Thursday, I spent half a day watching the Minneapolis City Council meeting and feel as though I’m still recovering. When my editor asked how it went, I struggled to find the right words.

“Well, if I were opening a business, the last place I would choose right now is Minneapolis.”

The reason is simple. The current city council has reached a mind-numbing state of dysfunction. Members are unpredictable and lack a shared set of priorities. As we’ve written before, the focus must be on attracting jobs, projecting stability to investors, and shoring up a tax base that is eroding rapidly as downtown continues to hollow out. Meaningful collaboration on those priorities does not appear possible at the moment.

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One telling detail: City Clerk Casey Carl told the council he is struggling to find a date for a consultant-led leadership retreat because aligning the schedules of 13 council members and the mayor has proven nearly impossible. In a private business, the boss would simply require everyone to clear their calendars, because the situation is hurting the organization and it needs to be fixed. But in our city government, 14 people each believe their schedule and their opinions take precedence. The result is a cycle of frustration and ineffectiveness, and a city that is floundering while residents and businesses look for opportunities elsewhere.

Watch the latest council meeting and you will witness personal grudges, arguments over what cooperation even means, and revolts on multiple fronts: against the mayor, against the strong mayor system, minority against majority. It brings to mind the 1953 Marlon Brando film “The Wild One”, in which Brando plays Johnny Stabler, a brooding delinquent who leads a motorcycle gang terrorizing a small California town. When asked what he’s rebelling against, he sneers, “Whaddya got?”

There were moments in Thursday’s meeting we could have clipped and shared on social media to ridicule specific members, score points, or highlight their contradictions. That behavior, practiced constantly by others, only hardens the fault lines between members and between leaders and residents. It isn’t our style. We want to highlight solutions. More importantly, we want our city leaders to find solutions and actually implement them. When this newsletter becomes a boring weekly thank-you note to council members, you’ll know the city is on the right track.

The city needs a functional government. We need our 14 representatives to occasionally speak with one voice. The council and mayor were sworn in on January 5, 2026, to four-year terms. If the current dynamic holds, expect a steady stream of slim-majority ordinances, mayoral vetoes, and failed override attempts, a process that will grease the wheels of the city’s decline. The mayor will seek to consolidate power in his office and work around the council whenever possible. The council will grow increasingly frustrated and escalate its attempts to remain relevant. Neither path leads anywhere good.

First-Hand Accounts

We read several reports on Thursday’s meeting. The mainstream press tends to focus on specific votes and outcomes. What gets left out is the anger and bitterness that have surfaced after a mere 100 days in office. As one council member said, near tears: “I can’t go on this way. It must change.”

Unfortunately, it can go on this way. People can remain out of work. Buildings can continue to sell for pennies on the dollar. Potholes can get deeper. More cars can be stolen. More businesses can take a chance on this city and fail. What the council and mayor often overlook is that changing this trajectory is within their power. They could turn off their social media feeds, lock themselves in a room, and stay there until they find common ground. The fact that they don’t is a choice.

Minneapolis cares deeply for the historically marginalized. We do not want to see people evicted. We want people to get treatment for substance use disorders and mental illness. But to provide those services sustainably, the city must have the best infrastructure in the region, the best roads, the cleanest streets, high-performing schools, safe neighborhoods, and sensible regulations that allow businesses to thrive. Minneapolis competes on a national scale for conferences, investment, and talent. Overcoming the headwinds facing the city will require a less parochial mindset from its leaders.

Council Meeting Summary

The council passed the drug paraphernalia decriminalization ordinance, known as “Care Over Criminalization,” on a 7-6 vote. Supporters argued that decriminalizing possession, not use, aligns Minneapolis with existing state law, reduces barriers for harm reduction workers, and builds trust with people struggling with addiction. One council member, drawing on his background in street outreach, spoke about how distributing clean supplies opened doors to relationships that eventually helped people find housing and treatment. Opponents raised legitimate concerns: the city’s own deputy city attorney testified that Metro Transit Police actively use the paraphernalia ordinance to respond to drug use complaints at bus shelters and light rail stations, and that it has historically served as a negotiating tool to steer people toward treatment. An amendment to limit decriminalization to marijuana paraphernalia only, floated as a compromise to avoid a mayoral veto, failed 6-7, and the full ordinance passed.

The council also approved a 45-day pre-eviction notice extension, “Pause Eviction, Save Lives,” by a vote of 8-5. The measure was framed as a modest but meaningful response to the economic disruption left by Operation Metro Surge, which left many immigrant renters jobless and afraid to leave their homes. A pointed side debate emerged over whether the city’s rental assistance application portal was actually accessible to people who hadn’t yet received an eviction notice, a problem staff acknowledged and pledged to address. (Note: We were unable to independently verify the claim made by some council members that eviction filings are at near-record levels.)

A proposed moratorium on data centers became the meeting’s most contentious procedural fight. The ordinance, introduced without attached language, as a subject matter only, was postponed to the May 21st meeting pending the conclusion of the state legislative session. Critics warned the moratorium was already sending a chilling signal to investors, citing a downtown building that sold for $235 million after being assessed at $30 million just a year earlier. Supporters argued that large-scale data centers carry serious environmental and energy grid consequences that warrant study before any approvals move forward. A motion to kill the ordinance outright failed, and the broader question of whether subject matter introductions should routinely advance or can be voted down at introduction remains unresolved.

The Payne Letter

After the failed veto override on the Toddrick Barnette nomination, Council Member Palmisano objected to a memo Council President Payne had submitted to the city’s legislative record titled “The City Council’s Vision for Community Safety and Toddrick Barnette’s Failure to Meet That Vision.” Palmisano argued the memo implied a collective position the body never formally adopted, and moved to have it removed. The city clerk confirmed that the council president does not have the authority to speak for the body absent a formal vote, though he acknowledged it is a gray area council presidents frequently have to navigate.

The debate that followed was one of the meeting’s more revealing moments. Several members said they were never consulted and objected to being included, however implicitly, in a document they didn’t author or endorse. Others defended the memo as a reasonable response to the mayor’s public accusation that the council’s rejection of Barnette was politically motivated rather than substantive. The motion to remove the memo failed 6-7. A suggestion to formally adopt it as the council’s official position was declined, with one member cautioning that doing so would effectively create new procedural rules without a proper discussion of council governance. The letter remains in the file.

Positive Notes

A word of recognition for City Clerk Casey Carl, who may have the toughest job in city government. He must explain voting procedures and amendments in real time, keep meetings from unraveling, and address every council member with patience and diplomacy regardless of what’s unfolding around him. We sincerely hope he finds a date for that leadership retreat.

On a lighter note: we spent part of our Saturday morning with Leon Bridges and his song “Beyond.” Recommended listening.

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This newsletter is dedicated to documenting the people, politics, and solutions working to improve Minneapolis. As a two-person operation, writer and editor, we pride ourselves on bringing you a unique perspective that no nonprofit think tank could replicate. We are genuinely grateful to every reader who chooses to support that mission with a paid subscription.

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Occasionally, though, we venture beyond city limits. As much as we’d prefer to ignore Trump and focus on local solutions, it’s been impossible to ignore Operation Metro Surge or his administration’s decision to withhold Medicaid dollars that sustain our hospitals and the recipients who depend on them. Over 303,000 Hennepin County residents, about 22%, depend on Medicaid, and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services is withholding over $240 million. While the stated justification is fraud and program vulnerabilities, political motivations appear to be at play as well.

This raises a broader question: shouldn’t Minnesota have a State Auditor who is nonpartisan, or at least from outside the party in power? When a single party controls a state without meaningful checks and balances, accountability tends to slip. Consider Rep. Ilhan Omar’s recently amended financial disclosure. She and her husband Tim Mynett originally reported a net worth of between $6 million and $30 million. When faced with a threatened investigation, they amended that figure to between $18,000 and $95,000, a reduction of roughly 99.7%, attributing it to an accounting error.

To anyone who signs off on their taxes each year after reviewing them with a CPA, that explanation is hard to accept. A small business owner making an error of that magnitude would face serious consequences. Yet Omar retains the solid backing of her district and the DFL, which illustrates exactly the kind of tribal protection that entrenched parties provide. Some voters, however, are looking for alternatives.

We aren’t planning to interview every State Auditor candidate, but the hyper-partisanship and weak financial controls we’re currently experiencing give us reason to hear what the Forward Independence Party has to say. Ideally, we’d like to see proportional representation that gives smaller parties a real foothold in government. Until then, an independent voice in the Auditor’s office, one focused on modern data systems and transparent public dashboards rather than party loyalty, could be exactly what Minnesota needs.

Interview Summary

Jay Reeves, a candidate for Minnesota State Auditor running under the Forward Independence Party, brings an unconventional background to the race. Born and raised on the east side of St. Paul to teenage parents, Reeves worked in trucking before joining the Army at age 31, where he rose from enlisted soldier to commissioned officer over 17 years of service. Through the military he earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in health informatics with a concentration in data analytics from the University of Minnesota. After being diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2022 and retiring as a major in 2023, he found civilian work unsatisfying and decided to channel his skills into public service by running for state auditor.

