You know how Al Gore “invented the internet?”
Minneapolis’ 48th mayor just “invented” Tuesday.
During Mayor Jacob Frey’s State of the City address on Thursday, he acknowledged that Minneapolis’ population of downtown workers — at least one-third smaller than it was before the pandemic — will likely never fully return to its pre-2020 levels.
Frey said he (sorta) gets it: If you have the option to spend your Monday in comfy clothes or your Friday logging in from a lake place, why would you ever want to go into the office?
So Frey made a pitch for the city’s white collar workers: come to work in the office on the other three days.
“The sweatpants-on-Mondays thing sounds pretty good,” Frey quipped. “So let me introduce you to this new concept that I came up with while I was writing this speech — it’s brilliant: It’s the concept of Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. These are days that fall in the middle of the week — after Monday and before Friday.”
“This is a new innovative idea,” Frey added, with the audience of perhaps 200 invited guests and city officials chortling (groaning?) at his dad-joke. “In 10 years, people are going to say I was a genius.”
It was a tongue-in-cheek introduction to a serious proposal.
Frey referenced research that suggests in-person work increases “the likelihood of inventions, patents, and new business concepts,” and thus Minneapolis’ ability to stay on the “cutting edge.” He also hinted at benefits for restaurants and retailers, referencing his fond memories of “just hanging out with friends, coworkers or loved ones” downtown.
Frey’s bully-pulpit push to return to in-person work was one of several initiatives the mayor touted to inject a different kind of vibrancy to downtown — and one of several ways he argued in his speech that Minneapolis was in the midst of a “rebound.”
“Let’s pause and give each other the permission to feel happy about where Minneapolis is going,” Frey said.
Here are some other takeaways from his speech:
More downtown initiatives
Frey said the city has convened a Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup — “one of the worst names we’ve ever created” for a task force, Frey said — which will advance recommendations for the city’s retail space later this spring.
He also highlighted the city’s initiative to transform unused offices into housing: “Sometimes the walls are going to literally have to come down.”
Crime & police reform
Frey highlighted sharp year-over-year drops in the number of homicides, carjackings, shots fired calls and robberies across the city. (He didn’t mention a rise in motor vehicle thefts and sex offenses.)
The mayor also noted that the city recently entered into a settlement agreement with a state agency that will usher in court-monitored reforms to the Minneapolis Police Department.
“The work won’t be limited to some policy change that you see in the paper,” he said. “People will feel it in interactions that they have on the streets.”
Affordable housing
Frey delivered the State of the City speech at Leef North, a new office space that’s part of a complex of housing and artist lofts in Near North Minneapolis that includes affordable units and some units for previously-unhoused individuals.
Leef North was the same venue where the mayor held a press event in February to announce that the city had built more units of affordable rental housing (919) than in the previous three years combined — including 264 units affordable to people making less than 30% of area median income.
On Thursday, Frey said the city has helped fund another 23 projects that will eventually provide 2,221 units of new housing.
Public housing: ‘Stable Homes, Stable Schools’ to expand?
Since 2021, Frey said the city’s budget has included funding for a partnership with the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority and the Pohlad Family Foundation that provides rental assistance to Minneapolis Public Schools families experiencing homelessness (and some help to others who aren’t homeless, but otherwise at risk).
Frey hinted that the city and housing authority will soon announce plans to expand the program in the coming weeks or months: “It’s going to make a difference for even more kids.”
The mayor has also convened a working group of local officials and non-governmental organizations to figure out how to build more affordable public housing units.
Never better expressed than by Elon Musk:
The Guardian
Jun 1, 2022 — Elon Musk, the Tesla chief executive, has asked employees to return to the office or “pretend to work somewhere else”
Most workplaces have shown productivity to be just as well working remotely vs in office. Also count how many useless time takers there are in the office, not including the commute for many. A number of people already have a hybrid model.
Cites please. Service industries represent a boatload of jobs, as do all retail positions. Mining, manufacturing, horseracing, etc. are hard to do from home, yet the term “most workplaces” appears…
That depends on definition. I’m in the service industry, yet I am able to leave from, and return to daily, my home. I COULD waste 45 minutes of commute time, to drive to an office I have no need to visit, for reasons, but what purpose would that serve? Am I working from home? Not technically. Do I work from an office? Not technically, either.
I’m pretty so-so on Frey, but I am quite optimistic about the future of Minneapolis. Just a lot of good things going on, though obviously still working through some significant challenges, ex. the light rail. If I could wave a magic wand, I wish we utilized the space along the river more effectively for enjoyment and recreational purposes. Long ago, the city decided to cede a lot of that valuable land to commercial interests, so it is going to take quite a while to undo that path dependency.
