Property owners in Washington County can now learn if their property ever had a racial covenant — a clause in a property deed that barred people who were not white from owning homes or land for the first half of the 20th century.

The properties are marked on a new online map from Mapping Prejudice, an ongoing University of Minnesota Libraries research project working to expose structural racism.

So far, researchers have mapped 438 properties with racial covenants in the county, and the work is continuing, said Dave Brandt, the county’s geospatial systems architect, who has been working with the U of M researchers.

While the U.S. Supreme Court made racial covenants legally unenforceable in 1948, many sellers continued to add them to properties after that date, said Michael Corey, technical lead for Mapping Prejudice. They were made fully illegal nationwide by the Fair Housing Act in 1968.

Acknowledging the racial covenants and the wrongs they inflicted is the first step toward reversing wealth gaps around the country, Corey said.

Covenants were put on properties “to attract white buyers,” he said. “They were seen as a selling point. It was an amenity, a new technology that they said would make your neighborhood better.”

Mapping Prejudice, which was started in 2016, has uncovered more than 35,000 racial covenants to date in Minnesota, he said. The earliest one found so far is from 1910.

Racial covenants and other tools “shut people out from generations of wealth-building,” Corey said.

“Now that discrimination is theoretically illegal, we’re not all starting from the same place,” he said. “We’re starting from a place where some people have had 100 years of investment in their neighborhoods. They’ve gone to college, they’ve been able to retire. Other people are on the opposite end of that, where maybe they were only able to live in a neighborhood that had a freeway next to it or was redlined, and they weren’t able to get a loan and maybe didn’t have access to college. Some people are starting in a hole while other people were given a huge leg up.”

Mapped homes

The properties that have been mapped to date in Washington County appear with detailed descriptions of the racially restrictive covenants, the addresses and the dates they were added.

Among them are homes on North Shore Circle in Forest Lake, homes along the shore of Bone Lake in Scandia and homes scattered throughout Oakdale, St. Paul Park, Lake St. Croix Beach and St. Mary’s Point. There also are a few in Lakeland and one in Newport.

About 45 homes built between Lake Demontreville and Lake Olson in the Tri-Lake neighborhood of Lake Elmo contain racial covenants. Most of the racial covenants were placed in 1925; another dozen or so were added in 1951.

Many of the covenants in that area of Lake Elmo state that “the said property shall not … be conveyed or leased to, or occupied or used by, any other person or persons than those of the white Caucasian race, but this provision shall not be construed to prevent the occupation of said property by persons of other races, where they are employed as servants.”

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Washington County commissioners in June 2021 approved an agreement with the University of Minnesota Libraries giving researchers bulk access to property-record images free of charge for deeds filed from 1910 to 1968.

After they received images of the microfilmed property records from Washington County, volunteers fed the images through optical-character-recognition software to screen for racist language, Corey said. Anything the software flagged was then reviewed, he said.

If volunteers found a racist covenant, they then transcribed the text of the covenant and recorded the date, the name of the buyer, the name of the seller and the physical description of the property.

Shocked to learn

The covenants are never removed from the history of the deed, but they can be discharged, Corey said.

“We don’t actually want to redact the historical record,” he said. “But when you discharge your covenant, it actually puts another note in the stack of files associated with the property that says, ‘There was a covenant. Here’s where it was, and we disavow that.’”

“We think it’s really important that we don’t erase the evidence of racial covenants,” he said. “The only reason that we can find these now and map them and have these conversations is because they were preserved as part of the historical record. Sometimes I think people would just prefer that this history was gone, but in the past, that has meant that people have avoided talking about this history and pretending it didn’t happen.”

A woman who owns one of the houses in Lake Elmo said she was shocked to learn her deed includes a clause that once prohibited any non-white person from buying or renting it. She and her husband, who bought the house in 2010, plan to contact the Washington County’s property records department and begin the process of having the covenant discharged, she said.

There is no charge to do so, thanks to a law passed by the Minnesota Legislature earlier this year, Corey said.

“A lot of people have found discharging their covenants really meaningful and important, and we support that,” he said. “We also say that that needs to be the beginning of a conversation, not the end of a conversation. Now that we know that this was here, what are we going to do about it? Discharging your covenant does not undo the damage that was done by that covenant being there for 50 years.”

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Racial covenants info, talk

Anyone who wants to have a racial covenant discharged in Washington County should contact the County Recorder’s Office at 651-430-6175 or recorder@washingtoncountymn.gov or stop by the front desk at the Washington County Government Center in Stillwater. There is no fee.

