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This week, the Star Tribune broke a story about an off-duty MPD officer who allegedly committed transphobic and discriminatory harassment of a security guard at the Convention Center, Cathrine Doe.
This story was incredibly disturbing for a number of reasons. The story shares that back in 2024, MPD officer Ryan Calhoun began screaming at Doe after she performed a routine check of the girls’ dressing room. Calhoun repeatedly misgendered Doe, threatened to arrest her, and stated his desire to enter the girls’ dressing room himself despite being a cisgender man. Like some of our neighbors, Doe moved to MN because of its reputation as a refuge for trans people. Now, she is suing the City and MPD for gender discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the Minneapolis Civil Rights Ordinance. The Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights concluded that Doe has a gender discrimination case.
This week, community members rallied in City Hall to stand in solidarity with Cathrine Doe. Community leaders also demanded accountability for Officer Calhoun, and systemic overhaul of MPD to prevent the all-too-common story of MPD officers behaving unacceptably towards residents.
The City’s lack of serious off-duty regulation is what enables officers like Calhoun. Since 2022, I have continued to push for the City to regain authority over off-duty work. In the coming weeks, I will continue to push for off-duty regulation so that no worker has to face what Ms. Doe faced, and look forward to continued partnership with the community.
Council Member Wonsley speaking alongside residents in solidarity with Cathrine Doe.
On Monday, Council Vice President Osman, Council Member Chavez, Mayor Frey, and I joined government partners in celebrating the establishment of a non-fatal shooting taskforce within MPD. You can read more about the task-force here.
Last year, I led the City Council to invest about $2 million into a non-fatal shooting task force for Minneapolis, and it’s already delivering impressive results for improving public safety outcomes for residents. The City Council’s leadership in prioritizing data-backed public safety strategies will now be joined by state funding that sustains and helps us grow this important work.
I look forward to providing more updates on this important work as the council monitors its effectiveness through 2026.
 Photo Credit: WCCO
This weekend marks the six year anniversary of George Floyd being murdered in broad daylight by four Minneapolis Police Officers. Our communities continue to grapple with the legacies of systemic racism that led to Mr. Floyd’s murder. And we continue to organize in so many ways to build a city and a world where Black lives matter, and where nobody can kill with impunity.
The City Council adopted an honorary resolution uplifting this important anniversary. We were joined by many community leaders and individuals honoring George Floyd and his legacy.
There are numerous events honoring George Floyd this weekend. I encourage you to attend the events that will be most meaningful to you.
This weekend I had the opportunity to enjoy myself at one of the city’s most beloved festivals. It was amazing to be reminded of the artistic genius that exists here in Minneapolis. Also major props to our city workers who helped to make sure our residents remained hydrated while having a good time.
 Council Member Wonsley celebrating Art-A-Whirl in Northeast.
The Legislature concluded its work at midnight last night and passed a number of bills before it adjourned. This message includes a high-level summary. IGR will provide a more detailed end of session written report along with its presentation to IGR Committee in early June.
Capital Investment
The City of Minneapolis received nearly $25 million in the bonding bill for the following projects:
- $12.36 million for Structural Renewal of the 36-inch water main
- $8 million for stormwater sewer mitigation on 13th Avenue NE
- $115,000 for Americans with Disability Act pedestrian improvements
- $4 million for the Water Distribution Facility
- This relates to the Roof Depot site – staff will be providing council members with more details about what this means for next steps for this project.
MPRB also received $6 million for North Commons, $1.5 million for Cedar Riverside Rec Center, and $1.8 million for Loring Park fountain. Several Minneapolis nonprofits received bonding dollars as well, including KMOJ ($1 million), the Bridge for Youth ($1 million), Neighborhood Health Source ($1.3 million).
HCMC
The Legislature approved $205 million to stabilize HCMC – they will receive $50 million by July 1 and $155 million over the next year. It also established a hospital stabilization program to help hospitals cover uncompensated care costs, including targeted support for safety-net providers like Hennepin Healthcare. There will be $500 million in that account available over the next 5 years. The proposed sales tax extension and increase was not included as part of the HCMC package.