Reeves’ central pitch is that the State Auditor’s Office needs a data-driven overhaul. He argues that the office has historically relied on a reactive, after-the-fact auditing approach, and that a proactive data analytics mindset — identifying patterns and anomalies before problems escalate — would make government spending far more transparent and accountable. He points to outdated technology, siloed data systems, and the lack of basic data-validation tools as concrete problems he wants to fix and envisions public-facing interactive dashboards that would let any Minnesotan easily track how their city or county is spending money.

On the question of why he’s running as an independent, Reeves is direct: he believes the State Auditor role should be nonpartisan, and that the hyper-partisan environment at the legislature has made it harder — not easier — to seriously address issues like fraud and financial mismanagement. He argues that Minnesotans have allowed political ideology to become personal identity and encourages voters to research individual candidates rather than voting straight-party. His campaign is also a vehicle to grow the Forward Independence Party, which formed last July from a merger of the Independence and Alliance parties, and which Reeves sees as a home for the many Minnesotans who feel left out by the two-party system.

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The major news out of the Hennepin County Attorney’s office this week was the filing of charges against Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 34, a federal ICE agent. Morgan faces two counts of second-degree assault for pulling his weapon, a Glock 19 equipped with a laser light, on two people in another vehicle while driving on the shoulder of the Highway 62 and Interstate 35W interchange on February 5. A nationwide warrant has been issued, meaning Morgan would need to be extradited to Hennepin County to face charges.

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What makes this case notable is how prosecutors built it: entirely through State Patrol investigation using traffic camera footage and license plate readers. Morgan has admitted to being the driver. Prosecutors don’t need the federal government to hand over evidence because they already have what they need. That’s a significant contrast to the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during Operation Metro Surge, where investigators have been stalled waiting on federal cooperation that has yet to materialize.

Each candidate we’ve interviewed in the Hennepin County Attorney’s race has expressed a commitment to holding the federal agents involved in those shootings accountable. But with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche showing no signs of being more cooperative — or more willing to investigate internally — than his predecessor, the realistic timeline for charges in those cases could stretch years, if charges ever come at all.

That gap between what justice demands and what the federal government is willing to provide is discussed in my conversation with Matt Pelikan, who joins the podcast fresh from the DFL Senior Caucus debate. Several debate attendees told us they were struck by the depth of the candidate field. Better Minneapolis has interviewed each candidate in the race, and we’ll be reporting on the June 13 Hennepin County convention. Matt sees a through line in his career of holding the powerful to account, and says that drive is a core reason he’s running.

Summary

Matt Pelikan is a lifelong Minnesotan and 14-year litigator who clerked on the Minnesota Supreme Court and has a background in progressive politics, having worked for campaigns including Paul Wellstone, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. He decided to run for Hennepin County Attorney because he believes the office needs a leader who can thread the needle between criminal justice reform and real public safety — rejecting what he calls “trench warfare” between the pro-reform and tough-on-crime camps. He supported current Attorney Mary Moriarty four years ago but feels her tenure has stumbled, particularly in how she has managed relationships with law enforcement and rolled out policy changes without adequate stakeholder buy-in.

On the major issues, Pelikan takes a pragmatic approach. He believes race should play no role in charging or sentencing decisions, that clearance rates (particularly the roughly 1% rate for car thefts) represent a serious failure, and that youth diversion programs have merit but must be balanced against accountability for repeat or violent offenders. On Operation Metro Surge and the ICE raids, he argued that charges should have been brought more quickly, citing the lesson from the Biden/Garland era that delayed accountability carries a real political and community cost. He also expressed frustration that the constitutional challenges ahead shouldn’t be used as an excuse for inaction. According to Pelikan:

And I personally refuse to believe that with the hundreds of eyewitnesses, hundreds or thousands of hours of footage, there isn’t a single use of force case ready to charge.

And I think that if we have one lesson from the past five years with Joe Biden and Merrick Garland, that there’s a real cost to waiting for accountability.

And this idea that we’re just going to drag things out for years at a time and make sure we do it right, actually is a bad idea.

Pelikan’s overarching message is that progressive cities must be safe, livable places or they risk undermining the broader project of progressive governance. He emphasized that rebuilding trust with the county’s 34 police departments starts with basic respect and communication — something he believes Moriarty failed to do — while still holding officers accountable when they break the law. He frames his candidacy as a common-sense alternative to the pendulum swings that have defined recent criminal justice debates and is seeking the DFL endorsement at the June 13th convention.

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This interview with David Fhima comes at a critical time for Minneapolis restaurants and businesses. Restaurants in particular are feeling the pressure of rising wages, food costs, and property taxes. Add to those challenges a shift in lifestyle, less drinking, more nights at home, and it’s easy to understand why a concerted effort from the city is needed to rehabilitate Minneapolis’s reputation. We need people from outside the city, both from our suburbs and from across the country, to see Minneapolis as safe, vibrant, and worth a visit.

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It’s our reputation that needs burnishing. As Fhima puts it, “charity begins at home. Take care of home.” That sentiment is widely shared, and it’s why so many residents have expressed frustration over recent efforts to bring back bathhouses, decriminalize drug paraphernalia, and pass resolutions about Cuba and foreign banks. People want their city government laser-focused on repairing the damage done during Operation Metro Surge. But even before the surge, residents were feeling the effects of high taxes, rising costs, and a general sense of disorder.

Many restaurants along Lake Street have closed or are operating in survival mode. In addition, several restaurants considered cornerstones of their neighborhoods have closed recently, including the Lowry, Pajarito, D’Amico & Sons, and Sunstreet Bread. As we write this, we’re learning that 801 Chophouse on Nicollet has filed for bankruptcy protection. These weren’t pop-up restaurants taking a chance; these were established businesses with loyal patrons and a proven product. As Fhima notes, restaurants rarely close for a single reason, it’s usually a confluence of factors. But for those of us who frequented these places, their closings have created a creeping sense of dread about the city’s future. Our elected officials often seem oblivious to the perceived decline and appear to have priorities out of step with the majority of residents.

Recent actions by the city council feel transactional. Rather than focusing on the health of the city as a whole, they appear focused on serving specific subsets of constituents without considering how those choices color perceptions more broadly. These groups represent votes and campaign support, which in our current system can be enough to win a council seat with fewer than 4,000 total votes. It's reminiscent of the U.S. Senate, where a senator from North Dakota represents 780,000 constituents while a senator from California represents over 39 million, a structural imbalance that rewards catering to a narrow base rather than governing for everyone. Minneapolis might be best served by abandoning this model in favor of proportional representation.

Most restaurants and businesses cannot survive on their immediate neighborhood alone, they need people coming into the city or traveling across it to achieve the volume required to stay open. That reality demands a city government oriented toward more than narrow constituencies. We need elected leaders aligned around a common goal: improving Minneapolis’s reputation throughout the state and the country. Building a marketing campaign around the vague concept of “neighboring” isn’t going to do it. Neither will a listing in the Michelin Guide. What’s required is a change of attitude, fewer rigid definitions of who’s “in” and who’s “out,” and far more signs of open-armed welcoming.

We must come together as a city committed to seeing more “just opened” signs than “sorry to say, after many years, we’re closing.” The entire city loses if we don’t recognize the urgency.

Interview Summary

David Fhima has seen a lot in his 30-plus years in the Twin Cities restaurant business, the 2008 financial crash, COVID, the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. But he says the current moment feels different, and more fragile. Born in Casablanca to a French-Moroccan-Spanish mother and a Sicilian father, Fhima came to the U.S. speaking little English, knocked on a French restaurant door, and never looked back. Today he runs a portfolio of Minneapolis institutions including Maison Margaux, Motherdough, and Vagabondo in Excelsior. It’s that last one that tells a telling story: doing business in Excelsior, he says, costs 30 to 40 percent less than in Minneapolis. The political climate there is simply more encouraging for business, and he’s not afraid to say so.

On the economics of running a restaurant in the city, Fhima is direct without being bitter. Restaurants operate on thin margins, and when regulations designed for corporations get applied to a tipped-wage industry, those margins disappear. He’s not opposed to fair wages or worker protections, he wants them, but he wants city and state policymakers to actually understand the industry before writing rules for it. For example, the fees that restaurants charged to cover employee health insurance are no longer permitted with little acknowledgment of what they accomplished. Alcohol sales are down 40 to 60 percent. Inflation has made it impossible to raise menu prices fast enough to keep pace with rising costs. Any one of these things is manageable, he says. Together, they create a perfect storm.

But Fhima’s deepest concern isn’t regulatory, it’s cultural. He describes a growing trend of customers choosing restaurants based on perceived political affiliation, leaving fake reviews as acts of protest, and staying out of Minneapolis entirely because they feel unwelcome. Suburban diners who might once have come downtown aren’t coming. Downtown residents who might drive out to the lake aren’t going. The polarization that has fractured civic life, he argues, has now crossed the threshold into the dining room, and most chefs he knows see it but are too afraid of a boycott to say so. His ask is simple: remember that restaurants are where division ends, not where it starts. People of every background, belief, and politics have always come together over a meal, and if Minneapolis wants to recover, economically and culturally, that’s a good place to begin.

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Council Member Stevenson was endorsed by the DSA and is unabashedly pro-union and pro-environment. He wants more compassion and services for people experiencing homelessness, believes more can be done on police reform, and wants to see new revenue streams for the city. Whether or not readers agree with his positions, you’ll find that he is sincere in his beliefs, and for those willing to approach him with openness, he’ll offer the same respect in return.