“Long ago, the city decided to cede a lot of that valuable land to commercial interests, so it is going to take quite a while to undo that path dependency.”
Well… Minneapolis is where it is because those commercial interests needed the energy of st anthony falls; so it’s forgivable, I think, that river frontage was ceded to industrial purposes. But, yes, since the locks are no longer used, there’s not much point in keeping industrial sites on the river. Thing is, there are only a handful of sites, mostly north of Lowry, that could be redeveloped.
Frey could say anything and the Lefties will vote for him. Minneapolis has lost 1,400 businesses in the past couple of years, of course it was the “pandemics” fault. Education in Minneapolis has reached new lows thought impossible just 10 years ago. Frey was totally overwhelmed when “peaceful protesters” burned his city. With no evidence at all, Frey kept children out of school during “pandemic “, causing so much damage.
Much like Chicago, if Frey loses an election, like Lightfoot did, it will be to a Democrat who is more Left…. Good luck and goodbye Minneapolis, you used to be great. Show up Tuesday just highlights how far the drop has become.
And yet the economic engine that is Mpls/St Paul keeps paying the bills for the rest of the state. Conservatives should be rooting for their benefactors not working against them, but as has been said, dependency breeds contempt.
Yep, you’re right. Not to say that both Mpls and St. Paul haul in the most LGA and federal money by far of anywhere in the state.
The tax revenue generated by the twin cities is what pays for LGA that everyone gets in this state. Also the bulk of the tax revenue sent to the Feds comes from the Cities. The percentage of the funds received from LGA and Federal aid still doesn’t equal the percentage sent. It can’t, otherwise the outstate folks, whose lifestyles we are supporting, wouldn’t be about to pay for their Police, Fire, Sewer and Water and other needs….
If you look at which cities get the most LGA per capita, it’s the smaller cities that rake in more. Minneapolis in 2021 got about $184 per person, while (just to take a random example) Redwood Falls got $332 per person. Minneapolis got more overall because more people choose to live there.
We see not cheering on the failure of the metro. Quite the opposite, we are dismayed at the incompetent leadership, and those blindly following along over the precipice
“And yet the economic engine that is Mpls/St Paul keeps paying the bills for the rest of the state.”
But for how much longer?
Ad it’s not as if the folks in out-state Minnesota are just sitting on their thumbs. They feed you.
For as long as it takes for rural MN ( and rural everywhere else) to die out completely. You see, you rural folks (who aren’t farmers, the overwhelming majority of you) aren’t really needed to “grow the food we eat” as you so often like to claim. You’re mainly dead weight, providing services to each other at a continually decreasing rate. WE don’t need you, the farmers don’t really need you, so the question you need to ask yourself is, WHO does?
“You see, you rural folks (who aren’t farmers, the overwhelming majority of you) ”
I live in North Minneapolis. Have for forty years. Spent a quarter century in offices on the Nicollet Mall. Have volunteered with homeless kids at Youthlink, The Bridge and Streetworks. None of those organizations are rural. But I get it. I don’t fit your narrative.
BTW, I have friends i Wright County, so I’m not ignorant about folks in rural America. And the folks out there who don’t farm, work to support those who do. Farmers need gas stations, grocery stores, churches, etc.
“With no evidence at all, Frey kept children out of school during “pandemic “, causing so much damage.”
It is comical to me how everyone else has moved on from the pandemic except for folks on the Right. Ironic that the people who wanted to ignore the pandemic most while it was happening are now the only ones still obsessing over it.
The World Health Organization recently called an end to high concerns for the COVID-19 pandemic. Levels of infections in Minnesota have been low for over one month in the State of Minnesota. “Conservatives” were totally against masking up and secluding people in their homes to pause and end the spread of the virus.
However, the crime rate in my part of Minneapolis continues to be a problem, and I don’t care to take public transit or leave my apartment to put up with the drug addicts and people in offices who find a reason to create conflict. I prefer working from my home. When I want to partake in retail or hospitality amentities in Minneapolis, I do so accompanied by friends. Crime reports show that there are frequent overdoses on LRT platofrms, and there are still a lot of shootings. My friends in China are baffled by how we can live like this.
“It is comical to me how everyone else has moved on from the pandemic except for folks on the Right”
Well the kids are still damaged, but hey, it’s all about politics, right? GO TEAMS!
Idiots all.
Well Joe the reference article says primarily due to the “pandemic” save the sarcasm. So yeah lets blame the mayor for the pandemic! Everyone likes to cherry pick! And where else in the great state of Minnesota did everything go 100% right and the economy is sky rocketing, no homelessness, no business losses etc. etc. etc.Hibbing, Bemidji, Alexandria? Run those shinning lights of success up the flag pole so us ignorant city folks can see how the good stuff is really done!
https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2022/11/30/twin-cities-change-of-address-businesses.html
“Minneapolis has lost 1,400 businesses in the past couple of years, of course it’s not like there was a ‘pandemic’ and the same thing happened in cities all around the country.” Isn’t that what you meant?
