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Hello Neighbors,
The state legislature has ended its session and the good news is that Uber/Lyft drivers will be getting a well-deserved pay increase. The compromise will keep the rideshare companies here in the region, and there is a statewide policy that now covers all Minnesota drivers. This initiative has the potential to impact the wages for rideshare drivers throughout the country.
Additional legislative developments include the passage of a bill that exempts comprehensive plans from environmental review and allows the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan to continue. This will allow for increased density across the city, which is the best way to address the affordable housing crisis by building more diverse housing options. There is also a provision that allows the City to pilot traffic cameras to help improve traffic safety across the metro. More information can be found here.
How about those Timberwolves?! Basketball fever has gripped Minneapolis and the entire state for that matter. The team has advanced to the Western Conference finals after defeating the Denver Nuggets in a riveting game 7, last Sunday. The team will host outdoor watch parties near the Target Center. It's sure to be a great time! So, Bring Ya A** downtown. “Wolves Back” Block Parties “Go Wolves!”
Lastly, it’s Memorial Day weekend. But it will never be the same for me and so many others. Four years ago on May 25th, 2020, George Perry Floyd, Jr., was murdered by former MPD Officer Derek Chauvin. Since that time, Chauvin and his fellow officers have been convicted and are serving time for their deadly deeds. There is transformational work happening to re-imagine public safety in our city. The Minnesota League of Women Voters produced a fairly comprehensive document detailing some of the reforms underway which you can find here.
If you are interested, please join community at George Floyd Square for the 4th Annual “Rise and Remember” event. The theme this year is, “As Long As We Have Breath, Reset." The festival takes place May 25th. You can find details at www.georgefloydglobalmemorial.org/rise-remember.
Have a happy and safe Holiday Weekend!
Love,
Andrea
"Justice is what love looks like in public”
-Rev. Dr. Cornel West
“1) Live with a sense of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being
2) Own their financial future, including the ability to create generational wealth
3) Vote to protect Black interests
4) Excel in all that they do and amplify narratives of Black excellence”
-Tonya Allen, CEO, McKnight Foundation
May 24 and 25 will offer several opportunities to honor the life of George Floyd. The City of Minneapolis Racial Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Department will support the George Floyd Global Memorial as it hosts its fourth annual Rise & Remember events.
The City is one of many organizations contributing its talents, abilities, gifts and skills to create space for community to gather and have a great time throughout Minneapolis.
Learn more about all fourth annual remembrance events on the George Floyd Global Memorial website.
 In honor of the Minnesota Timberwolves making it into the Western Conference finals for the first time in 20 years, we’re celebrating by painting First Avenue downtown and temporarily changing street signs to honor the Wolves.
The City’s Public Works crews painted the words “Go Wolves!” on First Avenue North between Fifth and Sixth streets North. The 19-foot-tall letters are painted in Timberwolves blue and green.
City crews put up temporary street signs with the Wolves logo and team colors. The signs are at the intersections of First Avenue and Sixth Street and at First Avenue and Seventh Street.
Read more on the City website.
For the past two months, Office of Community Safety staff have met with residents and businesses throughout the south Minneapolis community about the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center and the Lake Street Safety Center. The community engagement and information gathering will be winding to a close at the end of May. The information they’ve collected will help decide on what services could be found in the community safety centers. A report on this information will likely be provided in early June.
Please go to the community safety center website for the latest details on any remaining events.
Take the community safety center survey now – closes May 24
Residents and businesses in south Minneapolis neighborhoods that will be served by the community safety centers should have received postcards in the mail about the community safety center survey. We hope to hear from everyone who works in and/or lives in the area served by the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center.
Find more information about the survey ending May 24.
Community engagement feedback and reports
Summaries and reports covering most of our previous community engagement sessions can now be found on the City website. The page will be updated as more reports are made available.
Find more information on the City website, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Join us June 10 at an open house on the proposed future of the former 3rd Precinct building. The City of Minneapolis is proposing to redevelop 3000 Minnehaha Ave. into a democracy center. It would house Elections & Voter Services and offer a large, ground-floor space for community use.
We want to hear from you. Come any time during the open house for information and to provide your input.