Dave Brandt will present a Tea Talk on the Mapping Prejudice project from 5-6 p.m. Friday at the Washington County Historic Courthouse in Stillwater. Registration is $15 at WashingtonCountyMN.gov/ParksPrograms (search for “Tea Talk”).

Vince Cornell knows that he could do a lot worse than the basement apartment of his Ashland Avenue home, even after coming home some days to find water seeping in under his front door. Cornell, 34, a journeyman commercial roofer who lived on the streets as a teen, has rented his two-bedroom unit for $875 a month since 2018.

Still, he was taken aback to receive notice that his rent would climb to $1,124, which likely would force him to find a new place. Last week, by the slimmest of margins, the St. Paul City Council voted to side with Cornell and a series of his Ashland Avenue neighbors appealing their rent increases, thereby holding his rent hike to no more than $934.

“I would say it’s definitely a relief,” said Cornell, who hosts his three children every other week. “It’s going to make some things easier for me budget-wise, and I don’t have to move.”

When tenants of the three small apartment buildings along the 900 block of Ashland Avenue learned that city staff approved rent increases of 28.5% despite the city’s rent control ordinance, their reactions ran the gamut.

Some tenants made plans to move out. Another negotiated a 15% increase directly with the landlord.

Appealing rent hike

Others banded together and convinced the Housing Justice Center to represent them in appeals this summer before the city’s legislative hearing officer, and later before the city council.

In their appeals, the Ashland Avenue tenants pointed to deferred maintenance on their seven century-old units, ranging from deteriorating foundations, water leaks and wobbly exterior staircases to open electrical covers, broken window locks, insects, mice and in some areas, mold. The property owner’s family said the rent hikes reflected the cost of repairs.

On Sept. 17, a divided council voted 4-3 to grant the tenants’ appeals, holding rent increases to no more than 3% — the city’s limit under rent control — but only for the seven units in question.

The split votes continued throughout consecutive rounds of voting, with council members repeatedly raising concerns about troubling living conditions they acknowledged did not rise to the level of having each property condemned as they took up each appeal, one by one.

“The greatest that could be imposed on the tenants is 3%,” said Abbie Hanson, an attorney for the Housing Justice Center. “I think that the tenants are really pleased with the outcome. They took a lot of time out of their schedules, and put in a lot of courage to stick up for their rights in this forum.”

Months-long process

The outcome, the culmination of a months-long process of appeals, underscores the complexity for city leaders of balancing the goals of St. Paul’s voter-approved rent control ordinance with the reality of maintaining NOAHs, or “naturally occurring affordable housing” that has remained affordable simply because of its age or lack of upkeep.

When bringing NOAHs up to fire and building codes proves costly, maintenance costs climb much more than 3%. City officials have said that under the ordinance, the city’s appeals process requires tenants of each unit to make their own individual case for why their rents should remain within that cap.

“That’s how the city is interpreting it, yes,” said Hanson on Wednesday.

Council Member Anika Bowie, who represents the neighborhood and voted against the appeals, said she felt empathy for tenants experiencing double-digit rent increases, but “as a council, as a body, I want us to also be fair, and ensure that the very people who are providing the housing … have that wiggle room, financially, and are able to make those improvements. … From the testimony, this landlord is really breaking even.”

Council President Rebecca Noecker, who voted with the majority, noted the property owner could still make building improvements and then come back to seek a larger rent increase after the fact, but any repairs conducted to date seemed rushed and insufficient.

“My vote does not mean that it’s saying that this apartment is uninhabitable,” she said.

Maintaining properties

Approved by voters in 2021, the city’s rent stabilization or “rent control” ordinance caps annual rent increases at 3%, but exceptions can be made — and often are — when a property owner contends property taxes, upkeep and other expenses exceed the limit and would prevent a “reasonable return on investment.”

Scott Day, son of property owner Judith Day, told the council this month that his mother once lived in the properties and even married the maintenance man, but she’s now in her late 80s, suffers from dementia and uses a wheelchair. She’s been unable to keep up with maintenance, he said, but she had long kept monthly rents stable and relatively affordable for the area, ranging from $875 for a two-bedroom basement unit to $1,600 for a three-bedroom apartment.

To add a $23,000 boiler, fix up the properties and expect a fair return on investment, he’d have to hike rents accordingly, he explained to the city’s legislative hearing officer in July, and then to the city council during a Sept. 10 hearing. City staff had examined his rent rolls and other financial documents and informed tenants through letters issued in April and May that the rent increases would be granted.

