October 2, 2026

A message from Council President Elliott Payne

Dear neighbor,

At yesterday's City Council meeting we took action on 55 items forwarded to us from our standing committees, received notice of 2 ordinance introductions, referred 2 ordinances to committee for consideration, and approved 5 honorary resolutions. 

The City Council passed "Workers Drive Minneapolis", the autonomous vehicles regulations ordinance. I was proud to vote in support of that ordinance. I lean on my experience working in tech prior to my time in office on topics like this. My main experiences are in enterprise software and digital advertising and there are lessons from those industries that can applied here. Namely, the concept of "Blitzscaling." The core idea is to use massive amounts of venture backed cash reserves to grow your company at a speed and scale that captures the market through artificially low pricing (subsidized by VC losses in the short term) until all competition is eliminated, then transitioning to monopoly pricing once you have a moat large enough that competitions can't compete. This process can take years to create returns, with these startups operating at a loss (in the case Uber, for nearly a decade) until there is no longer any meaningful competition, then they shift to extracting profit out of the market (for example: by paying drivers less and less while charging riders more and more). We saw this pattern with social media, where Cory Doctorow coined the phrase "enshittification" to describe this phenomenon, we saw this pattern happen with rideshare and Uber, and we are seeing this play out in real-time with AI. I'll note that AI is conducting an enshittification speedrun like no industry I've seen in the past as each of the frontier models are transitioning to token based pricing, which I suspect is a result of the debt funded cap ex that is at a scale not seen by any previous tech. I think it would be extremely naïve to believe self-driving cars won't go through a similar journey. Knowing what we know now, it would be irresponsible to ignore the growth of this sector and the externalities that land on our community. While I am hopeful the legislature will work to develop statewide regulations next session, we can't roll over for Big Tech in the meantime and let autonomous go unregulated throughout the City of Minneapolis.

The City Council also approved a resolution calling on Hennepin County and the University of Minnesota to terminate their use of Flock cameras. I constantly hear from constituents about their opposition to Flock. The City of Minneapolis does not have Flock cameras, but other institutions like the U of M and Hennepin County Sheriff do. After what our city went through with Operation Metro Surge, and all the ways surveillance companies like Flock have been used to harm people across the country, getting rid of Flock is a no-brainer. I hope Hennepin County and the University get rid of these cameras immediately. 

Lastly, the City Council approved comments for the metro transit plan to bring H line bus rapid transit to Como Avenue. Council Member Wonsley and I worked to incorporate into the comments that the city does not support removing a bus stop at Como & 18th Ave Se. So many students in the neighborhood use the current 3 bus and not having a stop at 18th would mean there would be no bus stops anywhere between 22nd Ave Se and Van Cleve park, which is much farther than the distance between other stops on the proposed route in downtown Minneapolis and throughout St Paul. The Como neighborhood is somewhat isolated from neighboring communities through its location between railroads, highways, and industrial areas, and has less access to parks than the city overall. The H Line will improve the neighborhood connections to destinations across Minneapolis and St. Paul, but only if residents can easily access stations, which won't happen if the station at 18th & Como is removed. We're hopeful metro transit will listen to these comments and all the community feedback we've been getting and keep this stop. 

Best,

Elliott

Connect with Council President Payne

October Office Hours

When: Wednesday October 21st from 5:00-7:00 PM

Where: Sociable Cider Werks (1500 Fillmore St Ne)

Details: Facebook event

Community 1-1s

When: Thursday November 5th from 9:00-11:45 AM

Where: Location TBD

ELEFA Community Meeting

ELEFA is hosting a public meeting on Saturday, October 3rd, from 12:00 to 3:30. The meeting will be hosted at the Urban League Twin Cities, 2100 Plymouth Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55411. The meeting will discuss progress under the Minneapolis Settlement Agreement, present our Evaluation Plan for years 3 & 4, discuss the results of ELEFA’s community and officer surveys, and introduce new team members. There will be time for audience questions, and a segment of the meeting will be an informal Open House where attendees can learn about the work of ELEFA subject matter experts. Food will be served at 12:00, and the program will begin at 12:30.

See your options for voting early

Any Minneapolis voter can vote before Election Day in person or by mail. This is your city, and it’s your vote.

Voting early in person

Minneapolis has a main Early Vote Center open now at 980 E. Hennepin Ave. We’ll also have one on the North Side and one on the South Side opening Oct. 20, with the same hours as the main site.

We’re also opening 12 special one-day voting sites all across the city Oct. 19-30. These pop-up sites have the same security measures, rules and processes as the main sites.

Find the voting sites and their open times on the City website.

Voting by mail

There’s still time to request a vote-by-mail ballot. Make sure to put it back in the mail by Oct. 27 or drop it off in person. Check the City website for more details.

City Council announces 2027 budget public hearing dates, encourages public participation

The Minneapolis City Council will hold three public hearings as part of its work on the Mayor’s 2027 Recommended Budget. The City Council encourages residents to participate in the decision-making process by attending a public hearing.