If you’re watching hoping for confrontation, you’ll be disappointed. That’s not our style. There are already plenty of voices out there drawing viewers with sarcasm, emotional triggers, and outrage. We are of the mindset that Minneapolis is facing serious issues, and finding workable solutions requires setting aside our own beliefs, or those of our tribe, long enough to genuinely listen. There has to be room for negotiation. We should expect our leaders to be making trade-offs: agreeing to move forward on drug paraphernalia decriminalization while tabling the bathhouse ordinance, for example, or funding road repairs in exchange for a two-year pause on the Community Safety Training and Wellness Center. These are illustrations, not recommendations, but they represent the kind of honest prioritization we’d like to see more of from the mayor and council members alike.

What’s at stake is real. We’ve seen in our own neighborhood not only how people leave the city to shop, visit the doctor, and commute to work, but how they’re choosing to move their families to the suburbs for better schools, lower crime rates, and more housing options. Constant factional battles risk accelerating that flight.

Safe Outdoor Spaces

One topic we didn’t get to in the interview was the Safe Outdoor Spaces ordinance, and we were reminded of it while driving on 4th Avenue near the Electric Fetus. About six trucks and RVs are parked along the street that appear to be people’s homes. Seeing them made us wonder whether it wouldn’t be better to have a designated place in the city where people in that situation could park, somewhere with shared facilities, water, and trash service. There are legitimate questions about such a policy: where would it go, and what happens if it becomes an open-air drug market? But those obstacles are worth working through, because the alternative is letting six beat-up RVs become twelve, until someone is shot, a fire breaks out, or there’s a drug overdose. And there’s a building nearby currently for sale that seems unlikely to attract a buyer as long as there’s a homeless encampment across the street.

Before Safe Outdoor Spaces gets dismissed as unrealistic, it would be worth holding a community forum, similar to what was done for George Floyd Square. Other cities have had success with these programs, though they may require tougher enforcement for those who don’t utilize the spaces and services provided. Council Members Chavez, Chughtai, and Chowdhury have introduced this proposal, and they have an open invitation to join us on the show. We agree with Council Member Stevenson that homelessness must be near the top of the city’s priorities, and no solution should be dismissed without sincere engagement. It’s too complicated, and the stakes are too high, to assume any one person, think tank, or nonprofit has the silver bullet.

Interview Summary

Ward 8 Council Member Soren Stevenson is three months into what he describes as a difficult but rewarding start. Beginning his term the day before Renee Good was killed on the border of his ward, Stevenson has been thrown into some of the city’s most pressing issues from day one. On the question of low-level crimes like car break-ins and auto theft, a top concern for many residents, he says the problem often involves minors, and that while police have developed more effective tactics to track perpetrators, the longer-term solution requires investment in youth programming and community supports. He draws a direct line from the collapse of those supports during COVID to the crime wave that followed, and argues the city needs to step up even where the issue technically falls under county jurisdiction.

Two major votes dominated our conversation. On the denial of Commissioner Barnette’s re-nomination, Stevenson was direct: the city’s highest-paid employee oversaw a $20 million police budget overrun and a $7 million fire department overrun, and didn’t know it was happening until the end of the year. Combined with a damning AFSCME letter citing workplace culture concerns, Stevenson said his bar for a $300,000-a-year position is simply higher. On the proposed drug paraphernalia decriminalization ordinance, which was tabled for further discussion, he pushed back on the idea that it signals tolerance for drug use. The city, he noted, is already paying organizations to do harm reduction work while simultaneously treating that work as illegal. “Which is it going to be?” he asked.

On the bigger picture of Minneapolis’s financial health and identity, Stevenson was candid about the challenges ahead. The city over-relies on property taxes compared to peer cities, revenue is shrinking while spending grows, and too many storefronts sit vacant while property owners wait for top dollar. He’s interested in tools like a land value tax and streamlining the business permitting process to make Minneapolis more attractive to entrepreneurs. On the proposed Community Safety Training and Wellness Center, he’s not opposed to the concept but clear that $40 million is the wrong spend at the wrong time when homelessness, housing, and public safety demand priority. And on Operation Metro Surge, he’s proud of the $3.8 million in rental assistance and $7 million in small business support the city has provided, but says flatly that it isn’t enough given the scale of the need.

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Next in our interview series: chef and restaurateur David Fhima joins us, along with three candidates on the November ballot — Matt Pelikan running for Hennepin County Attorney, Jay Reeves of the Forward Independence Party running for State Auditor, and Marion Greene seeking re-election to the District 3 County Commission.

That dynamic has found a comfortable home in politics. Since the flood of content creators arrived during Operation Metro Surge, we’ve noticed a sharp uptick in politicians taking to Instagram and other platforms to get their message out, unfiltered, unedited, and directly to voters. The results can be impressive. AOC has 9.6 million Instagram followers. New York City’s newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary and general election on the strength of smart, funny, and genuinely compelling social media videos, has her beat with 11.4 million. He set a standard that will be difficult to match.

But here in Minneapolis, we find ourselves asking a different question: does the rush to go viral and dunk on opponents actually serve democracy? Shannon Watson, executive director of Majority in the Middle, has been watching this dynamic play out up close at the Minnesota Capitol, and she wrote about it in her MinnPost column, “Middle Aisle: Social Media is Polluting the Minnesota Legislature.” Her argument is pointed: when legislators spend more energy performing for their feeds than negotiating in good faith, passing bills and balancing budgets becomes harder for everyone. We sat down with Watson to find out what it’s actually costing the Capitol.

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Interview Summary

Shannon Watson explains that the problem isn’t abstract, it’s personal. When colleagues post attacks on each other, or when party caucus accounts amplify those attacks under an official banner, it becomes nearly impossible for legislators to negotiate in good faith. She describes a culture where the incentive to perform for social media has begun to outweigh the incentive to actually legislate, particularly in an election year where all 201 legislative seats are on the ballot and the endorsement caucus process rewards ideological purity over compromise.

Watson introduced two key concepts from her article. The first is the idea that “we are all trackers now”, a reference to the campaign operatives once hired to follow opponents with cameras. Today, every legislator operates knowing that any hallway remark or floor speech can be clipped and weaponized by anyone with a smartphone. The second is “moral framing,” the tendency to present policy debates as having an absolute right and wrong answer, which performs well on social media but makes compromise nearly impossible. She argues that when legislators stake out moral positions publicly, they box themselves in and make it harder to do the negotiating that governing actually requires.

On solutions, Watson is clear-eyed but not pessimistic. She points to legislators like Senator Julia Coleman (R-Waconia) and former Senator Matt Little (DFL-Lakeville) as examples of people willing to publicly reject negativity, though she acknowledges Little lost his race after doing so, which doesn’t exactly encourage others to follow suit. Her core argument is that what gets rewarded is what will continue, meaning citizens have more power than they realize. A simple thank-you email to a legislator who chose collaboration over combat can send a signal that civility has an audience. She also stresses the importance of consuming news from diverse, editorially accountable sources rather than relying on social media feeds that are algorithmically designed to reinforce what you already believe.

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The Jobs Report

Job seekers and stock traders alike watch the federal jobs report. On Friday, April 3, the latest report was released and there are several items that should concern anyone invested in the Twin Cities. Axios reported that we lost 2,000 jobs in January, expected, given the immigration tactics of the federal government. The Sahan Journal reported that 1,700 of the approximately 4,000 arrested during Operation Metro Surge have been deported. Unless there is a new influx of people to the area, these jobs will either disappear or remain unfilled.

For the first time since May 2007, Minnesota’s unemployment rate is now higher than the national average, 4.4% compared to the national figure of 4.3%. The local picture is even more concerning. In January, the public sector added 1,000 jobs while the private sector lost 900. In other words, the jobs paid with tax dollars increased while the jobs that generate tax revenue decreased. This trend is compounded by a sobering finding reported by David Schultz in the Minneapolis Times:

Between 2016 and 2026, the commercial and industrial estimated market value of property in Minneapolis, the assessed value of office buildings, retail centers, hotels, and industrial facilities that anchors a large share of the city’s tax base, fell in inflation-adjusted terms from $13.1 billion to an estimated $9.4 billion. That is a real-dollar decline of roughly 28 percent over a decade.

The taxes needed to support city services are quietly shifting from commercial real estate to homeowners. Both the rotation from private to public sector jobs and the erosion of commercial tax revenue are significant warning signs that the financial house is far from in order.

Shoring Up the Foundation

When we say math is nonpartisan, we mean it, neither party’s track record on fiscal discipline is clean. Government spending more than it collects in taxes generates debt. That is true whether budgets are passed by Republicans or Democrats.

In Minnesota and Minneapolis, we have DFL representation. If government grows while the tax base shrinks, the result is deficit spending. There are two ways to avoid this: reduce what government spends, or increase tax revenue. Combining both would have a multiplier effect. New revenue tools, like the proposed social media tax from Gov. Walz, could play a role. But new revenue alone cannot carry the load if the private sector continues to contract.

Residents want rental assistance, homeless services, education, disability care, transportation, parks, public safety, and a solvent Hennepin Healthcare. These are not unreasonable asks, but they require a tax base capable of supporting them. That tax base depends on a thriving private sector, and right now that sector is shrinking.

