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.
Since 2018, as part of a contract agreement between a host of cleaning companies and the SEIU, the University of Minnesota has published a series of studies that say janitors face worrying rates of injury, as well as sleep issues that increase their chances of getting hurt.
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.
County officials say they can’t find a vendor who can ensure the textiles picked up were actually being recycled in a sprawling global market. And the county isn’t the only one with such troubles.
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.
If new council wards could be drawn and approved before the deadline for filing for city offices in 2021, there would be no need for council elections for two-year-terms — a scenario that’s possible if not entirely feasible.
The move has triggered alarm among environmental and transit activists.
Music sets a mood, creates a vibe, and can be an acoustic welcome mat for people to enjoy themselves in the city. Or, if you prefer, it pollutes the atmosphere and inflicts ear worms on innocent passers-by.
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.
Once folks get enrolled, their card is registered under their name for a year, allowing them to get dollar fares at any fare box or light rail station.
The so-called Kahn Rule, named after former state Rep. Phyllis Kahn, requires Minneapolis to hold elections soon after the census-driven redistricting of City Council wards, and it changes a fundamental feature of city politics: that all city offices are on the ballot at the same time.