“It is clear that his family has been empathetic toward its tenants,” Bowie said. “This landlord has not raised rents in years. This is not a property that has requested subsidies. This is not a property that has requested any funding from the city. This is truly purely natural affordable housing.”

Attorneys with the Housing Justice Center argued that exceptions to the rent control ordinance could only be granted if a unit met “minimal maintenance and habitability standards,” and photos and videos showed several of the units in questionable condition. Day noted, in response, that until he alerted tenants of the rent hikes, the city had not previously received any formal complaints of fire code violations, and at the time, there were no open inspections cases involving the properties.

Units No. 1 and 5: Appeal granted, rent increase held to 3%

For units No. 1 and 5, Bowie moved on Sept. 17 to deny the tenants’ appeal of their 28.5% rent increases, noting complaints about light fixtures and paint wear-and-tear did not rise to the level of “habitability” concerns under the city’s rent control ordinance. She also noted the landlord had proven his need for a reasonable return on investment.

“Our ruling has to stand in a court of law, and we’re not that court of law,” Bowie said.

Taking a different tack, Noecker said she felt “disturbed” by the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections failing to abide by a requirement in the ordinance to fully assess deterioration and code violations, even if the unit was still inhabitable.

“It seems that the department did establish a significant rent increase without having established those facts,” said Noecker, who noted that major rent hikes should perhaps trigger a new fire certificate of occupancy inspection. “It should not be on the tenants to complain, or some other jurisdiction to weigh in.”

Bowie’s motion to deny the appeal failed, with Noecker, Vice President HwaJeong Kim, Cheniqua Johnson and Nelsie Yang supporting the tenants’ appeal. Bowie, Molly Coleman and Saura Jost favored denial but were outnumbered. The vote effectively limits the rent increase at the unit to 3%.

“There are so many questions about what our process looks like,” said Coleman, explaining her dissent. She said questions of habitability should be determined through city inspections or in housing court or district court. “This has exposed to my mind a number of flaws in our process. … That said … the question of habitability has some very serious legal implications, if we’re to make that finding as a council.”

Units No. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12: A wobbly staircase

Bowie said a Sept. 7 inspection in the next building showed more troubling maintenance concerns, including a condemned staircase, which justified limiting the rent hike.

Bowie said the maintenance issues merited a more limited rent increase of 20% once improvements had been made, rather than the 28.5% previously approved by city staff, but phased in over time as repairs roll out and a new fire certificate of occupancy is issued.

“We will vote on a 10% increase after the inspection … and after six months they will receive another 10% increase,” Bowie said. “I am definitely aware this is not a question of habitability. My motion is connected to deterioration.”

Her motion was again voted down by Noecker, Johnson, Kim and Yang, who then voted to support the tenants’ appeal and hold rent increases to no more than 3%.

“It’s important for us to be intellectually consistent, and to have consistent benchmarks,” Noecker said. “Right now, we don’t.”

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In any stable democracy, trust in government data is critical. Without such freely shared and reliable information, it is impossible to assess the condition of the nation, what changes are necessary and how laws and policies will impact that condition. Unfortunately, the administration’s actions are eroding such trust.

Discovery fueled by curiosity has been a driving force for technological, medical and social science research and advances. Though the status quo may provide good results, researchers are constantly striving for something better. Such curiosity is at the fulcrum of innovation and facilitates entrepreneurship, a driver for economic growth and better quality of life for all.

To succeed in such advances requires a trusted stream of data. The government has typically been the source of such data. That is why close to 100 government agencies have the word “data” or “statistics” in their name or have data collection as a critical component of their mission. Federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Census Bureau are two examples. Without their data, infrastructures and skilled personnel, crafting federal policies that serve the best interests of the nation would be impossible.

Yet any time an agency reports or uses data to take actions that contradict the current administration’s agenda, key personnel at such agencies are being fired or put on leave. The list of such actions is growing and drawing widespread attention.

For example, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics was fired when the agency reported a revised job report that cast a negative shadow on the administration’s economic policies.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was fired for reporting that the bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites did not cause as much damage as the president claimed.

Several FEMA workers were put on leave when they criticized the administration’s approach to disaster preparedness and response capabilities.

And the now-former CDC director, Susan Monarez, was fired when she refused to resign under pressure from the White House, on the grounds that “Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again.” She saw it differently — as her attorney put it, “When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda.”

The message being sent by these firings is that data should never deviate from agenda, and certainly not contradict what the president says — even when the president’s statements are based on opinion, ideology or aspirations rather than reality.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” And facts are based on data. When opinions overtake data, the path forward becomes shrouded in darkness, and the future becomes uncertain.