Business and Rent Relief
The Legislature approved $40 million to the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP) which provides emergency assistance to renters. This is a statewide program and is administered locally by Hennepin County.
The Legislature considered several proposals to provide relief for small businesses impacted by Operation Metro Surge, but business aid was not included in the final agreement. Similarly, aid to local governments for Operation Metro Surge costs was also not included in the final agreement.
Taxes
The Legislature adopted a tax bill that included some federal conformity provisions, homestead property tax refunds, and a few other provisions. The Downtown Taxing Boundary expansion was not included in the tax bill – ultimately there were no local sales tax provisions included in what ended up being a narrow bill.
Autonomous Vehicles
No provisions related to autonomous vehicles passed in this year’s session.
Gun Violence Prevention
The Senate passed a comprehensive gun violence prevention package that included an assault weapons ban, high-capacity magazine ban, funding for school safety and other measures. Ultimately House Republicans did not allow the measure to come up for a vote before session adjourned.
In positive news for gun violence prevention, the state legislature did approve funding for local governments to invest in non-fatal shooting task forces.
Election integrity is under unprecedented attack. Neighbors are organizing to keep each other safe during the midterm elections this November. Monarca Democracy Defense Trainings are an opportunity to learn about the actions we can start taking now, to get organized and ready to defend the upcoming election.
Summary: The City Council passed a six-month moratorium on data centers, opened the chapters to begin creating legislation, and approved a staff direction to research impacts that data centers could have on our economy, environment, infrastructure, and utilities.
Background: As I wrote a few weeks ago, lobbyists are in City Hall pushing local government to roll out the red carpet for data centers.
Council Members Chowdhury and Chavez brought forward a six-month moratorium to give the City Council time to study the impacts of data centers and write regulations. Vice President Osman brought forward exemptions to this moratorium for data centers under 350 square feet within downtown, which passed.
People all over the country are telling horror stories of what data centers promised, and what they delivered. There are stories of data centers illegally stealing millions of gallons of water beyond what they were authorized to use. Data centers are driving up utility rates and creating noise pollution. These realities are why I supported the moratorium and co-authored a legislative motion with Council Member Chowdhury and Council Vice President Osman requesting an analysis on data centers, and their impacts on the environment, jobs, energy grids, commercial and residential development, and on tax bases.
Studying these impacts are essential especially when many cities across the country have become cautionary tales of what happens to those that rolled out red carpets for data centers:
- This past Tuesday, the LA Times published a story called “A surge in Nevada data center construction threatens the electricity supply for 49,000 Californians” about how data center expansion in one state is likely to cause electricity rates to go up for the nearby towns just over the border.
- A data center in Georgia set up two unauthorized water pipes and drained 30 million gallons of water, far beyond the amount they were allowed. Regulators only stepped in when residents noticed that the water pressure in their homes was extremely low. The data center had to pay back the utility company for the stolen water – but you can’t get the water back once it’s been used.
- A group of residents in Texas is suing a big tech company for a data center alleging “constant noise and low-frequency hum from the site have contributed to numerous health issues for nearby residents, including cardiac problems, tinnitus, permanent hearing loss, and insomnia.”
Big tech is not trying to put data centers into every city, suburb, and rural area across the country to serve us, they are building them for profit. Data centers are fundamentally extractive. Even a “small” or “medium sized” data center is tens of thousands of square footage that could be used for transit-oriented development, housing, public art, green space, or local businesses that build community wealth.
The local government’s job is to protect our city from these extractive and exploitative forces. It is our responsibility to make sure that our neighborhoods continue to become more affordable, walkable, and sustainable. We must make sure that our residents have clean water and reliable power. We must champion the creation of healthy workplaces, and living wage jobs. Data centers impact all of that. This is why it’s sensible for city leaders to take a hard pause and make sure we approach the expansion of data centers across our city with the intention, thoughtfulness, and caution it warrants.
