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I attended Neighborhood Day festivities and community meetings at the Pillars in Prospect Park and Matthews Park in Seward. It was wonderful to connect with neighbors from across Ward 2.
Council Member Wonsley with County Commissioner Angela Conley, Park Board Commissioner Kedar Deshpande, and Seward community leaders at Seward Neighborhood Day.
County Commissioner Conley’s staff giving an update to Prospect Park leaders and residents
I attended the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) meeting for Glendale Townhomes residents to provide input on the future of Glendale. MPHA staff and architects showed residents options for potential future designs: keeping the current townhomes with rehabbed interiors and expansions to each unit, keeping some of the townhomes and replacing some with apartment buildings, or building all new housing with a mix of townhomes and apartments. Residents gave feedback on what they liked or didn’t like about each housing type, the site landscaping, and more. There was also a discussion about the possible construction timelines and the ways that MPHA plans to work with each resident to house them during construction.
At the Glendale Resident Meeting.
Students, faculty, and community members are organizing an open letter condemning the U’s tuition hikes, budget cuts, and their impact on teaching. Students, faculty, staff, and community members can sign the open letter.
Selective austerity erodes the University's fundamental mission: teaching and learning. Instructional spending is at a new low, with just 19% of University resources going to teaching, down from 30% in 2008 (StarTribune). The fallout from repeated cuts will be difficult to contain: depending on a department’s budget structure, a 7% cut at the college level can translate to nearly a 50% cut at the department level.
The open letter was written by an independent group of faculty and students, and is endorsed by AFSCME 3800, Students for a Democratic Society, the American Association of University Professors-TC executive committee, and the Graduate Labor Union.
Flyer for open letter to President Cunningham.
📅 Monday, May 11th 🕐 1:00 PM – 7:00pm CDT 📍 1256 Penn Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55411 (5th Floor)
This clinic offers an opportunity for individuals with convictions charged or prosecuted by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to begin the process of sealing eligible records. Our prosecutor-led expungement program is designed to streamline and support your journey toward a fresh start.
🌟 What to Expect:
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One-on-one consultations with attorneys
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Walk-in services available on a first-come, first-served basis
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Snacks provided
👉 Let us know you’ll be there! HCAO Expungement Clinic · Hennepin County Attorney's Office
We encourage all eligible individuals to take advantage of this free service. Please come prepared to wait, as processing times may vary due to high demand.
For accessibility requests, contact the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office Community Affairs division at 612-348-2146 or email citizeninfo@hennepin.us at least 48 hours in advance.
Attorney General Ellison is convening community members and stakeholders for a forum on Wednesday, May 13, from 6-7:30 pm in Minneapolis, on the future of Hennepin County Medical Center. Registration is required at this link.
HCMC is enduring a perfect storm of financial pressures, but closure is not an option. Attorney General Ellison wants to hear from HCMC staff, civic leaders, community members, and patients about their ideas for making HCMC stronger.
Summary: MPD presented their internal review of their failure to protect Davis Moturi.
Background: Davis Moturi is a Black man in South Minneapolis who faced racist threats of violence by his white neighbor, John Sawchak. Over the course of several months, Mr. Moturi called 911 over 30 times asking MPD for help and protection. MPD did not provide this protection and Mr. Sawchak ultimately shot Mr. Moturi in the neck in his own front yard.
Council requested an independent after-action review of the City’s actions in the case of Mr. Moturi, which was presented by the City Auditor a few weeks ago. Shortly after the shooting occurred, MPD leadership stated publicly that they had internally reviewed the case and made operational improvements based on the findings. When Mr. Moturi reached out to MPD to request a copy of their internal review and what changes were made, MPD refused to share these findings. In light of this, my colleagues and I authored a legislative directive requesting MPD publicly present their findings. They declined to do so until after the City Auditor had presented their independent audit.
A few important points from the discussion:
- The legislative directive originally asked for this report back in October 2025, when MPD publicly confirmed that they had completed an internal review regarding Mr. Moturi’s shooting. Council requested that MPD present their original internal review, but instead they presented a response to the City Auditor’s independent audit which came out in April 2026. This is confirmed by the fact that MPD’s presentation is dated April 2026, instead of the original completion date of fall of 2025. The fact that we do not see the original internal review that was supposedly completed last fall signals to me that the administration is not proud of that work product and makes me skeptical if the internal review even took place in the first place. This is a good reminder that we need robust oversight and a fully-resourced Office of the City Auditor.
- Council Member Warren also shared powerful comments about how Mr. Sawchak being white appears to have impacted MPD’s excessive restraint in not entering his home to arrest him, as compared to MPD’s approach to Black suspects.
- MPD has spoken publicly for several years about a partnership with the NAACP that provides mediation services for neighbor disputes. During the presentation we learned that the program just went into effect this year, and have so far been used in about eight cases. I have a number of outstanding questions about how this contract was finalized, or how a resident would actually access the mediation services in a time of need.