“Education in Minneapolis has reached new lows thought impossible just 10 years ago . . . [w]ith no evidence at all, Frey kept children out of school during ‘pandemic ‘, causing so much damage.”
First, is that the new right-wing rule – pandemic goes in quotes? Who told you to do that? It looks awfully silly.
Second, do you not understand that the Mayor of Minneapolis does not control the schools? Special School District 1 is a separate political entity from the City and is not under the control of either the Mayor or City Council.
Third, are you forgetting that the school closures were ordered by the Minnesota Department of Education? You’re directing your bile at the wrong Democrats.
Well put!
Frey has always, always, been the candidate for the moderates. He was and is not a favorite of the progressives or “lefties”. I’m not sure how you came up with that.
I wish MinnPost had a like button. As a 66, soon to be 67, year old who consciously chose to be a lefty at the age of 12 and have only move further left, I can say that Jacob Frey is not someone I want running the city I live in.
Astute and correct observation, though when I have written to Jacob about a mix of tar and recycled plastic which has been used on roadways around the world, in both tropical and temperate zones, with no history of potholes, he has not taken an interest. I tried schedulling an appointment with him to talk about it.
I have wondered if his loyalty to unions and contractors has kept him from acting. This would save a lot of money for the City, as well as a lot of wear and tear on cars. One of my linkes was from Yale University.
I am still trying to get a bead on where his loyalties lie. I assisted him with a project he oversaw about ten years ago and worked with him in DFL Senate District 60. If he continues to ignore me, I may have to vote for another candidate who is more responsive. I’m a moderate.
Getting people back into work in the city, or transforming current office spaces into a mix of high end and low rent residences is a perfect idea.
Yes, Ian, it is. I care about the cars I drive and the cars and safety of other people. The pothole problem in Minneapolis is horrible.
In a thriving democracy, people have a right to redress greivences with their elected officials.
Jacob Frey has some really good ideas, and needs work in other areas.
Sarcasm does nothing for a democracy. Considerate speech is key.
I think the mayors iffice is stumbling along just fine. Losing businesses ,business closings due to the inability of many to pay a livable wage . Let these types of businesses leave and never come back . What people do when they are not payed livable wages , the business can become dreadful store fronts for human trafficking and prostitution .These types of businesses are no loss to any community. People that get stuck up here in severe weather extremities minnesota with a one way ticket and false promises for 600 dollars have been victimized for 40 plus years. Now we take note . Not your fault .
Didn’t see the coup Frey pulled off getting Taste of MN to Mpls in this article. I think it would be an easy thing to do- get the group to leave town. Why? St Paul City hall has obviously some hate business, hate cops (needed for events), and people issues: cancel 4th of July fireworks fun even though businesses offered to pay the tab, don’t promote restoration of diverse businesses destroyed in May 2020, cop issues too numerous to list here, and now don’t pursue Taste of Mn again. The challenge will be security on the light rail for this event. Congratulations to Mpls to having the courage to promote Taste of MN!
“Didn’t see the coup Frey pulled off getting Taste of MN to Mpls in this article. ”
I worked in an office on the Nicollet Mall for more than a quarter century and have lived in North Minneapolis nearly twice as long as that. Mark my words, someone is getting shot at this year’s Taste of Minnesota.
Good grief, I hope that’s sarcasm.
I’ve never cared for Frey & this move doesn’t change that. I get that the mayor has to come up with ideas to address the challenges of downtown; perhaps he should get a little bolder & look to the future, rather than the past, for how to fix what ails downtown.
The funny thing is that Frey having a press conference will instantly have people come back. Not going to happen.
Until Frey and his counterpart in St. Paul agree to implement rent control they can’t claim to be serious about affordable housing. Without affordable housing their populations will continue to drop or at least stagnate. Maybe they don’t need more population, this IS a metro region, but it’s hard to see the growth oriented recovery they claim to desire without some population growth.
It will interesting to see what happens with Taste of MN, just don’t let private sector pinheads get ahold of it again and drive it into the ground.
Rent control bad, always.
There was a story in a business journal out of New York City that said that with rent control, the agreement was that the landlords could increase the rents by 7% in advance of the new policy.
The problem with rent control is that it doesn’t take into consideration taxes, maintenanece, upgrades, expansion and a reasonable amount of profit to which businesses should be entitled.
Who cares about the freaking Taste of MN? I mean seriously, I’ve been here going on 25 years now, it’s never been more than an afterthought, why the continual attempts to make it a thing?