To build confidence in Minneapolis, leaders must at least acknowledge the importance of the economy, but it seems a distant priority. Any organization or politician that speaks up for businesses in the city risks being labeled a Republican, their reputation attacked in a toxic wasteland of social media. That chilling effect is itself an economic problem.

For Minneapolis to thrive again, we need all stakeholders focused on jobs, jobs, and more jobs. Those come when the math works in Minneapolis's favor, when businesses can look at this city and conclude, without hesitation, that the opportunity here outweighs the risk. As tempting as it may be to engage in international affairs, we must remain focused on our own backyard and rebuilding the foundational elements that help everyone.

Rebuilding Together

Operation Metro Surge unleashed urban warfare in our streets. The bravery, caring, and mutual aid networks residents demonstrated to assist those in need have inspired many around the world. We recognize that while enforcement has slowed, many remain in jeopardy and relief efforts are ongoing. But we must begin to rebuild. We will have to prioritize and work together on complicated budgets even when we disagree. Our health care, education, and safety net programs are strained to the point of breaking.

Having to move your family because you cannot find a job is a trauma that hurts families and weakens the social fabric. Over and over again, we must be asking: How do we attract businesses here? What incentives can we create to bring high-paying private sector jobs back to Minneapolis?

We cannot keep adding public sector jobs while losing private sector ones. The math doesn’t add up. It never has. Saying yes to Minneapolis is itself an act of confidence. And right now, that confidence is exactly what this city needs most.

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Veto of Pre-Eviction Notice Sustained

By a 7–6 vote at the March 26 City Council meeting, Mayor Frey’s veto of the proposal to extend the pre-eviction notice period from 30 to 60 days was sustained. The vote fell two short of the nine needed to override the veto.

Several people contacted us prior to the vote to explain why extending the notice period could backfire. One of the more compelling arguments was that housing providers would likely tighten their screening standards. If eviction becomes more difficult, landlords may become more selective about whom they rent to in the first place. While some support the extension to help those affected by the recent immigration surge, others worry the additional time could be misused.

These issues will continue to be debated and may yet be resolved. Council Members Chowdhury and Chughtai plan to introduce a revised ordinance at the next meeting. (2026-00352) To improve their chances of success, they would benefit from broadening the range of experts involved and working more closely with Mayor Frey to address his concerns. Saint Paul passed its own version of this notice, so we’ll be able to see in real time whether the policy results in increased evictions.

A separate ordinance is being introduced that would require pre-eviction notice for commercial tenants facing eviction for nonpayment of rent. (2026-00272) If council members want to avoid another veto, they would be better served by working with a wider group of stakeholders, including the mayor’s office, before advancing the proposal.

It’s clear that many on the council find it difficult to work with, or even acknowledge, Mayor Frey. Still, that reality won’t change. If they want their proposals to succeed, they will need to accept it. Otherwise, they risk repeating the same cycle: staff time spent drafting ordinances, hours of council debate, public campaigns, and ultimately, frustration when efforts fail.

Some council members have openly criticized the number of media appearances Frey made during Operation Metro Surge. They’re entitled to that frustration, but dwelling on it won’t move the city forward. If they want to prevent further damage, they will need to move past it and work together.

The Cuba Conundrum

Lately, we’ve been trying to improve our fitness. That’s meant time on a stationary bike at the gym, watching loops of reality TV like Below Deck and Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. The emotional pleas, backstabbing, and convenient alliances aren’t all that different from what we’re seeing at City Hall.

What’s missing, and badly needed, is a full reset. Some kind of all-hands meeting where members clear the air, repair relationships, and refocus on the city’s most urgent needs.

During the March 26 Committee of the Whole meeting, led by Council Member Chowdhury, tensions boiled over. Council Member Rainville was overheard on a hot mic calling the council “fucking children” amid confusion over a “bio break” versus a lunch break. Later, Chowdhury expressed frustration during the regular council meeting, saying she felt bullied when others spoke during her allotted time and citing Rainville’s remark as an example. Council Member Vetaw accused Council President Payne of not knowing how to run a meeting and favoring his friends. A recess was called so members could regroup.

New council members Warren, Shaffer, Stevenson and Whiting are still adjusting. They are quickly learning that the environment can be combative, with insults and innuendo that would be considered unacceptable in most workplaces.

In a familiar voting pattern, Payne, Osman, Chughtai, Wonsley, Stevenson, Chavez, and Chowdhury passed a resolution supporting the normalization of relations with Cuba.

Important Items Adopted

There’s more to cover than we can fit here. A full analysis of each council member’s actions and the broader dynamics will have to wait. For now, here are a few key items that passed:

• South Minneapolis Community Safety Center Bid (2026-00341)
  Residents are eager to see progress on this project. However, the low bid from Ebert Construction was not aligned with union contract expectations. COO Kelliher indicated that discussions will continue to encourage union subcontracting and prevailing wages.

• Minneapolis Small Business Resiliency Fund (2026-00343)
  This $7 million fund is intended to help small businesses recover from disruptions caused by Operation Metro Surge.

• Rental Assistance (2026-00095, 2026-00323, 2026-00324)
  These three measures allocate a combined $3.8 million in rental assistance. The Wilson Foundation will match the funds, bringing the total to nearly $8 million available through Hennepin County. Council Members Osman, Wonsley, and Vetaw are working with the county to expand eligibility and bring in more nonprofit partners to administer the funds.

  

Out of Order

Much of the meeting focused on whether to move forward with the Community Safety Training and Wellness Center. The proposal involves purchasing several properties for $6.1 million, plus closing costs.

Council Member Whiting moved to refer the ordinance back to staff. The motion passed 7–6, keeping the project alive for now. It will return for consideration once staff prepare a revised proposal. Council members raised a range of arguments both for and against the project. In short, many felt the timing was off. Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette will likely need to make a stronger case for both the location and urgency of the proposal.

Immediately after the vote, protesters stood with a “Stop Cop City” sign, prompting a second recess.

After the first recess, Council President Payne returned with a set of yellow cards outlining the rules of decorum. The temperature in the room seemed to drop for the remainder of the meeting. However, much of the damage had already been done.

Afterward, council members took to social media to defend themselves and promote their positions. There’s a significant difference between working directly with people and communicating online. Social media tends to emphasize broadcasting opinions rather than listening.

If this council hopes to build productive relationships, both internally and with the mayor, its members will need to practice building trust with one another, even when they disagree or find each other frustrating. Otherwise, it will be a long, difficult year for them and for residents.

Thanks for reading, and for caring about Minneapolis.

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With the transition in Ward 5 from Jeremiah Ellison to Pearll Warren, the council now has 13 fully engaged members. They meet again Thursday, March 26, with nearly 70 items on the agenda. It’s sure to be another long session.

Several items carry real weight. Near the end is unfinished business: a proposal to extend the pre-eviction notice period from 30 to 60 days (2026-00099). The measure previously passed with support from a majority of council members aligned with or adjacent to the Democratic Socialists of America before being vetoed by Mayor Jacob Frey.

There has been a noticeable increase in social media and email outreach aimed at shaping public opinion. Much of it appears focused on council members who did not support the measure: Michael Rainville, LaTrisha Vetaw, Pearll Warren, Elizabeth Shaffer, Linea Palmisano, and Jamison Whiting, who abstained.

Further down the agenda, Item 11 (2026-00334) would authorize up to $900,000 for leadership coaching and team engagement services. In theory, this could improve collaboration between the council and the mayor’s administration—something often in short supply.

The tension surrounding the pre-eviction notice points to a broader pattern. If current dynamics hold, we’re likely to see more public-facing campaigns paired with limited behind-the-scenes consensus-building, making it harder to reach agreement on complex issues.

We’ve also seen advocacy efforts from nonprofit organizations. In one email from Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia, a line in all caps stood out: “OVERRIDE FREY’S CRUEL VETO.”

We don’t know Mayor Frey’s exact reasoning, but framing the veto as cruelty shifts the conversation away from policy and toward motive. Whether extending the notice period would reduce evictions is a legitimate question—one even some nonprofit housing providers have debated, with several warning of unintended consequences. That’s a discussion worth having. Assigning intent is less productive.

A lengthy discussion of a proposed Joint Powers Agreement with Hennepin County surfaced key considerations. The plan includes $1 million in rental assistance, plus $2.8 million to be matched by the Wilson Foundation. About 80% of funds would go directly to resident housing providers, while 20% would support administration through three nonprofits: Isuroon, CLUES, and the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center.

Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw raised concerns about geographic representation, noting all three organizations are based in South Minneapolis and suggesting NorthPoint could better serve North Minneapolis. Council Member Osman highlighted eligibility limits: households must earn at or below 30% of Area Median Income, which is under $39,075 annually for a family of four.

Most pertinent is a practical constraint: renters need a pre-eviction notice to apply for assistance. Extending the notice from 30 to 60 days could delay when tenants can begin the process—and when aid reaches them.

That tradeoff is worth weighing before labeling the veto as “cruel.” The issue is more complex than it’s often presented, and oversimplifying it risks obscuring the real challenges facing renters who need timely support.

More on the Agenda

It’s a packed agenda. One item we’ll be watching is the proposed “safe outdoor spaces” ordinance from Council Members Chavez, Chughtai, and Chowdhury. If they’re open to it, we’d welcome them on the podcast to discuss it.