- After a series of hate crimes in 2024, Council allocated funding within MPD for hate crime prevention and response. Yet MPD could not state how many officers had actually undergone hate crime training. Considering the blatant racial bias and harassment Mr. Moturi experienced, alongside MPD’s inadequate response, it is clear that Council should evaluate what additional accountability, training, and response measures are necessary to ensure law enforcement can effectively respond to these incidents, particularly when Black and Brown residents are facing racial terror.
Key votes: No votes taken.
Summary: Data centers are attempting to come to Minneapolis.
Background: The Trump administration has put $100 billion dollars into pushing data centers across the country in partnership with big tech. Data center developers are eyeing our communities with the sole aim of extracting resources to enrich their shareholders.
After reshaping cities across the country from Republican-led regions to liberal strongholds in California, the push for data centers is now reaching Minneapolis. While being touted as a key way to economically bolster downtown, data centers are being proposed across the city. I attended a community meeting this week in Ward 2 where I learned that there are development plans for a potential data center in Prospect Park. There have also been conversations about Uptown as a potential site for data centers.
Council Member Chowdhury is bringing forward a potential moratorium on data centers. Under state law, this moratorium could not be a permanent ban, but rather a temporary pause to give time for the City to create a regulatory framework.
Across the country, from Duluth to Salt Lake City, working class communities are rejecting data centers. Residents oppose having big tech developments in their communities that do not contribute to housing or the economy, take up space that could be used for transit-oriented development or green infrastructure, and could have extremely harmful impacts on the energy grid and water system. Tech companies have been explicit that they are eager to use Minnesota’s fresh water to cool their data centers– a very concerning proposal for our state’s resource management and environmental priorities.
Data center lobbyists are visiting City Hall and it’s clear that they see a potential opening to move projects forward soon. If this is an issue you feel strongly about, I recommend you reach out to the City Council or submit public comment about the proposed moratorium by emailing CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov.
Key votes: On May 21, City Council will consider a moratorium on data centers.
Summary: Council unanimously approved an ordinance that would ban automatic weapons, large capacity magazines, ghost guns, and binary triggers as soon as we are permitted to under state law.
Background: Council Members Chowdhury, Palmisano, Whiting, and Chavez authored a policy that would ban assault weapons, binary triggers, ghost guns, and large capacity magazines if the State Legislature ever lifts their pre-emption on such bans.
This comprehensive policy answers the calls of families demanding action to prevent gun violence. On Tuesday, many families impacted by the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School spoke publicly about the trauma that their children experienced. The families were clear in calling on Minneapolis to ban these tools of murder and violence the moment that we are legally able to.
Thank you to all the families who made the choice to translate their pain into advocacy. I’m proud that the Minneapolis City Council stood in solidarity and did what we can to take legislative action.
Key votes: City Council unanimously approves gun control ordinance that would go into effect as soon as it is legal under state law.
Council Members, families and advocates celebrating the passage of the firearms regulation ordinance.
Summary: Council Member Chavez and I led the Council to put stronger controls on up to $3.2 million under contract with Meet Minneapolis, the city’s tourism agency.
Background: The City of Minneapolis has a large contract with Meet Minneapolis, the city’s tourism agency. Under the contract, Meet Minneapolis aims to reach several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that bring in revenue and help our hospitality industry and local economy thrive. If they meet a KPI, they receive incentive funding up to $800,000/year.
This year, Operation Metro Surge both made it much harder for Meet Minneapolis to meet KPIs and also significantly increased the need for funding to stimulate tourism to support the hospitality industry for the remainder of the year. Meet Minneapolis brought forward a proposal that would release the full $800,000 to Meet Minneapolis regardless of how many KPIs they reached, and give the City Operations Officer and Director of Meet Minneapolis unilateral authority to direct that spending. They proposed setting this standard every year for the remainder of the contract in 2029.
While I understand and appreciate that this year was unique and requires accommodation, I was concerned about releasing up to $3.2 million to Meet Minneapolis without any opportunities for Council or public oversight. I worked with staff to get more clarity on the proposal, and ultimately to bring forward an amended proposal that would only apply for 2026.
This year, Meet Minneapolis achieved about half their KPIs, meaning they earned about $400,000. Council Member Chavez authored an amendment that COO and Meet Minneapolis leadership will have to report their proposed spending for the remaining $400,000 to City Council before any spending occurs.
I am pleased that the City Council was able to intervene and use our oversight authority to put commonsense regulations to protect over $3 million in taxpayer dollars.
Key votes: Council voted unanimously to support both amendments.
Summary: Council received a presentation that I requested to learn more about independent legal counsel for the legislative body.
