City of Minneapolis sent this bulletin at 05/30/2025 07:45 PM CDT
Council Member Linea Palmisano
May 30, 2025
Dear Neighbor,
Today marks one year since MPD Officer Jamal Mitchell was killed in the line of duty. Officer Mitchell gave his life in service to our community and was tragically shot while attempting to render aid to an individual he believed was injured.
I joined the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and Minneapolis Police Department at last week's Annual Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony, where Officer Jamal Mitchell's name banner was added to the MPD Line of Duty Death (LODD) Memorial flag. Today and always, we remember his courage and commitment to service.
Reimagining Public Safety: Progress to Date and the Road Ahead
Saturday, May 31 | 2:15-3:30 PM Washburn Library - 5244 Lyndale Ave. S.
It's been 5 years since the murder of George Floyd drew attention to systemic discrimination within the Minneapolis Police Department. Join the League of Women Voters Minneapolis to learn more about:
• Police reform efforts • Public safety options beyond armed response • Next steps on the road to reform • How you can get involved
This week, Mayor Frey and Public Works leaders announced that they will direct $1 million from Public Works contingency funds in order to help address street lighting outages caused by copper wire theft. The funding will allow the City to hire more seasonal electricians, use more rental equipment, and buy more material for repairs.
We don’t yet have a plan for when different areas will be worked on again. Late last winter, Public Works came out and started to try and get conduit back through a number of the lights on the parkways in our area - both around Lake Harriet and Dupont Ave, to the extent that they could do so. There has been approximately 20 miles of city copper wire (used for lights) stolen, and last year during the budget process my colleagues chose to take half of the repair budget for a special project of new lighting in the Dinkytown area, despite my strenuous objections. This was shortsighted, and it left the rest of our city “in the dark”.
I have continued to push for a way to refund this repair budget to get necessary repairs made across our city. I am glad that despite needing to divert this staffing and money to the brand new project, the administration agrees that we must make more progress on all these light repairs. I am pleased they found a way to do so through executive action here of Mayor Frey and Public Works.
Yesterday evening after a storm threatening total washout, the clouds parted, the smell of new flowers and fresh yards came back, and local musicians performed live music on the porches, in the yards and in garages around Kenny neighborhood while a few hundred of us strolled around, enjoying the whole experience. There was such a variety of music! From soulful moody solos, to folk with banjos, to polka with a tuba, to a set list including Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift, it was an easygoing and chill evening for everyone. I know enough about the planning to appreciate it took a huge effort to get up and running, especially for the first time! A special thanks to the musicians, the hosts, and to Kenny Neighborhood Association and Sarah Linnes-Robinson for organizing this event! My hope is it will become a regular feature of Kenny neighborhood.
Development is underway at the future home of the Minneapolis Democracy Center. Crews have made significant progress this year in preparing the former 3rd Precinct building at 3000 Minnehaha Ave. to become the heart of early voting and engagement in Minneapolis.
The City’s community engagement efforts found 70% of respondents living within the 3rd Precinct support plans to create the Minneapolis Democracy Center. This facility will include the Early Vote Center, offices for election staff, and flexible space for election-related equipment and supplies.
Cleanup
Crews have continued working on cleanup and repair. This includes HVAC and electrical work continues on the interior, along with window, door, frame and skylight replacements. With the demolition of the vestibule, exterior improvements are more visible. Also on the exterior, bunker blocks have been removed from the building’s entry and new windows are being installed. New signage and fencing has also been placed around the site with more information about its future as the Minneapolis Democracy Center.
Barbara O'Brien, Director of Property Services, recently guided City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher and City Clerk Casey Carl on a tour of the site. We captured that tour on video so the community could also see the work being done inside the building and our vision for its future. Watch the video.
Community Use Space
In addition to Elections & Voter Services, the Minneapolis Democracy Center will house a large, 8,000 square foot, ground-floor space for community use. In December, the City issued an request for proposals for a tenant to program the community space in the building. Three proposals were received. Currently, staff are reviewing the applicants who submitted proposals.
Next Steps
The design process for the Democracy Center will begin this summer and will incorporate community engagement that will be announced in the coming weeks. A conceptual design presentation will be made to the City Council later this year. The project is anticipated to move into construction in 2026.
Join your neighbors for a community planting event along Bryant Avenue! On Saturday, June 7 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., the City is hosting a morning of planting native flowers in rain gardens to help support pollinators and keep our rainwater clean.
🦋 Tools and snacks provided – just bring mud-friendly shoes. 🦋 Staff will be there to guide you. 🦋 No green thumb needed! Everyone is welcome!
The MPRB is expanding restricted no parking hours of parking lots and parking bays on the west and south sides of Bde Maka Ska from 10 pm - 6 am to 8 pm - 6 am, with an effective date of May 22. The expanded restricted no parking hours of 8 pm - 6 am will be in effect until further notice to address safety issues from large groups of unruly people, mostly teens and young adults, who are engaging in disruptive, illegal, and sometimes violent conduct.
The new parking hours of 6 am – 8 pm, with expanded restricted no parking hours of 8 pm – 6 am, will impact parking bays on the west and south side of Bde Maka Ska Parkway from West 32nd Street to Richfield Road. It also impacts the Bde Maka Ska Thomas Beach Pay Parking Lot, the Bde Maka Ska Richfield Road Pay Parking Lot and the Bde Maka Ska 36th Street Pay Parking Lot.
Parkway and parking signs have been updated and meters at the impacted pay lots have been reprogrammed to no longer accept payment after 8 pm.
One of the best parts of my job is getting to meet with my constituents, learn more about you and hear your questions, concerns, hopes and dreams for our shared community.
If you'd like to schedule a time to meet with me, send me an e-mailand my staff will help get it scheduled. Please let me know what you'd like to talk about and a convenient place to meet—a coffee shop, a park, your home, my office, etc. I try to reserve Fridays for constituent meetings, but can work them in other times, as necessary, too.
We've moved while work is being done in City Hall. Our office is in:
Room 100, Public Service Center 250 South 4th St. Get directions
For reasonable accommodations or alternative formats please contact 311. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000. TTY users call 612-263-6850. Para ayuda, llame al 311. Rau kev pab, hu 311. Hadii aad caawimaad u baahantahay, wac 311.