The idea has drawn opposition, but it’s worth examining on its merits. If evictions rise following Operation Metro Surge, the city could see more people experiencing homelessness this summer. Having a range of response options may prove important.

Other items raise questions about their connection to core city responsibilities.

A resolution on the normalization of relations with Cuba (2026-00303), for example, may reflect values but has no practical municipal impact.

Similarly, a resolution supporting divestment by European financial institutions from companies that enable ICE (2026-00340) appears largely aspirational. These institutions are unlikely to be influenced by actions taken by the Minneapolis City Council. If adopted, measures like this are best handled efficiently so attention can return to issues more directly affecting residents.

An item of more immediate relevance is the $18 million budget for the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center, intended to replace the former 3rd Precinct police station. The project has passed committee and, if approved by the full council, could begin construction this summer, though no completion date has been set.

Separate from that effort is a proposed $40 million Community Safety Training and Wellness Center. Item 62 (2026-00339) would authorize acquisition of the site.

Looking Ahead

Better Minneapolis will be back next Wednesday, April 1.

In the meantime, the No Kings rally is scheduled for Saturday. If you attend, we’d love to hear your perspective—send us your reactions and photos, and we may feature them in an upcoming issue.

Thanks, as always, for reading and staying engaged in Minneapolis.

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The main takeaway: local residents aren’t waiting for politicians to save Uptown. In fact, elected officials were barely mentioned. The focus was on what residents can do right now to stop the downward spiral of what was once a thriving neighborhood.

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The City Oscars

Operation Metro Surge changed the city in many ways, few of them beneficial. City council members took to the streets as on-the-scene reporters, documenting ICE activity along with their reactions and commentary. At times, it felt like watching a weather reporter standing knee-deep in the ocean, bracing against the wind, warning that a hurricane was about to make landfall.

The surge has subsided, but like a hurricane, the cleanup will be difficult. There is real damage, and now the city must move forward without national media attention or federal support. That means focusing on the basics: setting priorities, managing budgets, increasing accountability, and tracking results. These are not glamorous tasks, and they rarely translate into social media engagement.

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Governing by video, posting clips and rallying followers to pressure the mayor, is a poor substitute for collaboration. Take the recent proposal to extend eviction notice requirements from 30 to 60 days. The council passed it knowing the mayor would veto it. That is not strategy, it is performance. And it comes at a cost to the city.

The ordinance, led by Robin Wonsley, will return to the council on March 26 for a potential veto override. It is possible they will succeed, but unlikely. They would need two additional votes to reach nine.

Cop City

Community Safety Commissioner Barnette has proposed a new Community Safety Training and Wellness Center with an estimated cost of $40 million. While some critics have labeled it “Cop City,” the facility would serve multiple departments beyond the Minneapolis Police Department. It would support training for 911, Behavioral Crisis Response, Emergency Management, Fire, and Neighborhood Safety staff.

The City Council is expected to scrutinize the project’s cost and value, as it would with any proposal of this scale. Some council members have already signaled opposition on social media, indicating they do not see the project as a priority.

That approach could influence how funding is allocated. It may shift attention toward other priorities such as childcare, after-school programming, apprenticeship pathways, or the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute’s Roof Depot site. Social media can generate a wide range of ideas, especially from like-minded audiences. A few may be worth considering. The challenge is turning that engagement into policies that can gain broad support and be implemented effectively.

Feeding Billionaires

Minneapolis remains divided on trust in the Minneapolis Police Department. Many residents do not trust the department and view efforts to expand or support it with skepticism. Others point to open drug use and disorder as signs the city is not functioning as it should. They want more consistent enforcement and safer streets, and believe increased policing could help.

In response to these competing concerns, the city has invested significant resources in contracts with Axon Enterprise, a public safety technology company led by CEO Rick Smith. In 2024, Smith was the highest-paid CEO in the U.S., with compensation of approximately $165 million and an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion. Since 2019, Minneapolis has awarded more than $108 million in contracts to Axon. The company provides tasers, body cameras, helmet cameras, video software, and training services.

Several recent contracts illustrate the scale of this spending. Combined, they exceed the estimated cost of the proposed training center:

2025-00855
Contract amendment with Axon Enterprise, Inc. for upgrading helmet cameras for the Police Department
$16,865,241.67

2025-00445
Contract amendment with Axon Enterprise, Inc. for software licenses for body-worn cameras
$16,817,604.30

2024-01397
Contract amendment with Axon Enterprise, Inc. for TASER 10 products and virtual reality training
$16,672,816.80

The Police Department’s general fund budget can be difficult to parse, making it hard to determine total spending on these contracts. We asked whether we could observe the virtual reality taser training and are still waiting for a response.

We highlight these expenditures to point toward an alternative to debating priorities primarily through social media. Council members could instead focus on where contracts might be adjusted or reduced. These contracts also reflect the growing cost of oversight, documentation, and training tied to increased regulations.

Quiet Contract Review

Minneapolis could benefit from an independent budget and contract review function similar to the Congressional Budget Office. A team of nonpartisan analysts reviewing budget decisions and their impacts could help build trust between the mayor and City Council, and with a public often left sorting through competing visions.

Elected officials operate with both formal authority and informal influence. Social media has amplified that influence, allowing leaders to speak directly to constituents without traditional media filters. The roles of influencer and politician are increasingly overlapping.

Policies grounded in facts, negotiation, and shared priorities can suffer when individual budget items are put on public trial before their value can be weighed. Attention around proposals, especially those unlikely to advance, can consume time and energy that might otherwise go toward refining viable policies. At each meeting, the Council reviews dozens of contracts worth millions of dollars, along with ordinances, programs, and appointments. These actions rarely appear in social media feeds, yet their details can have a lasting impact on the city’s direction.

Minneapolis does not lack for social media influencers. What it needs more of are people willing and able to build consensus to move the city forward. They are difficult to find.

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In this week’s interview, we spoke with Kevin Norman, founder of the grassroots group Uptown United. Norman recently launched a letter-writing campaign and a new community initiative aimed at helping restore confidence in the neighborhood.

The effort will kick off publicly at a community meeting on March 19 at 6 p.m. at Arizona Taco in Seven Points, where residents, business owners, and local officials will gather to learn more and sign up to participate.

To learn more about the organization or the event, visit the website:

https://uptownunitedmpls.org/

Interview Summary

Norman, who moved back to Uptown after a decade working in the Bay Area tech industry, said his goal is simple: help bring Uptown back to life. Through Uptown United, he is organizing volunteer “community ambassador” walks where residents spend time in the neighborhood, meet neighbors, and help create a more welcoming atmosphere.

Norman emphasizes that the effort is meant to be apolitical and community-driven. His hope is that by increasing positive activity and engagement on the streets, Uptown can rebuild momentum, support small businesses, and once again become a vibrant place where people feel comfortable spending time. The March 19 meeting will introduce the program and recruit volunteers for the first set of community walks planned later this month.

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At a rally marking International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 9, Minneapolis activist Nekima Levy Armstrong delivered a speech that highlighted a growing tension within Minnesota’s Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Her remarks reflect a broader debate in progressive politics: how movements balance calls for solidarity with strict expectations about identity and privilege.

The city has shown extraordinary resilience in moments of crisis. Community members mobilized quickly when federal immigration enforcement actions threatened local families. Mutual aid networks formed overnight. Volunteers showed up to watch streets and schools, record the actions of federal agents, and to pack boxes of groceries for people afraid to leave their homes.

But once the immediate pressure fades, those coalitions sometimes turn inward. Instead of celebrating shared efforts, conversations can shift toward sorting whose contributions count the most.

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Praise can become conditional. The actions of some are celebrated, while others are reminded that their efforts exist within a framework of privilege and historical injustice. A volunteer who spends two hours helping in a church basement might be asked why it wasn’t eight. Someone who donates $500 might be asked why it wasn’t $5,000. A family that opens their home to one child might be told they could have taken two.

The intention behind these critiques is often to push people toward deeper commitment. Politically, however, the effect can be something different: a coalition that becomes harder to sustain.

An excerpt from Armstrong’s speech illustrates the dynamic:

“We will not be silenced. We have to stand together … So, let’s continue to stand up for women. Let’s continue to stand up for immigrants. Let’s continue to stand up for our LGBTQIA community. We stand with trans women. We stand with black women, native women, Hmong women, Latinas. And white women who are genuine allies, not the ones who sell out to the patriarchy. All power to the people. Keep fighting and keep standing for what’s right. All power to the people.”

Parts of this message raise questions about how inclusive coalitions are meant to function in practice. If the goal is unity, the language introduces distinctions that can be difficult to reconcile.

For example, what determines who is seen as complicit in patriarchy and who is not? Many religious traditions are patriarchal in structure. If someone practices a religion led exclusively by men or one that places limits on women’s roles, does that make them suspect? Or does cultural background change how those dynamics are judged?

Patriarchal systems cut across religions, cultures, and ethnicities. Yet rhetoric like this often distributes criticism unevenly. The burden of confronting patriarchy falls most heavily on white women, who are warned against “selling out” but left to interpret what that means on their own. In practice, only those who successfully navigate how to live outside this system are welcomed into the coalition.

