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This newsletter provides updates on the City's response to COVID-19, an overview of recovery efforts underway, efforts to transform public safety and other important news and information from the City of Minneapolis.
Minneapolis is offering free COVID-19 testing events Aug. 25, 26 and 28 and Sept. 11, 12, 19 and 26. All are welcomed.
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Free COVID-19 testing focused on PICA Head Start families: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25 McKnight Early Childhood Family Development Center, 4225 Third Ave. S. Hmong, Somali and Spanish interpreters will be onsite. Arrive on foot or by car. Register here.
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Free COVID-19 testing focused on Black, Indigenous and people of color communities: 2-6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, and Wednesday, Aug. 26 Calvary Lutheran Church parking lot, 3901 Chicago Ave. S. Tests given to people on foot.
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Free COVID-19 testing focused on the north Minneapolis community: Noon-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28 New Salem Baptist Church, 2507 Bryant Ave. N. Tests given to people on foot. Register here.
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Free COVID-19 testing focused on the north Minneapolis community: Noon-4 Friday, Sept. 11, and Saturday, Sept. 12 Shiloh Temple, 1201 W. Broadway Ave. N. Register onsite.
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Free COVID-19 testing focused on the East African community: Noon-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 Abubakar As-Sadique Islamic Center, 2824 13th Ave. S. Register onsite.
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Free COVID-19 testing focused on the East African community: Noon-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 Abubakar As-Sadique Islamic Center, 2824 13th Ave. S. Register onsite.
You can expect to get your test results in about two days. The test is free, and you do not need insurance for the test. If you need medical care but don’t have health insurance, the Minnesota Department of Health offers resources to find low-cost health care or health insurance.
If you are unable to attend one of these testing events, you can use this directory to find a testing location near you.
With ranked choice votes now tabulated in the Ward 6 special election, Jamal Osman is the official winner of the race to fill the vacant City Council seat.
This vote became official with certification by the Minneapolis City Council, which serves as the Municipal Canvassing Board, Aug. 20.
Learn more about voter turnout for the special election and State primary.
Want to make sure your ballot will be returned on time to count for the general election on Nov. 3?
Apply now and get your ballot right when early voting opens – ballots will be mailed out starting Sept. 18. This will ensure plenty of time to receive your ballot, vote, and then return your ballot using the postage-paid envelope.
Apply on the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.
Learn more about how the City is working to ensure a safe election season during the pandemic.
The City is committed to taking action to support and invest in racial justice and healing in the area of 38th & Chicago. City leaders have met with community leaders who have authored a racial justice resolution outlining a series of demands for the City to consider before barricades would be removed from the intersection.
In order to provide safe access for visitors to the intersection, the City placed barricades to through traffic, while also ensuring ADA and emergency access. Since May, the barricades have remained in place. Moving toward a phased reopening is necessary to improve community access, mitigate neighborhood and business impacts, and support public safety. The City has expressed the need for a phased reopening to community members and organizers.
City leaders and staff have been actively engaging with community members since late May following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in the custody of Minneapolis Police. They have attended daily meetings on the street and held several town halls. The City has heard numerous perspectives about this intersection, both short- and long-term desires and needs.
The City Council’s Policy & Government Oversight Committee heard a staff report Aug. 20 on the status of the intersection and future work.
Learn more about the City's discussions and longer term commitments to racial justice.
Upcoming schedule changes will provide riders more options and space when traveling on buses and trains.
The changes taking effect on Saturday, Sept. 12, will mean that many local bus routes, the METRO A Line and the METRO C Line will have about as much service as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic. The METRO Blue Line and METRO Green Line will offer 10-minute service throughout most of the day.
Because of a significant drop in demand, around 50 express bus routes will remain suspended and the Northstar Commuter Rail Line will continue to operate on a limited, weekday-only schedule.
In July, ridership on local bus routes and the METRO A Line and METRO C Line was down about 50% compared to the same month last year. Light rail ridership was down about 75%. Increases in local bus and light rail service will help riders keep a safe distance on buses and trains as more people return to transit.
Learn more about the changes.
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Park Board updates on encampments
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) limits the total number of parks available for temporary encampments and the number of tents per encampment. It has also established a temporary permit that can be issued to an individual or body that agrees to be responsible for the day-to-day oversight of an encampment.
The board’s regulations respond to the growing number of people experiencing homelessness who are living in parks temporarily until dignified alternative spaces can be found. The MPRB is working with state, county and city health and human service agencies to find short, medium and long-term solutions.
For the latest information on encampment locations and Park Board actions, go to minneapolisparks.org/encampments.
Learn more about the City's work with partners responding to the increase in homeless encampments.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey delivered his 2021 budget address Aug. 14, which underscored his commitment to maintaining core City services, the City’s response to COVID-19, and new public safety transformation work. Frey has recommended continuing an enterprise-wide hiring freeze, across the board reductions in spending, and broad departmental reorganizations to maintain current service levels.
Offsetting the $35 million in lost non-property tax general fund revenues without cuts would have required an over 15% property levy increase. Frey’s measures will result in a 5.75% levy increase for 2021; however, the overall growth to the city’s tax base means the median valued home ($281,500) will see a 3% decrease ($47) under the mayor’s proposal.
