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I recently traveled to Honduras with a delegation of elected and community leaders to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the fierce Indigenous and environmental justice leader, Berta Cáceres. Berta was assassinated in 2016 due to her activism in protecting Indigenous peoples and their ancestral lands. Her murder was financed using “development” funding provided by international banks and executed by local business leaders whose dam project would have furthered the exploitative extraction of Honduras’ natural resources and jeopardized Indigenous Honduran communities’ quality of life.
While there, we met with leaders from Berta’s organization, COPINH, and other key Indigenous and land defender groups to learn how they were continuing the struggle to protect their lives, land, and labor against attacks from state and internal forces. We also met with Afro-Indigenous communities fighting to protect their lands and natural resources from global extractive forces, including big tourism companies. Their struggle against U.S. and international corporate interests echoes our own.
Minneapolis participants were also able to share our own experiences of resistance against the Trump regime in response to Operation Metro Surge. We were also honored to have memorial posters of Renee Good and Alex Pretti be added to Berta’s permanent memorial site.
It was an absolute blessing to be amongst such brave, brilliant, and powerful leaders. Their courage and wisdom will leave a lasting impact on the work I do alongside ordinary people back home; which is necessary work because our fight isn’t just local. It’s about building a United States that doesn’t oppress, whether on our own soil or abroad. We must end the cycles of corporate greed destabilizing nations and communities, whether it’s Indigenous Hondurans fighting for their lands or marginalized communities here fighting for our rights. I envision a future where we organize around collective well-being; where no community, here or abroad, is sacrificed for profit; a world where people, not shareholders, come first.
Council Member Wonsley with US delegation participants and Honduras leaders in honor of Berta Cáceres life and activism
I had a wonderful time at the Cedar Riverside Alliance iftar. Thank you to all the community leaders who put on this beautiful event and who have done tremendous work organizing the community over the last few months. Ramadan mubarak!
Council Member Wonsley with community leaders at the Cedar Riverside Alliance iftar.
On Wednesday, Mayor Frey vetoed the ordinance I authored with my colleagues to protect residents from evictions caused by Operation Metro Surge.
Community members are calling on the City Council to override this veto. The policy passed 7-5, with one Council Member abstaining, but requires 9 votes to override the veto. Community members have started a petition calling on Council Members to override the veto and on the Mayor to support the policy.
If Council does not overturn the veto, thousands of families will be evicted this spring and summer. Mutual aid is not a permanent fix, and Mayor Frey has not offered any other plan to keep families housed. Housing data from this week showed a 300% increase in eviction filings when compared to 2025. Sheriff Dawanna Witt has even spoken publicly about how the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office anticipates carrying out significantly more evictions than usual this spring and summer.
I spoke alongside impacted renters at a rally in the Hennepin County Government Center, where eviction court is held. Thank you to community members who continuously organize to keep each other safe and housed, despite the lack of compassion and policy action by some city leaders.
Council Member Wonsley speaking at a community rally calling on Council to override the Mayor’s veto of Pause Evictions, Save Lives.
On March 5th, the University of Minnesota announced plans to permanently close the Boynton Health Dental Clinic, which has served the university community for nearly 106 years. This closure will have disastrous effects across the UMN community.
Each year, the clinic provides over 10,000 patient visits and essential dental care for students, graduate workers, staff, and community members. Closing the clinic will make it impossible for these patients to receive timely care. Despite the impact on patients, workers, and students, the university has not provided a clear explanation for the closure. Residents have started a petition urging UMN to keep the clinic open and prioritize the needs of workers, patients, and the community.
Council Member Wonsley at a rally in solidarity with Boynton workers and patients.
Join the East Bank Neighborhoods Partnership for the 2026 Winter Meeting. The meeting will include free food, discussion with community leaders, and opportunities to get involved!
East Bank Neighborhoods Winter 2026 Meeting
- Tuesday, March 17, 2026
- 5:30 PM Open House, 6:30- 8:00 PM Meeting – Attend when you can!
- University Lutheran Church of Hope (601 13th Avenue SE)
East Bank Neighborhoods Partnership Winter Meeting 2026 Flyer.
The Frey administration is proposing that the City of Minneapolis spend at least $40 million on a “Public Safety Training and Wellness Center.” The democratic socialist caucus of the City Council strongly opposes this extravagant proposal and are instead championing the $40 million be invested into critical programs and projects that stabilize communities and City finances in the wake of Operation Metro Surge.
Stable communities are safe communities
Preliminary data shows that in one month, the City lost at least $203 million from Operation Metro Surge. This impact, along with the realities of a hostile federal government for the next three years means the City must prioritize every dollar towards meeting the needs of residents. Democratic socialists on City Council know that $40 million would be far better used to invest in an equitable recovery from Operation Metro Surge, community-serving infrastructure, and advancing the City’s long-term racial equity and sustainability goals.
Police center doesn’t improve safety
The proposed police training center is duplicative, unnecessary, and reflects MPD’s wish list rather than the city’s public safety needs and realities. The Frey administration has been unable to articulate how the proposed training center would improve comprehensive public safety services, and left Council requests for information unfulfilled for nearly three years.
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MPD is already spending nearly $100 million on capital projects that include training and wellness facilities. Current unfinished expenditures include the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center/Third Precinct ($30 million), First Precinct ($23 million). Planned expenditures include the Fourth Precinct (at least $20 million) and nearly $8 million for renovations related to precinct improvements. Taxpayers have also paid over $2 million for expenditures in the general fund related to officer wellness, including staff positions and contracts. The new proposed training center will contribute to taxes continuing to go up, without improved services for the public.
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This Center will not help preserve or expand public safety beyond policing. The City of Minneapolis has contracted $1 million dollars to the NYU Policing Project to help the city implement a comprehensive public safety system. Despite the consultants highlighting that 47% of 911 calls could potentially be diverted away from a police response, the administration has delayed and stalled progress on alternative responses. Last month, the Frey administration cut almost $5 million dollars from alternative public safety programs like violence prevention and would have eliminated an embedded social worker position within MPD earlier this month without Council intervention. The Frey administration has been unable to offer any specifics on how the proposed training center would serve to protect and expand non-police safety services that help keep residents safe.
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The proposed project is not required by the Minneapolis settlement agreement. The settlement agreement required a training needs assessment, which was conducted in 2025. The needs that were identified could be met through the City’s existing properties and renting required training spaces through other agencies. For example, MPD has articulated a need for an alternative gun range training space which could be met by renting space at the Hero Center in Cottage Grove. The Frey administration has conceded that the training center is not required by the settlement agreement.
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The Frey administration has not offered any data that the training center will improve public safety outcomes. The Frey administration should prioritize data-backed strategies to improve public safety services to meet priority concerns like gun violence, domestic violence, and youth mental health rather than pour millions of dollars into an unnecessary building. There is also no evidence that the training center will improve police response times or case closure rates.
The Frey administration plans to bring a Purchase Agreement and $6 million budget request to the Committee of the Whole, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, for Council consideration.
The democratic socialist caucus of the Minneapolis City Council is Council Minority Leader Robin Wonsley (Ward 2), Council Members Soren Stevenson (Ward 8), Jason Chavez (Ward 9), Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10).
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. |
