took 60 seconds using the online state prison offender locator. Try it yourself: coms.doc.state.mn.us/publicviewer...)
Nasra Ahmed, a U.S. citizen raised in St. Paul, recounts the encounter with a dozen ICE agents that led to two days at the Sherburne County Jail. She was taken for an MRI in arm and leg restraints, and then released Friday night without charges:
January 18, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Nasra Ahmed, a U.S. citizen raised in St. Paul, recounts the encounter with a dozen ICE agents that led to two days at the Sherburne County Jail. She was taken for an MRI in arm and leg restraints, and then released Friday night without charges:
A Venezuelan couple came to Jane Graupman’s office sobbing over unknown fate of their son who had been taken away by agents. “They were getting ready for work and all of a sudden their house was surrounded by men with drawn guns saying ‘It’s just some paperwork… www.twincities.com/2026/01/18/5...
January 18, 2026 at 5:09 PM
A Venezuelan couple came to Jane Graupman’s office sobbing over unknown fate of their son who had been taken away by agents. “They were getting ready for work and all of a sudden their house was surrounded by men with drawn guns saying ‘It’s just some paperwork… www.twincities.com/2026/01/18/5...
I’d like to write an addendum to Clue No. 1. Skip all that “King Boreas” stuff and focus on this: The medallion is somewhere cold… 🥶 You can tell because it’s in Minnesota… Clue No. 1: twincities.com/tag/treasure... Win $15,000!
January 17, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I’d like to write an addendum to Clue No. 1. Skip all that “King Boreas” stuff and focus on this: The medallion is somewhere cold… 🥶 You can tell because it’s in Minnesota… Clue No. 1: twincities.com/tag/treasure... Win $15,000!
Um, can we still do the
@PioneerPress
Treasure Hunt? In times of stress our beer comes highly recommended… Beer release today at
@BadWeatherBrew
! Clue No. 1 is live: twincities.com/tag/treasure... Win $15,000!
@PioneerPress
Treasure Hunt? In times of stress our beer comes highly recommended… Beer release today at
@BadWeatherBrew
! Clue No. 1 is live: twincities.com/tag/treasure... Win $15,000!
January 17, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Um, can we still do the
@PioneerPress
Treasure Hunt? In times of stress our beer comes highly recommended… Beer release today at
@BadWeatherBrew
! Clue No. 1 is live: twincities.com/tag/treasure... Win $15,000!
@PioneerPress
Treasure Hunt? In times of stress our beer comes highly recommended… Beer release today at
@BadWeatherBrew
! Clue No. 1 is live: twincities.com/tag/treasure... Win $15,000!
HOME FREE: Nasra Ahmed, 23, a St. Paul woman and U.S. citizen who was born in Minnesota, was released to her family without charges on Friday night after being detained by federal immigration enforcement agents and spending more than two days in detention. www.twincities.com/2026/01/17/s...
January 17, 2026 at 5:41 PM
HOME FREE: Nasra Ahmed, 23, a St. Paul woman and U.S. citizen who was born in Minnesota, was released to her family without charges on Friday night after being detained by federal immigration enforcement agents and spending more than two days in detention. www.twincities.com/2026/01/17/s...
She’s a U.S. citizen and was on her way to pick up seizure medication. ICE has detained her anyway for the past 50 hours at the Sherburne County Jail. www.twincities.com/2026/01/16/f... #NasraAhmed #StPaul
January 16, 2026 at 6:51 PM
She’s a U.S. citizen and was on her way to pick up seizure medication. ICE has detained her anyway for the past 50 hours at the Sherburne County Jail. www.twincities.com/2026/01/16/f... #NasraAhmed #StPaul
Political grandstanding or procedural foot-dragging? You decide...
January 15, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Political grandstanding or procedural foot-dragging? You decide...
Paper Source Grand Ave closes Thursday… JUUT has temporarily relocated and Trade Winds is gone. Billy’s/Gather Eatery is long gone. The rental home is looking dire from the outside. Do these qualify as “blighted” properties? A city consultant says: Yes. There’s a formula… and a big TIF district.
January 14, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Paper Source Grand Ave closes Thursday… JUUT has temporarily relocated and Trade Winds is gone. Billy’s/Gather Eatery is long gone. The rental home is looking dire from the outside. Do these qualify as “blighted” properties? A city consultant says: Yes. There’s a formula… and a big TIF district.
The last days of Paper Source in St. Paul. Everything must go. See those tarps? As snows melt, water pours into the Victoria Crossing East Mall at Grand and Victoria, which has been determined blighted and will be demolished to make room for a 90-unit mixed-use apartment building.
January 14, 2026 at 8:20 PM
The last days of Paper Source in St. Paul. Everything must go. See those tarps? As snows melt, water pours into the Victoria Crossing East Mall at Grand and Victoria, which has been determined blighted and will be demolished to make room for a 90-unit mixed-use apartment building.
Recorded address of Justus Ramsey House changed over years so even figuring out who lived there has been a bear. It’s been a barbershop, a home for railroad porters…Added to Natl Register of Historic Places in ’75. Gov. Ramsey’s brother Justus never lived there. Came down with a fight. I was there…!
January 14, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Recorded address of Justus Ramsey House changed over years so even figuring out who lived there has been a bear. It’s been a barbershop, a home for railroad porters…Added to Natl Register of Historic Places in ’75. Gov. Ramsey’s brother Justus never lived there. Came down with a fight. I was there…!
Josh Hoaby, executive director of the MN Transportation Museum, says the Justus Ramsey House rebuild is 60% funded with $500,000. “We need about $250,000 to finish the roof and the interior. It will be watertight.” He was joined by historian Karen Sieber, project coordinator with museum.
January 14, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Josh Hoaby, executive director of the MN Transportation Museum, says the Justus Ramsey House rebuild is 60% funded with $500,000. “We need about $250,000 to finish the roof and the interior. It will be watertight.” He was joined by historian Karen Sieber, project coordinator with museum.
“THIS IS NOT NORMAL”: MN Attorney General Keith Ellison, Mayors Frey and Her sue Dept. Of Homeland Security, file restraining order against ICE // STORY HERE: twincities.com/2026/01/12/k... #stpaul #Minneapolis VIDEO HERE: m.youtube.com/live/fHrgrZp...
January 13, 2026 at 12:59 AM
“THIS IS NOT NORMAL”: MN Attorney General Keith Ellison, Mayors Frey and Her sue Dept. Of Homeland Security, file restraining order against ICE // STORY HERE: twincities.com/2026/01/12/k... #stpaul #Minneapolis VIDEO HERE: m.youtube.com/live/fHrgrZp...
The Snelling/University demolition process could ramp up at any moment, Moermond said. Utilities are scheduled to be cut mid-January. CVS has until March 1 to raze the Maryland Avenue site.
January 9, 2026 at 6:28 PM
The Snelling/University demolition process could ramp up at any moment, Moermond said. Utilities are scheduled to be cut mid-January. CVS has until March 1 to raze the Maryland Avenue site.
21 years as of Jan. 10!
January 9, 2026 at 4:06 PM
21 years as of Jan. 10!