Better Minneapolis Podcast

About Better Minneapolis Podcast

Newsletter focused on local Minneapolis politics and resident stories. www.betterminneapolis.com (https://www.betterminneapolis.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Terry White

Category

government · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Jun 2024

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 154 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   End-of-Year Chaos and Obstruction Ahead

   On Tuesday night, as we walked away from the Uptown Futures Forum 2.0 at the Granada Theater, my companion shared his disappointment with the Doran apartment building going up at the corner of Hennepin and 31st. To him, it was a missed opportunity. He had hoped the developers would choose one of the earlier designs that created a courtyard on the block, and he suspected financial pressure had rushed the decision. It’s a major project, yet it came up only once in the presentation. Apparently, no one involved saw it as a success or a sign that the neighborhood is on the right track. The meeting highlighted few positives. Moona Moono, across from the construction site, got a mention, and it was full of people as we walked to the event. Other new additions to the neighborhood include Harold’s Fried Chicken, Arizona Taco and Tiki Tom’s Thai. Despite these hopeful signs, the panelists offered the same ideas for revitalization that the Urban Land Institute (ULI) presented at last year’s Futures Forum 1.0. When I reread Craig Wilson’s summary of that event in the Hill & Lake Press (https://hillandlakepress.org/uptowns-next-chapterbalancing-big-ideas-with-real-world-needs), I found it just as relevant now as it was then. The ULI has some interesting ideas for “animating” the area, but the business community’s two main requests haven’t changed: safety and parking. Several women on the panel said they didn’t feel safe walking in the area or using its parking garages. Panelists also pointed out that no business will lease a large space without enough customer parking. Extending the trolley from Lake Harriet into Uptown is a fun idea, but at $10 million, it would take significant investment from the Metropolitan Council, Hennepin County or the City of Minneapolis. To move its agenda forward, the ULI is advocating for a Neighborhood Improvement District (NID). An NID would add a tax on area businesses, and possibly on large apartment buildings, to promote Uptown, beautify its streets and pay for additional security. The idea has merit. We attended hoping to hear about progress, next steps and goals. Instead, the meeting covered the same ground as last year with few updates. We predict a few more cannabis shops will open before anyone adopts an official plan and moves the NID forward. Government Inaction We were pleased to see Ward 10 Council Member Aisha Chughtai at the event. However, her message seemed at odds with most of the other participants. Ward 7 Council Member Elizabeth Shaffer, along with several others, praised the Minneapolis Police Department for helping reduce open drug use in the area. Until Chughtai spoke, the audience seemed to share the view that MPD has an important role in reducing crime and creating an environment that encourages foot traffic. Chughtai offered a different outlook: “In 2027... the city of Minneapolis plans to spend a total of $12 million on addressing homelessness. ... We plan to spend more money on police overtime than we do on all of homelessness response.” As chair of the Budget Committee, Chughtai likely has the numbers right. But her approach suggested more interest in continuing her battle with Mayor Frey than in finding ways to reinvigorate Uptown. What statements like this one lack is context. She could have pressed her fellow panelists, State Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Jamie Long, for more state funding for county programs. It would also be worth hearing how much responsibility for our current challenges lies with Hennepin County. Much of the funding for housing and recovery programs is meant to come from the county, which has a larger budget than the city. Yet rather than calling on county board members, Chughtai focused on placing as much blame as possible on the mayor. The lack of progress in Uptown reflects a larger dysfunction at City Hall. A slim council majority appears intent on undermining the strong mayor system that voters approved in 2021. That year, opposition to the new system was strongest in Wards 1 and 10, and those same wards elected Elliott Payne and Aisha Chughtai. Both continue to resist the change, and they are using their power over the budget to do it. Before Tuesday’s event, Payne and Council Minority Leader Robin Wonsley announced that they “are advancing a proposal that would restructure and consolidate city government by eliminating the Office of the Community Safety (OCS) and Performance Management and Innovation department and consolidate the work of the Racial Equity Inclusion and Belonging department into the Neighborhood Community Relations Department. All proposed changes impact departments that were created in the 2022 government structure implementation ordinance and have struggled to demonstrate efficacy.” Their stated goal may be to cut unnecessary costs. But if that were the main motive, they could have brought their ideas to Mayor Frey before mid-October and worked toward an agreement. Instead, residents will watch this power struggle play out through the end of the year, when the council must approve a final budget. The same pattern has unfolded each of the past two years. This year, though, there’s an added twist: if the mayor vetoes the budget again, the council may not have the votes to override. That could lead to the unprecedented situation of the city ending the year without an approved budget. Given the lack of cooperation and progress, it’s hard to see how a council of 7 or 9 members would perform any worse than our current 13. Reducing the council’s size is worth exploring as a new initiative for the Charter Commission. Another way to save money would be a part-time council with seven district members and two at-large members. Opponents of this kind of change usually argue that residents would lose representation, but more doesn’t always mean better. Seattle, which has roughly 354,000 more residents than Minneapolis, operates with a nine-member council: seven elected by district and two at-large. Looking beyond City Hall, if Democrats win back the U.S. House, and possibly the Senate, in a few weeks, we expect Washington to become consumed by hearings, legislative battles and vetoes. The president has already shown his willingness to target Minnesota, and those attacks may increase next year as he issues executive orders to work around a hostile Congress. Minnesota and Minneapolis could face even greater disruption to federal funding. In that environment, a city government that operates efficiently and cooperatively will matter more than ever. Unfortunately, nothing coming out of City Hall suggests we are ready. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe (https://www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

2. 

