Reporter Jessica Lee focuses her reporting on covering local government issues in Minneapolis and St. Paul. She can be reached at jlee@minnpost.com, and you can follow her on twitter at @byjlee.
In December, the board approved a 2020 budget that includes an unprecedented hike in spending on the county’s adult shelter system — an increase that will pay for a new facility exclusively for people who identify as female.
The Minneapolis Charter Commission is looking at three scenarios in response to the so-called Kahn rule, which requires the council elections to be held soon after officials redraw ward boundaries reflecting population changes recorded in the census.
The City’s Council members — including the youngest ever, Nelsie Yang — will be sworn in at the Ordway Concert Hall in downtown St. Paul Tuesday evening.
From the future of Minneapolis’ city elections to Arden Hills’ massive TCAAP project, a look at the metro-focused issues, ideas and stories to keep an eye out for in the new year.
To address the region’s homeless problem — and deal with Minnesota’s complex land-use rules — one Twin Cities nonprofit is working to establish a framework for building and running communities of tiny homes that would be located on land owned by churches.
“What I would absolutely love to see is … tailored approaches to each family and each offender,” said Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Saunders.
Some commissioners say the budget ignores previously-established priorities for the system, and does not give enough attention to goals such as protecting the environment, achieving financial sustainability and engaging more residents.
Council has been trying to balance the desires of those who say the Minneapolis Police Department needs more officers and those who want more emphasis on community-led efforts.
Without an expedited timeline for redistricting or a change in state law, Minneapolis voters will elect council members from the city’s current ward map for two-year terms in 2021. Then, in 2023, the city will have to hold another election for council seats.
Here are key takeaways from the budgets as they stand now — and what officials in both cities are likely to focus on in upcoming talks.
The proposal is modeled on Washington, D.C.’s, Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, or TOPA, which allows tenants match bonafide offers for rental properties when owners put them up for sale.
For years, residents of Brooklyn Park’s Huntington Place have complained of safety issues, unfair treatment and poor living conditions.
The success of the city’s group violence intervention strategy has prompted Mayor Jacob Frey to propose growing the program so that it can address gang violence in south Minneapolis.
Seven suburbs across Hennepin and Ramsey counties also had mayoral elections Tuesday.
On Tuesday, St. Paul voters favored the city’s coordinated trash system by nearly a 2-to-1 margin while also re-electing five City Council incumbents.
As the Minneapolis City Council prepares to finalize the city’s budget, the data are expected to be part of the debate over police staffing.
On Tuesday, voters across the Twin Cities will be weighing in on several ballot measures while also choosing mayors and City Council members in several cities.
Nicole Frethem and former state Rep. Randy Jessup are running for board’s District 1 seat.
The sheriff’s office says it will launch the first phase of the body camera use this year. Before January 2020, it wants to outfit 148 deputies with the technology across various divisions.
