A seat at the table that they never thought they d have the opportunity to sit at. this is a community documenter who pays people to keep tabs on local government. she signs up for any local meeting from city council to the minneapolis arts commission. then shows up and takes notes published online for anyone to read. i think it s important as residents, especially tax-paying residents to pay attention to what s going on around you. if you aren t able to be and give your voice, then things will change that you didn t have no idea would change around you. the documenters started in chicago, then came drought, cleveland, and minneapolis earlier this year. now the network has grown even more with hopes of further expansion. we heard from many, many cities that there are lots of public meetings that are not being documented, that aren t being covered. documenters often can be at places where reporters are not able to always be. pillsbury united communities is taking the lead in minneapolis where there are 40 active documenters like tashana.