Ward 2 Updates

January 30th, 2026

Dear Community,

Thank you to everyone who continues to show up day after day to protect your neighbors. Minneapolis continues to make national news for the resilience, courage and solidarity that working class people are showing in the face of violence, cruelty, and repression. 

This week, the Trump administration arrested prominent local journalist Georgia Fort as well as nationally known reporter Don Lemon, for simply filming a recent protest. This is a clear attempt to intimidate the media and the public for documenting and publicizing the realities in Minneapolis. Arresting members of the press underscores the fascist nature of the Trump administration’s action in our city. 

In spite of the Trump administration’s retributive actions, those journalists were released this afternoon and community members are advocating that all bogus charges brought against them be dropped immediately. 

Additionally, in another beautiful display of resistance and love, thousands gathered downtown today to support another shutdown action against ICE, with dozens of other cities hosting solidarity actions. Today’s actions show that the movement for justice is still going strong here in Minneapolis. 

Thousands of attendees at a ICE out of Minnesota Shutdown action downtown

Community happenings

Neighborhood Organizations Support Eviction Moratorium

My office attended Prospect Park Association’s regular meeting to discuss key updates. I am deeply proud that the board voted to adopt a resolution urging Governor Walz to declare an eviction moratorium. Additionally, Seward Neighborhood Group voted to adopt a resolution in support of the eviction moratorium as well. We are thankful for our Ward 2 neighborhood associations who are urging government leaders at all levels to act immediately to prevent the looming eviction crisis and keep our residents safe while we’re being occupied by ICE. 

Black History Month events

The City is hosting several events throughout Black History Month this February to honor, celebrate and reflect. The 2026 theme is A Century of Black History Commemorations: Honoring Our History, Uplifting Our Legacy, Continuing the Celebration. All City of Minneapolis employees are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Black History Month kickoff: council resolution

Join us as we officially kick off Black History Month with our annual City Council resolution. This event sets the tone for our 2026 celebrations. Jamela Pettiford will lead us in singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black national anthem, followed by guest speakers honoring the significance of Black History Month.

Breakfast and resolution

• • Thursday, Feb. 5
  • 8-9:15 a.m. Breakfast: City Hall Rotunda
  • 9:30 a.m. Resolution: Council Chamber, Third Floor, City Hall

Moments That Matter: Celebrating Local Black Artists

Join us as we celebrate local Black artists in Minneapolis by showcasing their powerful and inspiring art. This event highlights creativity, culture and the lasting impact of Black artists within our community.

• • 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10
  • Public Service Building, Room 100AB

A Touch of Soul

A Touch of Soul is a lively celebration featuring spoken word artists, dancers and an opportunity to support Black-owned businesses through tabling and product sales.

• • Noon-1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24
  • Public Service Building, Room 100AB

Support for local businesses and workers

People are showing up for Minneapolis. Often, that starts with everyday choices: where to eat, shop, gather and spend time. That idea is at the heart of MPLS for MPLS, a new initiative from Meet Minneapolis encouraging residents to intentionally engage with neighborhood businesses and workers during a challenging moment for the city.

The effort also provides practical information about which businesses are open and what may look different right now, including modified hours and knock-for-entry policies.

Small businesses are the heartbeat of Minneapolis neighborhoods. They help shape the character of each block, create welcoming places for residents and visitors to gather, and provide livelihoods for thousands of workers and families. When those businesses struggle, the ripple effects are felt across the community and throughout the city’s economy.

Read more on the Meet Minneapolis website.

Fire and Frost Festival at Luxton Park

Celebrate the winter solstice at the Luxton Park Fire and Ice Festival! It’s a time for reflection, renewal, peace, and a time for the glistening snow to purify our air and leave a clean slate. Activities will include a recreational fire, horse drawn hayrides, music, crafts, and concessions.

• Fire and Frost Festival
• Luxton Park (112 Williams Ave SE)
• January 7th 6-8pm

Rental assistance funding

The occupation of Minneapolis by federal agents has made it much more difficult for many families to go to work. For thousands of residents, simply leaving the house to go to work means facing harassment, violence, or abduction by ICE. Some workplaces have closed or reduced hours, and some workers have lost access to childcare. Some families have lost breadwinners who have been abducted by ICE. No family should have to choose between keeping a roof over their head and risking a family member being kidnapped by ICE on the way to work. For all these reasons, many families have lost income and need assistance paying their rent.