Minnehaha 3000 open house 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday, June 10 Minneapolis American Indian Center, 1530 E. Franklin Ave.
Find more information on the City website.
 Thursday, May 30 from 5:30PM – 7:30PM at 1011 W. Broadway (food served at 5:30PM and program begins at 6:00PM). This “Second Look Review” event is being hosted by Minnesota Wrongfully Convicted Judicial Reform, and will feature a deeper dive into our Second Look Review work which includes: Prosecutor Initiated Sentence Adjustment (PISA), the Expungement process, and work being done to build our Conviction Integrity Unit!
 The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced their second quarterly Expungement Clinic.
The Expungement Clinic will be held on Saturday, June 15 from 10:00AM – 6:00PM at Sabathani Community Center (310 E. 38th Street) in South Minneapolis.
For the first time ever, this expungement clinic will feature a “Pre-Registration” option. Due to high demand at the last clinic, this tool was created to reduce wait times and allow those who pre-register a chance see an attorney immediately, as soon as they arrive for their reserved time. Walk-ins will still be available!
Pre-Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hennepin-county-attorneys-office-pre-registration-tickets-909848038977
Before adjourning, State lawmakers passed a bill that will resolve a legal challenge under the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan that gave rise to a lawsuit. The legislation will allow the City of Minneapolis to move forward with permitting long-stalled multi-unit housing projects.
The Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan was passed in 2019 and was the guiding vision for shaping how the city will grow and change for the next 20 years. This includes historic zoning reforms to allow for a diversity of use in all neighborhoods across the city.
In part due to the 2040 Plan, Minneapolis has seen record-breaking levels of affordable rental housing units produced in the past several years, while also keeping rents at some of the lowest rates in the country.
Read about the plan on the City website.
 Come help celebrate a new public artwork May 28. “Common Currents” is a two-part artwork sited at each end of Samatar Crossing. It is inspired by the journeys people have undertaken to begin new chapters in Minneapolis. The wavelike sculptures include colorful steel panels inscribed with poetry by local poets. They evoke Hussein Samatar’s enduring legacy of bridging cultures.
5 p.m. on May 28, East side of Samatar Crossing. Gather on the downtown side of the crossing and walk or roll with artists and poets in a poetry procession to Cedar Riverside. Experience readings from the project poets along the way. The program will close on the east side with refreshments and music.
Artwork by Ifrah Mansour, Aaron Marx and Randy Walker with poets Sun Yung Shin, Sharon M. Day, ShaVunda Brown, Aegor, Ahmed Said Salah, Sixco and Mohamed Shariff.
Find more information on Facebook or contact Kirstin Wiegmann.
Please share your thoughts on the project survey that is available online and will be open for public feedback through June 6th.
There will be a virtual open house on June 4th at 7pm. The meeting can be accessed via this link , which can also be found on the project webpage here.
 The City is recruiting members for a newly formed African American Heritage Work Group. This body will serve as an advisory board to the City Council to document and honor African American history.
The work group will advise on the selection of 25 properties associated with Black history in the city to be surveyed for inclusion in a Minneapolis African American Historic and Cultural Context Study. At least three properties will eventually be nominated by the City for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
Community members who are knowledgeable on the topic of African American heritage are encouraged to apply by May 31.
Read more on the City website.
Applicants, hires, gender and ethnic diversity are all up after a sustained Human Resources push to bolster recruitment and retention shows successes. Minneapolis’ first quarter hiring figures this year are exceeding 2023’s in several categories.
The City has set out to attract, engage and hire people with exceptional and diverse talent and to align their skills and passions with opportunities for public service. That work is paying off in:
- An increase in hiring and applicants.
- Retention and pathways to growth.
- An increase in diversity.
Read more about hiring and City jobs on the City website.
 The first spring farmers markets have opened, kicking off the 2024 season. The other farmers markets and mini markets will open over the next several weeks.
Locally grown food
Farmers markets are a great way to get locally grown food. In 2023, the average distance traveled from farm to market was 42 miles.
Spring, summer, fall farmers market locations and schedules
To see the locations, hours and other information about the 2024 farmers markets, visit the City website.
To learn more about local farmers markets, visit the farmers markets page on the City website.
