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From Ward 5 Minneapolis City Council Member, Jeremiah Ellison.
Eid Mubarak to all our Muslim friends and neighbors! The Ward 5 office wishes you a blessed Eid-ul-Fitr. May Allah bring peace and prosperity upon you, your family, and loved ones.
Advocacy & Testimony at the State Capitol
It's been a busy couple of weeks in City Hall and the State Capitol! It was such a pleasure seeing my state legislative colleagues and Northside leaders in the State House and State Senate. I had the honor of testifying alongside Northside neighbors for multiple bills.
In March, I attended the State and Local Government Finance and Policy committee hearing to testify in support of House File 4231. This bill authorizes amortization for production, processing, and industrial uses, as defined by ordinance, by a city or town. Current law prohibits amortization, which is the phasing out of a nonconforming use, except for adults-only uses. This bill is a crucial step towards giving municipalities local control over bad actors who have polluted our communities for decades and created detrimental public health impacts for our past, current, and future generations. Under current law, municipalities can change their zoning laws, but they cannot ask facilities who were "grandfathered in" to end their uses. This bill would give municipalities a choice about what is allowed to continue. Thank you so much to Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura (District 63A) for authoring this bill and Roxxanne O'Brien for inviting me to testify for this bill.
This week, I attended the House Taxes committee hearing and Senate Taxes committee hearing to testify in support of House File 5075 and Senate File 5191. If passed, these bills would create an individual income tax credit for removal of trees infested by emerald ash borer provided. The infestation of emerald ash borers in North Minneapolis continues to be one of the top issues that neighbors are sharing with our office. The cost of removal of these trees is a huge cost burden to Northsiders and I will continue to advocate for financial support for our neighbors to get these trees remedied and removed. Thank you so much to Representative Fue Lee (District 59A) and Senator Scott Dibble (District 61) for being the chief authors on this bill and inviting me to be a part of this work.
Constituent Call Time
There's nothing that brightens my week more than connecting with Northsiders during our constituent call time. I sit down with my team, call constituents back, and discuss constituent cases that they have open with our office, policy issues that folks are passionate about and want to hear my perspective on, and to thank folks for their service to our community.
Every conversation, every phone call, every interaction reminds me of the purpose of our work, to remind people that they matter and that they are not alone in experiencing these issues. The most valuable thing that we can give to others is our time and I am consistently reminded of this when I am talking to Northsiders about the issues that they are facing.
If you are in need of help, you are not alone. Whether it's a city, county, state, federal, or legal issue, we will do our best to connect you with the best resources to help. If you have a constituent issue that needs our attention, please contact my staff Dieu Do, dieu.do@minneapolismn.gov, and she will assist you.
Heading Home Hennepin
Council Member Chowdhury (W-12) and I serve as the Minneapolis City Council representatives on the Heading Home Hennepin Executive committee. Heading Home Hennepin Executive Committee is the lead decision-making body of Hennepin Continuum of Care committees. This executive committee works to prevent and end homelessness, as evidenced through public advocacy, funding, and external communications.
Click here for more information on this executive committee and how to join future meetings. The next meeting is on Thursday, June 20th, 2024 from 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM.
METRO Blue Line Extension Corridor Management Committee (CMC)
My office attended the most recent METRO Blue Line Extension Corridor Management Committee meeting on Thursday, April 11th, 2024. The agenda included:
- Community and Business Advisory Committee Reports,
- Project Update,
- Anti-Displacement Update, and
- Design Update.
Click here for more information about CMC and agenda/video recordings of past meetings. The next meeting will take place on Thursday, May 9th, 2024 with options of in-person attendance or live recording.
METRO Schools College Prep Site Visit
On Monday, April 8th, my office visited METRO Schools College Prep to learn more about traffic and safety issues that students and parents/guardians are experiencing during school pick-up. It's important that our youth, teachers, and parents are safe when they are crossing the street to take public transit home, walking to extracurricular activities, or to a nearby coffee shop/restaurant. Thank you so much to the staff for taking the time to meet with my office about these issues and we look forward to continue working on pedestrian and traffic safety in the area.
Youth Day at City Hall
The City of Minneapolis will welcome nearly 100 high school students to City Hall and the Public Service Building on Monday, April 15th, 2024 for Youth Day at City Hall. The is inaugural event. It is designed to celebrate youth contributions to Minneapolis and invite their voices on critical issues.
Young people will have the opportunity to share their thoughts about several programs and/or services. Topics include legalized adult-use recreational cannabis, the City budget process, the Southside Community Safety Center, to the City’s Climate Equity Plan, and the implementation of traffic safety cameras.
Youth Day @ City Hall will also feature a resource fair. Attendees will get with information on city jobs, internships and career exploration programs. They will learn about student election judge opportunities, voter registration, emergency management preparation, and other city programs.
More information about youth employment opportunities, programs and resources on the City’s website.
Join me from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM every Monday for Open Coffee Hours! These are informal and a chance for me to hear directly from you while we share coffee or a meal (virtually).
Office hours is on a first come first served basis. Please try not to call in past 12:50 p.m. as we want to leave enough time to chat about what you'd like to discuss.