To be fair to Armstrong, this dynamic does not originate with her. Variations of this message circulate widely in activist spaces, including among white women themselves. Showing up to help is sometimes framed as the lowest possible bar. Allies are expected to demonstrate deeper commitment according to standards that are informal, ambiguous, and often shaped through social media. White women are often lectured about the need for humility and questioned about their motives. They are welcomed, but first reminded that they are late to the resistance.

What makes this dynamic striking is that the recent mutual aid efforts in Minneapolis and beyond hold the promise of greater solidarity. Thousands of volunteers—a significant portion of them white women—worked diligently in church basements, mosques, and private homes to help families afraid to leave their homes. They shopped for groceries, organized donations, and delivered supplies to people they had never met.

That kind of civic effort deserves to be celebrated without caveats. Introducing divisions based on identity risks overshadowing the very spirit of solidarity that made the effort possible.

I Have Friends Everywhere

The symbolism of resistance coalitions has surfaced in unexpected places. Recently a meme circulated online blending Minnesota’s state bird, the loon, with imagery from the Star Wars series Andor. The connection is resistance.

In the show, scattered individuals quietly working against an oppressive regime recognize one another with a simple phrase: “I have friends everywhere.”

The phrase is meant to let allies know that you are part of the resistance effort. Those involved contribute in different ways. Some take greater risks, some play supporting roles, but the movement depends on all of them.

Once movements begin narrowing membership—excluding people based on identity or perceived ideological purity—the coalition inevitably shrinks.

We were reminded of this idea while listening to an interview with writer Rebecca Solnit. She suggested it may be time for a new model of resistance—one that doesn’t rely on a single heroic figure. Instead, the model may be communities of people bound together by shared values and a commitment to a more just future. While we often look to politicians or activist leaders to act as spokespeople, the emerging paradigm may be more hive-like in nature, with no single person defining the group’s meaning.

The mutual aid effort in Minneapolis offers a glimpse of that model. Volunteers stepped forward to help families in crisis, organizing supplies and coordinating support networks. Most of them did not know one another beforehand. What connected them was a willingness to help.

That kind of civic energy is powerful. But movements hoping to translate energy into lasting change must eventually build broad political coalitions. Minnesota itself is now closely divided politically, with a legislature that often struggles to produce durable policy.

If either party hopes to enact meaningful change, it will need to expand its appeal beyond its most committed activists, especially on a national level. Winning elections—and governing effectively—requires a coalition of people who may not agree on every tenet of a platform but are willing to work together toward shared goals.

The Rebel Alliance in Star Wars succeeded not because its members were identical, but because they accepted a wide range of people willing to join the cause. Real political coalitions require the same thing: welcoming imperfect allies and recognizing that large movements are built through many different kinds of contributions.

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Trust in public institutions is built on results. When residents are asked to fund government programs through their taxes, they expect competent management and measurable outcomes. Too often in Minneapolis and across Minnesota, that confidence is wearing thin.

One example is the financial strain facing Hennepin Healthcare. We have invited Hennepin County Commissioners Jeff Lunde and Angela Conley, so far without success, to discuss the situation. Both commissioners have warned that closing the Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center is a possibility if additional funding does not come from the state legislature.

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The safety-net hospital is projecting a $50 million budget shortfall by the end of March. The system has already laid off 100 full-time employees and eliminated five medical programs. Commissioner Conley summarized the situation starkly:

“Hennepin County cannot afford to absorb those costs, nor can we increase our property tax levy enough to even cover those costs without revenue to replace the ongoing losses… The hospital will not remain open.”

Minneapolis Public Schools are facing a similar challenge. The district now expects a deficit approaching $50 million, up from roughly $30 million projected only months ago. Layoffs of teaching staff are being discussed as one way to close the gap. The 2026–2027 budget must be approved by June 15.

These pressures raise broader questions about competitiveness. Minneapolis Public Schools compete with suburban districts, charter schools, and private schools. If families lose confidence in the quality of education, they will look elsewhere, and new families may choose to settle outside the city. A strong school system remains one of the foundations of a thriving city.

Concerns about performance extend beyond schools and healthcare. Consider the Metropolitan Council. Few residents would say the Green Line has been managed without significant problems. Former Met Council Chair Charlie Zelle retired in September, and Governor Tim Walz appointed Robin Hutcheson, previously a Minneapolis public works director, as his replacement. We’ve invited Chair Hutcheson to join us for an interview about the council’s priorities and what improvements residents should expect.

At the same time, residents deserve credit for stepping up to support neighbors and small businesses affected by Operation Metro Surge. The full economic impact of the immigration enforcement actions is still unfolding, but the disruption has been significant. Recovering from that disruption will require Minneapolis to strengthen its role as a vibrant hub for education, healthcare, and businesses of all types.

Recent developments in downtown real estate highlight deeper concerns. Target paid $110 million to exit its lease at City Center, which is now up for sale. At one time, Target was the largest employer downtown, and the decision to leave City Center reflects how dramatically office work has changed. Most employees are no longer working five days a week in the office, and many companies have permanently shifted to hybrid schedules.

Yet there has been little public discussion about how the city will sustain spending if property tax revenue from major commercial buildings continues to decline. There may be little sympathy for out-of-state investors such as Samsung SRA Asset Management when they lose money on these properties, but falling property values also reduce the tax revenue those buildings generate. When assessed values drop, the city must either cut services or raise taxes elsewhere to make up the difference.

To compete for new investment, Minneapolis needs a clear edge. That advantage could come from strong infrastructure, excellent schools, or a highly educated workforce. Right now, many leaders struggle to define what that edge is. At the recent Next26 event hosted by Greater MSP at the Guthrie, there was a great deal of praise for the spirit of Minneapolis residents, but little discussion of concrete ideas for how to attract businesses to the city.

Businesses frequently cite familiar obstacles: heavy regulation, a high tax burden (Minnesota ranks 44th in tax competitiveness), concerns about public safety, and the rising cost of childcare, now the seventh highest in the country.

Residents deserve a serious conversation about how Minneapolis plans to address these challenges and rebuild trust that local governments can deliver results. Rebuilding that trust may require leaders willing to step outside traditional party lines and focus on practical solutions rather than political orthodoxy.

Survey Results

Our March 1 newsletter, “Avoid Saying Recession,” included a survey to gauge how readers view Minneapolis today. The results suggest a community that still cares deeply about the city but is increasingly uneasy about its direction.

• When asked about the overall direction of Minneapolis, 58% of respondents said they felt somewhat or very negative.

• Confidence in the city’s economic rebound was also limited. Not a single respondent said they were extremely confident, and the average rating was 2.63 out of five, essentially neutral.

• When asked what matters most for recovery, support for local businesses ranked first (32%), followed by public safety (26%). Job creation came in third at 13%. Other ideas included infrastructure investment, tax changes, and creating a friendlier environment for both small and large businesses.

• The responses are particularly notable because most participants are long-time residents. Seventy-four percent have lived in Minneapolis for more than 20 years, suggesting that the people who have invested the most in this city are also among those most concerned about where it is headed.

• There were also some encouraging signs. Fifty-two percent said they plan to stay, including 22% who said they love Minneapolis and will never leave. At the same time, 27% said they would move elsewhere if they could, and another 22% said they occasionally think about leaving.

Taken together, the responses paint a picture of a city whose residents remain committed but increasingly uncertain about its future.

Here are a few of the general comments:

“Minneapolis’s recovery, if it happens, will be despite the council majority. Thankfully, there are forces outside their control.”

“Property taxes to fund the pet projects of the city council majority need to stop. Focus needs to be applied to initiatives that bring in visitors and businesses, not to those that keep people in the suburbs.”

“In my mind, the city needs to prioritize the following: 1) Public safety - the police department is still extremely understaffed and is generally viewed as incompetent. I think this is definitely a factor in businesses closing. People do not want to hang out in areas that feel unsafe or have homelessness encampments . . . 2) Improved infrastructure and planning . . . 3) Responsible Budgeting . . .4) Functional City Council . . . Overall I feel like the city government needs to think very carefully about how their actions impact people’s desire to live and work within the city. It seems like there is less and less of a reason to live within city limits as opposed to living in nearby suburbs.”

“I live in uptown, have for 30 years. We need to get businesses back, do something about public safety, and the homeless. I have zero confidence in today’s DFL, and there isn’t an alternative. Sigh.”

“Could be a tough stretch ahead, but this city has too much going for it to not make it through. Downtown business activity is important for the tax base, which positively impacts other factors.”

“It’s been amateur hour from elected officials in Minneapolis for years since we moved here in 2021, and frankly, we are tired of it . . . The reality: For the first time in our adult lives, we’re questioning whether or not we made an unwise financial investment for buying a house in Minneapolis. Our concerns are centered around a major lack of public safety, an unfriendly business climate, and a constant state of activism on behalf of elected officials and a vocal minority that they seem to only listen to.”

“Why would anyone want to open a business in Minneapolis? With restrictive and complicated permitting, constant regulations coming towards them (like the Labor Standards Board) from the City Council, and then having to remove human excrement and graffiti from their business entrance day after day -- what is the point?! . . . Constant protests, constant political graffiti, constant grandstanding and blowhard behavior. We are over it.”

