Too many decisions that impact our lives exclude us. But #MplsIsUs. Created in partnership with Pillsbury United Communities and Sahan Journal, Pollen’s 2021 voter guide for Minneapolis includes candidates’ responses to questions from the community Imagination has been a core part of Pollen from the start. Over the years we’ve asked each other to imagine quite a bit: a fairer workplace, a greener environment, a more equitable community, a safer city — just to name a few. And when it comes time to push our imagined future into reality, we have to be ready.Elections are one tool we have to make that push in Minneapolis — finding leaders who share our vision for the future, and who can bring that sense of what’s possible with them to the halls of power. To help voters make informed choices this election season, Pollen worked with Sahan Journal and Pillsbury United Communities to ask Minneapolitans what they wanted to know about the people on their 2021 ballots. The result is a voter guide — made by the community, for the community — that can help you get fully informed on this year’s candidates for Minneapolis mayor and city council.

Editorial // Jerome Rankine, Aala Abdullahi
Community Engagement // Julie Cohen, Kenzie O’Keefe
Project Management // Jessica Taylor, Kenzie O’Keefe
Creative Direction & Design // Melanie Walby
Photography // Jaida Grey Eagle, Ben Hovland, Ryan Stopera
Illustration // Allegra Lockstadt, Emma Eubanks, Terresa Moses, Ricardo Levins Morales, Leslie Barlow, Luis Fitch 
Web Development // Scott Garrison, Limitless Exposure

A desire for change is reaching further than before. New faces are joining our city’s colorful palette of folks who have been working for generations to change a broken status quo. We put a ton of work into inspiring the city and reaching new voters through experiential design, fence banners that included community responses, ad space, and fliering across the city.