News from Ward 8

Dear Neighbors,

Happy Friday, Ramadan Mubarak to those observing, and I hope you are doing as well as possible in the snow. It was a busy week for the City Council, and I am proud to have accomplished some important steps to support our communities. Here are some updates and news from our Ward 8 office.

Steps Towards An Equitable Recovery

At the end of last week the City announced that initial reports show that Operation Metro Surge has resulted in a 203 million dollar impact on Minneapolis. The findings so far are staggering, and we know that ICE is still very much here and still terrorizing our communities. Some of the impacts include $47 million in lost wages for people afraid to leave home and go to work, $81 million in restaurant and small business revenue losses, $15.7 million in additional rent assistance needed due to lost household income since Dec. 2025, and 76,200 people experiencing food insecurity because of Operation Metro Surge.

While we are still under attack from the federal government, our neighbors are struggling to make rent and keep food on the table. We are faced with two paths of how we can respond ahead: one that capitulates to Trump and protects the wealthy and monied interests, and another that centers the needs of our communities and those most impacted by this crisis.

I am proud that my colleagues and I are getting to work to do our part in meeting the needs of our communities. Together we have:
1. Authored and passed the first resolution in Minnesota calling on Gov. Walz to pass an eviction moratorium, and are now working to make it possible for the City Council to pass an eviction moratorium ourselves to be able to better respond during moments of crisis like the one we are in.
2. Secured $1 million in rental assistance funding, which will be disbursed by Hennepin County and will play a crucial role in keeping families in their homes.
3. Secured $500,000 for immigration legal services.
4. Secured $7 million to support recovery for small businesses.
5. We are working to pass Pause Evictions, Save Lives, an ordinance to temporarily change the eviction notice period from 30 to 60 days in order to give families more time to access rental assistance before being evicted.
6. We are working on local and state policy initiatives for financial support and to prevent evictions.

Minneapolis will be feeling the impacts of Operation Metro Surge and ICE’s violence for years to come. Now, more than ever, it’s time to take action to support and protect our neighbors.

Ward 8 Mutual Aid Efforts

March is right around the corner and with it March rent. As mentioned above, so many of our neighbors need help to be able to stay in their homes right now. Here are some amazing mutual aid efforts led by Ward 8 neighbors.

-Support 11 families in need of rental and overall financial support! You can contribute via venmo to @Emma-Torzs a Ward 8 resident who is helping coordinate support

-Contribute here to March Rent Assistance for Central Neighborhood Families
-Donate here to support Aid for Regina Neighbors Affected by ICE Raids
-Support Bryant Families in Urgent Need
-Sign up to Adopt A Family’s Rent or Contribute to Rent Funds Across the City here

If you are working on or know of more mutual aid efforts in ward 8 please send them our way so that we can uplift them.

Office Hours

I will be holding office hours the week after on:

• Monday, 2/23 5-7pm at Sabathani Community Center (310 E 38th St)
• Friday, 2/27 11am-1pm at Bichota Coffee (3740 Chicago Ave)

As always, please reach out to our office for any questions. We are still catching up on responding to voicemails since our phones weren’t working, for a more immediate response please email us!

Thank you and solidarity,
Soren Stevenson