The couple said the city was acting unjustly and making the restoration process unnecessarily difficult because they were trying to open a Somali business. The couple pointed to a statement made by hearing officer Marcia Moermond, who said “this is a joke” when she realized the new owner was Samatar, who was dressed in a Muslim hijab. But the city says in a court filing that Moermond was referring to the fact that Samatar lived in Minneapolis and made a “dismissive comment about Minneapolis, which she then said was a joke.”

via St. Paul gets green light to demolish Moonlight Magic bar | Star Tribune.