   11 Oct 2026

   Minneapolis Public Schools: A Reckoning

   In her newsletter post “Dear Minneapolis Public Schools: It’s Not Me, It’s You (https://mollymogrenkatt.substack.com/p/dear-minneapolis-public-schools-its?r=304p16&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web),” Molly Mogren Katt compares the relationship between parents and Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) to dating someone who is “bad with money– always complaining about being broke while making tons of careless financial choices. Their past is full of burned bridges. And they start telling you about the handful of times they’ve blown up their life, chasing some half-baked, hairbrained scheme.” Katt’s take is humorous, but many parents find the situation anything but funny. On September 15, MPS presented three possible paths for School Transformation (https://www.mpschools.org/about-mps/school-transformation), and many parents felt all three were out of step with what families need. Each option closes schools. Parents say the proposals arrived with little warning after a development process they found opaque. Some were concerned enough to come together and write their own counterproposal (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CTibWo9hcrZtYi_n5abw6V6C-DGZprwH/view). According to Katt, parents are “excavating this plan as we go.” The plan runs 118 pages, and she says it does not put the effects of school closures front and center: how much money closures would save, or how many families would be affected. The deeper problem is trust. Katt says district leaders have worn down the community’s confidence through a series of poor decisions, including the 2020 Comprehensive District Design, which she likens to “district-wide Boggle.” That plan aimed to increase diversity and equity across the district, but despite the upheaval it caused many families, there are few signs it reached those goals. The new Transformation proposals also set lofty goals: “MPS School Transformation is a districtwide effort to reimagine a district where every student thrives – academically, socially and emotionally – through a holistic, culturally sustaining education that engages and prepares contributing citizens.” Before anything else, a culturally sustaining education needs to produce students with reading and math skills at state standards. Today, fewer than half of MPS students do (https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/2026-minnesota-test-scores-fewer-than-half-of-students-proficient-in-reading-and-math/). It may be that we are asking too much of our schools and offering too many options. Families can choose among community schools, magnet schools, charter schools, culturally focused schools, open enrollment in another district, and homeschooling. As Katt puts it, “It’s like when you go to a restaurant and there’s . . . like 80 pages of the menu and you’re like, first of all, how can you make all this food?” Parents want MPS to succeed. Many volunteer, help with school fundraisers, and serve on committees. They are invested in getting this next stage right, yet the latest proposals have left many of them anxious. Katt is calling for a pause so parents can better understand what the proposals are meant to achieve. She also believes the school board members elected this November are the right people to cast the final votes, since they will be responsible for carrying out the decision and living with its results. MPS now enrolls about 29,000 students in a system built to serve 43,000. There are different theories about where those students have gone, though many have likely left for private schools and the suburbs. This moment feels like a turning point for whether the district can hold on to its students and grow again. State races are spending millions to get our attention, but local races often have a bigger impact on our daily lives. That is one of the reasons we created Better Minneapolis. To see what is on your ballot, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State’s sample ballot tool (https://myballotmn.sos.mn.gov/), or find candidate information from the League of Women Voters at Vote411.org (http://Vote411.org). Here in South Minneapolis, there are two school board races on the ballot: * School Board Member, At Large (vote for two): Michael Baskins, Collin Beachy, Christin Crabtree, and Stephanie Johnson * School Board Member, District 5: Molly Chase and Becca Dryden Stop by the MPLS Votes (http://mplsvotes.org) booth at Open Streets Hennepin on Sunday, October 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. I’ll be handing out voting information and talking with people about local politics. There is plenty to talk about! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe (https://www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

3. 

