The Wedge Times-Picayune

June 19, 2020June 19, 2020

Minneapolis Council Committee Approves $58 Million in Phase I Budget Cuts

On Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council’s POGO Committee took the first step towards closing a projected $156 million budget shortfall by approving $58 million in cuts across all city departments. A final vote will happen at next Friday’s City Council meeting. To put the cuts in context, the city’s total budget for 2020 was approved last December at $1.6 billion.

June 17, 2020June 17, 2020

Finding Bigfoot: Governor Tim Walz Spotted in Sasquatch Shirt

The official Twitter account for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz posted a photo Tuesday evening showing the Governor signing a $62 million Covid-19 relief bill while wearing a short-sleeve Sasquatch-print shirt. The shirt — which according to retailer REI, “celebrates the hirsute Sasquatch legend with a refined collar and interior logo jacquard tape” — is currently on sale for 50% off.

The creature, whose real life existence remains a matter of dispute, is depicted on the Governor’s shirt engaging in activities like walking through the woods, sitting around a camp fire, and hiding in a tree.

June 10, 2020June 10, 2020

2021: The “Defund Police” Election in Minneapolis

On Sunday, nine members of the Minneapolis City Council stood together on a stage with the words “Defund Police” draped across the front in giant letters. At a rally organized by Black Visions Collective and Reclaim the Block, City Council President Lisa Bender told the crowd, “Our efforts at incremental reform have failed… Our commitment is to end our city’s toxic relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department, to end policing as we know it.”

While this amounts to a veto-proof majority of the council, the nine haven’t yet developed or agreed to a specific plan to “Defund Police.” But the police murder of George Floyd has convinced them once and for all that MPD doesn’t actually make everyone safer — and is so broken that it can’t be reformed. The nine council members have committed to a year-long engagement process to determine how to replace the city’s broken system of public safety. This timeline puts the issue square in the middle of a city election year.

June 3, 2020June 4, 2020

Minneapolis City Council Speaks to Possibilities for Police Reform

At a Tuesday meeting to announce their unanimous support of a state investigation into potential civil rights violations by the city’s police, the Minneapolis City Council talked about their vision for public safety and police reform.

May 4, 2020May 4, 2020

Minneapolis City Council Member Cam Gordon is Growing a Beard

We’ve had a lot of time on our hands over the last month and a half. Many of us have spent more time with our electronic devices. Some people have picked up other hobbies. Instead of growing virtual fruit trees in the smash hit life-simulation video game Animal Crossing, Minneapolis City Council Member Cam Gordon has grown a beard.

April 17, 2020April 17, 2020

Pandemic Teaching Us What We Already Knew About Cities

People are coming to conclusions about what a pandemic means for cities, transportation, public spaces, and other hot button issues. Turns out they’re drawing the same conclusions as before. Density is deadly. Transit is a petri dish for disease. Bikes are in the way.

April 4, 2020April 4, 2020

Minneapolis Has 81 Cases of Covid-19; City Budget Shortfall Projected at $100 to $200 Million

Mayor Frey announced Friday that Minneapolis has 81 confirmed cases of Covid-19. When compared to total confirmed infections in Hennepin County (235 at the time the Mayor spoke Friday morning), the city’s rate of positive test results is proportional to the city’s share of the county population.

April 4, 2020April 4, 2020

Mpls Park Board Responds to Pandemic; MN GOP Chair Accuses Them of “Extreme Communist” Plot

In a sign of how bizarrely partisan the response to a pandemic has become, Minnesota GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan called the Minneapolis Park Board communists for closing the city’s beaches through August.

March 19, 2020March 19, 2020

Minneapolis Police, Fire, and Public Works Departments Adjust to Covid-19 Emergency

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Some highlights from the Covid-19 update given to the Minneapolis City Council’s Public Safety & Emergency Management Committee on Wednesday.

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020

New Speed Limits, Signage, & Traffic Signal Timing Arriving in Minneapolis

With piles of data backing up the idea that slower is safer, Minneapolis and St. Paul are implementing lower speed limits. Both cities are setting lower speed limits using authority newly granted by the state legislature.

In Minneapolis, limits of 25 mph on arterial streets will take effect as the new signs are installed. Streets considered “residential” will have limits of 20 mph limits, but won’t get their own signage. The 20 mph limits will take effect once gateway signs for drivers entering the city are installed in the fall. County and state controlled streets will remain unchanged at 30 mph or greater.