Minneapolis, MN
Elizabeth 'Betty' Norris, career postal clerk and trailblazing Black homeowner in Minneapolis, dies at 93
Elizabeth Jean “Betty” Norris commuted by bike in an era when that wasn’t all the rage in Minneapolis, wheeling her way to work from the south Minneapolis neighborhood where she was among the first Black homeowners, to downtown where she built a 30-year career with the U.S. Postal Service.
Norris died on June 9 following an illness. She was 93.
Norris worked the overnight shift as a clerk inside the big, beautiful downtown Minneapolis post office. It was an era when the Postal Service was among the most desirable career destinations for African Americans, said daughter Michele Norris, a national journalist who once hosted National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” program. While employed there, Norris appeared on the cover of a Postal Service career textbook in bluejeans and a vest.
Michele Norris fondly recalled her mother’s get-up as she tooled her three-speed bike downtown: bell bottoms cuffed with rubber bands so they wouldn’t get greasy, purse in her bike basket and “Jackie O-style scarf on her head.
“She wore cowboy boots and bowties. She was an individual. … She was not following trends and in retrospect she was probably helping set them,” Michele Norris said.
Norris met her former husband on the job; he worked days as a counter clerk. The two had three daughters together, including Michele.
She found other ways to make the post office more than just a workplace. Norris created a library inside the station, as it was challenging for overnight workers to make it to the public library during the day. With a single room lined with books, she created an organizational system and a system for lending.
“In a world that had not yet opened up in the way that it has now, there were a lot of people of color, a lot of women, a lot of people from small-town America that had made their way to the Twin Cities … that if circumstances were different, might have been able to get a college education,” Michele Norris said.
Betty Norris read everything: newspapers, Westerns, British mysteries. She liked theater and TV, too, said granddaughter Aja Johnson, who remembers watching “Downton Abbey” together and sharing ice cream. The two spoke daily until her grandmother’s death, Johnson said.
Her sweet tooth was prolific. Norris particularly loved root beer floats and coffee ice cream, which became Johnson’s favorite, too.
“I think the lesson there for me and for my family, too, is she kind of put joy at the forefront of her life, and was always laughing and always finding reasons to be happy. … I think that’s what we’ll miss most about her,” Johnson said.
Norris was an example for her as she moves into adulthood, said Johnson, who is a law student. She lived on her own until 90 years old, Johnson said.
“She was a cool woman. She grew up in the Depression and was always fiercely independent up until she passed, always put herself first,” Johnson said.
‘Fearlessly loyal to the state’
The Norris family are fourth-generation Minnesotans — which is somewhat unusual. Many Black families made their way to Minnesota during the Great Migration from the Southern states, but the family predated that. Norris was born in Duluth before her family ended up in the Twin Cities.
When Norris and her husband purchased a home in south Minneapolis, in the 4800 block of Oakland Avenue, they were the sole Black family in what was then a white neighborhood. Neighbors hurried to sell their homes as property values began to fall. Nobody wanted to live next to the Negro family and people hung nasty signs outside their homes, Michele Norris said.
But their homes wouldn’t sell. Norris did not shrink and hide her family away. When prospective buyers were at the neighboring homes, Betty sent her brown-skinned daughters out to play in the backyard so they knew exactly who their neighbors would be.
“Mom showed her character and she didn’t cower and she didn’t hide, she didn’t pull the curtains,” Michele said. “They probably worked even harder to make sure their house was a standout, knowing that everyone was watching them.”
Eventually, the only buyer a neighbor could find was another Black family; the Norrises formed a close bond with them. Over time, the neighborhood and schools integrated.
“She really was a Minnesotan, fearlessly loyal to the state, to the sports teams, to the way of life, to the politics of Minnesota, all of that was deeply reflected in who she was,” her daughter said.
Services have been held.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis police officer was injured when the driver of a stolen Kia hit their parked squad car, the Minneapolis Police Department said.
According to a police press release, an officer with the Minneapolis Police Department’s 4th Precinct responded to a report of an abandoned, stolen Kia Sol near 29th Avenue North and Emerson Avenue North around 6 p.m. on Sunday. However, when the officer arrived, the Kia was no longer in the area.
The officer was in their parked squad car on 29th Avenue North facing Emerson Avenue North, when the driver of the stolen Kia returned to the area and then “collided with an occupied white SUV and then careened into” the officer’s squad car, police said.
The officer was taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment. Police did not share the extent of the officer’s injuries. The driver and passenger in the white SUV were not hurt, authorities said.
After the crash, four to five “young males” ran from the Kia, police said. Three people were arrested: an 11-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man, with police noting “at least one of the males who fled” the scene was not found.
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One of the juveniles was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and will be booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center for felony auto theft. The other juvenile was also booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Center for felony auto theft.
The 22-year-old man had a gun, police said. He was booked into the Hennepin County Jail for felony auto theft and a weapons charge.
Police said the Kia had a “stripped steering column and a USB in the ignition.”
The crash is under investigation, police said. The officer involved has not yet been identified.
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The 2024 Twin Cities Pride Festival was held in Minneapolis’ Loring Park on the last weekend in June, with a parade on Sunday winding down Hennepin from 3rd Avenue to Spruce. With 134 participants, floats represented groups from the local sports teams and Roller Derby to the Queer Caucus of the Minnesota Legislature and large local employers like U.S. Bank. The Twin Cities Pride organization, which coordinates the event, has summer camps and further pride events in other cities planned this summer. For more information, visit tcpride.org.
MINNEAPOLIS — Fourth of July firework enthusiasts may need to rethink their holiday plans. Showers and thunderstorms are set to blanket much of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area, on Thursday and Thursday night.
“Multiple chances for showers and storms this week, starting with late Monday into Tuesday and another round arriving Thursday,” the National Weather Service said.
The rest of the Fourth of July weekend will feature additional chances for showers and thunderstorms.
Here’s the full NWS forecast from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport:
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Monday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 10pm. Low around 61. South southeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 64. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 82. West wind 10 to 15 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 65. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south southwest after midnight.
July 4th: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 79. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Thursday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. North northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
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