Background: Under our current government structure, the City Attorney serves as the legal counsel for both the mayor and city council. Since being elected, I have experienced challenges with the City Attorney’s Office regarding policy issues I was advancing that the Mayor opposed. The Mayor’s opposition impacted the quality of legal counsel my office received, which led to unnecessary delays in the city’s progress towards climate equity and police reform goals. In light of this, I authored a staff directive to learn more about the possibility for the City Council to have independent legal counsel.
This week, the Legislative Research and Oversight (LRO) team presented a report on independent legal counsel in other cities. The report explains that “many of these positions were designed to balance their relationships with the mayor’s administration and to ensure the council could independently assess policy, budget, and legal risks. These offices do not represent the council separately in matters of litigation.”
I appreciated learning how other cities approach these matters and will continue to encourage us to have conversations about the potential benefits of the City Council having independent legal counsel to help us craft policies without having to weigh the political considerations of the Mayor.
Key votes: No votes taken.
Summary: The City Council received reports from the Mayor’s administration on financial reports from the end of 2025 and overtime spending from Operation Metro Surge.
Background: The City Council receives quarterly reports from the Mayor’s Budget Office about all the City fund balances. This week, staff presented on the fourth quarter of 2025.
There was some discussion about the impacts of unanticipated or unbudgeted spending on the settlement agreement, staffing levels in the Fire Department, and other factors that had impacted the City’s fund balances. However, the elephant in the room was MPD’s overtime spending of over $20 million. Mayor Frey and Commissioner Barnette have not offered any satisfactory explanation on how this massive overspending occurred, but property taxes will go up to cover it.
Council also requested a report on MPD’s overtime during Operation Metro Surge. MPD leadership presented the data. We had already learned that MPD went $4 million over budget during Operation Metro Surge, but many Council Members including myself were shocked to learn that about 118 MPD officers were personally enriched by $8,000-$20,000 during Operation Metro Surge for time that they were on standby, not working. This is particularly disturbing in the context of the thousands of families facing eviction and small businesses facing financial hardship due to Operation Metro Surge.
It was also sobering to hear MPD leadership confirm that a significant amount of their overtime spending was to respond to protests against hotels housing ICE agents.
Key votes: No votes taken.
Summary: Council received a report on the Frey administration’s implementation of Council’s budget amendments.
Background: The City Council has authority over the city budget, sometimes called the “power of the purse.” Each year, the Mayor proposes a budget and the City Council amends it to ensure it reflects resident needs and priorities, as well as the policy direction of the city.
In the last several years, Mayor Frey has chosen to not implement some of Council's budget amendments. In one instance, he withheld $1.8 million that were allocated to use for permanently housing 50 families and 50 individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness. In another, he refused to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars that Council allocated for Safety Ambassadors in Uptown two years in a row.
In light of this, Council Member Chughtai and I authored a financial policy requiring that if the Mayor intends to not implement a budget amendment, or to significantly repurpose Council-dedicated funding, his administration must present those proposed changes for Council to vote on. This basic check-and-balance will limit mayoral interference in our democratically decided budgets going forward.
This week, the Mayor’s administration presented their updates on implementation of Council-Dedicated Funds. Most of the allocations appeared to be on track to be spent appropriately this year. The administration is proposing a change to the amendment that I authored to invest in Early Childhood Education Workforce Development, by switching it from hiring a new full-time staff person to rearranging existing staff to expand their focus on this important area. The City Council will need to vote to approve this significant change to what was adopted in the budget.
However, the most glaring change was that Mayor Frey is yet again refusing to implement fees on MPD’s off-duty work.
Off-duty is a massive financial drain on the city that does not improve public safety and is rife for corruption. Mayor Frey and MPD leadership have been aware of this for years, but failed to take any leadership on reining it in. In the last two years, my office led the Council to finally put fees on off-duty work, and allocated about $350,000 within MPD’s budget to ensure it was implemented this year. In this week’s presentation, the Frey administration stated they have not and will not implement the fees until at least 2027.
We need to be crystal clear that Mayor Frey is forcing our property tax payers to give direct subsidies to individual MPD officers for their private side-gigs as security guards. In 2024 residents were forced to pay at least $1.4 million as direct handouts to officers working for their personal gain, not for citywide public safety response.
Residents have made it clear to us that we need to slow the increase in property taxes, and this is an obvious way to do so. Charging off-duty fees would allow us to recoup over $1 million per year without reducing any programs or services.
There is absolutely no rational reasoning behind the Frey administration's inaction on this. Council has put the appropriate policy measures in place for implementation. I encourage the Frey administration to implement off-duty fees this year and stop wasting taxpayer dollars.
Key votes: No votes taken.
Contact Ward 2
Visit: minneapolismn.gov/ward2
Email: robin.wonsley@minneapolismn.gov
Phone: 612-673-2202
City Hall
350 S. Fifth St., Room 370
Minneapolis, MN 55415
For reasonable accommodations or alternative format please contact 311. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000. Para ayuda, llame al 311. Rau kev pab, hu 311. Hadii aad caawimaad u baahantahay, wac 311. |