“I have never thought of leaving Minneapolis until recently. Although I have a solid retirement income, rising property taxes and overall cost of living increases, along with a lesser quality of life in the city proper (public safety issues, sense of civic disorder being tolerated, keeping the city clean, no encampments, property crime issues, less neighborhood and community unity, divisiveness and a really dysfunctional group of folks on the City Council, East Lake corridor and small businesses suffering for years post-George Floyd, etc.) for the first time has me thinking to look across the River to St. Paul.”

“The City needs really strong, clear political leadership, and we have a real problem still with the faction of the City Council that is at war with the Frey administration, basically -- and who do not listen to or care about the actual realities and experiences of their Ward constituents. That dynamic is the #1 thing that needs to change for the City to ever move forward as a connected City.”

“The city needs to become more economical in its decisions, less idealistic. Stop promoting self-interest over stability.”

“We are actively divesting our capital investments and primary businesses from Minnesota. Many business owners we know are doing the same. The 2023 legislative session forever changed the economic and social trajectory of Minnesota - Minnesotans will, as a result, be more equal but also more poor.”

Building for the Future

Our readership reflects a wide cross-section of Minneapolis. Readers vary in age and financial circumstances, but they share two things: they follow the city closely, and they care deeply about its future. We take that feedback seriously. The responses from our recent survey closely matched what we hear in conversations with neighbors and friends.

Minneapolis is facing an unprecedented challenge with Operation Metro Surge. But many of the city’s financial pressures and policy challenges existed long before the surge began.

If Minneapolis hopes to avoid falling further behind, the mayor and City Council will need to work together more effectively than they have in recent years. That may prove difficult. The council is divided into factions that often express open distrust of one another during meetings. Resentment toward the mayor, particularly over his perceived closeness to landlords, is often expressed openly during council discussions. Addressing complex problems will require a shift in tone and priorities — and that change will likely happen only if residents press their elected officials to focus on practical solutions.

At the March 5 City Council meeting, 7 members voted to extend the eviction notice requirement from 30 to 60 days. During the lengthy debate, Council Member Chowdhury spoke about how Operation Metro Surge highlighted the economic stratification within Minneapolis.

She is correct that the divide exists, and it deserves attention. But it is also a national challenge. The most effective steps the City Council can take locally are those that improve public safety and create an environment where businesses feel welcome to invest and grow.

One notable result from our survey: not a single respondent mentioned President Trump. While local leaders often point to federal policy debates, residents appear more interested in what the city government can control. People want progress on issues that affect daily life, such as clean and safe streets, sensible regulations, and predictable tax and spending policies.

As voters consider future candidates, the focus must shift from ideology and party affiliation to experience and capability. Do candidates have a record of solving complex problems? Have they managed large budgets or led organizations through difficult decisions?

If Minneapolis wants strong schools, a stable public hospital, and an economy that can compete nationally, it will need leaders with proven records of achievement — and residents willing to support them.

Minneapolis is shaped by the people who care enough to engage, speak up, and push for better. The challenges ahead are real, but so is the opportunity to build a city that works for the people who live here.

That will require trust in local government — and trust must be earned through responsibility, transparency, and results.

Thanks for reading and caring about Minneapolis.
— Better Minneapolis

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In this wide-ranging interview, longtime prosecutor Diane Krenz outlines her bid for Hennepin County Attorney after more than four decades in the office. She argues the office has drifted from its core mission and calls for a renewed focus on prosecuting repeat offenders, strengthening relationships with law enforcement, and prioritizing victims’ rights. We discussed diversion policies, limited use of extended juvenile jurisdiction, and what she views as politically influenced charging decisions. Drawing on her experience in gang, gun, property, and white-collar crime cases, she frames her campaign as an effort to “right the ship” and restore consistency, accountability, and trust in the justice system.

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Summary

In this extended interview, Diane Krenz, a candidate for Hennepin County Attorney, presents herself as a steady, experienced prosecutor aiming to restore focus and credibility to an office she served in for more than 40 years. A Wisconsin native who began clerking in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in 1983, Krenz built her career there across multiple divisions, including juvenile prosecution, adult criminal cases, the gang unit, gun crimes, property offenses, nuisance actions, and white-collar crime. She retired in April 2025 but says she is running because she believes the office has drifted from its core mission.

Krenz describes her motivation for becoming a prosecutor as rooted in advocating for victims. While some attorneys are drawn to public defense to represent the underdog, she says her focus has always been on those who were harmed — people who were abused, robbed, defrauded, or otherwise victimized. That lens shapes her critique of current policies. She argues that victims are too often left out of the process, sometimes learning about plea deals only when they arrive in court. Reestablishing strong communication between prosecutors and victim advocates, she says, is essential to restoring trust.

A major theme of the interview is accountability for repeat offenders, particularly juveniles. Krenz acknowledges that diversion and restorative justice can play an important role, especially for first-time or low-level offenses. However, she expresses concern that some youth are being diverted multiple times without meaningful consequences. In her view, young people need swift and certain sanctions to change behavior. She questions whether extended juvenile jurisdiction (EJJ) is being used effectively and raises concerns about cases in which juveniles commit new serious offenses without facing revocation of prior leniency. The closure of the Hennepin County Home School and the shift toward community-based alternatives, she suggests, have left a gap in meaningful interventions for high-risk youth.

Krenz also focuses heavily on rebuilding relationships with law enforcement across Hennepin County’s 33 jurisdictions. Having worked directly with police departments for decades — including on complex, multi-agency gang and identity theft investigations — she argues that she has credibility with officers who feel alienated from current leadership. She opposes blanket policies that decline certain charges, such as cases stemming from traffic stops, if the stop is constitutionally valid and leads to the recovery of guns. She also questions policies that require attorneys to be present before police interview juvenile suspects, arguing that such rules may hinder investigations and ultimately disadvantage victims.

On high-profile cases and the interaction between state and federal authorities, Krenz emphasizes practicality over political theater. She explains that federal prosecutors often have more resources and discretion to select cases, while county attorneys must take a broader range of matters. While she stops short of directly accusing current leadership of grandstanding, she suggests that some recent disputes with federal authorities may be more political than productive.

White-collar crime is another priority for Krenz. In her final years in the office, she prosecuted fraud cases involving large volumes of financial records and significant losses. She argues that the county could and should play a larger role in prosecuting complex fraud cases rather than deferring to federal authorities. She notes that the white-collar unit has been depleted and calls for renewed investment in that work, framing fraud enforcement as both a fiscal responsibility and a matter of public trust.

Throughout the interview, Krenz returns to the idea of refocusing the office on its foundational responsibilities: holding offenders accountable, protecting public safety, vindicating victims’ rights, and maintaining ethical independence. She is critical of what she sees as politicized decision-making, citing a recent diversion decision in a high-profile vandalism case as an example of inconsistent standards. While acknowledging that the county attorney is an elected position, she argues that prosecutorial decisions should not be driven by political considerations.

Ultimately, Krenz frames her candidacy as an effort to “right the ship” — to bring the office back to what she views as a balanced, professional, and justice-centered approach grounded in decades of courtroom experience.

To learn more about the candidate, visit the website:

https://www.dianekrenz.com/

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That surplus provides breathing room. But it doesn’t erase the underlying concerns.

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Even with the short-term cushion, Minnesota still faces a structural imbalance, with spending projected to outpace revenue by FY 2028–29. And the numbers come with uncertainty. The state is currently in a dispute with the federal government over $259 million in withheld Medicaid funds. It’s money Governor Walz has called “totally illegal and unprecedented.” Federal officials say the move is intended to push the state to strengthen anti-fraud efforts.

At the city level, the picture is more complicated. Minneapolis has tallied more than $200 million in lost revenue tied to Operation Metro Surge. Millions in city funds are being redirected toward small business and rental assistance programs. Private donations for food and housing support continue to flow, a sign of both generosity and strain. In downtown real estate, the historic Lumber Exchange building recently sold for $1 — a symbolic marker of a market still searching for its footing.

Add to these pressures a war in the Middle East. History shows that when oil prices spike, the ripple effects move quickly through transportation, food, and consumer goods. Given how deeply energy costs are embedded in the broader economy, even a modest increase can tighten household budgets and slow growth.

We may not be in a recession. But the prudent posture for local governments is to plan as though growth will be harder to come by.

What Exactly is a Recession?

Economists typically define a recession as two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP accompanied by rising unemployment, weaker consumer spending, declining corporate profits, and an increase in business failures.

At the city level, the indicators are less precise but just as important. Minneapolis has experienced significant economic disruption tied to recent immigration enforcement actions. The actual number of ICE remaining and the level of activity are difficult to assess. While detentions have lessened, the fear still exists. It will take months before we see comprehensive data showing whether business activity has rebounded.

We are likely to see some increase in unemployment, even though not all affected workers may qualify for state benefits. Several major employers have announced layoffs in recent months, including Target, American Public Media Group, Shop HQ, the Star Tribune, Bluestem Brands, OMG Midwest, and Old National Bank. While we don’t yet have full data, anecdotally, we are hearing about more layoffs than hires over the past year.

Large corporate profits appear relatively stable. Smaller businesses tell a different story. Restaurants in particular seem to be closing at a faster pace. D’Amico & Sons, Zen Box Izakaya, Café Ceres, and Mesa Pizza are among those that have recently shut their doors. Many local businesses are openly urging residents to shop and dine locally — a sign of both resilience and necessity.

