Posted on

Minneapolis faces yet another city election during troubled times

It’s been a rough handful of years, Minneapolis. And if recent events in our nation’s capital have you doubting how much longer we’ll still have a country, I understand. It makes for yet another city election year during troubled times.

It was eight years ago during the chaotic and traumatic first year of a Trump presidency that we elected what was, at that point, the most progressive and diverse City Council in our history. That same year we elected a young and energetic new mayor, Jacob Frey, who’d spent one term as a council member.

That 2017 campaign in was flavored by a reaction to the threat posed by Trump. It was an outlet for pent up political energy. Council incumbent Kevin Reich spoke of “accelerated national concerns” and dismissed the local political mood as activists mindlessly pursuing “change for change’s sake.” Lisa Goodman, facing a serious challenger for the first time after 20 years in office, called it a “twisted purification ritual” to spend “time, energy and money” running a campaign in a safe DFL district like hers.

Continue reading “Minneapolis faces yet another city election during troubled times”
Posted on

MnDOT’s public health denialism

Air pollution map (red is worse) shows where breathing in the air of MnDOT’s freeways will make you sexier, healthier, and shorten your commute.

I enjoyed this recent opinion in the Star Tribune by two people who live near I-94 calling out the Minnesota Department of Transportation for their “climate defeatism.”

But I understand the defeatism. Sure, I wish my Minnesota summers involved less breathing in of wildfire smoke. But for many of us, climate change still feels abstract. It’s a thing that will destroy a group of people I don’t know, living lives I can’t relate to, in a place very far away — like Los Angeles.

And with a new president determined to undermine national and global climate action, acting locally feels like a drop in the bucket when we need a firehose.

But this isn’t just “climate defeatism.” That doesn’t capture what MnDOT is doing by rejecting further study of removing the I-94 trench. The traffic engineering professionals at MnDOT are claiming that an expanded freeway with more lanes and more cars will produce less pollution than if we replaced it with a more traditional urban street.

That’s public health denialism.

Continue reading “MnDOT’s public health denialism”
Posted on

I’m Freaking Out Over the Minneapolis Labor Standards Board

On Wednesday, KSTP called it “a decision that could change the entire business landscape” in Minneapolis — “a government body overseeing wages, benefits, and training” and “enforce requirements concerning wages and benefits.”

Sounds ominous — but none of it is true.

They were talking about a proposed Labor Standards Board in Minneapolis, which would replace the city’s existing Workplace Advisory Committee. The proposal, like dozens of other city advisory boards and committees, wouldn’t oversee or enforce anything. It would not have real power. It would study issues and offer recommendations. The city council has no obligation to accept its recommendations and pass their ideas into legislation.

Continue reading “I’m Freaking Out Over the Minneapolis Labor Standards Board”
Posted on

Chief O’Hara Spreads the Blame in Bonkers Press Conference

Yesterday’s Chief O’Hara press conference had everything. He blamed a victim for getting shot; blamed those critical of police for making MPD’s job too hard; blamed prosecutors for making police scared to do their jobs; and he pissed off Council Member Andrea Jenkins so badly that she’s demanding the police — who we “pay a lot of money” — to “do their job.”

Continue reading “Chief O’Hara Spreads the Blame in Bonkers Press Conference”
Posted on

Local Police Chiefs Enlisted IT Consultant to Create Their Wikipedia Pages

A reader tipped me off that Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara and Metro Transit’s former Police Chief Ernest Morales have wikipedia pages created by the same editor. Both pages were created in early 2023 and read like promotional material. Wikipedia does allow for paid editing but “does not allow promotion, advertising, marketing or public relations.”

Continue reading “Local Police Chiefs Enlisted IT Consultant to Create Their Wikipedia Pages”
Posted on

Frey admin brings Lisa Goodman back to city hall; lies about having months-long, “rigorous and thorough” hiring process

Lisa Goodman’s seven terms on the Minneapolis City Council ended on Jan 1. Less than nine months later, she’s back at city hall. She started a new job Monday as the director of initiatives and partnerships — a new position created specifically for her.

What new things does a former council member who represented both Uptown and downtown since 1998 have to teach us about Minneapolis revitalization? We’re about to find out.

In Goodman’s 26 years on the city council she was known for wielding great power as chair of committees controlling economic development cash, being an unreserved police booster, and being a foe of safe streets and alternative transportation (she was the lone vote against the Transportation Action Plan).

This City Pages story from 2009 has all the Goodman classics: guiding development towards her friends and getting the city sued; threatening to defund a neighborhood group for not letting her use their email list; and going to great — possibly corrupt — lengths to help her dear friends build a wood-burning energy plant in the Phillips neighborhood.

One of Goodman’s last acts in her old job last December was to vote on the city’s 2024 budget that created her new job. The annual pay of $156,000 is roughly 140 percent of her old salary as a council member.

In an email last Friday, deputy city operations officer Brette Hjelle described Goodman as a “creative thinker with a penchant for bringing people together to get things done.” He said Goodman was hired after a months-long “rigorous and thorough interview process.”

But that can’t be true — I was told on Feb 1 that she’d be given this job. I posted about it four days later. That’s not enough time for a thorough, rigorous, months-long process.

Continue reading “Frey admin brings Lisa Goodman back to city hall; lies about having months-long, “rigorous and thorough” hiring process”
Posted on

MN House District 61A Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues

At the August 13 primary election, voters in district 61A (map below) will get to choose which of three DFL candidates will replace retiring Minnesota House Rep. Frank Hornstein. I spoke with all of the DFL candidates a few months ago on the Wedge LIVE podcast: Katie Jones, Isabel Rolfes, and Will Stancil.

But they’ve sharpened their messages since then, so it’s worth checking out the League of Women Voters forum from Wednesday night. Below are some highlights from the forum.

Continue reading “MN House District 61A Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues”
Posted on

Plan to expand “forested green space” in Uptown at risk over parking concerns

You may not have realized Uptown’s “the Mall” is a park because it functions like a parking lot. There’s even a long-range plan, adopted by the Minneapolis Park and Rec Board in 2020, that would install “forested and open green space” to replace some of the parking at the west end of the Mall. But two commissioners elected in 2021, Elizabeth Shaffer and Cathy Abene, have initiated a process that could scrap that part of the plan. Among their concerns are loss of 25 parking spots, public safety, and preserving the “historic symmetric design” of the parkway/parking lot.

Note: MPRB is voting on this language tonight (Tuesday, May 7 at 5 pm) if you want to show up and testify.

Continue reading “Plan to expand “forested green space” in Uptown at risk over parking concerns”
Posted on

New Hope for Public Works Leadership That Won’t Kneecap Transit

We never thought this day would come. The transportation needs of car-free, low-income and disabled residents has become a top concern. Everyone across the region is in a panic over what happens if we fail these people. Did you think we meant transit riders? Sorry, no, we meant the Uber and Lyft situation.

But rideshare aside, many of us really are hoping for city leadership that follows through on ambitious commitments to affordable, safe, sustainable transportation. And Minneapolis is about to get a new Public Works director. Timothy Sexton is certain to be confirmed at a City Council meeting this Thursday.

Continue reading “New Hope for Public Works Leadership That Won’t Kneecap Transit”