Please RSVP here and my staff will follow-up with the call-in details. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to Dieu Do, Policy Associate, at dieu.do@minneapolismn.gov.
April 15th is Tax Day! Don't forget to file your taxes by Monday! There are a few important things we are highlighting so you don't miss out!
Child Tax Credit
Beginning with tax year 2023, you may qualify for a Child Tax Credit of $1,750 per qualifying child, with no limit on the number of children claimed. This is a refundable credit, meaning you can receive a refund even if you do not owe tax.
If a qualifying child is over age 17, you may not claim them for the Child Tax Credit. You may be able to claim the child for the Credit for Qualifying Older Children.
Data shows that residents in North Minneapolis have one of the lowest percentages of people in the state who are filing for this child tax credit. If you qualify, file for this tax credit and tell your friends and neighbors about this opportunity.
Click here for the child tax credit webpage for more information about qualifications.
Free Tax Preparation
Most taxpayers who are eligible to claim the new child tax credit are also eligible for free tax preparation assistance. Over 170 sites offering free tax preparation assistance are now open to help those filing income tax and property tax refund returns. Sites are staffed by certified volunteers and offer in-person and virtual options with most being open through April 15.
Find free tax preparation sites on the governor’s website.
The Providing Resources and Opportunity and Maximizing Investments in Striving Entrepreneurs (PROMISE) Grant and Loan Programs are new, state-funded programs that will provide grants and loans to disadvantaged small businesses located in certain areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) will administer the MN PROMISE Grant program and the Metropolitan Economic Development Association will administer the MN PROMISE Loan program, alongside community partner organizations.
Click here to learn more about this opportunity.
Want to check your eligibility? Click here to fill out a pre-application to see if you meet the program requirements.
Artists are invited to apply for five public art opportunities. These opportunities are in concert with the North Commons Park Improvements Project. They include:
- A major large-scale exterior façade artwork
- A vinyl mural spanning windows
- 3 painted murals.
Local artists or artist teams may apply. The selected artists or artist teams will collaborate with the design team and community to create these public artworks.
Download the Call for Artists/Requests for Qualifications
Attend the Optional Information Meeting for Artists: April 19th, 2024, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon CST, contact Dudley.Voigt@minneapolismn.gov for a link to the meeting.
Application Deadline: May 3, 2024, 4:00 p.m. CST
Are you experiencing struggles with food insecurity, housing, career readiness, and legal matters? Are you in need of help? Please look below to see which resources can be beneficial to you.
Career Readiness
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Project for Pride in Living (PPL)
- PPL builds the hope, assets, and self-reliance of individuals and families who have lower incomes by providing transformative affordable housing and career readiness services.
Family Support & Educational Programming
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Way to Grow
- Way to Grow is a nonprofit organization on the Northside that provides free, year-round family support and educational programming for families in Minneapolis and in surrounding suburbs.
Food Insecurity
Free/Discounted Internet
Housing/Tenant Protections
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Home Line
- This organization provides free and low-cost legal, organizing, education, and advocacy services so that tenants throughout Minnesota can solve their own rental housing problems.
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United Renters for Justice/Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia
- United Renters for Justice/Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia is a base-building nonprofit working to transform the Minneapolis housing system.
Legal Representation
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Attorney General Keith Ellison's Office
- The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office appreciates hearing from members of the public. In many cases, they are able to provide direct assistance to people. Hearing from members of the public also alerts us to problems occurring in the marketplace.
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Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
- This organization provides free legal aid to people with low-income, disabilities, and seniors in 20 Central Minnesota counties. These services include, but are not limited to:
- Debt collection and unfair loans
- Disability-related cases
- Divorce and child custody
- Domestic violence
- Elder abuse
- Housing discrimination and evictions
- Immigration and citizenship
- IRS Tax Issues
City of Minneapolis
The City of Minneapolis has a ton of job opportunities that span across multiple departments. Click here to see all of them.
Hennepin County
Hennepin County is the largest county in Minnesota and has a wide variety of job openings in different industries. Click here to see all of them.
Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit organizations in the Twin Cities can be a great place to start to look for a new job/change in your career.
Need to report an issue? Can't find the right information? Minneapolis 311 can help. 311 coordinates with City departments and service providers to report your concerns, find you information and connect you with nonemergency City services. For example, if you report an abandoned vehicle, pothole, or long grass/weeds, 311 connects with the experts in the right department to get to the bottom of it.
There are many ways to get in contact with 311 for non-emergency City information. Choose what's easiest for you.
- Call 311. Agents are here to answer your call 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 311 from within city limits or 612-673-3000.
- Email 311. You can email 311 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Agents will respond 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- Text 311. You can text 311 a short question any time. Just text two or three keywords to 311TXT (311898) to receive an answer from the Minneapolis 311 information database on your mobile phone.
- Get the 311 mobile app. Report neighborhood issues on the 311 mobile app 24 hours a day.
- TTY. 311 agents use computer-based technology so hearing-impaired callers can easily communicate with the City using TDD/TTY devices. Call TTY 612-263-6850.
- Use the contact form. You can send 311 your comments or questions on the website contact form.
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