It’s important for the public to be aware that in the next several months, there will be lots of conversations about data centers and persuasion campaigns requesting that we abandon all of our concerns and regulatory actions. Big tech companies know that the public is rightfully distrustful of their data centers, hence a recent Gallup Poll that found 7 in 10 Americans oppose these centers. Many of these Trump aligned big tech companies have a documented history of successfully using their money to stop elected officials from passing regulation.
In fact, we’re already seeing that happen locally. Data center lobbyists have been working hard at persuading elected officials at the state and city level to advance extremely weak regulations or none at all. Unfortunately, their influence has found modest success at City Hall. These lobbyists effectively persuaded some council members to weaken the moratorium by getting a Downtown exemption and shortened the moratorium from one year to six months. However, this six month moratorium does provide our city with a needed interim protection that will provide city leaders the time to develop a comprehensive regulation package that will center the wellbeing of our residents and city and not that of big tech’s shareholders. Ward 2, specifically stands to benefit from this moratorium and regulatory efforts as there are data centers potentially coming to Prospect Park.
I want to urge residents to keep an eye on this discussion because there are literally data center lobbyists walking around City Hall trying to weaken our moratorium and any future regulations. There are going to be big decisions about this in the next year that will fundamentally shape decades of our infrastructure, economy, water, and utilities. I anticipate that as we continue to receive more information and hear more from residents about their questions, concerns and priorities, we very well may need more than six months to develop regulations that we feel confident will fully protect our residents from corporate extraction and exploitation.
Key votes: City Council voted 8-5 in support of a six-month moratorium on data centers, with an exemption for data centers under 350,000 square feet downtown. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, Warren, Shaffer, and Palmisano voted in opposition to the moratorium. Council Members Shaffer, Payne, Rainville, Vetaw, Warren, Osman, Whiting, Chowdhury, and Palmisano opened the chapter to write regulations for data centers. Council voted unanimously to approve a staff direction that Member Chowdhury, Vice President Osman and I authored to learn more about impacts that data centers could have on our economy, environment, infrastructure, and utilities.
Summary: The City Council voted down Mayor Frey’s proposed $40 Million Cop City for a second time after strong community pushback.
Background: The City Council voted down the $6 million purchase agreement for Mayor Frey’s proposed “Public Safety Training and Wellness Center,” also known as Cop City. The Cop City project is estimated to cost at least $40 million to build, is not required by the settlement agreement, and reflects MPD’s wish list rather than community priorities and needs.
Earlier in the week, community members came to City Hall to urge the City Council to oppose the purchase agreement. A small business owner in Ward 11 spoke about how fiscally irresponsible this purchase agreement is, and the project overall. A parent of a student at Windom Elementary, which is 400 feet from the proposed Cop City site, spoke about how the City failed to do any community engagement on the proposal and how her neighbors are surprised and concerned to learn about it, since it does not align with community needs. You can watch the full press conference by community leaders here.
Key votes: Council voted 7-6 against the $6 million purchase agreement for Cop City. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, Warren, Shaffer, Whiting, and Palmisano voted in support.
City Council Member Robin Wonsley speaking alongside Ward 11 community members and civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong in opposition to the proposed Cop City purchase agreement.
Background: In April, Mayor Frey nominated Toddrick Barnette as Commissioner of the Office of Community Safety (OCS). The City Council voted down this nomination. Mayor Frey vetoed the City Council’s denial. The City Attorneys affirmed that vetoing a denial does not result in an appointment. Despite the Attorney’s Office confirming that a veto would not result in Barnette being appointed, Mayor Frey chose to proceed with a veto regardless. This solely symbolic action accomplishes no practical end and does not improve public safety outcomes for residents. The City Council voted to uphold their denial based on Barnette’s extensive history of being unfit for this position.
