Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis Downtown Council starts 10-year plan to revitalize neighborhood
The Minneapolis Downtown Council is kicking off a new plan to revitalize the city center, with goals to get more people and more energy into the city by 2035.
The 131-page plan published this week includes continued work on public safety, countering homelessness and filling office buildings that emptied during the pandemic. But it has flashier goals, too: a skating rink, a pedestrian-only Nicollet Avenue corridor and a Michelin-star restaurant.
“The plan is a starting point,” said Adam Duininck, president of the Minneapolis Downtown Council. “It’s a way to engage people on really big issues.”
It’s a vision for a downtown with more residents, more businesses and more tourism. The council shares that goal with city officials, who have been looking for ways to attract people to downtown since the pandemic sent workers home and emptied space in downtown’s skyways and offices.
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Duininck said the Nicollet Avenue plan is high on the list. The recent corridor redesign, completed in 2017, turned the street into a bus-only road. Now, the downtown council is proposing a pedestrian-only mall, complete with green space and a dog park.
“It could serve as basically a park right out the front door of office spaces downtown,” Duininck said. “If we want to attract tenants, if we want people to lease down here, they want access to park space and green space. We could build that right as part of the main street.”
That would take work with Metro Transit, since buses would need to reroute off Nicollet – plus redesigning and building the pedestrian space.
Also on the list is a revamp of the skyways, which are owned by individual building owners in Minneapolis. The council says it’s looking to add better directions in the skyways, plus more regular hours.
Another lofty goal: an overhaul of the riverfront post office. It serves as a U.S. Postal Service distribution center, but the downtown council says it’s taking up valuable riverfront space with limited public access. The plan notes it could take “a literal act of Congress” to repurpose the building.
The plan also suggests converting commercial buildings to residential, as part of the downtown council’s goal to bring more than 40,000 residents to the city center.
Safety is part of the plan, too. Duininck said that includes supporting the city’s efforts to hire on more police, plus other safety measures like mental health services and outreach to the city’s homeless population.
“Everybody needs to feel like you belong downtown, that there’s a place there for you as well. That means for our youth. That means for children and families. That means safety for visitors,” Duininck said.
Duininck said much of this work will happen in collaboration with the city. The council’s plan shares several goals with the city’s latest plan for downtown revitalization, published in October.
A Minneapolis man who pleaded guilty to murdering a high school student in 2022 was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison on Monday.
It was the second time Cody Fohrenkam was sentenced for fatally shooting 15-year-old Deshaun Hill. He was convicted and sentenced to more than 38 years in prison in February 2023, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction and granted him a retrial based on illegally obtained incriminating statements.
Fohrenkam, 33, agreed to a plea deal as his second trial was set to start, pleading guilty to one count of second-degree intentional murder in exchange for Monday’s 340-month sentence. The judge presiding over the hearing gave him credit for 1,476 days already served.
Fohrenkam shot and killed Hill while Hill was walking to a bus stop just blocks from Minneapolis North High School, where Hill was a star quarterback and honor roll student.
One of Hill’s aunts said in a statement shortly before the judge sentenced Fohrenkam that her nephew was “full of life.”
“When he spoke, you listened. He had a soft spirit and a good heart,” she said. “Deshaun was an artist who, as you all know, he took his education seriously. He had dreams and goals. He worked hard to make his family proud.”
This story will be updated.
A man is now charged with murder after prosecutors say a robbery inside a Minneapolis apartment building ended in a fatal shooting.
Prosecutors say the man was on conditional release after being charged with first-degree armed carjacking for an incident in Minneapolis last September.
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The killing happened Feb. 24 inside the Abbott Apartments lounge area on the 100 block of East 18th Street, where police found an adult man dead from gunshot wounds after reports of a shooting.
Court documents state the victim and a friend went to the building to meet 20-year-old Abdirahman Khayre Khayre. A witness stated Khayre left the room several times and appeared to be stalling before three armed men entered and demanded property. The men were described as carrying two Glock-style handguns with extended magazines and an AR-style rifle. During the robbery, the suspects demanded a Louis Vuitton bag belonging to the victim. When the victim resisted, a struggle broke out. The witness stated that two guns were taken from him during the robbery.
The witness told investigators Khayre was handed one of the stolen guns and then pointed it at him, causing him to flee into the lobby. Moments later, multiple gunshots were heard. The witness returned and found the victim shot. Surveillance footage from other areas of the building reportedly corroborated key parts of the account, and the witness later identified Khayre in a photo lineup, according to the complaint.
PREVIOUSLY: Man Shot and Killed Inside Minneapolis Apartment Building
Authorities say Khayre was on conditional release at the time of the killing in a separate Hennepin County case involving a September 2025 armed carjacking.
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In that earlier case, prosecutors alleged Khayre and others confronted a woman in a garage near 19th Street and Nicollet Avenue, pointed handguns at her and forced her to give up the keys to a Dodge Challenger before fleeing in the stolen vehicle. Officers later located the vehicle and arrested multiple suspects, including Khayre, who was identified as the driver.
Court records show Khayre posted a $75,000 non-cash bond and was released under conditions requiring him to remain law-abiding, have no possession of firearms or ammunition, avoid alcohol and controlled substances and complete treatment.
Khayre is now charged with second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony and first-degree aggravated robbery. He made an initial court appearance Friday, where a judge set bail at $1 million. If convicted of second-degree felony murder, he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
The homicide investigation remains ongoing. Authorities have not yet released the identity of the victim. Anyone with information is asked to contact Minneapolis police by emailing policetips@minneapolismn.gov or calling 612-673-5845. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or online. Information leading to an arrest and conviction may be eligible for a financial reward.
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