Heavy rain and thunderstorms continue across southeastern Minnesota Thursday evening.

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In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, looting and fires 

Daunte Wright’s killing in Brooklyn Center earlier this month led to unrest and curfews, and some braced for the worst as the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin unfolded in Minneapolis. But after 

 on murder charges last week, worries about a second round of destruction eased.

Business owners along Lake Street in Minneapolis started taking the plywood down from windows, and a heavy 

law enforcement presence started to pull out

Restaurants, retailers and service shops that 

 looked hopefully toward an easing of the pandemic and warmer weather to attract customers. At the same time, nonprofit groups increased support for entrepreneurs of color and hoped to turn a recovery into a launch pad for building wealth in struggling communities.

What are the challenges and early successes of rebuilding on Lake Street and elsewhere? How were businesses affected by the Chauvin trial and the pandemic? What will business look like in the future?

After the relatively peaceful response to the Chauvin verdict, “there is just this real sense of relief” among small business owners in the Twin Cities, Allison Sharkey, executive director of the Lake Street Council, told MPR News host Angela Davis.

trial of the other three officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest

 still to come, Sharkey acknowledged “there is some trepidation about what could come next. … We continue to have a lot of work to do.”

Renay Dossman, executive director of the Neighborhood Development Center, said small business owners are a strong bunch. 

“They’re resilient, and they’re smart, and they’re savvy,” Dossman said. “If you’re an entrepreneur, you want to serve. … They just really want people to come back.”

Cesia Abigail Baires, owner of the Salvadoran restaurant 

, helped organize a neighborhood watch on Lake Street during the unrest following George Floyd’s murder to protect residents and businesses from looters.

“Lake Street has so much history and so much culture, and I just didn’t want that to be gone,” Baires said.

 was hit hard by looters in the summer of 2020 and again following Wright’s killing. “But there’s something beautiful about Minnesota, and you cannot give up: It’s the people, the neighbor,” Usso said. “They will keep you up, they will keep you going.”

MPR senior economics contributor Chris Farrell also stopped by to discuss economic optimism in the U.S., the future of work and unemployment, and President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” recovery plan — and associated tax hikes for the wealthy.

Farrell said that the question central to tax policy debates is really: “What do you think is a good society?”

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Host Angela Davis talked with nonprofit leaders and small business owners about recovery on Lake Street and in other districts hit by COVID-19 and last summer’s unrest following George Floyd’s murder. Plus, MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell stopped by to discuss a potential economic rebound in the U.S.

Host Angela Davis talks with nonprofit leaders and small businesses about recovery on Lake Street and in other districts hit by COVID-19 and last summer’s unrest following George Floyd’s murder. Plus, MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell stops by to discuss a potential economic rebound in the U.S.

After verdict, small businesses eager to welcome customers and rebuild

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