At the same time, we hear little discussion from elected leaders about how artificial intelligence and automation may reshape the local job market. Some analysts warn that advances in AI could accelerate job displacement in white-collar fields such as administration, customer service, writing and media, technical analysis, translation, and paralegal work. Whether those predictions materialize or not, the pace of technological change suggests the conversation should be happening now.

We meet regularly with readers over coffee or at happy hour. In recent weeks, those conversations have taken on a different tone. People who are deeply invested in their neighborhoods feel unsettled. The Surge is part of it. But there are deeper concerns about the city’s trajectory and its ability to rebound.

Some have told us plainly: if not for family ties or business commitments, they would consider leaving Minneapolis. That’s difficult to hear, especially from people who have volunteered their time, money, and hearts to improve this city.

The Pulse

With so much shifting in Minneapolis — economically, politically, and socially — we want to pause and listen. We’ve put together a short survey to understand where our readers are right now. Your perspective helps shape what we cover and how we cover it. We hope you’ll participate.

City Direction and Economic Recovery Survey – Fill out form

The interview was prompted in part by Commissioner Barnette’s recent commentary in the Star Tribune, where he outlined what he believes should guide both authorities and residents during moments of uncertainty. We wanted to better understand how those principles translate into day-to-day decisions inside City Hall.

One ongoing source of public frustration is the slow progress on reopening the Third Precinct Community Safety Center. Barnette acknowledged that concern and encouraged residents to use the Lake Street Safety Center at 2228 E. Lake Street while construction continues. Additional information about the city’s response to federal immigration enforcement is available through the website: http://Minneapolismn.gov/federal

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Interview Summary

In our latest interview, Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette described the “murky gray area” Minneapolis has been navigating during the recent federal immigration surge. Because of the city’s separation ordinance, MPD does not coordinate with federal immigration enforcement on civil matters, yet officers are still responsible for protecting life and preventing serious harm when situations escalate. With thousands of federal agents arriving at one point, the scale and tactics changed quickly, forcing the city to adapt in real time. Barnette explained that officers responding to 911 calls must make fast legal judgments, often without knowing what happened before they arrived, while trying to de-escalate tensions and avoid crossing legal lines themselves.

The operational impact has been significant. Overtime costs have climbed across Police, Fire, 911, Emergency Management, and Neighborhood Safety, with the Emergency Operations Center running 24/7. Barnette acknowledged morale concerns as vacations were postponed and staff worked extended hours, calling the recovery period long-term rather than something that will resolve in a few weeks. He also addressed the long-delayed Third Precinct community safety center in south Minneapolis. Construction is expected to begin this summer, with a goal of opening by late 2026. Barnette admitted frustration with the timeline, noting that officers have been operating out of a temporary space for too long and that residents deserve a fully functioning precinct where they can file reports and access services. The new facility is intended to better reflect the city’s commitment to community safety and provide a modern space for officers and partners.

On neighborhood safety, Barnette said the department is in a stronger position than it was a year ago. Under Director Amanda Harrington, the office has tightened contracting procedures, clarified priorities, and rolled out safety ambassador pilots along key corridors. Early feedback has been positive, though formal evaluation is still underway. Expansion to areas like Uptown remains uncertain as the city reassesses its budget following the surge. Barnette described the ambassadors as a valuable tool but cautioned that financial constraints may require reprioritization. His broader message was clear: Minneapolis is adjusting under pressure, but rebuilding capacity, restoring morale, and strengthening neighborhood-based safety efforts will take sustained focus and resources.

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In Minnesota, Operation Metro Surge may carry long-term political consequences for Republicans. While the goal may have been short-term gains, the tactics used have likely deepened resistance in a state that already leans Democratic. Whether by design or miscalculation, the result could be that Republicans are shut out of state-wide office for many years to come.

Nationally, the political landscape remains volatile. Current projections for the U.S. House of Representatives suggest Democrats could regain control if they win the 208 seats currently rated in their favor by the Cook Political Report and capture at least 10 of the 18 toss-up districts. Given President Trump’s weak polling numbers driven by controversies surrounding Epstein, ongoing corruption allegations, immigration policy, tariff disputes, and persistent inflation, Democrats are expected to make gains. Failing to do so would raise serious questions about the party’s strategy and message.

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The Senate presents a more difficult path. Democrats would need to win the 11 races where they are currently favored, secure all four toss-ups, and flip at least two Republican-held seats. That outcome is possible but unlikely. Even so, control of the House alone would provide a check on executive overreach and shape federal priorities for the next two years.

For Minneapolis residents, stability and competence still matter. The quality of governance at every level — federal, state, and local — directly affects budgets, public safety, infrastructure, and the economic health of our communities. Political strategy may grab attention, but effective leadership is what sustains cities over time.

How Could Democrats Lose Their Advantage?

If Democrats want to squander the advantage they currently hold, the most effective way might be to overestimate the appeal of an anti-Trump, pro-immigration message while underestimating how much voters value competent governance of everyday essentials: schools that balance their budgets, hospitals that remain open, safe streets, and an economy that creates opportunity.

Minneapolis may be viewed nationally as a bold symbol of resistance to federal immigration enforcement, but resistance alone does not make a city functional. No wave of admiration is forming around our school finance practices, hospital solvency, or economic competitiveness. That contrast should give DFL leaders pause. Cultural and political signaling may generate headlines, but voters ultimately judge those in power by whether streets are safe, budgets are balanced, and institutions are competently run.

Political analyst Ruy Teixeira of The Liberal Patriot argues that Democrats’ deeper problem is not messaging — it is governance. Fraud, he writes, is only one visible symptom of a broader issue: when ideological commitments and interest-group pressures outweigh the practical demands of running government well. Voters, he suggests, ultimately judge a party by whether it delivers results.

Put more plainly: if a voter wants safe streets, competent administration, efficient public services, and projects completed on time and on budget, is their first instinct to think of Democratic leadership? In many places, including Minneapolis, that confidence appears to be eroding.

Governance is political advertising. When government functions poorly, it weakens the case for those in charge.

Several recent developments have raised legitimate questions about whether the DFL and its elected officials are getting the basics right:

• Minneapolis Public Schools recently announced that its projected 2026–27 deficit has grown from $30.3 million to $50.5 million. The district’s finance division experienced 50% turnover under its former leader, who departed after disciplinary action. To stabilize operations, the board has approved $830,000 for an outside consulting firm. For families and taxpayers, this does not inspire confidence.

• Hennepin Healthcare, operator of Hennepin County Medical Center and now the largest downtown employer following Target’s downsizing, is laying off 100 full-time employees amid a $50 million shortfall. The system provides roughly $100 million in uncompensated care annually. The Hennepin County Board assumed control last year due to financial instability, and additional uncertainty — including the dissolution of UCare — could further strain the system. If conditions worsen, the greatest burden will fall on residents with the fewest resources.

• Downtown economic recovery remains fragile. High vacancy rates persist, and businesses continue to struggle. Against that backdrop, the Minneapolis City Council’s public debate over reviewing liquor licenses for two hotels that served federal immigration officials struck many observers as politically performative. Whatever one’s stance on immigration enforcement, the episode raised concerns about how the city presents itself to employers and investors at a time when job growth is urgently needed.

• Ongoing fraud investigations have uncovered an alarming number of conspirators and oversight failures. Rapidly escalating reimbursements and minimally vetted providers should have triggered scrutiny earlier. Residents are still asking why accountability has been limited. Republicans have centered this issue in their campaigns, and it continues to erode public trust in state government.

The common thread running through all of this is not ideology but competence. Voters may share Democratic values, but shared values are not enough. What sustains political support over time is transparent budgeting, operational stability, real accountability, and sound economic stewardship.

If the DFL wants to maintain its position in Minneapolis and Minnesota, it cannot assume that opposition to Trump will carry them. They must demonstrate that they can run complex institutions well.

That is the standard voters ultimately apply.

DFL Glide Path

Minnesota’s DFL candidates for governor and U.S. Senate may have a favorable political landscape ahead of them, but strong state and federal prospects do not lessen the importance of getting local governance right.

Consider the Nicollet Avenue bridge over Minnehaha Creek. Beginning March 3, the bridge is scheduled to close for two years for a long-overdue rehabilitation project estimated at $55.2 million. More than 14,000 vehicles per day will be rerouted into surrounding neighborhoods during construction.

Two years is a long time for residents and businesses to absorb disruption. And fair or not, projects like this shape public perception. When voters see extended timelines and rising costs, they do not instinctively think government is operating at peak efficiency. That perception problem extends beyond a single bridge or a single party, but it is particularly relevant for the party that currently dominates state and local government.

We moved to Minneapolis from the East Coast twenty years ago because of the city’s reputation for good schools, affordable housing, and a strong economy. The fact that it was a drop of blue in a sea of red appealed to us politically, but that was not the primary reason we came. We came for work, for stability, for a place to build a life.

We want families and entrepreneurs around the country and the world to see Minneapolis — and Minnesota — as a world-class place to start something. To regain and sustain that reputation, we need leaders focused less on symbolic battles and more on the steady work of maintaining infrastructure, managing budgets responsibly, and ensuring that public systems function well.

Competence rarely electrifies a crowd, but it determines who earns the public’s trust. When families weigh which leaders can deliver opportunity and manage the fundamentals of daily life, they reward performance. If the party in power fails to produce tangible results, voters will hand that responsibility to someone else.

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