The dates for the upcoming hearings are:

Budget Committee meeting 6:05 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7 City Council chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 350 Fifth St. S

Budget Committee meeting 6:05 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19 City Council chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 350 Fifth St. S

City Council meeting 6:05 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15 City Council chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 350 Fifth St. S

Participating in a public hearing

Residents who want to make their voices heard at a public hearing must attend in person and sign up to speak. Speakers are typically limited to two minutes, but the length of speaking time and the number of speakers allowed is at the discretion of the Committee Chair. Comments unrelated to the budget will not be heard.

Testimony submitted as part of a public meeting is considered public data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. This means that anyone can access information you choose to share. Only include information that you are comfortable making public.

Learn more about how to participate in a public hearing.

Other ways to participate

Residents who can’t attend one of these meetings may be able to attend an upcoming listening session or submit written comments in the following ways:

• Share comments using the City's online form.
• Contact your Council Member directly.

Learn more about the City Council's budget process.

North Star Sustainable Living Festival

Join the North Star Sustainable Living Festival October 10th from 9AM-6PM at 601 13th Ave Se

Fourth Minneapolis NARCAN® vending machine installed to broaden access to life-saving medication

The City of Minneapolis has installed its fourth NARCAN® vending machine at Fire Station 12, expanding free, anonymous and 24-hour access to the life-saving medication.

Minneapolis’ four NARCAN vending machines are installed at fire stations across the city. The NARCAN is free and accessible 24 hours per day. The NARCAN vending machines are located at:

• Fire Station 5, 2700 Bloomington Ave. S.
• Fire Station 12, 5401 33rd Ave S.
• Fire Station 14, 2002 Lowry Ave. N. 
• Fire Station 21, 3209 38th St. E.

Watch our video on YouTube to learn how to use a NARCAN vending machine.

Additional resources

• Opioids and substance use programs and resources
• Opioid resources for youth  
• Syringe cleanup and free NARCAN
• Mobile Medical Unit  
• City’s Safe Stations
• Watch the CDC’s video on YouTube to learn how to use NARCAN

Third annual Latino Business Week starts Saturday

The third annual Latino Business Week will be taking place Saturday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 11. The City’s Small Business Team has partnered with community organizations to plan events across Minneapolis, from legal workshops to marketing mixers.

This year’s Latino Business Week events will: 

• Connect businesses with information and resources 
• Create opportunities to learn from experts and network with peers 
• Celebrate and support our City’s vibrant Latino business community 

Learn more and register for events on the City website.

Join us at the Eliminating Health Disparities Summit

The Minneapolis Health Department is hosting a new community event. Beyond the Diagnosis 2026: Eliminating Health Disparities Summit is a free event that will bring together community members, healthcare providers, public health professionals and partners to discuss health disparities and lived experiences within Minneapolis’ Black/African American communities.

Beyond the Diagnosis 2026: Eliminating Health Disparities Summit 4-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 Sanctuary Covenant Church, 2018 Aldrich Ave. N.

Attendees can expect to:

• Learn about sickle cell disease, heart disease, breast cancer and prostate cancer
• Learn now to advocate for yourself, family and community members living with these conditions
• Learn about the common lived experiences and policies that may lead to health inequities

Refreshments and free childcare will be provided. Register for the event.

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Call for artists: Graco Park tunnel

The City of Minneapolis invites artists to apply to design and create artwork for the interior of the Graco Park tunnel. This bike and pedestrian tunnel connects Hall’s and Boom islands under the Plymouth Avenue bridge. Graco Park and the connecting trails opened in 2025.

Dates and deadlines

• Monday, Sept. 21: Call for Artists posted
• Monday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m.: Virtual informational meeting
• Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 4 p.m.: Deadline to email your questions
• Friday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m.: Review the posted questions and answers document
• Monday, Oct. 26 at 5 p.m.: Upload and submit a completed application

Contact Witt Siasoco at witt.siasoco@minneapolismn.gov for more information.

Learn more and apply for this public art project on the City website.

Connect with Elliott and Ward 1 Staff

Elliott Payne was re-elected in 2025 to represent Ward 1

Elliott serves on the President of the Minneapolis City Council, Chair of the Audit Committee, member of the Public Health, Safety, & Equity Committee, Budget Committee, Intergovernmental Relations Committee, and Committee of the Whole. 

Contact the Ward 1 Council Office

Elliott Payne, Council Member - elliott.payne@minneapolismn.gov 

Brandon Garcia, Policy Aide - brandon.garcia@minneapolismn.gov

Ikram Mohamud, Policy Associate- Ikram.Mohamud@minneapolismn.gov

Liam Davis Temple, Policy Aide - liam.davistemple@minneapolismn.gov 

Office Phone - (612) 673-2201

Visit: minneapolismn.gov/ward1

Our offices have officially moved back to City Hall! You can visit us at 

City Hall
350 S. Fifth St., Room 370
Minneapolis, MN 55415

For reasonable accommodations or alternative formats please contact 311. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000. TTY users call 612-263-6850. Para ayuda, llame al 311. Rau kev pab, hu 311. Hadii aad caawimaad u baahantahay, wac 311.