Market Bucks and SNAP
Shopping at farmers markets is an easy way for everyone to get healthy, local food on the table. The Market Bucks incentive matches up to $10 worth of coupons per day to customers who use SNAP benefits to buy eligible food at participating farmers markets. Participating markets are noted in the map on the City website.
2023 was a record year for SNAP and Market Bucks use citywide, bolstered by Produce Market Bucks offering a double match on SNAP dollars. Farmers market customers in Minneapolis spent more than $345,000 in SNAP, Market Bucks and Produce Market Bucks last year.
Homegrown Minneapolis also offers other ways to get healthy, local food on the table. Homegrown Minneapolis is a citywide initiative expanding our community’s ability to grow, process, distribute, eat and compost more healthy, sustainable, locally grown foods.
The Minneapolis Department of Regulatory Services is gearing up for a Renter Rights Resource Fair June 4. Together with HOME Line, Legal Aid, Urban League Twin Cities, Arrive Ministries and others, City staff will help community members with:
- Overcoming maintenance issues.
- Renter rights.
- Understanding property owner/tenant responsibilities.
- Housing resources for immigrants and refugees.
- Environmental hazards in homes.
- Providing critical resources.
You can drop in any time during the event or join us at 12:30 p.m. for a presentation from HOME Line about new state laws. A free meal and interpretation services will be provided.
2024 Renter Rights Resource Fair 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4 Minneapolis Public Service Building, 505 Fourth Ave. S., first floor
Share the event with a neighbor and stay up to date by visiting the Facebook event.
Contact Kaylee Tracy for more information or with questions.
 Join artists Constanza Caraballo and Marco Aguero in painting two new asphalt murals. Community members are invited to help paint murals designed with students from South High School and Folwell Community School.
The murals are being installed on the South-Folwell Safe Route to School along 21st Avenue at 31st and 35th streets. All are welcome to volunteer and paint.
Painting event, South High School 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30 21st Avenue and 31st Street
Painting event, Folwell Community School 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4 21st Avenue at 35th Street
A unique, small business pilot partnership between the City of Minneapolis and the Workplace Justice Lab is proving to be revolutionary for small business owners who are immigrants, Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
The Small Business High-Road Labor Standards Intervention Pilot began as an idea 18 months ago to strengthen and support these businesses and help them comply with the City’s labor laws.
Learn more on the City website.
With the warmer weather now here, shared electric bikes and scooters are back throughout Minneapolis. These, along with the City’s mobility hubs and the As You Go MPLS campaign, are all getting started for the season to help provide healthy, accessible, environmentally conscious ways for everyone to get around town, especially by bike.
Shared bikes and scooters from Lime and Veo – the City’s two licensed service providers – are now all over town and ready to be rented. As with last season, riders can choose between two e-bikes: pedal assisted ones that add some speed whenever riders pedal, and e-bikes that power the ride even when there’s no pedaling.
To help make access more equitable, Lime and Veo must have least 30% of their shared bikes scooters in lower income areas of Minneapolis, and no more than 40% of them can be Downtown. Both companies also have low-income pricing programs for qualified residents.
Shared bike and scooter riders can end their trip anywhere in the city and just lock their bike to a bike rack or to any signpost except a stop sign or bus stop sign. Last year Public Works installed over 240 of the familiar bright City Blue bike and scooter racks around the city that anyone can use for shared and personal vehicles.
Read more on the City website.
National Night Out is a time for City residents to come together and celebrate with neighbors. Many blocks in Minneapolis take this opportunity to reconnect, eat and build relationships while kids play and bike freely on a closed street. Our goal this year is to increase participation.
Register your event by July 30
Registration is now open, and it’s free. Sign up early. Registration closes July 30, five days before the event.
Some points to consider:
- Register only one event per block, so confirm with your neighbors who will be registering.
- Consider whether you want your street blocked off to traffic.
- Ask neighbors for help organizing your event.
- Call 311 to request a fire truck, MPD K9, and/or MPD Mounted Patrol.
Contact the City crime prevention specialists with questions.
Register your block.
Council Member Jenkins holds community office hours every Monday from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at Sabathani Community Center. To make an appointment to meet with Council Member Jenkins, please reach out to the Ward 8 office. |