The lack of reliable and trustworthy data creates headwinds for scientific and medical advances. Given that such advances are what fuel economic growth and well-being, the future prospects for our economy — and our country in general — become far more bleak.

Indeed, when feckless opinions driven by ideology become the basis for crafting laws and policies, everyone suffers.

Separating data and opinion demands systematic procedures using experimentation and analysis, which creates an environment that supports reproducibility and replicability of results — a concept cited in the president’s executive order “Restoring Gold Standard Science.” This means that if an experiment is conducted several times, there is consistency in the results obtained across such experiments.

These standards are the reason medical interventions are evaluated using randomized controlled trials, whereby any new medical procedure, pharmaceutical product or medical treatment can be evaluated in a manner such that its benefits, limitations and side effects can be assessed in a controlled environment against the best available standard of care.

The same holds true with technological advances. For example, if new computer algorithms are created that can solve hard technical problems more efficiently, such results should be reproducible by different researchers. The inability to replicate such results is a red flag that the algorithms do not work as described, or there is a mismatch between what is being claimed and what the actual results are.

In both cases, just because someone thinks that an idea is good does not make it so. It requires standardized testing and evaluation, including reliable data collection and analysis, to make assessments that separate opinions from facts.

Data is the lifeblood of innovation, providing a foundation for assessing advances and provides fuel to support curiosity. If the veracity and reliability of government data are regularly criticized and devalued by the administration anytime the facts contradict the administration’s positions, and those who speak out are at risk of losing their jobs, trust in all government data, and the agencies themselves, erodes.

If the unspoken goal of the administration is to centralize power around itself and create a perception of instability surrounding the status quo, then fomenting mistrust in data is an effective approach. The recent deployment of National Guards to combat a claimed worsening of violent crimes in D.C. is an example of such data misrepresentation. If this tactic continues unfettered, lack of trust in data will eat away and erode the very pillars of stability that define our nation.

Data may not be an exciting topic for most people. Yet reliable and trustworthy data is the oil that keeps the American economic and societal engine operating at peak performance — and, most importantly, stable.

Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a computer science professor in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a data scientist, he uses his expertise in risk-based analytics to address problems in public policy. This piece was originally published by The Hill.

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Today is Thursday, Sept. 25, the 268th day of 2025. There are 97 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 25, 1957, nine Black students who had been forced to withdraw from Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, because of unruly white crowds were escorted to class by members of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division and the National Guard.

Also on this date:

In 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and sighted the Pacific Ocean.

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In 1789, the first United States Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. (Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.)

In 1956, the first trans-Atlantic telephone cable officially went into service with a three-way ceremonial call between New York, Ottawa and London.

In 1978, 144 people were killed when a Pacific Southwest Airlines Boeing 727 and a private plane collided over San Diego.

In 2005, in the presence of disarmament observers, the Irish Republican Army decommissioned its arsenal of weapons, officially ending a 36-year armed campaign for a unified Irish state.

In 2012, President Barack Obama, speaking to the U.N. General Assembly, pledged U.S. support for Syrians trying to oust President Bashar Assad, calling him “a dictator who massacres his own people.”

In 2013, skipper Jimmy Spithill and Oracle Team USA won the America’s Cup with one of the greatest comebacks in sports history, speeding past Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand in the winner-take-all Race 19 on San Francisco Bay.

In 2018, Bill Cosby was sentenced to three-to-10 years in prison for drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home. (After serving nearly three years, Cosby went free in June 2021 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction.)

Today’s Birthdays:

Basketball Hall of Famer Hubie Brown is 92.
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is 82.
Actor-producer Michael Douglas is 81.
Model Cheryl Tiegs is 78.
Actor Mimi Kennedy is 77.
Film director Pedro Almodovar is 76.
Actor-director Anson Williams is 76.
Actor Mark Hamill is 74.
Basketball Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo is 74.
Actor Heather Locklear is 64.
Actor Aida Turturro is 63.
Actor Tate Donovan is 62.
Actor Maria Doyle Kennedy is 61.
Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen is 60.
Actor Will Smith is 57.
Actor Catherine Zeta-Jones is 56.
Football Hall of Famer John Lynch is 54.
Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups is 49.
Actor Clea DuVall is 48.
Rapper T.I. is 45.
Actor-rapper Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) is 42.
Actor Zach Woods is 41.
Actor Jordan Gavaris is 36.
Actor Leah Jeffries is 16.