   7 Oct 2026

   911 Call Center Reports 41% of Staff on Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave

   On Tuesday morning, Leticia Cardenas, Assistant Director of Minneapolis 911, presented her department’s financial overview to the City Council Budget Committee. Every department goes through this exercise so the council can see where spending is rising, falling, or needs to be redirected. The Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center (MECC) includes the 911 call center and the Radio Shop. Its budget is increasing by $1.5 million, to $16.5 million. Most of that increase comes from salaries and fringe benefits, which are rising by 20%. With 92 employees, that works out to an average cost of $142,016 per employee. Several factors appear to be driving up employee costs, including the overtime needed to meet basic standards for 911 call centers. Council Members Shaffer and Palmisano questioned Cardenas after she reported that 41% of staff are currently out on Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML). Because the center must cover every shift, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, burnout and turnover are significant, and the problem is difficult to fix. The state legislature passed the law requiring employers to offer 12 weeks of paid leave, which employees can take as soon as they are hired. Cardenas did not know at what rate the state would reimburse her department for employees on leave. Training a new operator takes three to eight months, so the department regularly hires above its budgeted 84 positions, expecting that some people will quit or take leave. Better Minneapolis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. What Is Your Preferred Safety Statistic? Whenever we publish a story about crime in the city, readers criticize the statistics. The most vocal are often those who argue that crime is down. On that point, the Star Tribune recently reported that Minneapolis homicides fell 27% through September 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, and the number of gunshot victims has dropped below 2019 pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, vehicle thefts, other thefts, and car window break-ins have increased, frustrating residents and business owners even as violent crime declines. We find 911 call data to be a useful indicator of whether crime is rising or falling, and call volume has been steady. Over the past 12 months, the center received 266,848 calls. About 75% were routed to MPD, and of those, 37% (74,840 calls) were classified as Priority 1. These are calls that “represent serious emergencies with an imminent threat to personal safety or severe potential for property damage where conditions at the scene are volatile.” That is more than 200 Priority 1 calls a day, handled by a call center with 41% of its staff on leave. The center receives between 5,000 and 7,000 calls each week. Given that workload, it is easy to see why so many shifts are covered with overtime. The same volume may also help explain the overtime paid to MPD patrol officers who respond to these calls. Calls directed to the Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) team make up about 3% of the total: 8,572 of 266,848 over the past 12 months. So far, the service has had only a small effect on the police and operator hours needed to provide public safety. The city plans to change BCR vendors, moving from Canopy Roots, a local Black-owned company, to Community Bridges, based in Arizona. The new contract is valued at $5.9 million and runs through December 2028. Canopy Roots has been paid just over $26 million since it began in 2021. Uptown Is Still Waiting for Community Safety Ambassadors Business owners in Uptown continue to report break-ins, vandalism, and graffiti. Repairs often cost between $500 and $2,000. Because those amounts fall within insurance deductibles, owners pay out of pocket. When these incidents happen often enough, the costs add up, especially while customers have been slow to return to the area. Many owners feel the city does not take their complaints seriously, and some have organized their own walking safety groups. This is frustrating given that the city is budgeting $2,276,694 toward having 23 in-house Community Safety Ambassadors (CSAs), or about $99,000 per position. In her presentation, Neighborhood Safety Director Amanda Harrington said: “We’re currently hiring for 21 positions. We hope to have staff start October 13th, which is very soon, and have them go through an intensive two-week training program before going out on the streets in November. This slide shows our projection for staffing three zones, which costs about $2.5 million. This includes about a six-person team on East Lake Street, a four-person team on Franklin Avenue, and an eight-person team in Uptown. Uptown is new, so I want to note the boundaries: Franklin Avenue down Hennepin to 31st Street, and then Lake Street from 35W to East Bde Maka Ska.” Many council members are skeptical of MPD and expressed frustration that the police budget is increasing while the Neighborhood Safety Department has been asked to absorb an $800,000 cut. Meanwhile, the department’s performance metrics remain a concern. Council Member Warren worried that CSAs would be placed between police and the people responsible for violence. Harrington explained that CSAs are there to call 911 when a situation becomes volatile. Violence Interrupters, by contrast, focus on building relationships within the community. Harrington also cautioned council members against confusing correlation with causation. In other words, it is too early to conclude that violent crime is down because of these programs. City-sponsored healing circles may be building trust and relationships, but there is no direct evidence that they are reducing gang violence or other violence in the city. A request was made by Council Member Rainville for an accounting of all the vendors who had been paid without supplying proper documentation of their work. A recent audit demonstrated that proper accounting for payments continues to be an issue. Several council members asked for the programs to be expanded and questioned Harrington about how the zones were chosen. Those questions reflect two assumptions: first, that crime continues to disrupt neighborhoods, and second, that alternatives to traditional policing are an essential part of the public safety system. This budget cycle will reflect the tension between the two. Council members are frustrated that the police budget keeps growing, while the public is growing impatient for results from non-police alternatives. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe (https://www.betterminneapolis.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

Inside a recent episode

The World is Watching Minnesota, No Pressure

Published 15 Feb 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] There certainly is. And that'll keep going. I mean, that's not what this podcast is about, but, you know, I, we could spend the afternoon talking about some of the crazy stories that have come out of Los Alamos during its early days of just people move. And some of this is probably apocryphal, but some of it isn't, you know, when people moving into the city, new scientists, new people arriving to staff the hospital or whatever, and discovering like hot cubes of metal in their garage and people turning up in hazmat suits and carrying them off with caliber. I mean, you know, when nuclear material is much better handled now, but there is a long legacy of it being, you know, it being a pretty cavalier, pretty cavalier process out here for a really long time. […]

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