“During an economic downturn, we must work smarter. Accordingly, I have asked City leadership to undergo a reorganization of their respective departments over the coming months. Through efficiencies and shared sacrifice we can continue to deliver our core city services with excellence,” said Frey.
Frey’s 2021 budget proposal also reinforces his commitment to affordable housing as a top priority. The proposal makes the Stable Homes Stable Schools program permanent. Started as a three-year pilot program, Stable Homes Stable Schools has housed or provided housing stability for 330 families and 946 children. Over 95% of the families served through Stable Homes Stable Schools are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) families.
Read more.
Watch the mayor's budget address.
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Minneapolis individuals, property owners, businesses and nonprofits can now apply for low-interest disaster loans. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved a disaster declaration for areas in Minnesota affected by the recent civil unrest.
Three types of SBA disaster loans
- Home disaster loans for homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property including automobiles.
- Physical disaster loans to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by businesses and nonprofits including real estate, inventory and equipment. Businesses and nonprofits of any size are eligible.
- Economic injury disaster loans for working capital to help small businesses and nonprofits meet their financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster.
For help preparing financial documentation, Minneapolis businesses can consult with an advisor through the City’s Business Technical Assistance Program or contact the Minneapolis Small Business Team at 612-673-2487 or SmallBusiness@minneapolismn.gov.
Apply online here by Oct. 2 for physical disaster loans and May 3, 2021, for economic injury disaster loans.
See the Small Business Administration news release and fact sheet for more information. Business and property owners with questions about the loan application can contact the SBA Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center at 571-422-6078 or 571-422-6871 or FOCE-Help@sba.gov.
Hosted by the City of Minneapolis, the seventh annual Trans Equity Summit takes place Sept. 13-15. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all attendance this year will be virtual.
Trans Equity Summit: 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Sept. 13-15 Register online Join Facebook event
This year's theme is "Claiming Our Power for Change: Caring for Community." In this moment of deep pain and radical possibility, Minneapolis is centered locally, nationally and globally as a place from which potential new futures can be born. Organizers, healers and artists are redefining community, connection and the expansiveness of their own power. As always, trans and gender non-conforming folks are at the forefront.
Programming includes breakout sessions, performances, a job and resource fair, and healing justice offerings. Space is available for community care, for collective witnessing, and for trans/gender-non-conforming folks to find or further assert their places and power in this pivotal moment.
The summit is free and open to the public, and we encourage anyone interested in furthering trans equity to attend.
Find updates on the Trans Equity Summit here.
The governor's latest extension of the peacetime emergency means that the suspension of evictions and landlord-initiated lease terminations remains in place until Sept. 11.
This suspension will allow households to remain sheltered during the peacetime emergency. The executive order does not relieve a tenant's obligation to pay rent.
While the eviction moratorium continues, housing providers can evict a tenant when the tenant violates a lease by endangering the safety of others, engaging in certain illegal activities, or significantly damaging property. Evictions can also proceed if the homeowner or their family member needs to move into the premises or if a writ of recovery was issued prior to March 24 at 5 p.m.
Emergency rental assistance
Hennepin County offers emergency rental assistance for residents with low incomes who have been financially harmed by COVID-19. Residents can learn more and apply at www.hennepin.us/rent-help and find more information here:
Have you completed the census yet? Completing the census will ensure that our communities receive resources for programs and services that we need. Many programs that our communities rely on, including SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP and Head Start are funded through data that is obtained by the census. The 2020 Census is our chance to shape the future of Minneapolis for the next 10 years.
Census takers have begun following up in Minneapolis with households that haven’t yet completed the 2020 Census. Census staff have been hired locally and are here to help households complete their census forms. The goal of census door knockers is to help get an accurate count. Census staffers can be easily identified by a valid government ID badge that includes their photograph and a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark.
Census field staff follow both CDC and local public health guidelines, are trained in physical distancing protocols and will provide census takers with masks during their visit. Census staff have sworn a lifetime oath of confidentiality. Any information that you provide to them will not be shared with any entity other than the Census Bureau for statistical purposes only and never to identify an individual.
Find more information here on verifying a census taker’s identity, COVID-19 protocols or the strategy to visit households that haven’t responded yet.
Learn more.
Minnesotans are required to wear a face covering in indoor businesses and indoor public settings. Researchers have advocated for masking, calling it a simple and effective step to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The state regulation reinforces Mayor Jacob Frey’s emergency regulation requiring people in Minneapolis to wear cloth face masks or coverings when they are in an indoor place of public accommodation is in effect.
Businesses are not required to provide masks to customers or employees themselves, though employers shall be required to mandate the use of masks by their staff. Non-compliance should be reported through 311. Find information on how to get a mask.
Donate homemade face masks at Minneapolis fire stations for Mask Drive Mondays
Minneapolis residents can deliver homemade masks to their local fire station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Monday for Mask Drive Mondays. The City plans to distribute the donated masks throughout Minneapolis to residents, organizations and businesses that are most in need, including food shelves, congregate living facilities, small corner stores and shelters.
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Tune into the City's cultural radio programs for COVID-19 updates. The City has programs on KMOJ 89.9 FM (English); La Raza 95.7 FM (Spanish); KALY 101.7 FM (Somali); and WIXK AM 1590 (Hmong.) Radio shows schedule
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