Rent control will lead to decrepid properties, developers and landlords of repute leaving town and selling off all but the largest properties.
You can’t fix plumbing problems with rent controls.
You can’t repaint used property with rent controls.
Landlords will not be blamed by reasonable people for making a profit and hoping to pay their taxes and upkeep on rent controlled properties. This argument only appeals to the least astute of renters and their supporters.
Crain, a New York business journal, recently reported that there will be a pre-rent-control rent hike of 7% to off set losses in that city.
My passport’s expired so I don’t have a dog in this fight.
With the climate emergency, why is any leftist mayor encouraging people to travel anywhere? Very irresponsible.
And if they use mass transit, bike or walk?
Crime reports regarding LRT and bus stops indicate a high number of drug overdoses, fights and murders related to these properties. I have sworn off taking them. My dad’s friend was a transit commissioner in the 70s and 80s, and one of my friends was a Metropolitan Commission commissioner recently.
Until we can get people to stop having sex so early in their lives, well before they are prepared to be parents with any self-discipline, insight and an income which allows them to provide well for their families, the crime rate will not go down and transit gathering places for kids and reckless young adults will continue to make these amenities unpalatable for many people.
Moreover, some of the popular culture makes the discipline of studying and living a considerate life look boring. Criminal themes in movies and television series only model kids to believe that taking drugs and using weapons is the thing to do. The DFL’s decision to endorse marijuana use in our state was short-sighted, despite the fact that marijuana is already the number one recreational drug around the U.S. I’m not so thrilled about peolpe who overuse alcohol, either. It creates cancer, productivity issues and social problems. That is another story. At any rate, your idea of promoting public transit use at this time in history was interesting, but not something which I am ready to embark upon; and I believe that I am not an outlier in this aspect of decision-making.
There needs to be a bolder push to turn some of these vacant office spaces into apartments. I do agree with him when he states that downtown Minneapolis is never going to look like it did pre-pandemic. Work from home was always going to happen for professionals who don’t actually NEED to be in the office; COVID simply gave it a push. Downtown isn’t going to recover the street-level and skyway-level businesses lost simply by trying to push people back into the office. Most of the office tower space that’s being sold off should be converted to housing – that will get more people downtown, into the skyways, and onto the streets. Yes, I realize that conversion will be very expensive, but it’s the way forward. You want more folks working downtown? Incentivize them by making it easier to live downtown. You want more retail (how sad and pathetic is it that our only major downtown retailer closes at 6pm?) and restaurants lining the streets? You need more people downtown. This would also go a long way to reduce crime; the spike in violent crime did not happen simply because of the George Floyd murder. When you take roughly half or more of downtown Minneapolis’ daily population away, it’s pretty easy for gangs (most of which are from out of town) to move right in and set up shop.
Davidson makes a good point on no people on train or downtown makes crime easier. Unquestionably the best example this decade is St Paul. In May 2020 after Floyd murder, St Paul (& some other communities) were invaded by non-local people. Federal prosecutors have been successful and none of the criminals were from St Paul. Spin off issues include the horrific violence on our light rail system where I get daily notices of medical and police emergencies delaying the train; also many of these diverse Midway businesses have not returned so we see barren lots in or near Allianz field with no St Paul city leaders leading the charge to get businesses back. To say that the city of St Paul is dysfunctional is an understatement. No city, county, or state leaders have stepped up to the bat on this safety issue.
Of course Al Gore did not invent the internet. It sprung onto the scene (with a test is 1969) out of ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Military, now DARPA) to enable “online”, digital communication between .educational institutions (particularly those involved in basic research), .government units (mainly the military), and (non-commercial) .organizations which did work for the military (particularly building things, like airplanes and ships). .commercial did not become official until the US Government relinquished control of the internet in 1995 and now any organization could set up their own website.
Of course the audience for this speech was government workers, progressive activists, and invited friends of the mayor.
Not a very diverse crowd from a political viewpoint perspective.
So he should have invited some right-wing goons to come in and heckle? What would that have accomplished? It wasn’t a debate.
Heckle what? The Esteemed mayor just needed to open his mouth about all his great accomplishments and his wish list. Enough said.
Which is basically what any “State of the ________” speech is about at any level of government. Apparently, it is offensive when Democrats do that.
Need the trailers for the Rascal scooters.
Frankly, I don’t think begging people to come into the office is going to work. For companies that don’t own their own space, the downtown office is just another (huge) expense for them, that they have learned they can eliminate. Companies that do own their buildings, are trying to get rid of them. This is not just a Minneapolis problem, but a problem in every city in the USA.
I do not envy Frey as I do not think there are any good solutions. The American downtown was obsolete decades ago, but it took a while and a pandemic for this obsolescence to be finally realized.