In the days after Renee Nicole Good’s death, Powderhorn Park filled with candles, handmade signs, and fragments of her poetry written on cardboard and scraps of paper. Friends and neighbors remembered a woman who lent groceries without being asked, who stayed late after open mics to encourage younger writers, who managed tenderness even when her own life was unsteady. For them, the official language of “defensive shots” and “protocol” feels brutally disconnected from the person they knew.As federal and local investigations begin, Minneapolis stands at a familiar crossroads: whether to accept a tightly controlled narrative or demand a fuller accounting of what happened at 34th and Portland. Community leaders are pressing for independent review, release of all video, and clear rules that put preservation of life above tactical convenience. However the legal findings unfold, residents say Renee’s name will remain a measure of whether anything truly changes.
