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I hope you all had a restful weekend and are ready to dive into another week full of opportunities! As always, it's an honor to connect with you through this newsletter. There’s a lot of exciting news to share, including the recent success of our Community Connections Conference. Let's keep the momentum going and make this week one to remember! Stay tuned for all the updates, and here's to a great start to your Monday!
 This year's Community Connections Conference was a resounding success, bringing together residents of Ward 4 and the entire city to celebrate our community, share ideas, and build connections with City leaders. The conference was grounded in the belief that all communities should feel welcome in City spaces and everyone should have a chance to influence important decisions.
The event created an open, inclusive environment where residents could meet City leaders, discuss challenges, and celebrate the achievements of our neighborhoods. We also focused on ensuring that all communities receive information in a way they understand, with resources available in multiple languages.
Through hands-on workshops and skill-building sessions, participants gained valuable knowledge and resources to continue making a difference in our communities. The event was designed to empower underrepresented voices, ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to get involved, learn about new programs, and contribute to shaping the future of not only Ward 4, but our city as a whole.
I would like to thank everyone who attended and contributed to the success of this inspiring Conference.
Together, we’re making Ward 4 a more inclusive, connected, and vibrant place to live!
 https://ele4a.org/The first semi-annual report is out from the independent evaluator on Minneapolis compliance with police reform. The Effective Law Enforcement for ALL (ELEFA) report documents the City’s advance toward compliance with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights settlement agreement and finds that the City is on track to meet nearly all of its year-one goals assessed during this period.
ELEFA’s report covers the period from March 18 to Sept. 30, 2024. It highlights progress made in policy revisions, trainings, misconduct complaint backlogs, and plans for equipment, technology, facilities, and data systems. These achievements are key to transforming the MPD’s approach to policing and building a strong foundation for the next phases of compliance.
The report is on ELEFA’s website. ELEFA will continue to host regular community engagement sessions. The next review period will cover work completed between Oct. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025.
 https://www.minneapolismn.gov/news/2025/january/city-seeks-applicants-to-serve-on-community-commission-on-police-oversight/The City of Minneapolis is seeking qualified applicants to serve on the Community Commission on Police Oversight. The independent body allows the public a forum to have meaningful engagement in police oversight and review. Members of the commission serve on the Police Conduct Review Panel as civilian panelists making recommendations about whether MPD policies and procedures have been violated and making recommendations about discipline.
Applications are open now for three current vacancies plus eight seats that will open in May. Applications are due by March 16.
Read more on the City website.
Junauda Petrus is the city’s new poet laureate for 2025-2026. Petrus succeeds Heid E. Erdrich in this prominent literary role. A multidisciplinary artist, Petrus spans stage, screen and page in her work. She blends ancestral storytelling, speculative fiction and poetic verse around themes of Blackness, queerness and womanhood.
The administration of the Poet Laureate Award is overseen by The Loft Literary Center. The Loft is hosting a public celebration in honor of Petrus Feb. 13 at its headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.
Co-founder of the experimental artist collection Free Black Dirt, Petrus is known for creating innovative performances. Her acclaimed debut novel, The Stars and the Blackness Between Them, received the 2020 Coretta Scott King Honor Book Award. In 2023 she released her first children’s book, Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers? It is based on an abolitionist future and became a Minnesota Book Award finalist.
Deeply rooted in the cultural, social and historic fabric of Minneapolis, Petrus will use her visionary voice as poet laureate to celebrate the city’s beauty, struggle and magic through poetry.
Minneapolis is a welcoming city, one that fosters inclusivity, respect and safety for all, regardless of immigration status. We work to connect our neighbors and residents with services and opportunities so that everyone – including those born outside of the United States – feels a sense of belonging and can achieve their highest potential. This is and will remain our goal and commitment.
The City does not participate in immigration enforcement. There are many important distinctions between local and federal government. The City stands with and in support of its residents, including those born outside the U.S.
The City of Minneapolis has an ordinance that states it will not operate programs for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration laws.
Below are links for residents to be aware of their rights and responsibilities:
In the City of Minneapolis, we know that many are impacted by immigration developments and many are committed to welcoming and fostering a sense of belonging for residents born outside of the United States. Working together has never been more important than now.
Please visit the City’s Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs webpage to learn more.
Actions of the new federal administration have brought up questions on several City initiatives and programs. One of these is the federal consent decree jointly filed in federal court Jan. 6 by the City of Minneapolis and the U.S. Department of Justice. Both parties came to an agreement on the consent decree, and it is now in the hands of the judge.
No matter what happens with the consent decree, the City is committed to this work and to building upon the reforms we’ve continued to implement in the Minneapolis Police Department. We will be moving forward with the terms laid out in this agreement, with or without the federal government.
The consent decree can be found on the City’s website.
The City of Minneapolis works all year round to fight human trafficking and protect vulnerable people. We are raising awareness during Human Trafficking Awareness Month with a particular focus on sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of people who may show signs of a substance use disorder.
Signs of human trafficking
Human trafficking thrives in silence, and survivors are often hiding in plain sight. Signs of trafficking include:
- Physical abuse or neglect.
- Missing school or work regularly.
- Telling inconsistent or rehearsed stories.
- Dating someone much older.
- A history of running away or being homeless.
- Sexually inappropriate pictures on social media.
- Unexplained gifts, new possessions or tattoos that represent ownership.
Read more about how we can all help on the City website.
Building on the tremendous success of the popular 2024 Open Streets program, the City of Minneapolis is now looking for four 2025 summer event organizers. New in 2025, the City is expanding the proposal process to allow organizers to select from several event dates and routes around the city.
Open Streets transforms major city streets into car-free places for one day. Open Streets shuts down car traffic during the event to allow people to walk, bike and roll down the street. Organizers plan programming and free activities for the day.
Since the City launched Open Streets in 2011, the events have brought nearly 700,000 people to different areas of town to enjoy all that the City of Minneapolis has to offer. In 2024, the City co-hosted three Open Streets events, partnering with the Uptown Association on Lyndale Avenue, with the West Broadway Business Coalition on West Broadway, and with the Lyndale Neighborhood Association on Nicollet Avenue.
Read more on the City website.
It’s not too late in the season to get your flu shot. Minnesota is seeing its highest flu hospitalizations since the Minnesota Department of Health started tracking hospitalization data. Getting the flu vaccine can lower your chances of getting very sick and help protect others by keeping the virus from spreading.
Minneapolis firefighter Mark DeLude knows this too well after losing his father to the flu. DeLude’s father, also a Minneapolis firefighter, was not vaccinated. Watch DeLude’s story: Fighting the Flu: Minneapolis Firefighter Saving Lives in Father’s Memory.
Protect yourself and your loved ones by getting the flu vaccine at a free flu clinic or with your health care provider.
The City is accepting grant applications to help pay for repairing failing private sewer pipes and connections to the public sewer. Homeowners can receive grants between $5,000 to $10,000 and may need a match to receive the funds. Funding will be awarded on a lottery-based system. This year’s funding is expected to provide grants to 32-38 property owners.
Apply by Feb. 24.
Find eligibility and more information on the City website. |
