The Wedge Times-Picayune

Have you ever pondered a fun thought experiment like “What would happen if everyone in my city flushed their toilets at the same time — never before has a comprehensive plan specifically authorized this many theoretical toilets operating in sync.” That’s pretty close to the premise of the never-ending legal crusade to stop the Minneapolis 2040 Plan.

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that back in 2018, some very wealthy pretend environmentalists created an entity called Smart Growth Minneapolis for the sole purpose of suing the city over triplexes. Now in 2023 — after ping ponging between district court, appeals court, and the state supreme court — this group has convinced a district court judge to take seriously the idea that every plot of land in the city is about to be built up to the fullest extent of the law, damaging the environment. So the judge has halted the 2040 Plan temporarily, as we wait for an environmental analysis (likely to be followed by yet more legal action contesting the validity of that analysis).

One of the things I DO FOR YOU is listen to landlord zoom calls. If you’re not familiar, Kari Lundin (the “Duplex Chick”), a realtor and mentor to the local landlord community, hosts Q&A sessions where Minneapolis candidates give revealing answers, but only after being reassured that a wider audience will never see it. Past guests include LaTrisha Vetaw, who embarrassed herself so thoroughly on a landlord zoom call in 2021 that voters in Ward 4 elected her to the City Council.

A grizzled old friend of mine (who will remain anonymous) told me a story about a long ago Hennepin County Public Works official who decided a reconstruction of Lyndale Avenue was just too difficult — even though age and condition meant the street was overdue for it. And so for many years it was just arbitrarily shoved aside.

We’re lucky that feckless bureaucrat was there at the time, because if the county had done a reconstruction 10 or 15 yrs ago, they’d have given us the same horrifying layout that was already there. Too wide, too fast, too dangerous. It would have robbed us of the chance to make it the great neighborhood street it has the potential to be.

After three days of concern about the status of the popular annual events known as Open Streets, Minneapolis Public Works Director Margaret Anderson Kelliher made a public commitment Thursday that the city would continue to partner on those events in 2024 and provide the same support services like trash, traffic control, and police. What’s unclear is what the events will look like if Our Streets Minneapolis, the longtime organizer, is not involved. The city plans to put out a request for proposals from potential organizers, which could still include Our Streets.

On Monday, the city put out a statement claiming a “mutual agreement” with Our Streets to not extend the contract for 2024. The response from the organization’s executive director: “1000% not true.” Our Streets says they haven’t had a chance to discuss the 2024 season with the city, though they have made it clear it’s unsustainable to continue to do the event for free. The organization submitted a budget of $851,000 to do five events next year.

Here’s what we know of Ricky Cobb’s killing during a traffic stop, from police video and news reports:

After being pulled over on I-94 in North Minneapolis by the Minnesota State Patrol, Cobb had been waiting in the driver’s seat, compliant and in possession of his car keys, for about 20 minutes. When three state troopers re-approach his car, having confirmed Cobb was wanted by Ramsey County, they ask him to step out of his car. He doesn’t comply. He insists they tell him why. The trooper on the driver’s side repeatedly asks Cobb for his keys, seeming to anticipate that Cobb might decide to drive away. At roughly the same moment when Cobb begins to get his car lurching forward, troopers open doors on both the passenger and driver’s side and reach inside the car to pull him out. Six seconds later, as the car continues to jerk forward, the trooper on the passenger side, Ryan Londregan, shoots Cobb at least twice. As Cobb speeds off, two of the troopers fall to the ground. All three run back to their patrol cars. Cobb drives a short distance down the interstate, dying, about thirty minutes after being pulled over for a taillight violation.

After watching the video of Cobb being shot to death by police, U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (one of the most conservative Democrats in the country) posted his reaction on social media: “Law enforcement is a very difficult and risky job, but shootings like this are unjustifiable and more must be done to prevent them.”

The Star Tribune editorial board chastised Phillips for his comments and urged us all to “allow the investigative and legal processes to take their course.” While the legal process moves at its own pace, I think the rest of us have seen enough, in part because we’ve seen this before.

It’s a question being asked and answered all over the local news: Is Minneapolis back? I’ll be honest, I like big events, people on sidewalks and in the streets, gathering together in ways that make city life so uniquely joyful. These essential experiences we’d been deprived of for too long are coming back. Sometimes it feels like I’m falling in love with this city all over again.

But hey, snap out of it. Wake up and smell the trauma of the last few years. The real existential question for this city remains: Does any of this mean we’re meaningfully addressing our police problem? I pose that question in the broadest sense. Whether you believe our “police problem” is the pattern of racist practices that made MPD the target of state and federal investigations for racism and brutality; or you say our police problem is that we don’t have a functioning department; or that we don’t have enough police; or that the city still lacks well-integrated alternatives to armed police.

The Minneapolis City Council’s Policy and Government Oversight Committee approved an extension through August 2024 for the city’s Behavioral Crisis Response teams. The current contract with Canopy Roots, who runs the program for the city, expires next month. Final approval of the contract extension is scheduled to come at a meeting of the full City Council on Thursday.

BCR program manager Marisa Stevenson, with Canopy Roots, said a long term contract extension was necessary as a show of commitment to the service, which would help them hire responders. She said her employees don’t know whether they’ll have jobs come mid-August. BCR teems will tentatively be available for dispatch by 911 on a 24/7 basis by the end of summer/early fall, pending the hire of one more weekend night responder.

The City of Minneapolis is considering a menu of pilot programs to ensure sidewalks are clear of snow and ice during the winter months. If all five were funded, it would require $2.6 million annually. These were presented to the City Council’s Public Works Committee today. Decisions about next year’s budget will be made later this year — with Mayor Frey’s recommendations coming in August and a City Council vote to amend and approve in December.

***Speech embargoed until 6 pm on 6/21/2023***