In response to the urgent need for rental assistance, I am bringing forward a proposal to allocate $1 million for rental assistance along with Council President Payne, Vice President Osman, Council Member Stevenson, Council Member Chavez, and Council Member Chowdhury. The funding would come from the City’s Contingency Fund, which is an unallocated fund that the City is required to hold for unanticipated costs and emergencies. Using the Contingency Fund requires 10 votes of support from the City Council. You can read more about our proposal here. 

So far, residents have stepped up to fundraise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support each other. This generosity is beautiful and powerful, but it’s not a substitute for resources from the state. Ordinary people can’t afford to cover the cost of their neighbors’ rent indefinitely. 

The rental assistance funding proposal for consideration and a vote at Council’s Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting next Tuesday, February 3rd. If approved, it will be forwarded to Full Council for final approval on Thursday, February 5th. Both meetings will take place at City Hall and will start at 9:30am. Please feel free to attend in person or watch via livestream. We also encourage residents to submit public comments in support of this action by emailing CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov.

Immigration legal services funding

Minneapolis has several fantastic nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost legal services to residents navigating the immigration system. The City of Minneapolis supports these organizations with some funding. Over the last several years, I’ve worked with my colleagues to protect and expand this funding. However, the need for these services has massively increased under Operation Metro Surge. Council Member Chavez is leading a group of Council Members to bring forward a proposal to add $500,000 to the funding for these legal organizations to serve more residents with more complex and urgent needs for immigration legal services.   

The proposal will be up for consideration and a vote at Council’s Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting next Tuesday, February 3rd. If approved, it will be forwarded to Full Council for final approval on Thursday, February 5th. Please feel free to attend in person or watch via livestream. We also encourage residents to submit public comments in support of this action by emailing CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov.

Recognize Minneapolis employee vehicles

With multiple law enforcement agencies in town, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with City emergency and non-emergency vehicles.

Police vehicles could be marked or unmarked. Fire Department vehicles are always red. City teams drive different makes and models, but the City’s logo is always present.

And no matter what vehicle they drive, City personnel do not participate in federal immigration law enforcement, nor do they loan any vehicles to federal teams.

See examples of City vehicles and their markings.

Update on the Federal Budget

The City’s Intergovernmental Relations team shared the following updates on the federal budget bill and its potential impacts on Minneapolis residents:

On Thursday (1/22), the House of Representatives passed the final spending bills for the current fiscal year. The House approved a “minibus” composed of the Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, and Transportation-HUD bills (link). These bills represent more than $1 trillion in federal spending for the fiscal year that began October 1, 2025.

However, in a separate vote, the Homeland Security spending bill passed by a much narrower margin (link). Nearly all Republicans supported it, and all but seven Democrats opposed it.  

Upon passage, the bills were formally linked together along with another previously passed minibus – Financial Services-General Government and National Security-State Department – and sent over to the Senate. The linking of these bills together now carries with it an extremely high risk of a partial government shutdown starting Saturday, January 31st. This is due to Senate Democrats’ largely unified opposition to the Homeland Security measure.

Moreover, any changes made to the bill in the Senate prior to its passage, such as splitting off the Homeland Security bill, would require the House to return to the U.S. Capitol to vote on it again. However, members of the lower chamber left Washington, D.C. for their congressional districts on Thursday evening following the last votes. The House is scheduled to remain in recess for the rest of this week. (That could possibly change, but there are no indications that it will at this time.)

 The Senate is expected to vote on a procedural motion tomorrow to advance to the House-passed package (including the Homeland Security division). Right now, it seems highly unlikely that there are 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. Several of the Democrats who voted to end the shutdown in November have come out strongly against supporting the Homeland Security spending bill.  

Further complicating matters is the fact that the House Freedom Caucus has stated that it would oppose passage of a minibus that was returned to the House from the Senate that didn’t include Homeland Security as part of it. They are taking the “all or nothing” approach. 

Again, time is a significant factor as the federal departments and agencies funded in the remaining bills – Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, State, and Transportation – only have resources to remain operational through Friday, January 30th.

While next steps are not certain, one possible path is for a short shut down — a matter of days -- followed by a negotiated solution or the passage of a short-term CR for the remaining bills, which would allow time for a negotiation solution to be achieved. A third alternative is a long-term CR to through the remainder of FY26—which would knock out earmarks. 

What won’t be affected by a partial government shutdown are programs administered by the USDA (e.g. WIC, SNAP), Interior (national parks, wildlife refuges), Justice (e.g. COPS grants), and Veterans Affairs. The bills that fund those departments have funding through September 30th.