Mayor Frey nominated Barnette again for no apparent reason. Council denied the appointment again, Mayor Frey vetoed again, and Council sustained the veto again. This was an unproductive use of time because the Mayor refused to respect the City Council’s role in government structure. Council President Payne made a motion to refer the item to the Clerks, which is a way to “put it on ice” and end the cycle of mayoral vetoes. This was unanimously approved.
I brought forward a resolution urging the Mayor to conduct a national search for a qualified candidate, who can help advance a public safety system beyond policing and improve public safety outcomes for our communities. Unfortunately it did not receive enough votes to be approved.
Key votes: City Council voted to sustain the veto of Toddrick Barnette for Commissioner of Community Safety, which does not result in Barnette being appointed. City Council voted unanimously to refer the nomination of Barnette to the clerks, which will interrupt the cycle of mayoral vetoes. City Council denied my resolution urging Mayor Frey to conduct a national search for a more qualified candidate. Council Members Rainville, Vetaw, Warren, Shaffer, Whiting and Palmisano voted in opposition and Council Member Stevenson abstained.
Summary: MPD went $20 million over budget in 2025. They gave a partial response to the City Council’s inquiries into what caused the overages.
Background: MPD had a $220 million budget in 2025, but went $20 million over budget. They claim to have not been aware of these overages or able to prevent them, and the City’s finance department was not made aware of the overages until nearly the end of the year.
The City Council is the oversight body of the City, so we passed a legislative directive asking MDP to account for these overages. This week, MPD presented a response to the directive. However, they were unable to share specifics on many of the categories. The City Council voted to continue the presentation to the next Committee of the Whole meeting on June 9th so that MPD can come better prepared. You can watch the presentation and discussion here.
Key votes: City Council votes to continue the presentation and discussion on MPD overspending to June 9th.
Summary: Mayor Frey has nominated Brian O’Hara for Chief of MPD. There will be a public hearing on June 3rd followed by a Council vote.
Background: Mayor Frey submitted a nomination for Brian O’Hara to continue serving as Chief of MPD.
On June 3rd, the Public Health, Safety, and Equity (PHSE) committee will be holding a public hearing on Mayor Frey’s Police Chief nominee, Brian O’Hara. Last term, I voted in support of Chief O’Hara because of his strong track record supporting public safety beyond policing. This term, I have appreciated some of Chief O’Hara’s leadership in the following areas:
- Implementing the non-fatal shooting task-force that I led the City Council to fund, which has already doubled case closure rates for non-fatal shootings in only a month.
- Respect for violence prevention programs as a necessary part of a public safety system.
- Strong support for Behavioral Crisis Response and other alternative response programs, including their embrace of the precinct's embedded Social Workers.
- Advancement of coordinated safety plans in collaboration with UMPD to keep students, parents, and visitors safe in the Dinkytown area.
- Championing the inclusion of non-sworn and civilian staff to help provide critical safety services.
However, I have significant concerns about events that have occurred under Chief O’Hara’s leadership, including:
- MPD overspending their budget by $20 million in 2025 and being on track to overspend by $23 million this year.
- MPD’s continued failure to protect victims of domestic violence, particularly victims of color like Allison Lussier and Mariah Samuels.
- MPD’s failure to protect Davis Moturi from a racist hate crime by his neighbor despite him asking MPD for protection more than 35 times.
- MPD’s failure to implement off-duty fees that would save taxpayers over $1 million per year, and despite being legally required to collect the fees.
- MPD’s failure to protect residents during Operation Metro Surge.
- Continued lack of transparency about discipline for misconduct.
I will be in further conversation with the Chief, my colleagues, and constituents ahead of the final Council vote. My ultimate goal is that we as City leaders choose a leader who is committed to providing all of our residents the high-quality and equitable safety services that they request and deserve.
Key votes: The Public Health, Safety and Equity Committee will hold a public hearing on Chief O’Hara on June 3rd, followed by a vote to recommend the appointment. The City Council will vote on the appointment on June 11th.
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. |
